"You… what did you drag home this time?!"
Bumiao stared at the Articuno standing in the dojo, words catching in her throat.
If she remembered right, Grey had gone to board the S.S. Anne, right?
So why was he back with an Articuno?!
"I'm a Fighting-type trainer bringing home an Articuno. Not unreasonable, right?"
Grey rolled his shoulders like she'd said something ridiculous.
"Bruno has an Onix, Agatha runs an Arbok, Lorelei fields a Slowbro, and Lance… has a Charizard."
He ticked off the Kanto Elite Four like treasured trivia, then pointed at Articuno. "So by that logic, I'm perfectly justified."
"Nh—makes… sense—my butt!"
Bumiao's high note nearly took the roof off. She jabbed a finger at Articuno, who was calmly preening. "Those Elite Four ace a bunch of moves outside their types. You—caught an Articuno—no, back up, how did you even catch Articuno?!"
"Welp…"
Grey reached up to scratch under Articuno's beak and dropped his voice. "It was a dark and windy night."
"?"
Bumiao didn't get it, but nodded solemnly and tilted an ear.
Even Sabrina blinked in with a little stool, leaned blankly-but-curiously against Bumiao's shoulder, and waited to see what tall tale Grey would spin.
"I found it on Seafoam, on the verge of fainting from hunger."
"Mhm, and then?"
"Then it begged me to catch it and give it a warm home."
"Liiing!" (Don't feed them that crap!)
The moment that apocrypha left Grey's mouth, Articuno's temper spiked. It pecked him with its icy beak—left not so much as a mark.
"See? That's it thanking me."
Grey pointed up at the bird and addressed the two women in a grave tone. "Either of you want to be the trainer of a legendary bird?"
"Absolutely!"
Stars lit Bumiao's eyes; he'd hit her right in the heart.
Who wouldn't want a Pokémon like that?
A legendary most people could live their whole lives without ever seeing!
"Tell you what: sticker price was going to be 99,998, but because it's Thursday, I'll cut you a deal. Send me 5,000 for a nice dinner, and you can be Articuno's trainer for one full minute."
He held up his hand and waved it in front of them. "Well? A rare, once-in-a-lifetime chance to be Articuno's trainer~"
"Liiing?!" (Five grand? I'm worth at least fifty! And I want half of it spent on food!)
"Rio!" (Yeah! And of the other twenty-five, you owe me twenty for snacks!)
Articuno and Riolu sang in perfect harmony, ganging up on Grey.
Grey: ?
"Get lost. You're not shaking me down for five thousand!"
Bumiao curled her lip, eyes still sparkling at Articuno.
A good look would do.
As for Grey?
Just the hanger required to send out Articuno.
"Sigh. People really do change."
Grey headed for the dojo floor. Snowflakes sifted down behind him, the perfect lonely backdrop.
"…"
Bumiao didn't bother with Grey. She muttered to Sabrina on her shoulder, "There can't be anyone dumb enough to pay five grand for a minute of nothing."
"I'll take one."
The pressure lifted from her shoulder. Sabrina pulled out her phone and transferred five thousand to Grey's card.
Bumiao: ???
"Sabrina, what are you doing?!"
Bumiao tried to drag Sabrina back to reason.
They hadn't known each other long, but when it came to resisting Grey's money schemes, they should've been on the same side.
So why did Sabrina defect first?!
"Ahem. I'll hand you the Poké Ball for one minute later."
Grey paused, recalled Articuno, and nodded to Sabrina.
"Mm."
Sabrina gave a tiny nod, blinked to Grey's side, and took his wrist.
A cool blue screen unfurled; psychic power wrapped them both.
Bathed in that pure force, Grey's expression shifted; he turned to Sabrina.
"Too many eyes out there. Let's talk in the room."
Her voice dropped straight into his mind.
Grey understood and didn't resist.
…
In the room, Sabrina sat on the tatami, legs crossed in black stockings, staring straight at Grey.
It had only been a few days, but his growth already made her catch her breath.
Maybe only those two trainers from Pallet Town gave her this feeling.
For Sabrina, that was a good thing.
Grey was a League trainer. The stronger, the better.
With that thought, she said, "The staff traffic at Silph Co. has been skewing toward unfamiliar faces. I think you know what I mean."
"Team Rocket?"
Grey didn't even have to think.
"Mm. No one else would be brazen enough to walk in like that."
Sabrina rested her hands on her legs, rubbing idly back and forth. "We can't conclude yet. Whether Rocket intends to seize Silph outright, or infiltrate first, we don't know."
"Right. Those two are very different lifts."
Grey rubbed his chin and gave his take. "I'm leaning toward Rocket scoping out Silph's internals, then waiting for the right moment—time, place, people—to snatch it."
"As for when? Hard to say."
"I agree."
Sabrina nodded.
The difficulty wasn't the same. Judging by Rocket's usual lightning style, infiltration was less on-brand than a straight grab.
What she didn't get was why they wanted Silph.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell cut their thoughts short.
A message from Bumiao.
[Bumiao: Gym Leader, someone's here to see you—wants to compare notes on training.]
"Looks like it's stream-o'clock. I'll go greet our challenger."
Grey fired up his stream and stepped out.
Title: [Gym Leader's back at the dojo—waiting on fate]
Tags: [New faces] [Big servings, all you can watch] [Late-night slot]
[Let's go—I was just about to eat and he went live!]
[Daily dinner drama, launch!]
[Got any cute girls today?]
Most viewers hoped it'd be the same challengers as before—Kaori, maybe, or Gary with his cheer squad.
Either way, eye candy was eye candy.
Grey walked up to the counter and found a blonde chatting and laughing with Bumiao.
Daisy!
"Daisy, what brings you here?"
He was genuinely surprised.
Didn't expect Daisy!
"I'm in Saffron for a sponsorship meeting. Heard you were back, so I came to visit."
Daisy lifted a Poké Ball and smiled. "And I'd like a bit of guidance—so Cerulean Gym doesn't wash out in one round in the upcoming exam."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810