Zekrom:?
"N, if you want to raise one of the starter Pokémon, isn't that purely up to you?"
Zekrom had no particular opinion about N wanting to raise a starter Pokémon.
If he wanted to raise one, then he should raise one. Asking Zekrom was not really going to get him much of an answer.
"Hmm. In that case, I'd like to raise a Snivy."
N muttered to himself as he stepped into the Unova League.
He had not come to the Unova League today to cause trouble.
Instead, he had accepted Alder's invitation and come to the Unova League for a visit.
And, while he was here, to discuss the issue of people and Pokémon living together in harmony.
The Unova region's Pokémon League was built in the mountains, with mountain roads everywhere.
And in certain hidden places nearby, there were even bases that had once belonged to Team Plasma.
"It would be nice if Grey were in the Unova region."
N felt a little regretful.
Zekrom and Reshiram looked as if they stood on opposite sides, but in reality, that depended on their respective Trainers.
N's relationship with Grey was fairly good.
N was also one of Grey's Governor-tier members, so the relationship between Reshiram and Zekrom had also become much less hostile.
"Grey won't be able to return to the Unova region anytime soon. If you want to see him, go to the Kanto region."
Caitlin's cold voice rang out.
N turned his head and saw Caitlin standing before the stairs, dressed in a long pink gown.
"Caitlin, I remember you're also one of Grey's Governor-tier members, right? Don't you miss Grey?"
N knew that Caitlin followed Grey around every day.
He just did not quite understand Caitlin's decision to stay in the Unova region and handle her duties here.
"Sigh."
Caitlin wanted to go see Grey too.
But the current Unova region truly had to rebuild itself from the ground up. She did not even have time to watch streams anymore.
What if a new Governor-tier whale appeared during this period and snatched Grey away from her?
That was what Caitlin was thinking.
As a Governor-tier member, and Grey's very first Governor-tier member at that, logically speaking, her priority with Grey should be right at the very front.
Unless some four-year veteran fan appeared, Caitlin felt that her place with Grey would definitely not be low.
But now that she thought about it, a friend she knew seemed to have recently failed to measure up to certain veteran fans.
That made her feel rather uneasy.
"Caitlin, what's wrong?"
N noticed that Caitlin's expression was off. After exchanging a look with Zekrom and thinking for a moment, he asked.
"I'm thinking about a friend of mine who often watches streams. She's run into a bit of a problem. She spent a lot of money on gifts for a streamer, roughly the value of two Admiral-tier memberships."
"But among that streamer's viewers, there are a lot of three-year and four-year veteran fans. Because of that, even though my friend spent money, her position has become rather awkward. If you say she ranks high, she's still slightly below several veteran fans who don't spend money. If you say she ranks low, she is indeed a tiny bit above some Captain-tier members, but not by much."
Caitlin's question was a little strange.
This kind of thing would never happen with Grey.
It was simply something a friend of hers from Sinnoh had told her.
Since N happened to be here, and he had watched streams too, asking him might give her some inspiration.
"Hmm…"
N fell into thought.
He had not watched many streams. Aside from Grey's streams, most of the time he glanced at one and immediately swiped away.
He felt they were not as good as watching Grey.
So here was the problem.
He had never encountered this kind of situation either.
Because he was also one of Grey's Governor-tier members.
A situation where an Admiral-tier member was worse off than veteran fans, yet almost on the same level as Captain-tier members, was honestly something he had never seen before.
Wasn't that the kind of streamer who was just built different, in the worst possible way?
"How about calling Grey and asking him? See what he thinks of it?"
N felt that this problem could be handed over to Grey.
First, Grey and Caitlin had a close relationship.
Second, Grey himself was a streamer. Considering this from a streamer's perspective would naturally be better.
"Hmm. Then good luck. I'm going to call Grey."
Caitlin used Teleport, found a quiet place, and called Grey.
...
...
Kanto region, Saffron City, Fighting Dojo.
"Caitlin is calling~"
Grey had set a special voice announcement for Caitlin.
Hearing the ringtone, Grey picked up his phone and answered the video call.
