Just as Sabrina's suspicion made Grey instinctively glance at her, Ivor's third round of attacks suddenly came rushing in.
His fist tore through the air. Grey's expression sharpened, and he crossed his arms to block.
The moment he took the heavy punch head-on, the force shook him back several steps. He could not help exclaiming, "What fierce power!"
Ivor's arm went numb from the recoil too, and he looked at Grey in shock.
The two terrifyingly physical martial artists stared at each other for a moment, and admiration for a worthy opponent appeared in both their eyes at the same time.
"Ivor, your muscles really aren't just for show. That power is impressive."
Grey shook out his hand and grinned as he praised him.
Ivor steadied himself, cupped his fist, and hurriedly replied, "You flatter me. Gym Leader Grey's power is far beyond mine. I still have a lot of room to improve."
After saying that, Ivor seemed to suddenly think of something. His eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Gym Leader Grey, I want to found an organization called the Fist of Justice. Would you be willing to serve as our club advisor?"
"The Fist of Justice?"
Grey raised an eyebrow, thinking back to Ivor's situation in Pokémon Z-A before he had crossed over.
At that time, Ivor had been a little more mature than he was now.
But…
He had not expected that because of him, Ivor would end up founding the Fist of Justice early.
"That's right. But right now, the Fist of Justice only has a name. As for what exactly we want to do… I haven't actually decided yet."
Ivor gave a broad, embarrassed laugh, then asked, "Gym Leader Grey, do you have any ideas? If the Fist of Justice makes money in the future, we'll absolutely give you a share! Of course, even if we don't make money, as long as you ever need the Fist of Justice, we'll absolutely rush over to help you!"
"Ivor! If you suddenly say all that to Gym Leader Grey, he's definitely going to think you're weird!"
Gwynn, standing nearby, could not help holding her forehead.
Her brother was way too outrageous.
He had just finished fighting someone, and now he was saying something like this!
He was basically a social menace!
"Haha, no problem, no problem! I'm sure Gym Leader Grey will absolutely join us!"
Ivor gave Grey a thumbs-up. "Gym Leader Grey, what do you think?"
"It's a very good proposal."
Grey nodded lightly.
"Gwynn, look at how great Gym Leader Grey is…"
"But…"
Ivor was only halfway through speaking when he heard Grey continue, "However, if you want to invite me, you'll still need to show some strength. I recognize your personal strength, but we're all Pokémon Trainers, after all. You can't exactly jump into the arena yourself during a proper match, right?"
Grey smiled lightly.
Ivor understood what Grey wanted to say.
In other words, they needed a battle between Pokémon Trainers!
"No problem!"
Ivor agreed at once.
Seeing this, Grey prepared to take Ivor to the battle court.
But then…
"Bumiao, take the guests to the Fighting battle court. Grey and I have some private matters to discuss."
Sabrina stood up, reached out, patted Bumiao on the shoulder, then looked straight at Grey.
Grey: ???
Crap, she's coming for me!
"My buddy, I'll take you to my favorite barbecue place."
The little Riolu did not know what Sabrina wanted to do, but it knew it would be best if they were not present, so it immediately pulled Jirachi away.
Bumiao did not fully understand what was happening, but she still took Gwynn's small hand and smiled. "Miss Gwynn, Mr. Ivor, let's go to the Fighting battle court."
The Fighting battle court was where the Fighting Dojo had originally been located.
Once they left, Sabrina used Teleport to pull Grey back to the room. Then she pressed him into the corner with one hand. The meaning was obvious.
"What's wrong?"
Grey trembled and raised both hands in surrender.
"The power you showed today was stronger than usual."
Sabrina looked Grey up and down, her gaze fixed firmly on him. "Have you been hiding your strength?"
"No, I've always been going all out."
Grey clearly was not on the same wavelength as Sabrina.
He thought Sabrina was asking whether he had been holding back in ordinary battles.
What a joke. How could the great Grey possibly hold back?
Recently, the only things he had been letting loose were Reshiram's blue flames, Kyurem's Ice Burn, and Groudon's Precipice Blades.
"Mmm…"
Seeing that Grey had misunderstood her, Sabrina unhappily touched his chest.
And with that touch, Grey finally understood what Sabrina wanted to do.
"Let me ask, is there a chance that you're Psychic-type and I'm Fighting-type, and normally, Psychic has resistance against Fighting?"
