"What is your truth?"
That question echoed through Grey's mind three full times. When the last trace of the voice faded, it condensed into a white orb floating inside his head.
There was no need to overthink it. This was the Light Stone that Reshiram had transformed into.
But there was one problem.
Wasn't Reshiram supposed to be at Dragonspiral Tower?
So how had it suddenly ended up inside his head?
"Mew bro, emergency."
Grey used his aura to pull Little Riolu's consciousness inside and let him take a look at the Light Stone in his mind, just to confirm whether it really was Reshiram's manifestation.
If some "evil" Pokémon had snuck in instead, that would be bad.
Though when he thought about it, there probably were not that many evil Pokémon capable of slipping into his mind in the first place.
"Let me see."
Little Riolu's true form appeared at once. Returning to Mew, he stared at the white orb and tapped on it a few times.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A dull sound echoed out.
Then a pristine, glass-like flame burst from the Light Stone and gradually took shape as a giant dragon covered in snowy white fur. Its face resembled that of a handsome lone wolf, and its sapphire-like eyes shone with striking life.
The legendary dragon Pokémon of Unova, the dragon of truth, Reshiram.
"Whoa, no way! Reshiram, long time no see!"
Now Mew could confirm it. The strange stone that had somehow burrowed into Grey's mind really was Reshiram herself.
Which brought the question right back again: if Reshiram was at Dragonspiral Tower, why had she come to Grey's mind?
Castelia City and Dragonspiral Tower were pretty far apart.
For Reshiram to project her consciousness across multiple cities from Dragonspiral Tower all the way into Grey's head... honestly, that alone showed she really was absurdly powerful.
"Human, the moment you stepped into Unova, I sensed the aura around you. Recognized by multiple Legendary Pokémon, and even accompanied by one tied to the World Tree... it would have been difficult for me not to notice you."
Reshiram did not respond to Mew's greeting. Instead, she got straight to the point and admitted that she had come because of Grey.
She had specifically taken a closer look just now as well. The Pokémon Grey carried all had extremely solid foundations.
There was none of that hollow, flimsy feeling.
On top of that, Grey had been acknowledged by Mew and had even caught one of Kanto's legendary bird Pokémon.
To Reshiram, he looked far better than the empty dreamer Zekrom had chosen.
She, Reshiram, was all about truth.
A grounded Trainer like Grey, who kept his feet on the earth, was obviously her top choice.
It did not matter that Grey was a Kanto Trainer. Unova was badly lacking new blood right now, and Reshiram felt she could not afford to limit her vision to local candidates.
She had to look at the bigger picture. Open her eyes wider.
And so, she had been lucky enough to find Grey.
Though to be fair, that girl who had been with him earlier was not bad either.
The problem was that some of her focus was still on making movies, unlike Grey, who treated streaming as nothing but a side job.
Compared side by side, the more Reshiram looked at Grey, the more pleasing he became.
That was why she had deliberately waited until after the battle ended and Grey finished streaming before finally coming to him.
"Human, I am the dragon of truth. What is your truth?"
Reshiram looked at Grey with total anticipation, desperate to hear the answer she wanted from him.
Come on, Grey. Hurry up and tell me your "truth," and let me feel what Zekrom felt back then.
That clearheaded, exhilarating sensation of being able to punch Kyurem to death in one hit—Reshiram wanted that feeling too.
If N had been here, his entire filter for Reshiram probably would have shattered on the spot.
The same Reshiram who had kept him at arm's length before was now主动—eager, even—to get close to Grey.
Though in the end, N probably would have felt more joy than disappointment.
Grey was the Trainer he had placed his hopes in, and now that same Grey had been acknowledged by Reshiram. That was no less significant than the way he himself had once been acknowledged by Zekrom.
It meant they stood on the same tier as Trainers.
Unfortunately, N was not here.
Grey had no idea where he was off doing his own thing.
"I probably don't have the kind of truth you're looking for."
Grey shrugged and looked at Reshiram with an apologetic expression.
