"Gambit!"
As soon as Kingambit entered the field, its entire aura surged several levels higher.
It beckoned toward Gallade and revealed a somewhat wicked grin.
Ability: Supreme Overlord, activated!
At the same time, Geeta took out her Tera Orb and activated the Terastal energy inside it.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
A fierce wind swept across the field, blowing Geeta's hair.
Yet Geeta remained perfectly still and directly threw the Tera Orb above Kingambit's head with one hand.
Crack!
A layer of crystal covered Kingambit, fully enveloping it before a faint crystalline film appeared across its body.
Above Kingambit's head, a balloon-like crystal emerged.
Flying Tera Type!
"Gallade, proceed carefully."
Grey could only tell Gallade to be careful so Kingambit would not find an opportunity to take it down.
"Gallade..."
Gallade nodded lightly and stood with its blades lowered.
"Gambit!" Buddy! Come fight!
The moment Terastallization ended, Kingambit let out a fierce shout.
Geeta raised her hand and clenched her fist. "Kingambit, Iron Head!"
Clang!
Silver light flashed. The sharp blade on Kingambit's head was instantly covered in a coating of steel as it charged straight at Gallade, radiating an aura that no one could take lightly.
"Gallade, dodge to the side, then counter with Triple Axel!"
Once the battle entered close-range combat, Grey actually felt relieved.
He might not be that good at ranged exchanges.
But when it came to one-on-one close combat, this was his comfort zone.
As Kingambit charged in, Gallade sidestepped its headbutt.
Immediately after, Gallade's green leg shone with a cold light. The first kick landed directly against Kingambit's side. Then Gallade spun, and the second kick followed right after.
The force was powerful enough to make Kingambit drop to one knee on the training field.
"Don't get greedy with the third hit. Use Teleport to dodge!"
Seeing that Kingambit was about to bow its head, Grey had Gallade use Teleport to create an instant where it was no longer on the field.
"Gallade!"
Hearing this, Gallade directly canceled the third kick. Psychic energy wrapped around its entire body, and the moment Kingambit bowed, it vanished from its original spot.
Clang!
A massive blade tore through the air. Sand and stones flew, and grass and trees were cut apart.
The field in front of Kingambit was split in two, but Gallade was not hit.
A Dark-type Kowtow Cleave!
Kowtow Cleave was a move that never missed, but if the target was not on the field, then it would fail.
Seeing Kowtow Cleave fail, Geeta did not get angry. She only revealed a faint smile. "Impressive, very impressive. You were able to judge which move Kingambit was using in time. Mr. Grey, you are absolutely no ordinary Trainer. I am very curious why there is no information about you circulating online."
The experience Grey displayed in battle was extremely refined.
No matter which region a Trainer like him came from, he would never be some nameless figure.
Geeta had seen information on many elite Trainers from various regions and had even sent out invitation letters to some of them.
But she had never found any information on Grey.
That was why she was curious about Grey's origins.
After all, this was a Trainer Professor Sada had personally called her and asked her to arrange work for.
How could he possibly be a nobody?
"As for me... I just don't really like being in the spotlight."
Grey said this without even blushing.
Geeta nodded lightly.
She knew Grey did not want to tell her, so she did not ask further. Instead, she turned her gaze back to the field. "Kingambit, Shadow Claw!"
"Gambit!"
Kingambit rushed toward Gallade. A ghostly glow bloomed from its arm, and claw-shaped energy suddenly slashed out, only for Gallade to dodge in time.
"Thunder Punch!"
Golden light flashed. Gallade immediately slammed a punch into Kingambit, and dense arcs of electricity drilled into it. Even the Flying Tera crystal on Kingambit's body cracked and broke off in several places.
Seeing this, Geeta immediately responded, "Kingambit, grab it and use Iron Head!"
Kingambit endured the pain. Its arms clamped tightly around Gallade, and silver light spread from its head before it rammed straight into Gallade's abdomen.
Clang, clang!
Gallade was sent flying several yards. Then, as Kingambit bowed again, a powerful blade of Dark-type energy suddenly slashed out, giving Gallade almost no time to react.
After taking two moves in a row, Gallade was not in good condition. On top of that, it was facing a Kingambit whose Supreme Overlord had already activated, and wounds of all sizes had now appeared across its body.
It was also at this moment that the pink mist on the field faded.
The battlefield returned to normal.
Grey already had a countermeasure in mind. He was just waiting for Kingambit's next attack.
