[A bit. Not about his strength, though. More like… he doesn't really want to be Champion.]
After Blue said that, people everywhere started hammering away at their keyboards, firing off their opinions in the chat.
They all felt that a League-approved Trainer like Grey—proper, upright, and by the book—would definitely be working toward becoming Champion.
But what they didn't know was that Blue was the one who had it right.
Grey genuinely just wanted a peaceful, stable life.
Positions like Elite Four member or League Champion… to him, they were honestly just so-so.
Being a Gym Leader was way more comfortable.
Because as a Gym Leader, you just had to receive challengers each day.
Food, lodging, travel—everything got reimbursed by the League.
And if you were strong enough, Gym Leaders even had privileges.
Like limiting which badge counts could challenge you, or setting your Gym's open days however you wanted.
Those were the "inside details" Grey had learned from Giovanni.
Which only made Grey feel even more strongly that, if possible, he'd rather be Kanto's strongest Gym Leader in the long run.
What do you call that again…
I really don't want to be Champion!
Yep—that was exactly what Grey was thinking.
Back to the battlefield.
Caitlin's first Poké Ball at her waist snapped open.
A "steel crab" appeared on the field.
And compared to her previous Pokémon, its presence was on a completely different level.
[Pokémon: Metagross]
[Type: Steel, Psychic]
[Level: 64→66]
[Ability: Clear Body]
[Moves: omitted]
That's right—Caitlin's ace was Hoenn's pseudo-legendary: Metagross!
And its baseline strength had reached the Elite Four level. With Caitlin's Psychic boost layered on top, it even rose to the point where it could stand level with Annihilape!
It completely opened Grey's eyes.
Caitlin's Psychic power really was something—no wonder it kept going out of control.
Because once you hit Elite Four level, every step forward gets brutally difficult.
You could see it just by looking at how fast Grey's Pokémon improved.
Before, they could jump ten levels a day—sometimes five.
But after level 60, their growth slowed down by a lot.
Maybe one level every three days.
And once they reached Champion level, it would be even harder.
That was why Grey could tell—this wasn't something Caitlin learned. It was something she was born with.
And because it was too powerful from the moment she was born, Caitlin couldn't adapt to it right away.
So she had to slowly grind through that adjustment.
If it weren't for Grey and Sabrina, she probably would've needed even more time.
"Bzzz." (Running a power check… check complete. It's a Metagross that's way weaker than my older sibling.)
Grey's belt shook again, and a silvery-white "disk" Pokémon floated up into the air.
Its two claws extended from both sides of its body, and the tips gleamed an earthy gold.
It was Metang.
Earlier that morning, while Beldum was shadowboxing in its sleep, it evolved into Metang.
[???]
[Streamer, where did you get a Shiny Metang?!]
[Oh? Gym Leader Grey's raising it fast—two days after getting it, and it already evolved into Metang. (Governor subscribed)]
[Wait, isn't that Steven Stone—the Devon Corporation heir who's also Hoenn's Champion, the guy who's always like "I'm number one, strong and amazing"?]
[Hold on—Champion Steven's message… so this is a Shiny Beldum Steven personally gave him, and it evolved into Metang?!]
[No, seriously—what? Giving a Fighting-type Trainer a Steel/Psychic Shiny Hoenn pseudo-legendary? That says a lot.]
The livestream exploded.
And it also confirmed the "legend" that Steven really did give gifts like an absolute maniac.
If it was good, Steven actually handed it over!
A Shiny Beldum—just like that!
This was the Pokémon that was famously ranked #1 on the "Top 10 Shiny Pokémon People Want Most in Hoenn" kind of lists!
The chat was nothing but envy.
While the livestream chat kept rolling like a flood, over at Kanto League Headquarters, the conference room fell into an eerie silence.
Several executives stared at the short message Steven had sent on-screen, tea cups frozen midair as if they'd forgotten how to put them down.
[Gifted Gym Leader Grey a Shiny Beldum.]
The weight of those nine words—everyone in that room understood it perfectly.
That "casual gift" from Devon's young master was basically a political bomb dropped straight into the Trainer world.
Because that was a pseudo-legendary baby most Trainers across most regions would never obtain—let alone the one-in-ten-thousand Shiny variant.
The signal behind Steven's move made everyone reach for their communicators almost in unison.
"Lance, what do you think?" Lorelei asked, adjusting her glasses.
They all knew about Caitlin's situation—that was why they were packed into this conference room watching the stream.
It was to prevent Caitlin from suddenly losing control.
But who would've thought they'd end up watching this kind of drama?
Lance didn't answer. He fell into deep thought.
It was the same "gift a pseudo-legendary" concept, sure—but Steven's gift was a Shiny Beldum.
And it was even the younger sibling of Steven's own ace Shiny Metagross.
How valuable was that? It didn't need explaining.
"Heh…"
The reflection in Lance's tea suddenly looked warped, showing his self-mocking smile.
Compared to that kind of gift, the Dratini he'd confiscated from Team Rocket and then passed on back then looked like a piece of candy he'd casually tossed.
And that Dratini had been one Grey personally saved in the first place.
"Um… actually, I have a Shiny Pokémon too."
Bruno spoke up in a low voice. He even stopped eating his rage buns and watermelon, eyes gleaming like he was expecting everyone to praise him.
His tone was excited, like he was sure this was going to impress them.
"What?! You have a Shiny too? Bruno, spit it out!" Lance's eyebrows shot up.
For a guy who usually looked plain and honest, Bruno was hiding something like that?
That was unexpectedly deep.
"Promise you won't yell at me after I say it."
Bruno thought about it and decided he needed a guarantee first.
"?"
Lance immediately sensed something was off.
But Steven had just gifted a Shiny pseudo-legendary, so Lance still gritted his teeth and nodded. "I promise."
"Me too."
"Hehehe… this old woman as well."
Seeing the other three agree, Bruno finally pulled out a Poké Ball and said, "My ace Machamp laid an Egg, and it hatched into a Shiny Machop, and it's also—"
"..."
Before he could finish, Bruno noticed everyone's expressions had turned… strange.
"What? What is it?"
Bruno shook the Poké Ball in his hand, feeling like Grey would definitely like it.
Lance rubbed his forehead, utterly heartsick. "Forget it. I'll look for a Shiny Jangmo-o when I get a chance to visit Alola."
Lorelei smoothly changed the topic. "I think a Shiny Chimchar, Tepig, Chespin, or Quaxly would be nice too."
"Why not take the Machop that's already right here?"
"Bruno, I'm begging you—please stop talking!!!"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.