"Become my partner, Rayquaza!"
Grey exchanged for a Dusk Ball from the system space. Its appearance actually suited Rayquaza pretty well.
Rayquaza: "???"
"Human, this is the method you spoke of? You actually want me to become your partner. What a ridiculous fantasy!"
Rayquaza laughed in anger. It used Extreme Speed and instantly closed in on Grey, rage flashing in its eyes as if it were about to open its mouth and swallow him whole in the very next second.
"Hold on. Hear me out."
Grey looked at Rayquaza and asked, "Look, it's not like I'm forcing you. I already told you the location, but you want something for nothing. Then becoming my partner makes sense, right? After that, I handle these things for you. Doesn't that make our deal a lot more reasonable?"
"That does sound a little reasonable… Then is there a way where I don't become your partner?"
Rayquaza tried to scratch its head with its claws, but because they were too short, it couldn't reach anywhere near it. That made Rayquaza feel like its head was itching, as if a new wrinkle was about to form on its brain.
"Sure. Go to Mt. Chimney and find the meteorite yourself."
Grey gave an affirmative answer.
"…"
Rayquaza really wanted to claw him right across the face.
"I meant, is there a way where I don't become your partner and I also don't have to personally go to Mt. Chimney?"
Rayquaza made itself perfectly clear.
Grey lowered his head and pretended to think for a long time. Then he suddenly raised his head and met Rayquaza's eyes.
"What? Did you come up with something?"
Rayquaza's eyes lit up.
Grey answered firmly, "No."
"You little…"
Rayquaza was so angry that its entire body seemed to flare with fury. Its scales ground together with a clacking sound, as if it might use Outrage at any moment.
"Human, do you think messing with me is fun?"
"A little… No, I mean, you really can go to Mt. Chimney yourself. Otherwise, don't you get bored staying in the ozone layer every day?"
Grey patted Rayquaza's dragon head and pointed at Kyurem. "Look at it. It spent too long in Giant Chasm before, and now it's a little too single-minded. Sometimes it even needs me to direct it before it can win a battle."
Kyurem: "?"
What Grey said was technically true, but why did it sound a little different coming out of his mouth?
"That proves nothing."
Rayquaza almost got dragged into Grey's logic.
But because Kyurem did have some strength, and because its old friend Mew was right there, Rayquaza was already giving Grey more than enough respect.
"Then you…"
"Stop, stop, stop! Don't start with that again!"
The moment Grey opened his mouth, Rayquaza knew exactly what nonsense he was about to say.
It was definitely going to be about making it go to Mt. Chimney.
Just like that, Grey and Rayquaza went back and forth several more rounds over whether Rayquaza should go to Mt. Chimney.
Finally…
"Human! How about this? We each take a step back. You go to Mt. Chimney in my place and retrieve the meteorite, and I'll owe you a favor. From now on, whenever you need me, I'll act on your behalf. What do you say?"
Rayquaza chose to compromise.
"One favor is too little. How about this, five favors."
Grey spread one hand wide and opened his mouth by demanding five favors from Rayquaza.
"Five favors?! Do you know how valuable my favors are?! Throughout history, countless humans have climbed Sky Pillar just to ask for my help. Even then, I rarely appear before humans, let alone give them a chance to make me owe them a favor."
White vapor sprayed from Rayquaza's nostrils, as if the five favors Grey demanded were completely impossible.
"It's not like I necessarily need your favors. At most, I'd call you over when I need to gang up on someone. I already have two Legendary Pokémon on my side. If I need to call you too, what kind of huge situation do you think that would be?"
Grey raised an eyebrow and laid out the stakes for Rayquaza. "But eating that meteorite is different. Maybe your core energy will recover to its peak. When that time comes, Mega Evolution might be as easy as breathing, and your battle power could shoot straight into the top five among all Legendary Pokémon."
Rayquaza's breathing paused.
If things really were as Grey said, then it actually wouldn't be losing out, would it?
Rayquaza had not encountered many Legendary Pokémon, so it didn't really understand where its own strength ranked.
But if Mega Evolution could put it in the top five, then what else was there to say?
Seeing Rayquaza sink into thought, Grey secretly rejoiced.
This guy had finally been led into his logic trap and fallen into a blind spot.