He met Geeta's gaze, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Geeta's expression did not change. She and Grey gave their commands almost at the same time.
"Sucker Punch!"
"Hypnosis!"
He had guessed right!
Kingambit wanted to catch Gallade's opening.
But Gallade had not used an attacking move at all.
The red horn on Gallade's chest released pink waves that sank into Kingambit's eyes, making it drowsy until it closed its eyes right there on the spot.
Gallade seized the chance to use Teleport and flash behind Kingambit, then unleashed moves like Thunder Punch and Ice Punch one after another. It battered Kingambit until only the little balloon crystal above its head remained of its Terastallized form.
Yet Kingambit was still asleep.
At this point, the result of the battle was clear.
"This battle is my loss."
Geeta voluntarily recalled Kingambit, then walked forward while clapping. With a faint smile, she asked, "Mr. Grey, do you have any interest in becoming Paldea's Champion?"
"A Champion-ranked Trainer?"
Grey knew Paldea had the concept of "Champion-ranked Trainers," so his first reaction was that Geeta wanted him to accept that honor.
"Not a Champion-ranked Trainer. I mean Paldea's Champion Trainer."
Geeta kept smiling.
"Wow! Mr. Grey was actually personally invited by Chairwoman Geeta to become Paldea's Champion?! That's amazing!"
Nemona was stunned off the field.
There were not many Trainers who could be personally invited by Geeta!
She had not expected Grey to only have one battle with Geeta and then be invited to become Paldea's Champion!
This was an incredibly high honor.
It was equivalent to standing on the same level as Champion Trainers from other regions.
A true equal stage!
"Hiss... So that was Geeta's plan... She really doesn't lose either way..."
Larry finally realized what was happening.
Whether she won or lost, as long as she could successfully recruit Grey, it would be a massive gain.
If Grey lost, she would make him work for her.
If Grey won, Geeta would simply go with the flow and invite him to become Paldea's Champion.
Right now, Geeta was the chairwoman of the Paldea League, the Champion, and the League chairwoman of Naranja Academy.
If she could hand the Champion position to Grey, then it would be even easier for her to make Grey work afterward.
And with so many people watching, Grey was still young. His skin was probably not that thick.
Maybe he would just accept on the spot.
Whoa.
Geeta, that move of yours is seriously brilliant!
Larry sighed inwardly. Geeta's mind was actually this meticulous? She had even thought this far ahead?
"Chairwoman Geeta, a real man belongs out in the wider world, so please forgive me for refusing."
Grey smiled and waved his hand. "I travel from place to place, and I rarely leave ties behind in any one region."
"Very well. Then my invitation remains valid. If you ever have any interest in becoming Paldea's Champion afterward, Mr. Grey, feel free to come find me."
Geeta instead handed him a business card. "Then I won't disturb you any further. Send me your card number later, and I'll transfer the money to you."
"About that... Could it be cash?"
Grey smiled awkwardly.
He did not have a bank card here.
He did not even have an ID.
So if he wanted to spend money, he had to use cash.
Otherwise, he genuinely would not be able to get anywhere.
"No problem."
Geeta did not ask further and instead had someone prepare the cash. "Since it is a large amount of funds, you may need to come to my office tomorrow to collect it."
Grey nodded. "All right. Sorry for the trouble, Chairwoman Geeta."
"It's no trouble. This is what I should do."
After saying this, Geeta recalled Kingambit and left the training field.
The surrounding spectators also dispersed.
Hassel, who had served as the referee, looked deeply moved, almost to the point of tears. "That was truly an exhilarating battle. Although it lasted less than two hours, it made me feel as if it had gone on for nearly three full days!"
"Mr. Grey, how did you raise them?"
When asked this question, Grey scratched his head.
Hiss...
How was he supposed to answer?
He could not exactly say they leveled up after sleeping, right?
Obviously, that was impossible.
Grey thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "You have to raise Pokémon with love. I have always firmly believed that as long as you give them enough love, you will definitely receive something in return."
"I never expected Mr. Grey to be such a pure-hearted person!"
Hassel was so moved by Grey's words that he cried. He took out a handkerchief, wiped away his tears, and sobbed, "This is the first time I have ever met a Trainer as pure-hearted as you, sir. I could not help shedding tears for a moment. Please forgive me for making a scene."
"Not at all."
Grey honestly did not think much of it.
Hassel just had a low tear threshold. It was completely normal for him to cry easily.
That was precisely why Hassel had become such a sentimental person.