"Grey, it's been a while~ How have you been lately? I have a question I want to ask you."
Caitlin told Grey what had happened to her friend.
"Hmm…"
After listening to the general situation…
If the facts were truly as Caitlin described them…
Then Grey could only say it was both good and bad.
For the veteran fans, being able to stand above a whale was naturally a good thing.
But from the whale's side, that was not exactly fair.
"If your friend were being ignored because a whale showed up, I'd say she should leave that streamer too. But this situation is especially extreme. The streamer is great to veteran fans, but that makes it completely unfair to whales like your friend."
"In other words, the streamer failed to balance both sides. They didn't handle the relationship between veteran fans and whales properly."
"And if they drained a whale's wallet without giving the whale the emotional value they deserve… then why are they even streaming? If they like their veteran fans that much, they might as well make a private group chat and video-call with them every day."
As a streamer, Grey naturally knew why fans spent money and sent gifts.
It was nothing more than needing emotional value from the streamer.
Grey believed he had done pretty well in that regard.
Aside from times when he was challenging Gyms during his streams…
As long as someone sent him a big gift, he would definitely thank them one by one.
Especially if an Admiral-tier whale came looking for him. Ignoring them would be pure stupidity, wouldn't it?
He suggested that people like that stop streaming. They were completely ruining the streaming atmosphere.
"In my opinion, your friend should leave early. Someone who can drop that much cash in a short period of time definitely isn't short on money. From what I can see, leaving would be better."
After Grey finished speaking, he coughed.
Actually, he really wanted to say that if she wanted to leave and watch someone else's stream in the future, she could come watch his.
Ahem. The emotional value he provided over here was quite good.
If she opened an Admiral-tier membership for him, he guaranteed he would treat her like royalty.
"I see. Then I'll thank you on behalf of my friend."
Caitlin set aside the matter of her friend.
Then she smiled as she began chatting with Grey over video.
Her purpose today had been to video-call Grey.
Her friend's issue was nothing more than an icebreaker to liven up the atmosphere.
"Grey, if one day I stopped watching your streams, would you still remember me?"
Caitlin had been feeling uneasy lately, afraid that Grey would find someone new and forget about her, his "old flame."
"Of course I'd remember you. You're not just one of my Governor-tier members, you're also one of the Unova Elite Four and a powerful psychic. There's no way I could forget you."
After Grey said that, he realized Caitlin's expression was not as delighted as he had expected.
That made him reorganize his words before continuing. "Of course, the reason I'd remember you is because of you yourself. You're a special person. Not because you're a psychic, and not because of identities like Governor-tier member or Elite Four. It's because, to me, you're a special friend."
"So I won't forget you. No matter what happens, I'll never forget that I have a friend like you."
Grey was telling the truth.
If he had remembered Caitlin before because she had a role in the original Pokémon works…
Then now…
It was because, through spending time with Caitlin, he had come to understand her deeply as a person.
Whether it was Steven, Lance, or Sabrina…
It was the same for all of them.
It was not simply because they were famous.
During the process of spending time with them, he had felt their "souls."
That was something difficult to express in words.
But he could truly feel what kind of people they were.
"Caitlin, I know what you're worried about. You're just overthinking things. I remember things like your birthday and your likes clearly. In a little while, when your birthday comes around, I'll go to the Unova region to see you."
Grey understood the purpose behind Caitlin's call now.
It was simply to use the friend she mentioned as a conversation starter, then chat with him for a while.
This sort of thing meant she lacked a bit of security, making Caitlin feel unsafe.
Grey could understand that.
That was why he had spoken with such certainty for so long.
If she wanted reassurance, then he would give it to her.
After all, that was something he ought to do.
It only cost him a little talking. It was not much of a drain.
"Grey…"
Hearing Grey say so much in rapid succession, Caitlin felt her eyes grow a little wet.
This was the first time a man outside her family had treated her this well.
He remembered her birthday, and was even willing to travel overseas to celebrate it with her.
"Come on, don't cry. I already said you're my friend. If I'm able to do good things for a friend, of course I will."
