Pignite had thought little Riolu was going to believe in it, only to realize little Riolu had secretly eaten all the food!
"Pig!"
Pignite stomped its foot, red flames surging all over its body. It swung its fist and smashed it toward little Riolu!
"Mio~" (Too slow, too slow~ If your speed is that sluggish, you'll never hit me~)
Little Riolu sidestepped the incoming Fire Punch, and cold air spread from its palm, dispersing the flames on Pignite's body bit by bit.
"Mio~" (Your Fire Punch looks pretty powerful, but well, it's still not quite there~)
Little Riolu narrowed its eyes and looked Pignite up and down.
"Mio~" (You've got nothing but strength, yet you only know how to use brute force to unleash moves. You really haven't learned much from Reshiram, have you, piggy?)
As a little Riolu said to be capable of learning almost every move, it felt rather disappointed by Pignite's performance.
The palm it had placed on Pignite's arm suddenly exerted force. Pignite's arm was instantly frozen into a block of ice, and then the ice exploded apart.
It did not cause any harm to Pignite, but it left a deep impression on it.
Its move had actually been scattered directly by little Riolu.
Just how strong did one have to be to do something like that?
Grey: "…"
Let's just say…
Was there a possibility…
That with your current strength, Pignite, fighting basically any Pokémon in the dojo would probably end the same way?
"Pig." (My strength still isn't enough… Damn it, I'm full. I'm going to go train some more!)
With that, Pignite strutted away.
This blow was undoubtedly huge for it.
As Reshiram's disciple, it had actually been beaten by little Riolu so badly that it could not even fight back. It was too ashamed to show its face.
It had to strengthen its training!
"Fine, but you can train once we arrive too."
Since Pignite wanted to train so badly, Grey had no reason to stop it.
It was just that they still had to hurry to the Indigo Plateau today.
Training was not that urgent.
"Pig!" (Okay! Then I'll listen to you, Boss!)
Pignite nodded. After cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, it went back into its Poké Ball to rest.
"Hmm… Let me think. Which Pokémon should I bring along for this trip?"
The number of Pokémon a Trainer could carry was six.
Of course, if there were people helping carry them, he could bring many Pokémon along.
Thinking of this, Grey's gaze turned toward everyone present.
Then he raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, Grey, what are you thinking about now?"
Bumiao had also finished eating. Noticing Grey's gaze, she put her hands on her hips and asked.
"I'm thinking about how many empty slots you all have, and how many of my Pokémon you can carry."
Grey answered honestly.
Of course, he could not possibly take every Pokémon in the dojo with him.
Some had to stay behind and guard the place.
Otherwise, what if some villainous organization's members broke in halfway through?
If there was not a single Pokémon in the dojo by then, wouldn't the place end up reduced to ruins too?
Grey thought about a lot of things.
He absolutely had to leave a backup plan behind.
As for this backup plan…
"Chan!"
"Lee!"
"Top!"
The dojo's Three Generals stepped forward, patted their chests, and indicated that they could stay behind in the dojo.
These three were typical homebody Pokémon. They did not like going out. Last time, when they had participated in the fighting tournament, it was only because there had not been many Pokémon whose strength met the standard, so they had reluctantly gone out to work.
Now things were different.
The Gym Leader Ranking Tournament did not have any requirements about Pokémon types.
It only had some requirements regarding the challengers' identities.
"Chan." (Boss, while you guys are out these next few days, you can leave the dojo to us.)
Hitmonchan was the leader of the Three Generals, and also the strongest among them.
Recently, it had grown fond of watching an anime. Every day, it sat in front of the television and waited for it to air.
Recently, to celebrate the Indigo Plateau Conference's upcoming opening, that anime was being updated every day instead of making them miserably wait in front of the television every week.
And that anime was exclusive to one TV station. If they wanted to watch it on other electronic devices, they would basically have to wait a week.
Hitmonchan and the others did not want to wait that long, so they volunteered to stay in the dojo and watch television.
"That works."
"Then, is anyone else staying behind in the dojo?"
Grey counted the empty slots.
Counting Cosmog, Lillie could carry five Pokémon.
Silver could carry three, and Bumiao could carry four.
Six plus five plus four plus three made eighteen. In total, eighteen Pokémon could be carried.
On Grey's side, he had caught thirty-one Pokémon in total. After subtracting the Three Generals and little Riolu, who did not need to enter a ball, nine Pokémon still had to stay behind.
