Crap, something was off about this Annihilape!
Reshiram immediately realized something was wrong. It had noticed Annihilape's abnormality the moment it happened.
It had even launched a fierce assault right away with its ultimate move, Blue Flare.
But it had never expected Annihilape to turn defeat into survival, take Blue Flare head-on, and then forcibly tear it apart with Rage Fist.
Even though it had suppressed its strength, and this was not even its full physical body, its power was still far beyond what ordinary Pokémon could ever match.
At the very least, among Pokémon of the same level, it was absolutely among the very strongest.
And yet...
Annihilape had still broken through it with sheer force.
Reshiram sighed inwardly. It had never imagined that Grey's Annihilape would have such terrifying fundamentals.
At this point, there was no real need to continue the battle.
Still...
It could not just leave the stage like this.
Reshiram threw back its head and roared. The dragon cry shook the tower so hard that chunks of brick and stone began raining down.
It arched its neck back to the limit and spat out a blue-white sphere of fire more than fifteen feet wide.
As it flew, the superheated fireball rapidly changed shape, until it finally became a massive blazing character-shaped cross burning across the sky.
Only three strokes.
But every stroke carried enough destructive energy to melt away everything in its path.
Fire Blast, Blue-Flame Variant!
By the time this Fire Blast fully spread open, it had become wider than Dragonspiral Tower itself, completely cutting off every route Annihilape could use to retreat.
Boom!
The instant Fire Blast collided with Rage Fist, the chaotic energy it released blasted every loose stone off the summit.
Annihilape was forced back several yards through the scorching wave, its claws carving two deep trenches into the rock, but it still stubbornly kept its head raised.
"Annihilape!!"
It suddenly erupted again, and the wounds covering its body instead became a source of strength.
This time, the Rage Fist it threw was wrapped in blood-red spirals of force, each arc twisting through the air as if it were tearing space apart.
The more times it was hit, the more terrifying this move became.
And now, Rage Fist had reached 200 power.
The moment the attack left its body, it ripped apart the air itself, sending out a thunderous explosion.
"This is bad!"
The instant Reshiram saw that, it directly Teleported Grey and Annihilape out.
"...It's over?"
Grey scratched his head.
Looking at the heavily panting Annihilape, he knew that battle had definitely been real.
He just could not understand why Reshiram had sent them away right in the middle of it.
Did that mean it had already acknowledged him?
Because honestly, neither he nor Annihilape had finished enjoying that battle yet.
Reshiram was such a wimp.
"Hero of Truth, you have already earned my acknowledgment. That battle just now was merely a small trial."
A pillar of blue lotus-like fire suddenly shot into the sky, and Reshiram appeared at its peak.
Its flawless white feathers drifted down slowly, only to ignite soundlessly in midair.
Then it descended to the ground and looked down at Grey.
"Hero of Truth, I have felt your truth."
"With my flames, I shall burn away every obstacle that stands on the road before you."
"Hero, tell me once more—what is your truth?"
The familiar three-line pattern rang out again.
Reshiram waited eagerly for Grey's answer.
"My truth is this: to do everything I truly want to do."
This time, Grey gave a much more complete answer.
"Good!"
Reshiram stepped closer and lowered its head.
"I fight for truth."
"That's great! I knew it, Grey! I knew Reshiram would definitely acknowledge you! Miss Caitlin, did you see that? Grey really did it!"
N was even more excited than Grey himself.
Caitlin was stunned.
She had just been about to celebrate, but N's reaction completely threw her off.
How were you even more excited than the person involved?
And why were you, of all people, this worked up?
Caitlin took a few steps back. Her whole plan had just been ruined by N's outburst.
What she had wanted to do was go straight over after Grey caught Reshiram, give him a huge hug, and softly tell him, "Grey, you were amazing."
But compared to N's reaction just now, her own plan suddenly felt a little underwhelming.
"Reshiram, please become my partner."
Grey glanced over Reshiram's color scheme.
White and red.
So...
Cherish Ball, I choose you.