Grey simply waited.
He waited for Rayquaza to finish thinking.
"I thought about it. Your proposal is indeed tempting, but my five favors are worth even more. So let's each take another step back. How about three favors?"
This was Rayquaza's limit.
Under normal circumstances, making it act even once was extremely difficult. Now it was personally offering three chances to owe a favor, which was already the greatest concession it could make.
"Good. Deal. I'll go to Mt. Chimney right now and help you bring back the meteorite."
Grey was completely satisfied.
After recalling Kyurem, he said to Mew, "Let's go. Use Teleport."
"Okay, mew."
Mew used Teleport and sent Grey away.
As for Rayquaza, who remained in Sky Pillar, it felt that its exchange with Grey had been deeply off somehow.
Clearly, it looked like it had profited, so why did it also feel like it had lost something?
Rayquaza could not understand it no matter how hard it thought.
After thousands of years, its dragon brain had not been used in a very long time.
As for whether it could figure out the full chain of events, Grey's assessment was, hard to say.
…
Hoenn region, Mt. Chimney.
This was where Team Magma's base was located. However, Grey did not directly storm Team Magma. Instead, he arrived at the summit of Mt. Chimney.
There was a meteorite here, one that Rayquaza needed.
"Mew!" We're here! It's right here!
Mew, having changed back into little Riolu form, teleported Grey behind a huge boulder. It was an extremely hidden spot.
"Okay, thanks."
Grey stood up. Through his Aura power, he quickly found the meteorite.
Tap, tap, tap…
Time was money.
To keep that money from slipping away, Grey could not help speeding up and hurrying toward the meteorite's location.
"Hmm… Looks like Team Magma sealed it inside some kind of device. I wonder what Team Magma can even do with this meteorite."
After reaching the meteorite's location, Grey rubbed his chin and kept thinking.
"A high-quality meteorite can do many things. For example, it can make the young master of Devon Corporation and League Champion Steven Stone act once. Or it can lure out Groudon, the creator of the land."
A serious male voice sounded from behind him.
Grey raised an eyebrow. He had not expected someone to be able to hide their Aura and silently come up behind him.
He turned around and saw a middle-aged man walking toward him.
The middle-aged man had medium-short red hair, neatly combed back. On his stern face, he wore black-framed glasses, with a Key Stone set at the connection between the frame and the temples.
The man wore a dark-red robe and looked like a solemn scholar.
Beside him followed a woman with short purple hair. Her eyes were vacant, but when her gaze met Grey's, she let out a bell-like giggle. "You're Gym Leader Grey from the Kanto region, aren't you? I really want to study you properly."
The arrivals were Team Magma's leader, Maxie, and its Admin, Courtney.
"Gym Leader Grey, I am Maxie, the leader of Team Magma. If you want this meteorite, consider it a gift from Team Magma."
Maxie stepped forward and shook Grey's hand in a friendly manner.
Grey: "?"
Why were the villains in Hoenn different from what he had imagined?
Maybe it was because he had run into too many classic, painfully stereotypical villains in Kanto. Now that he saw polite villains like Maxie and Archie, Grey actually found it refreshing.
What a shame.
Right now, he was basically a mercenary, taking money to do a job.
If Maxie wanted to use this to build a connection with him, there was absolutely no chance.
"In recent years, Team Magma has not done many things that could truly be called evil. At the same time, we have done many good things that benefited the people of Hoenn. If Gym Leader Grey wishes to arrest me, I naturally have no objection. But there is one thing I would like to ask you for help with."
Maxie's words made Grey raise an eyebrow.
"You don't mean… you want me to arrest Archie, do you?"
Grey asked tentatively.
"How did you know?"
Maxie was surprised.
"Oh, actually, Archie specifically called me here to arrest you. Here, this token is what he gave me."
Grey took out Team Magma's token and displayed it in front of Maxie.
"???"
Maxie nearly dropped his glasses.
Damn it, Archie, you brainless big lug. You actually thought that far?
So the moment there's a dirty trick, you use it on me?
Maxie's teeth itched, but he could not lose his temper in front of Grey. He could only shrug and say, "Since things have come to this, I, Maxie, have nothing else to say."
