"Aerodactyl, Thunder Fang!"
Seeing Poliwhirl use Surf to close the distance, Ash was delighted.
Aerodactyl was a Pokémon that excelled in close combat.
Sure, it had a ranged move like Stone Edge, but in that last clash against Poliwhirl's attack, it hadn't gained even the slightest advantage.
Now, Poliwhirl rode the waves upward, Water Pulse in hand.
Its imposing momentum forced Aerodactyl to instinctively drift half a step back.
But in the next instant, Aerodactyl let out an angry roar, lightning spreading between its teeth.
Crackling arcs burst outward, and a set of Thunder Fang—formed from pure electrical energy—appeared in front of Aerodactyl!
"Poliwhirl." (You old blowhard. You don't seriously think Thunder Fang alone can take me down, do you?)
Poliwhirl let out a contemptuous snort.
Aerodactyl looked scary, sure—but Poliwhirl was faster!
Before Thunder Fang could fully take shape, Poliwhirl shoved both palms forward!
The rapidly spinning Water Pulse shook the air as the huge water sphere slammed head-on into the lightning fangs. Even after being shaved down by more than half, it still smashed forward!
SPLASH!
Aerodactyl took the Water Pulse straight to the face, its head going woozy from the vibrating water blast.
It shook its head—only to see Poliwhirl's figure split into multiple afterimages…
And a dizzy sensation bloomed in its skull.
Confusion!
That was the added effect of Water Pulse: it could leave the target confused.
Now Aerodactyl was confused, even the rhythm of its wingbeats turning chaotic and uneven.
"Poliwhirl, press in and finish the momentum."
When the opening appeared, Grey wasn't going to waste the chance to punish Aerodactyl hard.
Poliwhirl understood and plunged straight into the Surf.
A moment later, the towering wave surged several meters higher again, then came crashing down on Aerodactyl while it was still confused!
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
The wave was enormous, and Poliwhirl's Surf hit with serious power.
Even though Aerodactyl was a prehistoric ruler of the skies, under Poliwhirl's Surf it looked… painfully unimpressive.
It flapped helplessly, like a small beast drowning in seawater.
If it weren't confused, Aerodactyl could have broken free without too much trouble.
But that was the problem—confusion had left its head completely empty.
The fact it hadn't instantly fainted on the spot was already its "prehistoric sky tyrant" buff doing overtime.
"So strong… just like Red's Poliwrath…"
Ash couldn't help admiring it under his breath.
Fighting Grey's Poliwhirl felt like fighting Red's Poliwrath.
Even though Red's Poliwrath had stepped into a supporting role—replaced by a Blastoise that had surged ahead—it was still a Champion-level Pokémon.
And now, somehow, Ash was seeing that same shadow in Grey's Poliwhirl…
Terrifying.
But it also made sense.
Poliwhirl was part of Grey's second string. The "sleep-dream monk boxing" it practiced late at night wasn't just sleepwalking around for fun.
And the Poliwrath training notes Blue had sent were quietly paying off too.
[…]?
[This Poliwhirl… has the same vibe as my Poliwrath…?]
Kanto, Pallet Town.
Red was in Professor Oak's Laboratory backyard, quietly watching his younger brother battle Grey on his phone.
In the first two battles, Red had shown clear regret at Ash's decision-making.
He'd been led around by Grey the whole time.
And the third battle was even worse—"hard to watch" didn't even begin to describe it.
It was a complete steamroll!
As expected, Ash still trusted high-level Pokémon far too much.
He'd merely gotten lucky—snagging an Aerodactyl and a Gengar, and even having a Charmeleon evolve into Charizard by pure chance. That had inflated his ego fast.
Fine. Losing to Grey here would grind down his arrogance a bit.
Still, as Red watched Grey command Poliwhirl, he kept feeling a faint sense of déjà vu.
It was subtle—there and gone—but it was real. Red was sure he'd never taught Grey his Poliwrath training method, so why did Grey's Poliwhirl have habits so similar to his Poliwrath?
"Hey, Red—watching Gym Leader Grey's stream again?"
Blue strolled over casually, hands clasped behind his head. The moment he saw Red staring at a phone screen, he knew exactly what was going on.
It wasn't like Red cared about the Cerulean sisters' water ballet.
Besides Grey's stream, there wasn't much else that could hold his attention.
And honestly, it wasn't a bad thing. After the world started calling the two of them "Battle Legends," it was like they'd touched the peak and then… just couldn't move forward.
Maybe they were rushing too hard. But when they had free time, they also didn't know what to do with themselves.
At least Grey's streams gave them something to watch.
Otherwise, they'd probably rot in Professor Oak's lab until it reeked.
"Look at this Poliwhirl,"
Red said, tilting his phone sideways and leaving half the screen visible for Blue to see, signaling him to take a closer look.
"Oh—this? Yeah. I organized the training notes from Chuck and your Poliwrath, then sent them to Gym Leader Grey about two weeks ago. What about it?"
The moment Blue saw Grey using Poliwhirl, he felt nostalgic.
He'd handed Grey truly master-class Fighting-type training material.
That included training notes for Poliwrath and Machamp.
Stuff like that was priceless out in the world.
But there weren't many trainers who could actually raise those two Pokémon properly.
Most people wouldn't get it even if Blue gave it to them. He'd only shared it because Grey was a Fighting-type specialist.
And Blue hadn't expected Grey to drill those Pokémon up so quickly, which made him respect Grey even more.
Even if they weren't on Grey's main team, it was still impressive.
Elite Four level wouldn't be a problem, and with enough time, reaching Champion level was possible too.
The only question was whether Grey could reach true Battle Legend tier…
Blue couldn't say for sure.
But Grey's main team? Those monsters probably could.
Blue had high expectations for Grey.
"Still… if he's got this kind of skill, why was his first partner a Mankey he took from Team Rocket?"
Blue rubbed his chin, genuinely puzzled.
If Grey had started with a starter Pokémon, wouldn't his early journey have been much faster?
"Maybe that's just the path Gym Leader Grey wanted to take,"
Red said, eyes fixed on the screen. "Everyone chooses a different road. But if he picked this one, it means he's confident he can walk it to the end."
"Yeah."
Blue nodded lightly. "By the way, I also had Gary bring something over for Gym Leader Grey. Grey saved him back on the S.S. Anne, and we never got a chance to properly give him anything."
"What did you send?"
"Just a little Kalos specialty."
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