Kanto region, Saffron City, Fighting Dojo.
The perspective returned to Grey's side.
The stream had not ended yet.
It was still live.
It had only been interrupted for a short while. Once Grey finished his phone call, the stream continued as usual.
[Gym Leader Grey, what do you think about the Indigo Plateau Conference in a few days?]
Someone in the chat had already started asking about the upcoming Indigo Plateau Conference.
Three weeks had passed, and now only one week remained.
Excluding the opening ceremony and travel time, Grey would actually have to head over in another day.
After all, the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, which would truly decide the rankings, was a warm-up event that would take place before the Indigo Plateau Conference officially began.
"Personally, I'm looking forward to it. After all, among the Trainers going to challenge the Indigo Plateau Conference this time, there should still be some promising talents. I also want to see who the champion of this tournament will be."
That said…
There were plenty of promising talents, but the strength gap between them was still far too large.
As far as Grey knew, most of the contestants this time were still at the "baby" level, with their average strength line just a little over level forty.
Based on how things usually went each year, the Indigo Plateau Conference should have battles where both sides could go back and forth.
It should still be pretty entertaining to watch.
But here was the problem.
Among this year's contestants, there was one "Masked Royal" whose strength was guaranteed to be at least Elite Four level, and very likely at the threshold of Champion-level strength.
As for how strong the Masked Royal was, those who knew, knew.
He was already someone who had scared many Gym Leaders stiff.
At the moment, among the Gym Leaders in the Kanto region who would not be afraid of the Masked Royal, there were probably only Grey and Giovanni.
[Just a random viewer here, I heard Green, the Fighting Dojo's apprentice, is also going to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference. Do you have high hopes for her?]
["Just a random viewer," sure. But how strong is that girl called Green? I only remember that she seems to have a lot of Fairy-type Pokémon and got beaten up by Grey.]
[Green: Nice.]
[I can't. Is that seriously all you guys remember?]
"Green? Uh… If it's Green, I think not getting knocked out in the first round would already be a victory."
Grey glanced at Green, who was not far away, then said that to the stream.
Green:?
Grey said it without trying to hide it at all.
Green heard it and was left with question marks all over her head.
What did he mean, not getting knocked out in the first round would already be a victory?!
Was this guy serious?
Who thought that way about their own apprentice?!
Grey, you don't trust me at all!
Green really wanted to blow up at Grey in the stream.
She would not say her strength was extremely strong, but she was at least around the level of an ordinary Gym Leader.
Under those circumstances, saying she might get knocked out in the first round was just looking down on her!
"The gap between the contestants this year is still too big."
Grey thought for a moment, glanced at Green, and once again gave off the feeling that he was disappointed she had not lived up to expectations.
"If she runs into a Trainer like the Masked Royal, I think it would be better to go all out first, then surrender afterward."
Grey did not tell them to surrender the moment they met him.
Instead, he wanted them to understand the difference between themselves and the Masked Royal first, then decide whether to surrender.
[Who exactly is this Masked Royal? How come we've never seen such a strong contestant in the Kanto region before?]
[Exactly. A Masked Royal suddenly appears out of nowhere, hiding his face and name. Could he be some plant?]
[Possible. Or maybe he's a powerful Trainer from another region coming here to smurf. Do you guys think there's a chance? Maybe the Masked Royal is actually a Champion from some region, and he came here specifically to crush this rookie bracket?]
[Huh? Surely no Champion would have such a weird hobby, right? Coming here to crush a rookie bracket?]
[@Steven @Cynthia @Leon @Wallace, what do you four say? Could it be one of you?]
[?]
Two question marks appeared in the chat.
Steven and Cynthia, who had been lurking, surfaced and expressed confusion at suddenly being tagged like this.
[All right, misunderstanding cleared. Judging by those two's current situations, they probably wouldn't go to another region to smurf.]
Steven liked mining, while Cynthia liked archaeology.
It really did not seem like they would have much time to come to the Kanto region and stomp rookies.
Besides…
Would a Champion-level Trainer really enjoy doing something like that?
Everyone was very confused by this.
With that kind of strength, instead of battling the Elite Four of various regions or something, why would someone participate in a rookie bracket like the Indigo Plateau Conference?
If people found out, they would definitely get laughed at, right?