Grey brought out the type matchup chart and asked Sabrina to review the basics.
Sabrina tilted her head, clearly not caring about the type matchup chart.
"Why not test it in practice?"
They were Pokémon Trainers, after all.
So naturally, they had to battle with each other's seventh Pokémon.
"Gym Leader Grey, why does the aura around you feel a little unstable?"
At the Fighting battle court, Ivor saw that Grey had only returned after a full hour and thought something had happened. "Could it be that the Fighting Dojo ran into some major crisis?! Don't worry, Gym Leader Grey! As long as there's anything I can help with, I'll absolutely help you!"
Ivor hurried forward and grabbed Grey's hand, afraid that something had happened to him.
Seeing his overflowing enthusiasm, Grey did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He could not really say anything, so he simply claimed that he had accidentally fallen on his way downstairs.
"I see…"
Ivor did not think too much about it.
Instead, Gwynn, who was standing beside him, noticed that Sabrina had not come back and hurriedly asked, "G-Gym Leader Grey, where is Gym Leader Sabrina?"
"Sabrina? She went back to the Psychic battle court."
Grey pointed to the east.
Now that the Gyms had merged, the Fighting Dojo and the Saffron Gym were collectively called the Saffron Dojo.
However, Grey still liked calling it the Fighting Dojo directly.
As for anything related to location, they could just distinguish it by the battle court's name.
"O-okay…"
Gwynn's mood became a little low.
She liked both Grey and Sabrina. Now that she could not see Sabrina, she naturally felt a little disappointed.
Seeing that Gwynn's mood was off, Grey added, "Sabrina just went to handle something. After the battle is over, she might come back."
"Really?"
Gwynn clasped her hands in front of her, staring at Grey with shining eyes.
Grey scratched his cheek. "Most likely."
"Oh…"
Gwynn simply assumed Grey was comforting her like a child, and her expectations lowered a little.
"Ahem. Then, Ivor, for the battle between us, let's not worry about too many rules. How does a one-on-one sound?"
Grey discussed the battle with Ivor.
Ivor naturally did not overthink it. He directly took out a Poké Ball and sent out his ace Pokémon.
It was a black, spherical Pokémon wearing golden armor all over its body.
It was arranged as a single unit made up of one leader and five followers.
They held shields in their hands, and each one had a spike on top of its head, making them look like ancient Roman soldiers.
Pokémon: Falinks
Type: Fighting
Level: 40
Ability: Defiant
Moves: No Retreat. Others omitted.
Falinks!
It was also a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.
Unfortunately, Grey did not see a Mega Stone on Falinks.
He did not see one on Ivor either.
Grey naturally knew that Falinks's Mega Stone had probably not been discovered yet.
"Strength is power! Strength is justice! Gym Leader Grey, please use your full strength in this battle!"
Ivor shouted this, making Grey glance at the Poké Balls on his waist that contained Legendary Pokémon…
Uh, never mind.
Grey did not want his new buddy's fighting spirit to shatter.
Thinking this, Grey chose to send out Emboar for the battle.
They were both Fighting-type Pokémon, and both were Pokémon that could Mega Evolve in Z-A. They could start by having a match!
"Emboar!"
The current Emboar had already grown very burly.
Although its base stats were a little odd, that did not mean anyone could underestimate its actual strength.
Without saying much else, Grey crooked his finger in invitation. "Ivor, you attack first."
"Falinks, No Retreat!"
Since this was a one-on-one battle, Ivor felt this was the most suitable move to use right now.
"Falinks!"
At the leader's command, the other little followers all let out battle cries.
Dazzling red light bloomed, raising Falinks's Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
"Flamethrower!"
Just as Falinks finished using No Retreat, the flames around Emboar's thick neck suddenly surged. From its fanged mouth, it spat out a scorching beam of fire that roared toward Falinks with fierce momentum.
Falinks had no intention of dodging. The leader stomped its pair of short little black legs on top of its body, and Fighting-type energy sank into the ground, instantly causing shattered stones to spray out.
Bang, bang, bang!
The shattered stones created an effect similar to a small Stone Edge. After offsetting the flames at the front, Falinks attacked from the side, while a strange light began shining from the top of its head.
"Zen Headbutt!"
