"Oh, right. Last time, I said I'd go see Caitlin the next time I came to Unova. But… with the current situation, I was planning to go straight back to Hoenn."
Grey rubbed his chin.
N's words had directly reminded him.
He really did need to go see Caitlin.
Otherwise, if she found out he had come to Unova and not gone to see her, she would probably make a fuss.
To prevent Caitlin from causing trouble, Grey thought through a plan and decided to spare some time to visit her.
After all, Riolu was with him.
With Riolu's Teleport, he could go see Caitlin and then return directly to Hoenn. It should be quick.
It would not take much time at all.
"Then, N, you head to Hoenn first. You can let Steven know in the group chat so he's aware."
Grey had N go ahead while he went to the Unova League headquarters to see Caitlin.
"Okay."
N nodded gently.
…
…
VIP Lounge for Feeding Grey (11)
Nature's Black: Steven, I accepted Gym Leader Grey's invitation and will be heading to the Hoenn region shortly. Where should I go to find you?
Steven Stone: Mr. N, please come directly to Mossdeep City. I'll explain the situation to you in person. I'm very grateful that you're willing to come to Hoenn. Under normal circumstances, I should have been the one showing you around Hoenn. I didn't expect things to turn out like this.
Dragon Tamer Lance: Steven, what happened?
Ice Queen Lorelei: Yeah. Even a Legendary Trainer like N is going to Hoenn. Did something impossible to handle happen?
Steven Stone: The situation is like this…
Steven briefly explained the meteor crisis in the group chat.
Red: Steven, do you need me to go to Hoenn?
Green: We're free anyway. If you need our help, just say the word.
Dragon Tamer Lance: Steven, if you're still short on anything, let me know. I'll see whether there's anything I can do to help Hoenn.
For a while, everyone in the group popped up.
At minimum, everyone there had Elite Four-level strength, so they could help at least a little. They told Steven not to be polite.
If he needed them, he could just call them over.
The League was one big family.
They were all League Trainers, so helping each other was only natural.
Maybe there would be places where they needed help in the future too.
Steven Stone: Thank you, everyone. I'll accept your kindness. If there are still areas we're lacking in later, I may really have to ask all of you to make a trip to Hoenn.
The group chat replied with a wave of "okay."
On Grey's side…
He received a message from Caitlin.
Sleeping Beauty: I saw the group chat. Are you in Unova?
Dojo Annihilape: Yeah. I came to Nimbasa City to find N and discuss some serious business. Are you at the League headquarters right now? If you're free, I'll come see you.
Sleeping Beauty: !!!
Sleeping Beauty: I'm free, I'm free! Stay in Nimbasa City and don't move. I'll come find you right now!
Unova region, League headquarters, inside the Elite Four office.
Caitlin's cheeks were bright red.
She had not expected that Grey, whom she had been thinking about day and night, had finally returned to Unova!
Caitlin could hardly wait to go find Grey.
However, she quickly stopped herself.
Hmm…
She should dress up first before going!
And this dressing up…
Lasted a full two hours.
Grey waited at Nimbasa Amusement Park until the flowers nearly wilted. He looked up at the sky and pondered for a long time.
If he had known, he would have told Caitlin he was coming to Unova three hours earlier.
This waiting time was way too long!
Sure enough, when girls dressed up, they really did take far too much time. If he ran into this kind of situation again, he would have to mention it a few hours in advance.
"Gym Leader Grey! Long time no see! Why did you come to Nimbasa Amusement Park alone?"
Grey turned toward the voice.
He saw Lacey.
"Lacey, long time no see~ I'm waiting for Caitlin, but I've been waiting for quite a while."
Grey said it with a helpless smile.
"Hmm… In that case, wouldn't you be very bored, Gym Leader Grey?"
Hearing that, Lacey rested one hand against her chin and tilted her head from side to side as she thought.
"It's not too bad. Mainly, I've already gotten tired of mobile games and stuff. If there were a Trainer who could battle me, that would help kill time."
Grey's hands were itching for a battle.
His battle with N just now had not been satisfying enough.
So Grey looked at Lacey and raised his eyebrows at her.
The meaning was obvious.
