The door to the nurse's office was pushed open.
Grey looked over and saw a man with brown hair and a school uniform walk in.
"Arven, your medicine."
Miriam naturally knew why Arven had come, and she handed over the medicine that had been prepared long ago.
Only...
Miriam's expression looked somewhat unnatural.
She wanted to say something to Arven, but in the end, she said nothing more and simply placed the medicine in his hand. "It should last a while longer."
"Okay. Thank you, Ms. Miriam."
Arven quickly thanked her, then prepared to leave.
"Arven?"
Grey called out to Arven.
Arven stopped and looked at Grey in confusion.
"Excuse me... do we know each other?"
Arven thought through his memories, trying to figure out whether he had ever met Grey.
But no matter which memories he searched through, he truly had no recollection connected to Grey.
In other words, to him, the person calling him over was a complete stranger.
"We don't, but I know your mother, Professor Sada. Since you're picking up that medicine, did you run into some kind of trouble?"
Grey smiled faintly and told Arven that he knew Professor Sada.
After learning that Grey knew his mother, Arven's expression became somewhat unnatural.
"Oh..."
Clearly, Arven did not want to trouble Grey.
"If you need help related to battle strength, then as long as it's convenient for me, I can lend you a hand."
Hearing this, Arven abruptly turned his head.
Hassel, who stood nearby, added, "Arven, Mr. Grey is a Champion Trainer acknowledged by Chairwoman Geeta, so you can rest assured."
"This..."
Arven felt warmth in his heart, but he and Grey were neither relatives nor friends. Suddenly asking the other man to help him felt a little like he was taking advantage of him.
"Your mother did me a favor. I'm only giving you a little help in return. It's nothing worth mentioning."
Grey shook his head, indicating that Arven did not need to care about formalities and could just say it directly.
Seeing this, Arven told Grey about what had happened to his Pokémon.
In short, when he had entered Area Zero, he had been attacked by some kind of Paradox Pokémon inside. In order to protect him, Arven's Mabosstiff had been gravely injured and poisoned by some unknown toxin that modern medicine could not fully remove.
Even Full Heals, Full Restores, and Heal Powder had no effect.
They could only temporarily suppress the poison.
If he wanted to remove it completely, then he needed to search for special items called Herba Mystica.
As long as he gathered all five kinds of Herba Mystica and had Mabosstiff eat them all, there was a chance that Mabosstiff could recover to its original state.
However, the known Herba Mystica were all occupied by powerful Pokémon collectively known by the academic term "Titan Pokémon."
These Titan Pokémon had all eaten some Herba Mystica, causing their strength and size to increase explosively. Even their stamina was far beyond other Pokémon of the same species.
Because of that, Arven had been in a difficult position.
He wanted to ask someone for help, but no one was willing to take on such a thankless task.
So all he could do for now was rely on medicine from the nurse's office to maintain Mabosstiff's condition.
"So that's what happened. No problem. Then follow me for the time being. I just so happen to plan on traveling around the Paldea region. If we run into the Titan Pokémon you mentioned along the way, I can help you take them down and obtain the Herba Mystica."
Grey patted his chest and directly agreed to handle Arven's matter.
Mainly, Professor Sada had entrusted Koraidon to him to raise.
That was a Champion-level Pokémon, and it even possessed the strength of a top-tier Legendary Pokémon.
Since Professor Sada had treated him so well, then he would take good care of Arven in return.
This was basic give-and-take. Perfectly reasonable.
Who knew? Maybe after he traveled back, those damn Palkia and Dialga would send him back again to go through more of the plot.
Because of that, Grey felt he needed to properly sort out the favors and relationships involved.
Otherwise, if something like this happened again, he might end up like he was now, dirt poor and forced to get by through underground battles.
Fortunately, he had some strength now.
And his main Pokémon were all with him.
Otherwise, he really would have had to start from scratch!
"Mr. Grey... thank you!"
Hearing Grey directly agree to help him, Arven truly felt that Grey was a very good person.
Grey waved his hand without caring much. "You're welcome. Since your mother helped me a lot, it's only right that I help you in return."
After confirming the specific time with Arven, Grey decided to set out later and head east, aiming to reach Artazon before midnight.
There was also a relatively easy-to-handle Titan Pokémon along the way, so he could get the first Herba Mystica then.
Just like that, after finalizing the plan, Arven hurried back to the dorms to prepare his luggage.