[Hahaha, I didn't expect everyone to be so curious about my identity. Actually, I'm a Trainer from the Alola region. Of course, it's normal that many people don't know about the Alola region, since there's no League there.]
[I came this time just to look for some inspiration. If I've caused trouble for the local Trainers, I'll apologize here first.]
A viewer with the ID "The Masked Royal" poked his head out.
That immediately made everyone cry out in surprise.
[You're the Masked Royal? Tell us what Pokémon you have.]
[Yeah, yeah. Since you're already a contestant in the Indigo Plateau Conference, you have to register your Pokémon anyway. Why not tell us what you've got?]
[Hahaha, what Pokémon do I have? Hmm, I'll keep that hidden for now. When the Indigo Plateau Conference begins, you'll all know~]
The Masked Royal immediately went back to lurking.
Grey had thought the Masked Royal might open a Captain-tier membership or something.
He had not expected him to just send a few casual chat messages and then vanish without a trace.
[Huh, he left that fast? Forget it. Gym Leader Grey, why don't you tell us which Pokémon you're planning to send out for this Gym Leader Ranking Tournament?]
"Me? I can't really say. Come on, you'll know when the time comes."
Grey also kept the Pokémon he was planning to send out hidden.
Of course, anyone with a sharp eye already knew what Pokémon he was going to send.
They just did not know when those Pokémon would appear.
[Dammit, Grey, you forgot where you came from! Don't forget your roots, okay?]
[Back then, you used to tell us what you wanted to do. How come now, when it's our turn to ask you, you won't say anything?]
"No, guys, I only have so many Pokémon on hand. If I don't send them out, who else can I send?"
Grey did not know whether to laugh or cry.
All the Pokémon he had were listed directly on the official website. The Pokémon he sent out when the time came would definitely be selected from those registered on the official website. Basically, nothing unexpected would happen.
As he thought about that, Grey's gaze landed on the little Riolu off to the side, who was eating and drinking, while not forgetting to turn its head and give him a sideways glance.
"Mio~" (I already helped you out once last time. If you want me to fight again next time, the price is going to double~ Hehe~)
The little Riolu smiled happily.
It shook the leftover Sweet Berry pit in its hand and told Grey its fee.
Grey: "…"
Forget it. He had Reshiram and Kyurem on his side, so it probably would not come to the point where he needed little Riolu to battle.
"Mio~" (Hehe~)
The little Riolu said nothing and simply kept giggling.
"All right, guys, I'm going to pick up Sabrina! Sabrina will also be participating in this Gym Leader Ranking Tournament~ Oh, right, there's one more thing I should say. The movie Sabrina recently filmed, a film from the Magic Kingdom series, is about to be released~"
"Friends who are interested can show it plenty of support. When the time comes, we'll hold an in-person signing event at a movie theater in Saffron City~"
Grey did not forget to tell everyone about Sabrina filming a movie.
Hmm, giving the box office a little boost counted as support too.
[Holy crap, I knew the female villain in a recent movie looked so much like Sabrina. Turns out it really was her!]
[Is Sabrina planning to enter the film industry? I'll definitely support her hard when the time comes!]
After chatting with everyone for a while longer, Grey finally ended the stream and prepared to pick someone up at the airport.
...
...
Saffron City Airport.
Grey had no idea how many times he had picked people up from the airport by now.
He was already very familiar with the process.
Standing in his usual spot, Grey browsed his phone out of boredom.
Very soon, he came across a piece of news.
[Shocking! Indigo Plateau Conference contestant registration, ranking the top ten contestants!]
Grey did not even read it and simply swiped past.
News like that was basically all nonsense. Even the previous ranking of the eight Gyms had been copied over word for word, which honestly made it a little funny.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The sound of a plane landing shook his eardrums.
Grey had just been about to walk over to pick someone up when he felt a ripple of psychic power beside him.
"Long time no see."
A warm breath gently brushed past his ear, and Sabrina had appeared at some point, already leaning against Grey's shoulder.
Her cool fingers naturally slipped into Grey's palm, while the faint, unique fragrance of a psychic drifted subtly through the air.
Sabrina's hair brushed across the side of Grey's neck, carrying a familiar sensation that made his heart skip.
"Long time no see. I was just about to pick you up, but I didn't expect you to Teleport straight over."
Grey used his free hand to rub the back of his head. Just now, he had been thinking about waiting for Sabrina, and had forgotten that she was a psychic.