Grey took out a Cherish Ball he had prepared beforehand. The moment it touched Reshiram's body, Reshiram turned into a red beam of light and entered it.
Click.
Reshiram had been caught.
"Mm..."
Caitlin hesitated, clearly wondering whether she should go over and hug Grey after all.
If N had not interrupted just now, emotion probably would have won out over reason.
But after N's little stunt, Caitlin had become "reserved" again.
"I caught Reshiram!"
Grey raised Reshiram's Poké Ball high and arched a brow toward the other two in the distance.
"Gre—"
N had been about to say something else, but his steps suddenly stopped.
He turned and saw Caitlin smiling at him with the kind of smile that clearly spelled death.
So he awkwardly took a step back instead.
The moment Caitlin saw that, she visibly relaxed.
Then she walked forward with perfect elegance.
"Congratulations."
She wrapped both arms around Grey and pressed herself lightly against his chest, speaking in a soft voice.
"Now that Reshiram has acknowledged you, the road ahead should become much smoother..."
And that was not all.
Caitlin could feel the change in Annihilape before and after the battle.
If it had only been one step short before, then after fighting Reshiram, it had kicked that door wide open and officially become a Champion-level Pokémon.
Whether it was Reshiram or Annihilape, either one alone would have been enough to shut her family up.
"Yeah, this really is pretty great."
Grey nodded lightly, then checked the time.
It was already seven in the evening.
Meanwhile, back in Kanto, it was seven in the morning.
"Oh right. There was still something about the dojo I needed to deal with."
Grey remembered what Bumiao had told him earlier.
Apparently his Pokémon had picked up some girl?
And another Pokémon too?
Grey scratched his cheek, then decided to just make a call and find out what was going on.
In the Kanto region, at the Fighting Dojo—
"Grey is calling! Grey is calling! Bumiao, if you don't answer right now, I'm docking your pay!"
Some ridiculously catchy ringtone suddenly went off.
Bumiao jumped in surprise and hurriedly answered the call.
"Hello! Grey, what's up?"
Grey's face appeared on the screen.
He took a look at the general state of the dojo. Nothing much had changed since before he left.
It just felt a lot emptier.
Because they had been so bored, his Pokémon had basically wandered off on their own.
And then they had picked up a girl and an unknown Pokémon.
At the moment, aside from Silver, Green, and Bumiao, Grey did not see any unfamiliar girl in the dojo.
"So where's the new arrival?"
Since he did not see her, Grey asked Bumiao directly.
"Oh, right, right. She's still eating breakfast. I'll bring the phone over."
Bumiao carried the phone into the dining area.
When Grey saw the blonde girl quietly drinking rice porridge at the table, he was genuinely startled.
She looked delicate, almost like a porcelain doll.
Her long golden hair spilled over her shoulders, and the white nightgown she wore made her fair skin stand out even more.
Three particular words appeared in Grey's mind.
They fit the girl in front of him perfectly.
And on top of that, Grey already knew exactly who she was.
Lillie.
Lusamine's daughter, the young lady of the Aether Foundation.
And at the same time, one of the highest peaks in the entire Pokémon TCG girl-card world.
"Miss Lillie, is the food to your liking? And this here is Grey, the Gym Leader of our Fighting Dojo."
Bumiao pulled out a chair, sat beside Lillie, and handed her the phone.
"Yes, yes, it's very good. Thank you, Sister Bumiao."
Lillie quickly thanked her.
After all, everyone at the Fighting Dojo had treated her incredibly well.
They had taken care of her food, clothes, and lodging without holding anything back. They were being so considerate that Lillie felt a little embarrassed.
Bumiao waved it off without saying much.
Only then did Lillie turn her attention to the young man on the phone screen.
"H-hello! Gym Leader Grey, it's nice to meet you! I'm Lillie. Thank you so much to your partners for rescuing me!"
Lillie was still somewhat afraid of Pokémon, but after learning that she had been rescued from the wilderness and brought to the city by a group of Pokémon, that fear had lessened a little.
They really were different.
That was what Lillie thought.