"You… don't want to resist a little? Like having a Camerupt or something jump out of the lava, then Mega Evolve and launch a fierce attack at me. Or maybe having a Crobat descend from the sky and strike at me with airtight Cross Poison slashes."
Grey listed examples with ease, turning his own experiences into case studies for Maxie.
"No. You hold two Legendary Pokémon. Even if I wanted to resist, I don't have the strength for it."
Maxie gave up.
On the other hand, Courtney blinked and took small steps closer to Grey. "Let me see where you're hiding your Reshiram."
After saying that, Courtney crouched down and carefully observed Grey's waist.
She looked here, sniffed there, and even seemed like she wanted to start touching things…
Grey: "?"
Now he understood.
So this was supposed to be a honey trap?
"Don't move for now. This time, I won't restrain you first. Stay right where you are. Cooperate and this stays easy. Fight me and it gets ugly."
After taking down the meteorite, Grey quickly pulled some distance away. One hand reached out to stop Courtney from approaching, while the other picked up his phone to notify Steven to come over.
"Before Steven arrives, do either of you have anything else you want to say?"
Grey's gaze moved back and forth between the two of them.
"Yes. Be careful of a Trainer who uses Salamence. She first infiltrated both of our organizations, then colluded with Team Rocket's leader and stole the Red Orb from me."
Compared to that girl who used Salamence, Maxie would rather communicate with Grey, a fair and honorable League Trainer.
"A Trainer who uses Salamence? Details."
There were plenty of Trainers who used Salamence.
Who knew which one it was?
"She is a young woman, and she has a Whismur with her. Judging from her accent, she seems to be one of the Draconid people. Perhaps if you go to Meteor Falls, you may find some clues."
Maxie was learned and well-informed. He could tell where the girl was from just by hearing her accent. That was practically tracing someone down from the smallest clues.
"The Draconid people? Got it."
Grey nodded lightly.
A Salamence user and one of the Draconid people. Wasn't that Zinnia?
Zinnia, the head Rayquaza fangirl.
But he did not know whether she was the Zinnia from the special manga or the Zinnia from the games.
There was quite a gap between the two.
If possible, Grey still wanted to run into the game version of Zinnia.
That would make her easier to handle.
"Gym Leader Grey, I have one question I would like to ask you."
Maxie asked his final question.
"Go ahead."
Grey agreed to Maxie's request.
"Which do you think is more important, the land or the sea?"
"They are equally important."
Grey calmly met Maxie's gaze. "That question itself is like asking whether inhaling or exhaling is more important when you breathe. Land and sea have never been opposing existences. Life needs to take root in the land and draw water at the same time. Any attempt to sever the laws of nature will ultimately destroy the balance of this planet."
"In my opinion, why does Team Magma have to be so stubborn about expanding the land? Without the ocean, all of humanity would die."
Maxie adjusted his glasses and fell into a brief silence.
"Mm. I understand."
"As long as you understand. You're a little better than Archie. At least you started out as a scholar. Archie used to be an actual pirate. If you behave well in prison, you should be released in about a year."
Perhaps because Maxie truly had not done many evil things, Grey's tone softened quite a bit.
"However, if you do anything bad again after you get out, don't blame me for personally breaking your arms and legs before sending you back to prison."
"What Gym Leader Grey says is entirely correct."
Maxie did not refute him and humbly accepted it.
"Strange. You're actually this obedient?"
Grey had not expected Maxie to be so well-behaved.
After all, in the original story, Maxie only realized he was wrong after watching Groudon and Kyogre fight each other.
But right now, he was actually this cooperative.
Could it be…
Had someone already woken Maxie up with an attitude-adjustment punch?
If that was the case, who exactly was that person?
Oh!
Suddenly, Grey's eyes widened as he thought of someone who had come to Hoenn with him.
…
"Hey, hey, Giovanni, why are you being so nice to me? If it were someone else, they'd probably just call me a brat."
Inside a certain cave, Zinnia poked Giovanni's back. Then she stood in front of him, looked at the expression on his face as he stared at the campfire, and asked with a giggle.
Giovanni stood up and paused at the boundary between light and shadow. Feeling the cold moonlight fall across his face, he looked back at Zinnia.
"…Zinnia, if someone missed your entire childhood because of an accident, and later found you, saying they wanted to make up for it, would you accept?"
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