"Mr. Grey, you truly are a good-hearted person! I never expected you to be willing to go this far for a student. It truly moves me!"
As Hassel said this, he started crying again, shedding tears of emotion.
"Mr. Hassel, here, wipe your tears."
Miriam handed him a tissue.
At the same time, she could not help glancing at Grey a few more times.
She only felt that Grey was incredible. For the sake of a student, he was actually planning to take down all five Titan Pokémon by himself...
"Mr. Grey, individual Titan Pokémon are extremely strong, but because there have been few witnesses, their true level cannot be confirmed..."
Miriam gave him a reminder.
Grey nodded. "I know. I've heard a bit about these Titan Pokémon too. In reality, they're just a little tougher and bulkier. If it really comes down to fighting, it'll probably only take a few moves."
"Is... is that so?"
Miriam blinked her beautiful eyes. But seeing Grey look so confident, she inexplicably felt a sense of trust in him. "Then good luck, Mr. Grey. I hope everything goes smoothly."
"From your lips to Arceus's ears."
Grey smiled lightly. Then, after saying goodbye to the two of them, he prepared to wait for Arven at the school gate.
But after waiting, Arven did not arrive first. Instead, he saw Nemona walking over while carrying a large amount of luggage.
"Mr. Grey! I heard you're going traveling with Arven. Would it be okay if I came along?"
Nemona's eyes shone brightly. It felt like even if Grey refused her, she would still cling to him until he agreed.
"You don't need to worry about lodging. If we can't reach a new town on foot that night, I'll pay for a cab!"
Nemona grabbed Grey's wrist and hurriedly said, "Can I? Can I? It's definitely okay, right?"
"This... fine."
Grey could only agree to Nemona's request.
He did not know whether to laugh or cry over it.
Nemona was way too naturally familiar.
Why was she like an ATM, constantly spitting out money?
But Grey knew Nemona wanted him to battle her more.
In that case, whenever he had time, he would have to agree.
That night, Grey, Arven, and Nemona set out from Mesagoza's eastern gate, preparing to head toward the first town, Artazon.
"I heard there's a Titan Pokémon around South Province Area Three. Mr. Grey, I'll be counting on you when the time comes."
Arven had his own information network.
On the way to Artazon, they would pass through South Province Area Three. He had heard that there was a Titan Pokémon there, Klawf.
So when they passed by, they would need to specifically search for information on Klawf.
"No problem."
Grey nodded.
And so, the three of them set out in grand fashion...
South Province Area Three.
Many baby Pokémon lived here.
The Pokémon here were not very strong.
It was the kind of place where most students could sweep through with ease.
But Arven did not have many Pokémon on hand at the moment.
Aside from the injured Mabosstiff, he only had one Skwovet.
"This is South Province Area Three. I heard the Stony Cliff Titan stays on walls, so when we pass through, let's check the nearby cliffs and see if there's any huge Pokémon on them."
Holding his Rotom Phone, Arven spoke to Grey and Nemona.
"There's no need for that."
Grey waved his hand.
Then his aura was fully released, directly covering South Province Area Three and shocking the others.
"This..."
Arven was stunned.
What the hell? This was basically a human radar!
He had originally thought they would have to slowly feel their way forward and search, but Grey directly used aura to investigate, completely saving them the effort of a slow search.
Good grief, that was way too ridiculous!
Thinking this, Arven's eyes lit up.
If this ability of Grey's had no side effects, then it really could save a lot of time!
"Wow! Mr. Grey, you were actually still hiding another trick during the battle? If this were used in battle, wouldn't it make things even more challenging?"
Nemona, meanwhile, began thinking about the compatibility between aura and Pokémon battles.
It was a perfect match!
If used properly, it could produce unprecedented effects!
Thinking of this, Nemona felt that once she became more familiar with Grey, she absolutely had to make Grey use aura to battle her properly!
"Found it. Follow me."
Grey withdrew his aura and spoke to the two behind him.
Then he headed straight for a relatively hidden cliff.
There, a huge crab Pokémon was waiting. Its eyeballs bulged out of their sockets. Noticing Grey's arrival and seeing that no Pokémon was following beside him, it directly jumped down and looked down at him from above.
"Klawf, klawf!" I opened this road and planted this tree. If you want to pass, pay the toll!