And the Trainer of those Pokémon was the young man in front of her.
So she truly wanted to express her gratitude.
She just did not know how.
Maybe once she got back in contact with her family, she could ask them to send Gym Leader Grey some money?
"Oh, right... Gym Leader Grey, do you remember me?"
Lillie asked shyly, testing the waters.
Bumiao was baffled.
Huh?
What was that supposed to mean?
Why was this girl they had rescued suddenly asking that?
"Oh, sure, I remember you. You were that Admiral-tier subscriber from Alola back when there weren't many people in my stream yet—the one who came in asking how to get along with Pokémon, and your Pokémon could use Teleport, right?"
Grey remembered those early streaming days very clearly.
That had been right at the beginning, when almost nobody showed up.
And Lillie had been one of the few viewers back then.
A rich little supporter too.
She had gifted him the Admiral-tier membership.
Come to think of it...
He still seemed to have her contact information.
They even chatted from time to time, and he would answer some of her questions.
He had just never expected his own Pokémon to be the ones to rescue her.
And now she was staying at the dojo.
"Yes, yes! Gym Leader Grey, you actually remembered me! Thank you so much!"
"Oh, come on, you're one of my viewers. Of course I'd remember you."
Grey waved it off. He did not think it was a big deal.
Lillie had been an Admiral-tier member, after all. That cost 1998 a month, which was definitely not cheap.
Besides...
Lillie was way too memorable.
And Grey also wanted to see that "little Nebby" more than a little.
"Lillie, where's Nebby? Would it be convenient for me to see it?"
Lillie had actually told Grey about Nebby before, though only its name. She had never shown him a picture.
"Nebby is right... huh? It was just here. Where did it go?"
Lillie had been about to call Nebby over so the two of them could greet Grey together.
But Nebby was gone.
"Gym Leader Grey, I'm really sorry, but I think I need to go look for Nebby first. It's still just a child. If it runs into danger somewhere, I'm worried something could happen!"
Lillie's anxiety was obvious.
Grey did not say much. He nodded, then turned to Bumiao.
"Go help Lillie."
"Oh, right, okay!"
In the Kanto region, in Celadon City—
"Zapdos!" (It should be here.)
Zapdos led the way, with Machamp riding on its back and carrying a whole pile of Poké Balls.
They all belonged to Grey's Pokémon.
Machamp had brought them along to participate in the tournament.
"Cosmog!" (What are you guys doing? Can you take me with you too?)
A childish little voice suddenly piped up.
Zapdos and Machamp both froze.
Did Grey have a Pokémon that sounded like that?
They knew all of Grey's Pokémon.
But one that made "Cosmog, Cosmog" noises like that?
Nope. Definitely not.
So...
Had someone just hitched a ride on the tailwind bird?
A cloud-like Pokémon that looked just like a tiny nebula dropped into Machamp's arms. It looked adorable, with two little gas-like feelers on its head that resembled marshmallows.
The Nebula Pokémon—Cosmog.
Among the known Legendary Pokémon, it was the only top-tier one that could evolve.
And in the future, Cosmog had two possible final forms.
One was Solgaleo.
The other was Lunala.
Both were Alola's top-tier Legendary Pokémon, with a status far above the legendary birds of Kanto.
Really, it was not even a fair comparison.
Their standing and power were on completely different levels.
Even among legendary Pokémon, there were clear gaps.
And Pokémon like Solgaleo and Lunala were unquestionably at the very front of the pack.
"Machamp." (Aren't you the one we rescued earlier? How did you come along too?)
Machamp scratched its head.
Cosmog was one of the Pokémon they had rescued.
It had never expected that, with Teleport, it would just come find them on its own.
"Cosmog!" (I want to come play with you guys. Can you take me with you? I'm really well-behaved! Really!)
Cosmog wanted to go have fun with this group of Pokémon.
It did not actually know what they were going to do.
But if it got to go along and play, then none of that mattered.
When it came to having fun, what you did was not as important as who you were with.
At least, that was what Cosmog was thinking right now.
It did not like being all alone.