Ivor gave the order. Falinks immediately gathered Psychic energy at the top of its head. As Zen Headbutt formed, the six pairs of feet moved in perfect unison, making even Emboar slightly furrow its brow.
Boom!
Emboar turned its head, and Flamethrower moved with it, but Falinks used several moves in succession to counter it.
In an instant, Falinks closed in on Emboar.
The corner of Grey's mouth rose, and he commanded, "Earthquake!"
"Emboar!"
Ground-type energy immediately covered Emboar's strong, burly body. It smashed directly into the battlefield, and the shock wave from the earthquake slammed into Falinks, making their feet unsteady as they swayed and nearly fell.
Falinks's Zen Headbutt dispersed. Just as it recovered, it saw the fierce-looking Emboar and could not help swallowing.
"Falinks…"
"Emboar!"
Emboar smiled as it clenched its fist. Amid a burst of firelight, it swung hard and smashed the Falinks leader right in the face, sending Falinks sliding several meters backward.
"Now, Flamethrower!"
Grey immediately followed up with another command.
This time, Emboar's Flamethrower successfully pierced through Falinks's body, making their already pitch-black bodies look even blacker.
Anyone who did not know better might think this was some little cousin from Unova.
After taking several moves in a row, even Falinks had accumulated anger.
Damn it…
They gnashed their teeth. The leader was the first to explode forward, bringing the group of followers with it as they tried to gang up on Emboar.
"Good. Use Body Slam!"
Facing Falinks's group assault, Grey immediately ordered Emboar to use Body Slam.
For a large Pokémon, this kind of move was completely capable of causing wide-area damage.
It would not be reduced to a living target that let people attack freely.
"Emboar!"
Emboar leaped into the air, dazzling Normal-type energy gathering around its belly.
It dove down with overwhelming force, its glowing white stomach pressing straight toward Falinks's formation.
"Bulk Up!"
Hearing the order, Falinks all struck a Bulk Up pose at once. Their muscles swelled slightly as they tried to take the hit head-on.
However, they only looked cool for three seconds.
Emboar's heavy body hit Falinks on the spot, firmly pinning them beneath its belly.
The six little ones could only barely support themselves in the white light, all feeling a little suffocated.
There was no way around it. Emboar's weight was right there.
Ivor's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Falinks, hurry and use your strength to think of a way out! When you run into an opponent this heavy, you need to work together and unleash unprecedented power!"
Ivor tried using a "rallying roar" to see whether Falinks could temporarily explode past its limits.
The result was obvious. It could not.
Falinks had been pressed under Emboar so hard that it could barely breathe. Even if it used moves, it could only barely manage one or two.
But because Emboar was pinning it down, Falinks could not put any strength into its body.
The moves it barely managed to release were like scratching an itch. They had no effect at all.
It was basically giving Emboar a massage.
And Emboar was still pressing down on Falinks.
Using itself as the center point, it directly released Fire Spin from its belly, trapping Falinks in place.
For a time, Falinks was forced to take the damage head-on.
It could not run away either.
Time passed second by second.
Falinks was burned until it lost the ability to battle.
"Gym Leader Grey, you…"
Ivor pointed at Grey and was unable to speak for a long while.
He had thought a Trainer like Grey would also act like an upright gentleman in Pokémon battles.
To put it plainly, he had expected Grey to fight head-on in battle and end things with a proper clash of fists.
But what happened?
Grey had directly made Emboar grab Falinks and refine it in an instant.
Using its own body as a furnace, Emboar had forcibly suppressed Falinks in place.
It was truly terrifying…
"Forget it. I was simply less skilled."
Ivor also saw that Grey's battle style was within the rules, so he was too embarrassed to say anything else.
Grey smiled without saying a word.
"Gym Leader Sabrina!"
At this moment, sharp-eyed Gwynn noticed Sabrina walking over, and her tone became excited.
Sabrina was holding an instant camera in her hand. She waved it toward Gwynn. "Looks like I came back at just the right time."
"Want to take one?"
Now that the battle was over, Grey relaxed quite a bit. He patted Gwynn on the shoulder and asked if she wanted an instant photo.
"Can I? How much is it? I want to buy ten!"
Gwynn thought this was like buying signed instant photos at a convention, where one photo cost fifty. She was just about to take out money when she heard Grey say, "Hey, guests don't pay."
"Yay!"
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