Grey's POV
After getting ready in the morning, I headed out towards the Pewter Museum.
I had messaged Bill earlier regarding my plans, so I waited outside the Pokémon Center since he said he would teleport over. Apparently even a workaholic like him wanted a break to visit the museum.
Around fifteen minutes later, a flash of psychic energy appeared nearby. A yellow fox Pokémon holding a spoon materialized first, followed by Bill.
I blinked in surprise.
"Your Abra evolved?"
Bill grinned and patted the Pokémon beside him.
"Yeah. Kadabra now. Makes teleporting me around a lot easier."
I had to admit it looked much more imposing than before.
Bill himself was dressed far more casually than the last time I had seen him, wearing simple vacation clothes instead of his usual work attire.
"Taking a day off?" I asked.
"More like forcing myself to," he sighed. "The League has me working on multiple engineering projects. If I don't take a break once in a while, I'll probably forget what sunlight looks like."
I laughed before shaking his hand.
"Come on then. Let's see what all the hype around this museum is about."
Third POV
The Pewter Museum stood proudly near the center of the city, built almost entirely from polished gray stone that matched the city's surroundings. Large pillars supported its entrance, while banners depicting extinct Pokémon fluttered in the breeze. Trainers, researchers, school children and tourists constantly walked in and out, making it one of the busiest places in Pewter outside the Gym.
After purchasing their tickets, Grey and Bill entered the museum.
The first hall was dedicated to prehistoric Pokémon.
Glass displays contained beautifully preserved fossils alongside detailed descriptions explaining their discovery and restoration. One section showcased the Kabuto and Kabutops line, describing them as ancient marine predators that once dominated shallow seas. Nearby were displays for Omanyte and Omastar, complete with diagrams comparing their fossil shells to their restored forms.
Further inside rested perhaps the museum's most famous exhibit.
A massive piece of Old Amber sat inside a reinforced glass case, with an informational board explaining how traces of ancient Pokémon DNA had somehow been preserved within the resin. Beside it was a reconstructed skeleton of Aerodactyl, its enormous wings spread wide enough to cast a shadow over several visitors.
Bill slowed his pace considerably.
His eyes practically sparkled.
"You know," he said while reading one of the information boards, "people usually think reviving fossils is just about cloning ancient DNA. It's a lot more complicated than that. Most fossil samples are incomplete, so restoration machines have to reconstruct missing genetic sequences using preserved cellular structures. Honestly, whoever invented fossil revival was a genius."
"You sound like you want to build one."
"I absolutely do."
Grey chuckled.
"I actually saw a live Kabutops inside Mt. Moon."
Bill looked at him blankly.
"...You're joking."
"I'm not."
Bill stared for another second before rubbing his forehead.
"There are still living populations?"
"At least a few."
"...That changes a lot of assumptions."
He immediately became thoughtful, muttering theories to himself.
"If isolated colonies survived underground... that would explain why some fossil DNA samples are remarkably well preserved. Maybe extinction wasn't as complete as everyone thought..."
Grey decided it was best not to interrupt Bill once he entered engineer mode.
The two continued through the museum, looking at various ancient artifacts, fossil excavation tools, maps of historical dig sites, and exhibits explaining how different regions had uncovered their own prehistoric Pokémon over the years.
By the time they finished the final gallery, both had learned quite a bit about Kanto's ancient history.
As they stepped back outside, Bill stretched.
"I definitely want to revive or catch a fossil Pokémon someday."
Grey shrugged.
"They're interesting, but unless one gives me a reason to catch it, I'm not particularly looking for one."
"Fair enough."
Kadabra appeared beside Bill again, spoon already glowing with psychic energy.
"See you around," Bill said.
"Take care."
With a brief flash, Bill and Kadabra teleported away.
Grey watched them disappear before turning back toward the Pokémon Center. It had been a surprisingly relaxing day, and with training resuming tomorrow, getting a good night's rest sounded like the best plan.
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Grey's POV
The next day arrived, and honestly, I didn't have much of a different plan for the remainder of the week. My focus was entirely on preparing for the upcoming gym challenge, so it was back to the same training regimen I had set up for the team.
After breakfast, I headed towards Route 3 and released everyone.
The pairings remained the same.
Fraxure trained with Heracross, Persian with Cloyster, and Charmeleon with Exeggutor, each pair working on improving their respective strengths while covering their weaknesses.
While watching them train, another thought crossed my mind.
Sleep.
It had already caused me trouble twice now once with Axew and once with Exeggutor during the Cerulean Gym battle.