It liked being around people and Pokémon.
"Machamp." (Zapdos, what do you think?)
Machamp handed the decision off to Zapdos.
It did not want to deal with something like this.
"Zapdos?" (What? You're asking me? How should I know?)
Zapdos roughly felt out the power inside Cosmog.
It was very weak.
But also very strong.
How could its source feel even greater than Zapdos's own?
Could it be something like Zygarde?
Zapdos knew a fair bit, and it even had relatives living out in Kalos.
Apparently the local legendary Pokémon Zygarde liked to pretend it was weak whenever it had not transformed yet.
So could the Cosmog in front of them be a case like that too?
Or was this perhaps a newborn legendary Pokémon?
Zapdos turned over the possibilities in its mind.
But no matter which one it was...
This was clearly something it could not afford to provoke.
Based on that source alone, the other side's future ceiling would definitely be far higher than its own.
"Zapdos." (Machamp, sometimes you need to make decisions yourself too. As the dojo's gatekeeper, you handle this one. I believe you'll make the right choice.)
Zapdos decisively kicked the problem away and dumped the whole mess onto Machamp.
It had thoroughly removed itself from the matter and was feeling very pleased with itself.
"Machamp?" (What? You want me to decide?)
Machamp immediately felt a headache coming on.
If Cosmog were even a little older, it would have just carried it along without a problem.
But the issue was that Cosmog was still too young.
And it could use Teleport too, so it definitely had the potential to run around everywhere.
As if reading Machamp's thoughts, Cosmog immediately promised that it was very, very well-behaved and absolutely would not run off.
"Machamp." (Fine, then. You can come with us for now. But you absolutely have to stay with us.)
"Cosmog!" (Okay! I promise I'll behave!)
Cosmog guaranteed it again and again.
Back in the Unova region, at Dragonspiral Tower—
"Done dealing with the dojo stuff?"
The moment Grey put away his phone, Caitlin hurried over to ask what the situation was.
"More or less. A new girl showed up. Zapdos and the others picked her up. It looks like she'll be staying at the Fighting Dojo for a while."
The Fighting Dojo had just finished its second expansion recently. It was now over ten thousand square feet larger than before.
The guest rooms had also increased from five to ten.
Grey, Sabrina, Caitlin, Green, Bumiao, and Silver all had places to stay.
That still left four rooms open just in case.
And now Lillie was going to stay at the Fighting Dojo for a while too.
That still left three spare rooms.
"A blonde girl... that face... definitely a rich young lady."
Caitlin had caught a glimpse of Lillie on Grey's phone screen and instantly identified her type.
As a rich young lady herself, Caitlin could tell at a glance that Lillie was one too.
And not an ordinary one, either.
At the very least, the force behind her family in her home region had to be quite powerful.
Thinking that, Caitlin clicked her tongue inwardly.
If Darach were here, she could at least have pulled the classic move:
"Butler, I want every piece of information on that woman in three minutes."
Unfortunately, she was on her own right now.
And she could not use her family's influence to investigate people.
Grey listened to all this with a dumbfounded look.
Seriously?
You could tell all that from her face?
And somehow you were dead on.
"Grey, where are you going next?"
N walked over and asked about Grey's next plan.
"Probably straight to Liberty Garden. With Reshiram and Zekrom, we can just fly there."
Grey felt like Liberty Garden was the only stop left now.
He could go see Victini there.
Or maybe meet up with Mewtwo, who for some reason had suddenly gone a little crazy.
He wondered whether his appearance would completely shock Mewtwo.
Just imagining it felt exciting.
Let's see if you're still planning your so-called counterattack after this.
At Liberty Garden in the Unova region—
"Victini?" (What's wrong? Do you need to rest a little?)
Victini noticed that something seemed off about Mewtwo and thought maybe it had caught a cold and needed a little break.
"It's nothing. The Strongest Trainer Tournament is about to begin. I'm probably just too excited these past few days."
That was what Mewtwo said, but its gaze was fixed toward the direction of Dragonspiral Tower.
"This could be... troublesome."
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