"You really do forget things when you're busy. So, what are your plans today?"
Sabrina glanced at the time. Basically, they would have to set out for the Indigo Plateau tomorrow.
Once the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament ended, the Indigo Plateau Conference would officially begin.
At that time, the Gym Leaders of both regions would gather at the Indigo Plateau as specially invited viewing guests, witnessing this fierce clash between top Trainers.
In the end, the champion of the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament would have an all-out battle against the winner of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
The winner of that match would earn the right to challenge one of the Kanto League Elite Four.
If the challenger could defeat any one of the Elite Four in a six-on-six full battle, they would directly inherit that Elite Four member's position and become a new member of the League Elite Four.
Just thinking about it was exciting!
Of course, Grey might not necessarily choose a six-on-six battle.
It was still too mentally exhausting.
If possible, Grey actually wanted to have a three-on-three battle.
However…
The latter half of the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, starting from the semifinals, would be six-on-six full battles.
At that time, he would have to face true Champion-level contestants.
Giovanni and Pryce.
Facing them was already basically set in stone. As long as he did not run into them early, his semifinal and final opponents would absolutely be them.
"Let's not think about the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament today. Let's go back to the Gym first. I'll welcome you back properly."
Sabrina had traveled all the way back from the Unova region, so they should not keep standing around the airport.
Once they returned, they would set off for the Indigo Plateau tomorrow, then take a look around after the tournament.
"All right. After we go back, there's also something I need to tell you."
When Sabrina said that, her gaze looked a little strange.
Grey raised an eyebrow, naturally knowing what that look meant.
"That guy in the Unova region is about to make a move?"
Grey transmitted his words into Sabrina's mind using the power of Aura.
"That's right. That psychic power is far too unique. Even when I'm not deliberately trying to sense it, faint aftershocks still warn me."
What Sabrina wanted to talk about was naturally Mewtwo.
That guy was either causing trouble or on the way to cause trouble. But there was one thing that could be confirmed.
After Mewtwo left the Unova region, Unova's situation improved a lot.
At the very least, they no longer had to worry about something suddenly getting blown up.
Team Plasma was gone too, so the Unova region could fully devote itself to the reconstruction of Opelucid City.
"Mewtwo… That guy's situation really is kind of difficult."
Grey could not quite understand the current situation.
After all, Mewtwo's attitude right now was honestly hard to grasp.
At times, it reached out like an ally. At other times, it stirred up waves like an enemy.
That stance, somewhere between enemy and friend, made it difficult to pin down.
"Sigh."
Sabrina let out a soft sigh.
"Even my psychic power can't probe its true thoughts."
As she spoke, a pale blue glow surfaced in Sabrina's eyes, only to quickly fade again.
"Mewtwo's situation is like a reef in the middle of a storm. You can clearly sense the surging emotions, but you can never touch the core."
If one had to use an example to describe Mewtwo's current state…
It was like a newborn baby curled up in a blanket.
Good and evil, right and wrong, had yet to form concrete concepts within its pure psychic perception.
Like the first snow before it touched the ground, it had never distinguished the boundaries between mountains and ravines.
Every time Mewtwo acted, there was a kind of casualness to it, like a young child playing with blocks.
Perhaps in one moment, it would gently use psychic power to lift a fallen Pidgey back into its nest. In the next, it might destroy an entire city because it sensed malice from a Trainer.
Those actions, which humans viewed as contradictions, were nothing more than its most genuine responses to outside stimuli, like an infant using crying and laughter to explore the spectrum of emotions.
"If we want to truly understand Mewtwo's situation, we'll probably have to interact with it more."
Thinking about how Mewtwo had rejected him back then, Grey knew that the current Mewtwo still had no sense of the bigger picture.
It did not know what it wanted to do. It only knew that everything should revolve around itself.
In other words…
Mewtwo felt that it was the protagonist of this world.
Everyone had to revolve around it.
But it did not realize that everyone was the protagonist of their own world.
For someone in Mewtwo's situation, more conversations were still necessary.
Hmm. He would find a chance to talk again.
...
...
Somewhere in international waters.
"Mewtwo, what's wrong?"
Colress could not help asking when he saw Mewtwo suddenly stop.
"Nothing."
Mewtwo raised its eyes and slowly shook its head.
"I just feel that the wind is about to change."
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