"Kub!" (We're staying!)
When the two Kubfu saw that the dojo's Three Generals were staying, they naturally had to stay behind too and learn kung fu properly.
When Grey came back, they would launch a sneak attack!
Maybe they could defeat Grey in one go!
Yeah!
The harder you worked, the luckier you got!
"Wrath." (In that case, I'll stay too. If these two bear brats don't have a stricter Pokémon watching them, the dojo might be unrecognizable by the next day.)
Poliwrath understood Kubfu fairly well.
The dojo's Three Generals were all nice guys.
Under these circumstances, as long as the Kubfu did not cause a major disaster, the dojo's Three Generals would definitely spoil them.
So, Poliwrath, as the "strict teacher," needed to stay behind and hold the line.
"Champ." (Then I, Heracross, Conkeldurr, Metagross, Dragonite, and Sirfetch'd will stay too. There's still construction work to do recently. I think by the time you all come back, the Gym should be almost finished.)
Machamp listed names as if assigning soldiers, calling out all the remaining Pokémon in one breath.
"That's fine, of course. I can understand the other Pokémon, but Sirfetch'd… Can it do construction too?"
Grey could understand the other big guys.
Heracross, Dragonite, and Metagross could all fly, making them excellent hands in construction.
But…
Sirfetch'd was so small. What was the situation there?
Were they going to make it pour concrete too?
No matter how Grey thought about it, that seemed impossible!
At the very least, Grey could not imagine Sirfetch'd pouring concrete.
"Champ." (That one? See its leek sword and leek shield? We use them for laying bricks.)
Machamp pointed at Sirfetch'd's sword and shield.
Seeing this, Sirfetch'd also waved its weapons.
Grey: "…"
Leek sword and leek shield for laying bricks.
No arguing there.
There really was some logic inside that.
"Then good luck, everyone. Remember to cheer for me in front of the television when the time comes."
Grey laughed a few times, dragged along his packed luggage, and led everyone toward the Indigo Plateau.
...
...
The Indigo Plateau, where the Pokémon League of the Kanto and Johto regions was located.
Today was the day before the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament began, and also one week before the Indigo Plateau Conference opened.
"When is Grey arriving? It seems like among the Gym Leaders of Kanto and Johto, he's the only one who isn't here yet, right?"
Lt. Surge sat carelessly on the table in the League conference room.
Their agenda for this trip to the Indigo Plateau was far from limited to preparations for the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament.
More importantly, they had to jointly discuss the future development plans of the Kanto and Johto regions.
The responsibilities carried by the identity of Gym Leader had long since surpassed the simple task of testing challengers.
From a broader perspective, they almost carried governance responsibilities similar to those of mayors. They had to maintain the balance of the Trainer ecosystem between regions while also participating in major decisions regarding energy, infrastructure, and public welfare policies.
Of course, there were essential differences between the responsibilities of Gym Leaders and mayors.
Mayors focused more on policy formulation and public livelihood governance, while the core mission of Gym Leaders was to maintain regional security and ecological balance.
They were not only examiners of a Trainer's strength, but also the first line of defense protecting towns from the interference of illegal organizations.
Hmm…
Cerulean City excluded.
"I don't know. How about I send Gym Leader Grey a private message and ask?"
As Erika spoke, she was about to pick up her phone and message Grey.
"Let's forget it. Gym Leader Grey handles countless important matters every day. Even if he can't arrive on time, he must be doing something beneficial for the people."
Giovanni placed both hands on the table, his tone calm and flat.
"Gym Leader Giovanni is right. Gym Leader Grey's current strength is no longer as simple as an ordinary Gym Leader's. I think even if he can't make it, there must be a good reason."
The current temporary acting Gym Leader of Pewter Gym, the former Gym Leader Muno, followed behind Giovanni and added this explanation.
When everyone heard that, an image of Grey commanding Reshiram appeared in their minds, and they all nodded in agreement.
"To think that in just three short months, a newly appointed Gym Leader could transform to this extent. Gym Leader Grey's own strength is probably already Champion-level."
The last time Blaine had battled Grey was at Cinnabar Gym. Back then, Grey had still been using Riolu. He had not expected Grey to directly catch Reshiram now, and could not help praising him.
"He's almost here."