Since our eyes have met, let's start a battle!
"No way, no way. Gym Leader Grey doesn't know how to hold back, so I'll pass."
Lacey knew that battling Grey would be asking for trouble.
So she absolutely would not battle Grey right now!
"However, I can find an evenly matched opponent for you, Gym Leader Grey~"
Lacey thought of a suitable Trainer.
She was nearby anyway, so they could also see how strong Gym Leader Grey had become!
"That works too. Lacey, your connections are pretty impressive. You can actually find someone evenly matched with me."
Grey gave her a thumbs-up.
He had four Legendary Pokémon on him.
If she really found an evenly matched opponent, then this would become a Legendary battle.
"Ahem, actually, not that evenly matched. It's just that the person I'm looking for is a Gym Leader, just like you, Gym Leader Grey~"
When Lacey thought of the Pokémon Grey had, she felt that there probably were not many people in the entire world who could match him.
So she could only start from identity.
Mhm!
They were both Gym Leaders, so if you rounded things up, they were in the same rank.
Calling them evenly matched was not too much, right?
Lacey tapped around on her phone for a while.
Very soon, she arranged an "evenly matched" opponent for Grey.
"Come on, come on! Gym Leader Grey, follow me~ The opponent I found for you is right here!"
Lacey pulled Grey to the Nimbasa Gym.
The Gym Leader was Elesa.
However, they did not enter through the front door.
Instead, they went in through a hidden door in the back.
Grey: "?"
"Lacey, why aren't we going through the front door?"
Grey pointed at the wide-open front entrance and could not help asking.
"If you want to appear in Unova Daily tomorrow, then go ahead and use the front door."
Lacey cracked a joke, then explained, "Elesa is way too popular. If a famous Trainer like you goes in to battle her and accidentally sweeps her, it'll be very easy for her fans to tear you apart online."
"I see. Then we really shouldn't go through the front door."
Grey deeply agreed.
As a famous model, Elesa had tens of millions of fans worldwide.
He was just a small fry. Although he could hire Rotom and Porygon to "beat people up through the internet," it was better not to create unnecessary trouble.
They entered through the back door.
It happened to lead into a dressing room.
A tall, cool-looking woman was sitting in front of the vanity, fixing her appearance.
Noticing the back door open, the woman stood up and looked back. She saw Lacey, as well as the young man following beside her.
Grey also clearly saw the woman's appearance.
She had long black hair, thick side-swept bangs over her forehead, and a pair of ponytails tied behind her head, hanging down.
She wore two-tone headphones on her head, a yellow-and-blue cropped top and shorts, and a yellow feathered shawl draped over her body.
Even more eye-catching were those fair, long legs.
They really were long.
The person before him was naturally the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City, Elesa.
"You must be Gym Leader Grey. Lacey told me you also have some expertise in raising Electric-type Pokémon, so I'd like to ask you for guidance today."
Elesa extended her hand and shook hands with Grey.
Only then did Grey realize why Elesa had agreed to battle him.
It turned out Lacey had told Elesa that Grey had some experience in raising Electric-type Pokémon.
Because of that, Elesa wanted to use this battle to see whether there were still any shortcomings in how she raised her own Electric-type Pokémon.
However…
"Miss Elesa, do you really want to battle against my Electric-type Pokémon?"
Grey's expression became a little strange.
He did indeed have an Electric-type Pokémon, but that Electric-type Pokémon was Zapdos. It had now reached Champion-level combat strength. Compared with Elesa, who was only Gym-level, it seemed a bit too powerful.
Hearing that, Elesa naturally nodded. "Please guide me, Gym Leader Grey."
"Fine. Then I'll borrow your trade machine."
"No problem. Please follow me."
Elesa brought Grey to the trade machine.
Grey called Sabrina and traded Groudon over, then received Zapdos.
"When are you coming back?"
After exchanging Pokémon, Grey did not hang up.
Not much time had passed, but Sabrina already missed Grey a little.
"Hard to say. Maybe… a month?"
Grey clicked his tongue. He really could not say for sure.
"For every day past one, you owe me twice. No upper limit."
Sabrina nodded, then said something only the two of them understood.