Although Hassel did not have much story content in the games, during this little bit of time they had spent together, Grey had quite a good impression of him.
He was a good person.
"Mr. Grey! Once your Pokémon are healed, how about we have our battle?"
Nemona came over at this moment.
She really could not wait to throw down with Grey.
He had been acknowledged by Geeta!
That meant he had to be an extremely powerful Trainer!
"Sure, no problem."
After all, he had promised Nemona earlier, and he really was short on money now.
So Grey would not go back on his word.
"Great! Thank you, Mr. Grey! You're so nice, it almost makes me feel like I'm underpaying you..."
Nemona thought about it. For a Champion-level Trainer like Grey, the appearance fee for one battle definitely would not be low.
She was paying Grey two hundred thousand for two hours to be her sparring partner. Now that she thought about it, that seemed a little disrespectful to Grey...
Maybe she should raise it to five hundred thousand?
"It's fine. This price is already good."
Grey did not really care about that.
As long as he could save enough travel money, that was enough.
If he traveled on Koraidon every day, he should be able to save enough money in two weeks.
When that time came, he could switch maps, wander around somewhere else, and search for information related to the Legendary Pokémon of time and space.
"Really...? But I still feel like you're taking a bit of a loss, Mr. Grey."
Although Nemona was a battle maniac, her emotional intelligence was actually quite high.
She felt that Grey was saying that to comfort her.
Hmm...
What could she do for Grey?
"In that case, could I ask you to help me look for information related to a Pokémon called Hoopa?"
Grey had originally wanted Nemona to ask about the Legendary Pokémon of time and space.
But those two hid far too well, so they might not be able to find any relevant information.
Hoopa was different.
In the movie, it lived in Dahara City in the Kalos region.
And the Kalos region was separated from the Paldea region by only one mountain range. From Paldea, reaching Kalos was just a matter of crossing the mountains. With the scale of Nemona's family, finding Hoopa would probably be fairly easy.
With this in mind, Grey told Nemona about the rumors concerning Hoopa in Dahara City.
"Okay! Then I'll have my family help look for news about Hoopa right away!"
Seeing that she could be useful, Nemona became energetic all at once.
"Then I'll head to the Pokémon Center to heal my Pokémon first."
After saying this, Grey was about to leave.
"You don't need to go to the Pokémon Center. Go to the nurse's office. Ms. Miriam has healing equipment there."
Nemona reminded Grey just as she was about to leave, telling him he did not need to run so far.
"Got it."
Grey did not want to go too far either, so he listened to Nemona and went to the nurse's office to find Miriam and heal his Pokémon.
"If it is the nurse's office, please follow me."
Hassel took the initiative to lead the way, guiding Grey toward the nurse's office.
"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Hassel."
Grey followed behind Hassel.
After a little more than ten minutes, they arrived at the door of the nurse's office.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming."
The door to the nurse's office opened, and a woman wearing a white coat, a yellow sweater underneath, and a pinkish-purple skirt on her lower body stepped out.
Hassel explained the reason for their visit to the woman in front of him. "Ms. Miriam, this is Mr. Grey. He came here to borrow your medical equipment to heal his Pokémon."
"All right. Come with me."
Miriam gestured for the two of them to enter.
"Sorry for the trouble, Ms. Miriam."
Grey handed the Poké Balls to Miriam.
"You're welcome. This is what a school nurse should do."
Miriam smiled lightly. After placing the Poké Balls on the medical equipment, she pressed the button.
While they waited, she brought over stools for the two of them and began making small talk. "You look unfamiliar, sir. Since Mr. Hassel brought you here, are you a new teacher?"
"No, I'm just here to work for a bit. I'll probably leave after some time."
Grey gave a sheepish laugh.
He guessed he would be leaving this world in less than a month.
He could not stay too long. Otherwise, what if he stopped wanting to leave?
"Mr. Grey is a Trainer acknowledged by Chairwoman Geeta. Unfortunately, he has no intention of staying in Paldea to work. Otherwise, I believe we would have become very compatible colleagues."
A trace of disappointment appeared in Hassel's eyes.
Hearing this, Miriam looked slightly surprised. "That's amazing! Mr. Grey, are you a Champion-ranked Trainer?"
Grey said humbly, "Something like that. I barely managed to fight Chairwoman Geeta to a draw."
Just as Miriam was about to say something else, there was another knock on the nurse's office door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Ms. Miriam, I'm here to pick up my medicine."
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