Grey had long since come to see Caitlin as his friend, not just an ordinary whale.
"Mm-hmm… Then I'll be waiting for you to come over!"
"Okay, okay. I'll definitely go when the time comes."
...
...
They spoke for quite a while longer before Caitlin finally hung up reluctantly.
After that, Caitlin used Teleport again and returned to the Pokémon League.
Inside the League conference room…
Champion Alder and the Elite Four members Marshal, Grimsley, and Shauntal were already in place.
Caitlin returned to her seat, and a face that was new, yet not exactly new, had also arrived in the office.
N.
Zekrom was waiting outside. The only Trainer who had come this time was N.
"Elite Four, Champion Alder, I'm here."
N's gaze swept over the five of them before looking around.
There were only six people in the entire conference room.
And Alder had called him here to discuss harmonious coexistence between people and Pokémon.
N wanted to see what these League Trainers had to say.
His time with Grey over the past few days had made N less extreme.
But that did not mean he had lost his vigilance.
"N, then I'll be frank."
Alder stood up, moved in front of N, and faced him directly. "In the sea northwest of Nuvema Town, League council members discovered a Team Plasma base. There, we detected powerful psychic energy."
"So you want to join forces with me to clear out Team Plasma there?"
N went straight to the point.
"Yes."
Alder nodded and continued, "We all know the harm Team Plasma has caused. I won't avoid saying this. It is precisely because organizations like Team Plasma exist that the Unova region cannot truly achieve harmonious coexistence with Pokémon."
Even though N was Team Plasma's "king," Alder still said it outright.
Team Plasma was a cancer in the Unova region. If they did not remove that cancer, it would definitely become an enormous hidden danger.
"Hmm. That is indeed true. But Team Plasma's situation is not as simple as you imagine. If you rush in recklessly, you'll only increase casualties."
N understood Team Plasma far better than the people from the Unova League did.
The Team Plasma members currently involved in that sea area were almost all of their remaining elite forces.
On top of that, Team Plasma had brought over a certain "high-ranking executive" from Team Rocket in the neighboring Kanto region. Even if Zekrom went there, he might not be able to completely take the other side down.
Team Rocket was not some trash organization on Team Plasma's level.
An unknown "high-ranking executive" like that probably had Champion-level strength, didn't they?
Zekrom was extremely powerful, yes, but if that "high-ranking executive" was determined to run, Zekrom definitely would not be able to catch them.
That was the answer Zekrom had given him.
"Then, N, in your opinion, what should we do?"
Alder considered their countermeasures.
His own strength was far from what it had once been, and he could not very well ask Mustard or Grey for help, so he could only try to see if he could awaken N's love for Pokémon.
"I think we should prepare for a while before launching a surprise attack."
N wanted to catch them off guard.
But judging by the Unova League's current situation, they still had no way to mount a proper surprise attack.
They did not have many outstanding combatants, and the effects around Opelucid City were still rather serious.
...
...
Still in the Unova region, at the P2 Laboratory.
"Mewtwo, progress has already been accelerated, but right now it seems to be stuck at seventy-five percent…"
"Go. Take the research equipment with us. We're going to the Kanto region now. We can't stay here anymore."
Colress had just been about to give a detailed report.
But Mewtwo's urgent tone cut him off directly.
"Mewtwo, what do you mean?"
Colress was stunned. The experiment had been going perfectly fine and had already reached seventy-five percent. Was he really going to give it up just like that?
"We are not abandoning it. We are relocating. Find an opportunity to send the other members out. Leave only a few trustworthy people behind."
Mewtwo's psychic power could indeed take away that many Team Plasma members.
But those members did not deserve to have him use his psychic power to carry them away.
Only useful people were qualified to be brought back to the Kanto region with him.
"This… understood, Mewtwo. I'll handle it right away."
Colress took a deep breath.
He knew time was tight.
All he could do was immediately send people out on assignments, leaving only a handful of useful people behind.
"Mewtwo, where in the Kanto region are we going next?"
Colress was curious.
Mewtwo thought for a moment, then slowly answered, "The Orange Islands."
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