Status conditions, especially sleep, were turning into a genuine weakness for my team.
The first move that came to mind was Sleep Talk.
It wasn't something I could teach immediately, but it was definitely worth keeping in mind for the future. Having at least a couple of Pokémon capable of fighting while asleep would make battles against sleep specialists far less troublesome.
I made a mental note to look into it later.
Another thing I needed was a Flame Orb.
If Heracross truly had the Guts ability, intentionally activating it before certain battles could turn him into an absolute monster. The burn would weaken most Pokémon, but Heracross would only become stronger.
I quickly sent Bill a message asking if he could procure one alongside the custom Pokéfood.
A few minutes later he replied.
"I'll look into buying one. Might take a little time, but I'll let you know."
That was good enough for me.
Putting the PokéNav away, I continued watching everyone's training, occasionally stepping in to give pointers whenever I noticed someone making the same mistake repeatedly.
The funny thing was...
...I wasn't nearly as busy as I used to be.
Because I had drilled discipline into my older Pokémon from the beginning, they had naturally started teaching the newer members in much the same way I taught them.
Fraxure constantly corrected Heracross' stance.
Exeggutor patiently explained concepts to Persian.
Even Cloyster occasionally demonstrated techniques instead of simply overpowering his opponent.
It reduced my workload considerably and let me focus on observing rather than micromanaging every session.
With everyone settling into training, I pulled out my PokéNav once more.
Since Flint was still a relatively new Gym Leader, there wasn't much battle footage available online. Most of the recorded Pewter Gym matches were still from Brock's time as Gym Leader.
Still...
...something was better than nothing.
Even if I couldn't study Flint directly, watching Brock's old matches might give me some ideas about how Pewter Gym traditionally approached Rock-type battles and help me devise a few countermeasures before my challenge.
Flint's POV
I wasn't expecting a Challenge Mode request this soon after taking over the Pewter Gym.
That alone meant I had to take this match seriously.
Challenge Mode battles were broadcast throughout the city, and I already knew I didn't have the best reputation. A lot of people still remembered me as the guy who left on his own journey while Brock stayed behind to take care of the family and the gym.
To be honest...
How Brock managed all of that was beyond me.
I glanced toward Forest.
He was busy polishing a few Geodude and Golem, making sure every Pokémon under the gym's care was in good condition.
He was getting another chance that I never gave Brock.
When I left, Brock had to shoulder everything alone. I couldn't change the past, but I could at least make sure Forest was properly prepared for the future.
He wanted to become the next Gym Leader after me, and I intended to teach him everything I knew over the next year. After that, he would leave on his own journey to gain experience and catch strong Rock-type Pokémon before eventually returning.
I was even trying to breed some of the rarer Pokémon I had caught during my travels across other regions. Hopefully, one of them would become a suitable starter for Forest when his journey began.
Closing that train of thought, I opened my diary.
Inside was a handwritten list of the Pokémon I was considering using against Grey.
I had nothing against the kid personally.
In fact, from everything I had read, he seemed like a respectful trainer.
But this was Challenge Mode.
People expected a proper battle, and if I wanted Pewter to slowly start accepting me as its Gym Leader, I needed to put on a performance worthy of being broadcast across the city.
At the same time, I couldn't overdo it.
Throwing an eight-badge-level team at a trainer challenging for his fifth badge would be ridiculous.
No.
A solid six to seven badge level team would be appropriate.
Challenge Mode was supposed to be difficult.
I was merely... making it a little more difficult.
Besides, even if he ultimately lost, if he impressed me enough during the battle, I had every intention of awarding him the Boulder Badge anyway. Challenge Mode wasn't about simply winning—it was about proving you were worthy.
I closed the diary before looking over the battle reports Laila had compiled.
The more I read about Grey's previous battles, the more interested I became.
His tactical decisions.
His Pokémon's discipline.
The way he adapted mid-battle.
This wasn't someone who brute-forced his way through Gyms.
A small smile formed on my face.
"No wonder Laila was so surprised."
From the reports alone, even an amateur could tell what was about to happen.
The kid was almost certainly going to sweep through my Gym Trainers.
Which meant...
If I wanted this Challenge Mode battle to live up to its name, I couldn't afford to neglect my own preparations.
I got up from my chair and headed toward the training grounds.
The Pokémon I had shortlisted for Grey's battle were already waiting.
"Alright," I said, clapping my hands once.
"Let's get to work. We've got a challenger worth preparing for."
Author's Note: I have a new Naruto Fanfic : Make Konoha Great Again , so read it if interested in that anime fics.