"Excellent. I can sense your... what?! You don't have a truth?!"
The words that came out of Grey's mouth were enough to shock Reshiram for an entire year.
How could a perfectly normal human not have a truth?
No, wait.
Even though Grey had verbally said he had no truth, Reshiram could still feel a wave of power surging through her whole body.
It felt like one Blue Flare could roast Kyurem until every last bit of ice on him melted away.
The sensation was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes.
No wonder Zekrom had looked down on her so smugly before. So finding a true hero really did amplify a dragon this much?
If the old her was worth 0.7 Kyurem...
Then the current her was a full 1.4 Kyurems.
Of course, that was only in terms of raw power.
At the end of the day, Kyurem still hard-countered the two of them on a mechanical level.
So if it came down to it, she would still have to run.
"Excellent! In all these centuries, this is the first time someone has grasped the true essence of truth!"
"Human, congratulations! From this day forward, you are the new Hero of Truth!"
"Hahahaha!"
Reshiram laughed wildly and spread her wings.
A cluster of glass-like flames instantly formed and sank deep into Grey's mind.
There was no burning sensation at all. Instead, Grey could clearly feel his body being strengthened tremendously.
"So... Reshiram, by 'truth,' what you really mean is staying grounded and not getting lost in empty fantasies?"
Grey scratched his cheek. He was pretty sure that what he had just said was genuinely off the cuff.
As for his ideals, he had never really spent much time thinking about them from the start.
At most, he just wanted to manage the Gym well.
He really was just taking life as it came.
But despite that, what Grey actually did never reached the level of truly slacking off, so without even realizing it, he had fulfilled the kind of "truth" Reshiram was looking for.
"Exactly, exactly. People these days always have a little too much fantasy in them."
"And the hero Zekrom chose? He's an even bigger dreamer than most."
"Though I hate to admit it, that kind of idealist gives Zekrom way too much of a boost."
"But now that I have you, I think I can go fifty-fifty with Zekrom."
Reshiram endlessly trashed her colleague Zekrom while looking more and more pleased with Grey, clearly afraid that this hard-won Hero of Truth might run off.
"That flame just now can strengthen your aura power. From now on, when you use aura, you'll be able to draw on my power as well. As for the specifics, you'll have to figure that out yourself. I'm not human, so I don't really understand how your kind uses abilities."
"All right, that's probably everything."
"Hero, about when are you coming to pick me up?"
At that point, Grey finally understood something.
Reshiram was just a chatterbox.
He had been listening for ages without getting a chance to interrupt once.
Now that she finally paused and looked at him, Grey instinctively scratched his head. "Just wait for me at Dragonspiral Tower. Once I finish what I came here to do, I'll come pick you up."
Reshiram: ?
No, seriously?
I'm Reshiram.
A legendary dragon Pokémon of Unova.
The Vast White Pokémon of the Tao trio, the one who governs truth.
"I still have things I need to do right now. I may not have many goals for the future, but there still has to be an order to things."
Grey really had not made any long-term plans for his future. That was exactly why his "truth" rang so strongly for Reshiram, and why she valued him so highly.
"That makes sense. As expected of the Hero of Truth. Even your way of doing things is truthful."
Reshiram nodded, obviously impressed by Grey's answer.
"Then I'll wait for you at Dragonspiral Tower. Make sure you come quickly. If it takes too long, the power I left inside you will guide you to me."
With that, Reshiram's draconic avatar vanished in an instant.
Only a tiny cluster of glass-like flames remained, floating there.
"Reshiram's still the same as ever. Always in such a rush. She looks cold on the outside, but really she's got a warm heart."
Mew covered his mouth and giggled, clearly amused by Reshiram's speech just now.
She acted aloof in front of outsiders, but around her own people, she was basically a goofball.
"Come to think of it, Mew, do you know the Legendary Pokémon from pretty much every region?"
Grey had noticed that Mew seemed to get along with everyone, and with his connection to the World Tree, it really did seem likely that he knew most of the region's legends.