Lance, who was sitting at one end of the conference room, suddenly spoke.
The somewhat noisy conference room instantly fell quiet.
Lance stared at the two empty seats and silently counted down in his heart.
Three…
Two…
One!
Whoosh, whoosh~
"Long time no see, guys. I'm not late, am I?"
Grey and Sabrina Teleported in.
Seeing the way everyone was staring at him, Grey scratched his head in embarrassment.
After saying that, he glanced at his phone and saw that there were still three minutes left.
"Phew, good thing I'm not late. Still not cutting it too close."
Grey sat down as if nothing had happened.
"Grey, did you bring your bird?"
The moment Lt. Surge saw Grey, he asked where Grey's Zapdos was.
Grey:?
"Gym Leader Surge, I'm a man with a family now. You can't keep saying such vulgar things every day."
Grey stretched out one finger and waved it back and forth in front of Lt. Surge.
Zapdos was Zapdos. What was with "bird"?
Sometimes, you really couldn't shorten words carelessly!
"Fine, fine. If I run into you this time, I'm definitely going to battle your Zapdos for three hundred rounds!"
Lt. Surge was still quite eager to have a battle with Grey's Zapdos.
It was practically an obsession.
"No problem. Let's talk if you actually get matched against me."
Grey did not really mind.
It was just a battle.
No big deal.
"Wow, so this is Gym Leader Grey! I'd only seen you online before, but now that I'm seeing you in person, you look even less like a Fighting-type Trainer than you do online!"
The voice came from a pink-haired girl.
She looked rather young, probably a year or two younger than Grey.
Her features were delicate. Her hair was tied into two small twin tails, and she wore a short-sleeved top and shorts. Black-and-blue striped knee socks wrapped around her calves, making her look youthful and lively.
Whitney, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod City.
Sabrina knew her.
When the Magnet Train connecting the two regions had opened before, Whitney had come to Saffron City to chat with her.
But after they had only exchanged a few words, Sabrina had sent her away.
"Haha, everyone who sees me says that."
Grey merely smiled.
He had a refined and delicate appearance, with a bit of a scholarly air. On top of that, Kanto's Fighting-type Elite Four member, Bruno, was covered in bulging muscle. It was hard not to form a preconceived impression.
"But that's exactly what makes it interesting! How about exchanging contact information later?"
Whitney blinked and pushed her phone over.
"Uh, well… It's not very convenient."
Grey glanced at Sabrina.
He politely turned her down.
The main reason was that the setting was too formal. Things like exchanging contact information could be discussed afterward.
"Okay~ If it's not convenient, then forget it~"
Whitney pulled back her phone, hugged the arm of the girl beside her, who was wearing a light blue dress, and pouted. "Jasmine, Jasmine, how about you help me get his contact information later?"
Jasmine:?
Jasmine, who had inexplicably been dragged into this, was very confused.
What did this have to do with her?
You got rejected yourself, and now you want me to ask Grey for his contact information?
Wasn't this a joke?
"I… I'll try."
Jasmine did not dare speak too definitively.
"Yay! I knew you were the best, Jasmine!"
Whitney cheered.
Grey and Sabrina: "…"
"Maybe you should just give it to her."
Sabrina could tell that Whitney simply wanted to expand her contacts.
That girl's thoughts were too simple.
To put it bluntly, she spoke a little without thinking.
Her emotions were easily shown on her face.
Sabrina did not feel guarded against that kind of girl.
Whitney cheered, "Huh?! Yay! Sabrina, you're the best!"
If there had not been a table between them, Whitney would have wanted to rush over and hug Sabrina right now.
"It's fine."
Sabrina shook her head. It was only contact information, so it was not a big issue.
"Ahem. It's about time. Everyone here should know why I gathered you today, right?"
Lance's serious tone made the originally cheerful and harmonious conference room become proper again.
"Details."
"No idea."
"I don't get it."
"Stop keeping us in suspense and get to the point."
Lance: "…"
The serious atmosphere lasted only a few seconds before it was directly beaten back to its original shape.
"Ahem. Recently, the frequency of Team Rocket appearances in various places has gone down. I think Team Rocket must be plotting something."
Lance thought for a moment, then continued, "So during the Indigo Plateau Conference, if they don't cause trouble, you must all pay extra attention after returning."
Lance did not know what Team Rocket was thinking.
But vaguely…
He had an ominous premonition.
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