Grey: "???"
Wait, seriously?
You're not treating me like a human being here.
Grey's expression gradually became strange.
Don't think that just because I specialize in Fighting-types, I'll let you have your way with me!
I was just holding back before. When I go back this time…
"Good. I'll be waiting. I hope you can give me a surprise."
Sabrina smiled, and her gaze softened as well. "Don't disappoint me. Otherwise…"
Grey: "…"
Everyone, is there a chance that he could abandon the Fighting Dojo and run away?
Hmm.
Bumiao felt very suitable to become the fourth Gym Leader!
Thinking that, Grey sent Bumiao a message.
Dojo Annihilape: Hey, why don't you become the fourth-generation Gym Leader?
Bumiao: ?
Dojo Annihilape: The duty of rebuilding Fighting glory falls to you!
Bumiao: ??
Bumiao: Grey, what are you freaking out about this time?!
Dojo Annihilape: You'll understand when you reach my age.
Bumiao: eye-roll.jpg. Also, Sabrina asked me to buy you some energy supplements. Send me an address so I can ship them directly to you.
Dojo Annihilape: No!
Seeing that, Grey hurriedly put Bumiao on the blacklist.
Energy supplements and whatnot, absolutely not!
Putting down his phone, Grey took Zapdos and had an intense and satisfying battle with Elesa.
Since the battle was too intense to clearly describe in words, it would simply be skipped.
After the battle ended…
"Gym Leader Grey, thank you for your guidance."
Elesa wiped the sweat running down her cheek and looked back at her fallen main team partners, already having a rough idea in her heart.
"You're welcome. Caitlin should be almost here too, so I'll leave through the back door."
Grey glanced at the time and discovered that an hour had passed.
No matter how slow her makeup was, she should be done by now.
And Caitlin was a Psychic. If she used Teleport to come over, it would save a lot of time.
"All right. Take care, Gym Leader Grey."
Elesa saw Grey out.
Lacey followed too.
"Then we'll head out first~ Bye, Elesa~"
Lacey said goodbye to Elesa.
They had only taken a few steps when the space in front of Grey began to ripple chaotically.
There was no need to think.
It was Caitlin arriving.
Thump.
Grey only felt something soft in his arms and discovered that Caitlin had thrown herself straight into his embrace. Her voice sounded a little muffled. "Bad Grey… Why are you only coming to see me now…"
"I've had serious business to handle lately, so I was a little slow. Besides, didn't I come see you? Don't be upset."
Grey stroked Caitlin's smooth blond hair and comforted her.
At the same time, he gave Lacey a "you get it" look.
Lacey instantly understood and hurriedly left, as if she had some proper business to handle.
"Mhm. I know you're very busy, so I'm really happy you came to see me this time!"
Caitlin had only been acting spoiled with Grey earlier.
The current her was not an unreasonable person. As long as Grey explained things clearly, she could understand him.
"Once you're done handling things, can we go travel to the Orange Islands?"
"Hiss…"
Hearing Caitlin mention the Orange Islands…
Grey felt that this trip to the Orange Islands had probably fallen through.
After all, he had already speedrun the Orange Islands scenario.
The League had already sent people to arrest all the Team Rocket members there, so there did not seem to be much reason to go anymore.
Even Lance had converted the travel expenses into money and transferred it to his card.
"What's wrong?"
When Caitlin heard Grey react that way, she felt something was off.
Grey explained the Orange Islands matter to Caitlin.
Caitlin's heart sank.
She had already bought swimsuits and was ready to wear them for Grey when the time came!
But in the end…
Their southern island trip had fallen through! She wanted to cry.
"However… although the Orange Islands trip fell through, we can go to the Alola region."
Grey thought of the approaching Aether Foundation.
If they wanted to take Lillie away, he could tag along on their plane.
Even if they did not come to pick her up, Grey could still report to the League that Team Rocket had its eye on the Alola region and take the chance to arrange a little publicly funded vacation.
…
…
Kanto region, Viridian City, Team Rocket base.
"Boss, we've already scouted the Alola region. The only Champion-level Trainer there is the Masked Royal. He's nothing worth worrying about."
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