Klawf fiercely waved its huge claws, producing sharp sounds as they cut through the air in an attempt to force Grey back.
What, you said you wanted to pass through here?
No problem. As long as you handed over all your food, like Energy Cubes and the like, it would immediately leave and let you pass safely.
It could even serve as a top-tier escort. No problem at all.
Pokémon: Klawf
Type: Rock
Level: 20
Ability: Regenerator
Moves: omitted.
"What an adorable stat spread..."
When Grey saw that the Klawf in front of him was only level 20, he could not help laughing out loud.
What kind of concept was level 20?
Even the Tyrogue that appeared all the way back in chapter three had been above level 20.
Even if he dug three feet deep in his Fighting Dojo now, he would not be able to find a single Pokémon at level 20.
"Klawf!" Human, what are you laughing at? If you don't leave the toll, don't even think about passing through here!
Seeing that Grey was unmoved, Klawf immediately shouted angrily at him.
"Mr. Grey!"
Behind him, Arven and Nemona finally arrived late.
Neither of them had a physique as strong as Grey's. Nemona in particular had fallen behind Arven. If she had not brought a Tauros to carry her, she really would have collapsed from exhaustion.
As for physical stamina, there was even less to say.
She basically had to stop and catch her breath after running for a while.
Although Nemona was very strong when it came to Pokémon battles, as for sports and physical activity, forget it...
"You two came just in time."
Grey took out a Premier Ball and immediately threw it. "Metagross! Come out!"
"Meta!"
A silver Metagross entered the field.
The moment this shiny Metagross appeared, Arven and Nemona both cried out in surprise.
"Whoa, so cool!"
"Whoa, so strong!"
The two of them focused on completely different things.
Arven was surprised that Grey actually had a shiny Metagross.
Nemona was surprised that Grey's Metagross was also this strong.
Klawf: ???
Holy crap, an Elite Four-level Pokémon that was close to Champion level?!
Seeing Grey send out an Elite Four-level Metagross, one that was even about to reach Champion level, the entire crab was dumbfounded.
Come on, man.
You could have told me you were built like a Tauros earlier!
How would it have dared to block his way?
Was there really a need for this sting operation?
This was what they called setting the bait with his own body.
"I'll give you two choices. One, I beat you up, and then you hand over the Herba Mystica. Two, you take us to your lair, and then you hand over the Herba Mystica."
Grey raised two fingers.
"Klawf?!" What?! Human, you actually want the precious treasure I found after so much trouble?!
Klawf was startled.
But could it refuse?
Clearly, that was impossible.
Metagross was standing right there, watching it like a tiger eyeing its prey.
How would it dare make trouble?
Sigh. It had not expected that after throwing its weight around South Province Area Three for so long, it would actually get caught by a sting operation today.
How bitter!
"Don't worry. In exchange... how about you follow him?"
Grey pointed at Arven. "This guy is very good at cooking. If you follow him, not only will you have delicious food every day, maybe your strength will improve very quickly because of it. At the very least, you won't stay as weak as you are now."
"Klawf?" Follow him?
"Me?"
Klawf and Arven stared at each other.
Letting a Pokémon with tasty claw meat follow a chef?
That was some serious matchmaking.
"Hey, don't rush to refuse. Wait until he cooks a meal for you. You can make your decision after you eat it, right? How about this? Take us to your lair first, then he can cook for you on the spot."
Grey also told Klawf not to worry so much and to lead the way first.
Klawf did not dare refuse.
It could only lead the way and guide the three of them to its nest.
Inside the nest.
"It's Sweet Herba Mystica!"
Arven spotted the Herba Mystica rooted deep inside at a glance.
It was a plant that released a pink glow. Its shape looked somewhat like a tree branch, soft and pink, making it obvious at a glance that it was related to "sweetness."
Klawf looked pained as it watched Arven pick the Herba Mystica.
However, very soon, it no longer felt that way.
Arven made sandwiches. They were simple to prepare, so he finished quickly.
He gave the extra sandwiches to Klawf.
Klawf was immediately won over by Arven's cooking.
"I didn't expect you to be this good at cooking, Arven..."
Nemona ate her sandwich, and her eyes lit up despite herself.
"It really is good."
Grey also took a few bites and gave it a positive review.
"Hmm..."
Arven, on the other hand, was extremely nervous.
He took out a Poké Ball and placed it on the ground.
From inside, a large black dog Pokémon appeared...
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