"More or less. There are a few I'm not very familiar with, but aside from those, I know most of them at least a little."
Mew grinned behind his hand, clearly very confident in his connections.
When it came to networking, aside from that little demon god who kept getting hunted down by legends everywhere, what Legendary or Mythical Pokémon could possibly compare to him?
Basically none.
"All right, I should head out too."
With that, Mew left Grey's mind.
Grey came back to himself and rubbed his head.
"Does your head hurt? I'll massage it for you."
Caitlin was observant. The moment Grey moved his hand away, her slender fingers replaced it and began massaging his head.
Grey: "???"
"C-Caitlin, what are you doing?"
Grey was completely thrown off by her behavior.
This was getting a little too intimate.
"I'm massaging you. You've been on a plane forever, and not long ago you fought a battle and also dealt with Team Plasma. You've got to be tired, right?"
After massaging him for quite a while, Caitlin finally stopped. Then she placed one hand on Grey's left shoulder and leaned down slightly, almost pressing herself against him.
Grey did not answer. Instead, he glanced to his right.
And met Sabrina's eyes.
Right. The actual main girl was still here.
That said, Sabrina's gaze was gentler than usual.
It seemed Caitlin's words had reminded her that Grey really had done an awful lot in a short span of time, so feeling tired would be perfectly normal.
"I'm okay. If I just go to sleep early tonight, I'll probably be fine by tomorrow morning."
Grey really did feel mostly fine.
If anything, the most tiring part had been listening to Reshiram ramble.
Beating up Team Plasma and sparring with Rosa had not really drained much of his energy.
Ding.
At that moment, Grey's phone chimed with a new message notification.
He did not even have to think to guess who it was.
When he unlocked the screen, the latest message was indeed from "Natural Black."
Just as expected. If Reshiram had reached out to him, then Zekrom would definitely have sensed it too.
And if Zekrom had sensed it, then of course N, as the Hero of Ideals, would know something had happened with Reshiram.
[Natural Black: Grey! Zekrom just said he sensed an unprecedented surge of power erupting around Dragonspiral Tower. Did you go to Dragonspiral Tower?]
[Fighting Dojo Annihilape: Nope.]
[Natural Black: !?]
[Fighting Dojo Annihilape: I know you're panicking, but calm down first.]
Seeing the "typing..." indicator appear on the screen, Grey sent another message to steady N a little.
Then he gave him a cleaned-up, simplified explanation of what had happened with Reshiram.
[Natural Black: So that means... you've already been acknowledged by Reshiram! Is that right? Are you in Castelia City right now? I'm coming to find you immediately!]
The moment he learned that Grey had been acknowledged by Reshiram, N could no longer suppress his excitement.
Even the hand holding his phone had started trembling.
He was already preparing to go meet Grey in person.
[Fighting Dojo Annihilape: Yeah, I'm in Castelia City, but it's pretty late already. Why not tomorrow? I just got to Unova.]
[Natural Black: Okay. Get some rest first, Grey. I'll come find you first thing tomorrow morning!]
After exchanging a few more words, the conversation ended.
"That Governor-tier supporter really cares about you."
Sabrina rested her chin on Grey's right shoulder. She had read every single word of his conversation with N.
Honestly...
Even if she and Caitlin combined their concern, it still did not measure up to half of how much N seemed to care about Grey.
He was the later arrival, and yet he cared more than either of them.
Thank goodness N was a man.
If he had been a girl, Sabrina was honestly afraid he might have snatched Grey away from her and Caitlin.
With how obsessed he seemed, his possessiveness was probably no joke.
Unlike Sabrina and Caitlin, who as psychics were actually fairly broad-minded.
Or at least, the two of them were.
"Yeah, that guy really cares about you, Grey. It's a good thing he's a boy, or I'd seriously think you were about to get stolen away."
Caitlin's voice held obvious relief as she silently thanked fate for N's gender.
