Saffron City, Fighting Dojo.
Grey recalled Annihilape, and at the same time sent ripples of Aura pulsing outward, keeping constant watch on Caitlin's condition—
Just in case losing the battle caused her Psychic powers to erupt.
But judging by how Caitlin looked right now… it didn't seem like she was anywhere near that state.
Grey rested a hand against his chin, and his Aura carried Caitlin's emotional shifts into his own awareness.
Just as it appeared on the surface, Caitlin's emotions were extremely stable.
Almost like… relief.
And on Caitlin's side—
"Haa…"
She slowly let out a breath.
She'd thought that if her battle with Grey ended in defeat, her Psychic powers would spiral out of control.
But after truly fighting him, she realized it wasn't like she'd imagined at all.
Grey was strong. His ability to control the flow of a match was comparable even to the strongest person she knew—Cynthia.
No matter what move she used, he could dismantle it with ease.
Even her ace Metagross had been crushed under Annihilape's sheer "numbers."
How should she put it…
It didn't feel like a battle between Trainers of the same level.
It felt more like a guided match.
When Grey used Aura to command his Pokémon, Caitlin could clearly sense where the gap was between them in control and mastery.
What Caitlin had was essentially using Psychic power to "force" buffs onto her Pokémon.
But Grey didn't do that.
He preferred using his ability for meticulous, precise command—tiny details that seemed insignificant on their own could still tilt the entire battle.
Of course, it was normal that Caitlin wasn't good at that.
She rarely battled other people. Aside from Cynthia, she'd basically only fought a handful of people from the Battle Frontier.
That left Caitlin with plenty of raw strength, but not much real combat experience.
So losing was normal.
After finishing this match, Grey was also thinking about how to help Caitlin build up some real battle experience.
Because the experience you gain from fighting the same person gradually diminishes over time.
And on Grey's side, the best sparring partners Caitlin could get were basically just Grey himself and Sabrina.
"Man… I really want to go catch Team Rocket."
Grey sighed like that in front of the stream.
Arresting Team Rocket might not give much experience.
But the satisfaction was absolutely real.
What Caitlin needed right now was a few wins—enough to rebuild some confidence first.
[Team Rocket: So we're just EXP bags to you now?]
[All four of Team Rocket's executives have been arrested—at this point, besides the boss, there shouldn't be any high-ranking cadres left, right?]
[No idea. I'm from Hoenn—if Gym Leader Grey wants to come here and catch Team Magma and Team Aqua, we'll throw a parade.]
[Sinnoh's got Team Galactic too!]
[Can someone please clean up Alola's Team Skull? They're all just street punks!]
Once the first person started complaining, viewers from every region began cursing the local villain teams and their crimes.
Watching the chaos in the chat, the Champions from different regions—who just happened to be watching—all wore different expressions.
At least for now, Kanto actually looked like the easiest place.
After all, Team Rocket had already lost four Elite Four–level Trainers to arrest.
Everything below them was basically small fry that couldn't cause real trouble.
And above them, there was only the boss with any real strength.
And don't forget—Kanto's Elite Four had Champion-level power, three members at a "Champion gatekeeper" tier, and the strongest, Lance, was at true League Champion level!
Compared to that, other regions weren't nearly as comfortable.
…
…
Kanto, Mt. Moon.
Clang! Clang!
The moment a pickaxe struck stone, a string of sparks burst in the darkness.
By that fleeting light, you could make out a tall young man steadily chiseling at the rock wall.
He wore a miner's outfit, and several large Pokémon sat nearby.
Ring ring ring…
He wasn't even halfway done mining when his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, Wallace? What's up?"
That's right—the young man was Steven Stone.
After watching Grey's stream, he'd gone right back to mining.
He just hadn't expected Wallace to call him at this hour.
"Steven~ When are you coming back~? I feel like the Champion position suits you better~"
Wallace's voice carried a resentful edge.
No wonder Steven always looked so carefree—Champion and still running around mining. Turns out he'd been dumping all the work on Wallace, the poor sucker.
On the other end, Wallace stared at the mountain of paperwork piled on his desk and rubbed his temples in exhaustion.
The thrill of newly becoming Champion had long since been worn down by endless meetings and documents—his beloved Contests had become a luxury!
Steven, you really are shameless.
Wallace desperately wanted to say that out loud.
"I'm on Mt. Moon. Signal's kinda weak. Can't hear what you're saying. Alright, bye."
Steven tried to end the call.
"Hold on!"
Wallace's shout made Steven pause mid-motion, and Wallace hurried on:
"Steven—Team Aqua and Team Magma are about to make a big move! Phoebe told me that there have been people from both groups hanging around Mt. Pyre lately!"
"What?"
Hearing something that serious, Steven stopped completely.
If it were anything else, he might've paused for a second and still hung up.
But anything involving Mt. Pyre couldn't be ignored.
Mt. Pyre—wrapped year-round in thin violet mist—had winding trails where countless Ghost-type Pokémon lived.
From the base all the way to the summit, the path was lined with dense rows of gravestones, somewhat similar in nature to Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower in Kanto.
But—
At the peak of Mt. Pyre, two Orbs rested quietly.
The Red Orb and the Blue Orb.
They looked ordinary, but in truth they were tools that could control Hoenn's two ancient gods—Groudon and Kyogre!
Normally, Phoebe's grandparents were stationed there to protect them.
And Phoebe herself would occasionally return to check in on the elderly.
But if Team Magma and Team Aqua were truly preparing to make a move…
Phoebe alone might not be able to handle it.
For two organizations that had ruled Hoenn for so long, they definitely had some real foundation.
Especially the leaders of both organizations—their strength was probably around a Champion gatekeeper tier.
"Steven, what do you think we should do?" Wallace asked.
He felt like this was something he and Steven needed to decide together.
"Team Magma and Team Aqua are too cautious. If we go ourselves, we'll just scare them off. If only there were a Trainer who's both powerful and overflowing with a sense of justice…"
Halfway through his sentence, Steven's eyes lit up.
"Wallace—do you think there's a chance that once Gym Leader Grey reaches Champion level, we could invite him to visit Hoenn for a while?"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.