In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Grey brought Sabrina, Caitlin, Cynthia, and Lillie to the airport, ready to depart for the Alola region.
Before they left, Lance made a special trip to see them off. "Gym Leader Grey, I hope you all arrive safely in Alola. Should anything happen while you're there, don't hesitate to contact me."
"Absolutely. We'll be fine."
Grey gave Lance a casual salute before leading everyone onto the plane.
They were seated in first class.
Lillie was clearly the most excited. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she tugged on Grey's sleeve. "Grey, when we meet Mother, please don't take anything she says too seriously."
Lillie could no longer predict what Lusamine might do.
Even though Lusamine and Grey now considered themselves family, there was no guarantee she would not try to use Grey's name or reputation to accomplish something.
"Don't worry. Lusamine is actually a pretty good person." Grey waved dismissively. "Besides, with my current strength, even if everyone in Alola tried to attack me at once, they'd have to think very carefully about the consequences."
Of course, forget everyone in Alola.
Even if the Blinding One, Ultra Necrozma, appeared, it would still have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages before confronting Grey as he was now.
He currently had Kyurem, Koraidon, Groudon, Kyogre, Reshiram, and Annihilape with him. Riolu was also staying by his side.
What was there to fear?
As for Giovanni?
He was hardly worth worrying about.
Back then, Reshiram alone had been enough to force Giovanni's Mega Beedrill to retreat. Now that Grey had brought so many major Legendary Pokémon with him, he could easily pin Giovanni to the ground and wipe the floor with him.
Team Rocket, prepare to welcome your king!
Hearing Grey's relaxed answer, Lillie gradually calmed down.
"Grey, thank you!"
"You're welcome. You're family to me, after all. Once I'm sure you're safe, Sabrina, Caitlin, and I will spend some time traveling around Alola before heading home."
"Okay!"
The plane landed at the airport in Hau'oli City, Alola, and Grey's group finally reached their destination.
"Whew, this is my first time in Alola. Beaches, sunshine, and a sea breeze blowing right in your face. This feels amazing!"
After stepping off the plane, Grey casually placed both hands behind his head. Sabrina stood on his left, Caitlin on his right, and Lillie was directly in front of him.
Cynthia stared at the scene in silence.
There was something about it that she could not quite put into words.
This man really could not get rid of that playboy streak.
Cynthia had an intense love-hate relationship with Grey.
He had stolen away her best friend, Caitlin, and he seemed increasingly inclined to attract even more women.
Yet he was genuinely outstanding.
He knew both Palkia and Dialga. He had even caught Groudon and Kyogre, two major Legendary Pokémon from the Hoenn region.
Calling him a playboy felt unfair because he did not actually mistreat anyone.
However, his personality was undeniably that of an incorrigible playboy.
Damn it!
Had Grey's personality been even slightly more restrained, Cynthia would not have been fighting with herself like this.
One side of her thought Grey was wonderful, while the other thought he was terrible.
Still, after he had taken her to meet Palkia and Dialga and treated her so generously two days ago, she could hardly continue criticizing him in her head.
Cynthia's thoughts remained locked in a fierce internal struggle.
"Gym Leader Grey, over here!"
A shout suddenly interrupted Cynthia's thoughts.
A tan young man wearing a professor's white lab coat approached them. His complexion looked remarkably similar to that of the Masked Royal.
"Alola! I'm Kukui. It's great to meet all of you. There's no need for a long introduction, so let's get straight into the car. I'll take you to our base."
Cynthia blinked.
Their base?
She suddenly wondered whether she had come to the wrong place.
Was this really the Alola region?
Was she absolutely sure this was not the gathering place of some criminal organization?
"Is something wrong, Cynthia?" Kukui noticed the strange expression on her face and pulled a bottle of medicine from his pocket. He offered it to her. "Many visitors have trouble adjusting to Alola's climate when they first arrive. You can try this medicine if you're feeling unwell."
"No, that won't be necessary." Cynthia declined with an awkward smile.
Setting aside the question of whether it was even legitimate medicine, asking someone to take medication immediately after getting off a plane was suspicious enough.
Cynthia was beginning to feel that following Grey here had been a terrible decision.
"Cynthia just tends to overthink things." Grey was not particularly concerned. "Come on, Professor Kukui. Show us this base of yours."
Grey walked over and slung an arm around Kukui's shoulders, patting his upper arm a few times.
"Huh, your muscles are pretty solid, Professor Kukui. Do you work out regularly?"
"A little, a little. Compared with you, Gym Leader Grey, my muscles are nothing worth mentioning."
Kukui could only smile awkwardly.
Compared with Grey's physique, his own muscles barely counted for anything.
They continued chatting casually as Kukui led Grey and the others to the beach in Hau'oli City.
Two wooden cottages stood there.
Other than the cottages, there was only a school located a short distance away.
Cynthia stopped the moment she saw the cottages and drew in a sharp breath.
Surely he was not expecting them to stay here.
It was not that Cynthia disliked the place.
A hotel would have been perfectly fine.
However, wooden cottages like these could not possibly have good soundproofing.
"Professor Kukui, are we staying here?"
Grey rubbed his chin as he examined the cottages from top to bottom.
Both cottages were the same size.
There was only one small problem, though it was not exactly a problem.
Where were Cynthia and Lillie supposed to stay?
Would they stay with Grey's group or find accommodations elsewhere?
Lillie would not be an issue.
She could simply return to her family's mansion.
Cynthia was different.
They could not possibly make Cynthia stay at a hotel in the city and commute back and forth every day.
That obviously was not practical.
"That's right. Cynthia, Caitlin, Lillie, and Sabrina will stay in this cottage," Kukui explained. "Gym Leader Grey, you'll stay with me in the other one."
The moment Kukui finished speaking, he felt two pairs of eyes boring into him.
Naturally, they belonged to Caitlin and Sabrina, both of whom were staring at him with deep resentment.
Professor Kukui really did not know how to read the room.
What kind of sane person would separate the men and women under circumstances like these?
"Maybe we should discuss the arrangements again?" Kukui asked nervously, intimidated by their stares.
Grey waved his hand. "There's no problem. We'll stay like this."
Living together could wait for another couple of days.
Until Giovanni had been dealt with, Grey genuinely was not in the mood for any of that.
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