"Hey, hey, don't overthink it. I'm pretty sure anything N wants from me can't possibly be good. You saw the chat logs earlier too. The things he wants to do are honestly kind of... deranged."
Grey thought back to his past message history with N.
All those lines about liberating the entire world, never even repeating themselves.
If those messages ever got made public, he would probably end up wanted.
But one thing was certain.
The first place N was going to "liberate" would definitely be Unova.
Unova really did have it rough.
"True."
Caitlin nodded lightly. Grey had never really hidden his chats from her, and even when she was not trying to read them, she occasionally caught bits and pieces.
And the lines she had only glimpsed were already that crazy.
If she ever read the full thing...
The mental image was too much.
"Being a streamer sounds exhausting too. Why don't you just stop? I can pay you a salary and support you from now on."
After knowing Grey for this long, Caitlin had gotten comfortable enough to tease him a little.
But this time, there was also a trace of real hope in her voice.
Ever since they first started chatting, Caitlin had offered more than once to hire Grey.
He had always turned her down because he needed to manage the Gym.
Now she was not talking about hiring him anymore.
Now she was outright saying she wanted to keep him.
"That depends on the price."
Grey played along. "And just so you know, in the future I'm guaranteed to be at least Champion-tier. If you want to keep me, three hundred thousand and a nice apartment won't be enough."
Three hundred thousand and a big apartment had been Caitlin's opening offer a long time ago.
"Then... what about one hundred million a year?"
Caitlin quickly estimated her assets. Excluding real estate, the profits from everything under her name added up to around ten million a year in net earnings.
If Grey were willing, giving him all of it would not really be a problem.
But...
Would he actually accept it?
The answer was obvious.
"One hundred million is a very tempting number. But I still prefer earning my money myself, one step at a time."
Grey turned Caitlin down again.
Compared to taking the shortcut of living off someone else, he preferred making his own money and spending his own money.
Which was exactly why the Fighting Dojo looked so desperately poor.
"All right. But if you ever change your mind, remember to tell me."
Caitlin leaned close to his ear again to whisper that, then finally pulled away with obvious reluctance.
Tap tap tap...
Typing sounds came from Grey's right side.
He and Caitlin turned their heads together.
They found Sabrina intensely focused on typing, apparently searching for something.
Grey raised a brow, stood up, and looked over at her screen.
She was searching things like: "How much can a new movie actor make in a year," "total yearly earnings for Kalos Champion Diantha after entering the film industry," and "is Unova's film industry profitable?"
Sabrina was so engrossed she was completely immersed in it.
"What are you even looking that up for?"
Grey could not help asking. If he remembered right, Sabrina was not supposed to care about money at all.
"I'm checking whether a year in movies would be enough money to support you."
After reading through the search results, Sabrina looked up and answered him.
"Why are both of you so set on supporting me?"
Grey still did not really understand, but he laughed anyway. "Yeah, I'm definitely a little short on cash, but not so short that I need to become some kept man."
"..."
Sabrina stared at him for quite a while before looking away and muttering to herself,
"...Idiot."
Even so, the corners of her lips were still slightly raised.
"It's getting stuffy in here. Let's head outside first. The cops from Unova should be here soon."
Grey shoved his hands into his pockets and led the two girls out of Café Sonata.
The moment they stepped outside, they came face to face with a ferocious-looking Pokémon whose head and both arms were shaped like dragon heads.
Around its neck hung a little satchel.
Unova's late-blooming powerhouse Pokémon—Hydreigon.
"Grrrawr!" (Such overwhelming presence... definitely no ordinary human. You meet my master's requirements. Human, do you have any interest in participating in the Strongest Trainer Tournament?)
Hydreigon pulled three letters out of the satchel and handed them one by one to Grey, Sabrina, and Caitlin.
Grey lowered his eyes.
Written clearly across the envelope were the words:
Invitation to the Strongest Trainer Tournament!
Location: Liberty Garden
Transportation: However you like
Note: If a Trainer can't cross the storm and reach the island on their own, then there's no point in sending the invitation!
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.