Inside the Vermilion Gym, Lt. Surge happened to tap into Grey's stream—right in time to hear the honor student's speech.
He'd opened it for a laugh.
Instead, Grey acted like he didn't even exist!
Right now, Surge wanted nothing more than to make Grey eat crow when the Gym League bracket rolled around.
[Hahahaha, Lt. Surge is heating up. Classic streamer bait.]
[Well played!]
[Surge, lemme teach you: just buy a membership and make the streamer thank you properly.]
"Hm?"
Seeing that chat "evangelism," Surge paused to think.
Maybe…
That wasn't half-bad.
"Grey, if you're gonna be rude, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Surge's lips curled. He went tap-tap on his phone and, without blinking, bought a membership.
…
Inside the Fighting Dojo.
"Nice—snagged a new member!"
Before the match even started, Bumiao leaned toward Sabrina and whispered excitedly.
"…"
Sabrina said nothing, hand to her brow, sighing over Lt. Surge at the other end of the phone.
Big muscles, simple brain.
He was too easy to dupe.
Felt like the type Rocket could talk into anything.
"Oh? Huge thanks to 'Unova Retired Colonel' for the membership! Boss, you've got my respect. In my heart, you're easily a top-eight Kanto Gym Leader!"
Grey clasped his hands and bowed with mock solemnity.
Pay up and you're my bro—just costs me a few words.
[Hmph, naturally.]
[Grey: sweet, reeled in another member.]
[The grin's about to slip—Surge is way too easy to scam lmaooo]
Just as chat said, Grey's mouth threatened to curl.
A membership was solid money—that covered his Pokéblock budget.
"Whew…"
Grey drew a deep breath, smoothed his mood, then looked back to the honor student. "Challenger, based on your badge count, this will be a three-on-three."
Bumiao announced the rules.
Same as before.
When she finished, Grey gave his opening.
"Challenger, do you understand Fighting types? People think 'musclehead, brain small.'"
A touch of melancholy flashed in his eyes—then it was sharpened into battle heat.
"Reality's different. Pokémon battle in countless ways, each with its own technique and habits."
"So—see for yourself what sets this dojo apart!"
"Hitmonlee, to the field."
After a moment's thought, Grey decided to probe with Hitmonlee.
With that, the dojo's three captains had all seen action under his command.
"Hitmonlee, huh?"
The honor student rifled through what she knew.
Base stats under 500. Pure Fighting. Looked kind of easy to bully.
Right—definitely not someone the sim ever recorded.
Her smile tilted higher as she plucked a Poké Ball from her bag and tossed it.
"Marowak, go!"
The ball cracked open. A brown, bipedal little dinosaur in a pale skull mask stepped onto the field.
"Marowak!"
It twirled its bone club, eyed Hitmonlee, and edged half a step back.
[Pokémon: Marowak]
[Type: Ground]
[Level: 32]
[Ability: Rock Head]
[Moves: (omitted)]
A bit weaker than Gary's squad, but for peers its level was decent.
Grey nodded, thinking.
Just then, the dojo doors swung open, admitting a man and a woman.
Sensitive as ever, Green flinched at the faint vibration. She ducked behind Sabrina and smeared Ditto over her face like a mask.
"What is it?"
Sabrina looked toward the entrance.
A masked man in a flamboyant formal outfit entered, purple hair spilling like a stage magician's.
Behind him came a tall woman with waist-length bright blue hair, a yellow crop top, and white capri pants.
"I… I'm fine…"
Green said she was fine, but she squeezed Sabrina's hand tighter.
Only when Ditto finished transforming did she dare show her face.
"Hm?"
Before the battle began, Grey clocked the uninvited pair.
He knew them at a glance.
The Johto Elite Four: Will and Karen!
No doubting their strength—though how much they were holding back right now was another matter.
As inspectors, they shouldn't be fielding mainline Elite teams anyway.
"Gym Leader Grey, carry on. We're League inspectors; we won't disrupt your official match."
Karen smiled lightly. Spotting an empty seat near Sabrina, she tugged Will along and sat. Will said nothing, mask hiding his eyes as he stared at Grey in silence.
With the interruption over, Grey waved to the honor student. "Challenger, you have the first move."
"Marowak—Bone Rush!"
She opened hot—no hesitation.
Whssh!
Marowak spun the club; earthen energy clung to it, washing pale yellow light.
The whistling arc pounded in Hitmonlee's chest like a drum.
Grey didn't call a counter yet—just watched the charge.
But that speed…
Yeah, not impressive.
When Marowak finally closed in, Grey said only: "Low Sweep."
"Hitmon!"
Hitmonlee's springy legs whipped out, snapping at Marowak's lower frame!
Smack!
As expected, the kick clipped its legs and tripped it at once.
A blue sheen flashed; Marowak's Speed fell.
"Marow…"
It planted the bone like a cane, pushing itself up, breathing hard.
"Is Marowak just getting out-leveled…"
The honor student pinned the misstep on raw stat/level difference—like back at the Research Class, where she always lost to upperclassmen.
"Challenger, don't dump every setback on a level gap."
Grey frowned. "Didn't your school teach you how to fight real battles?"
"…"
She had no answer.
[I'm in the Research Class too. It's almost all sim battles—hardly any real practice.]
[Then what do you even learn in class?]
[Type matchups, what types the eight Kanto Gym Leaders use, and how to beat them in sims.]
[+1. I've soloed Lt. Surge ten times in the simulator.]
[My suggestion? Shut that school down immediately!]
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