"What?!"
Petrel and Proton looked at each other.
Seeing what was happening in front of them, they realized they were actually becoming Kirlia's stepping stones!
What was this, some stacked evolution buff event?!
"So, what now, fight? Or do we go with your idea and just run for it?"
Petrel glanced at the gritting-his-teeth Proton. As the more 'strategic brain' between them, he still wanted to hear Proton's opinion.
"Fight. Why wouldn't we?"
Proton pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it forward.
Rather than risk getting caught by Grey while running for their lives, they might as well go all in and get caught after a hard fight.
The end result would be the same, but the process would be completely different.
Worst case, the boss could just come bail them out later.
He refused to believe it—was Grey really going to have a freshly evolved Gallade beat both of them?
Proton was already biased. In his mind, any of Grey's unevolved Pokémon had to be weak.
In his view, under normal circumstances, Grey should have evolved Ralts → Kirlia first, then immediately used the Dawn Stone to evolve again.
"Hissss…"
The moment the Poké Ball popped open, the shrill screech of some spider echoed out.
A massive, crimson spider slammed into the ground. The purple-and-yellow bands on its long legs looked like a glaring warning pattern, and its silver-white fangs dripped corrosive slime.
The horn on its head gleamed coldly, and the grimacing mask-like pattern on its back twitched with every breath, like a human face frozen in a mocking grin.
[Pokémon: Ariados]
[Type: Bug/Poison]
[Level: 63]
[Ability: Sniper]
[Moves: omitted]
This really was like a budget version of Giovanni's Beedrill.
Same typing, same ability.
Just… not as high level.
And it couldn't fly.
"I'll help too."
Petrel tossed out another Poké Ball.
The ball hit the ground and burst into a cloud of thick, nauseating purple smoke.
"Damn, Petrel, you're really a sneaky piece of work! Using a Pokémon like that!"
Grey covered his nose and mouth, but the reek of rotting garbage mixed with chemical poison still drilled into his sinuses.
Within the dense fog, a shapeless puddle of dark-purple sludge slowly rose up, its surface bubbling and gurgling.
He didn't even need to guess to know what it was.
Muk.
Just hearing the name was enough to make most Trainers faint from the stench!
"Heh."
Petrel just snorted, too lazy to answer.
He was terrified that if he said anything at all, Grey would just roast him into silence on the spot.
Being insulted or saying nothing at all? Easy choice. He'd pick silence.
"Tch, boring."
Seeing Petrel clamp his mouth shut like that, Grey didn't bother with him.
On his side, the light of evolution around Kirlia had already faded away.
Compared to the 'ballerina girl' from before, Kirlia's form had changed drastically after evolving.
It now had a more humanoid silhouette, taller and leaner.
Its lower body was pure white, its upper body green. The red, protruding core on its chest was still there, but from its elbows extended sharp blades instead of simple arms.
The Blade Pokémon—Gallade!
"Gallaaade!" (I've shed my old skin. Now it's time to carve my own path with these twin blades!)
Gallade slowly raised both arms. The blades at its elbows emitted a low hum as it swept them through the air, leaving behind two arcs of glowing green light.
After evolving, it had transformed from an elegant dancer into a razor-edged swordsman!
Even Proton and Petrel couldn't help but stare a bit longer.
Gallade's appearance was a perfect demonstration of what it meant for one's edge to be completely unsheathed.
[Pokémon: Gallade]
[Type: Psychic/Fighting]
[Level: 60]
[Ability: Sharpness]
[Moves: Sacred Sword, Leaf Blade, Psycho Cut, Aqua Cutter, others omitted…]
Level 60—exactly Elite Four gatekeeper level.
Most of Grey's Pokémon were stuck right on that level-60 threshold.
Aside from Annihilape, Blaziken, Articuno, Breloom, and Riolu, Gallade was currently the only one that had also touched that Elite-level standard.
Looked like a lot on paper.
But in practice, it was just barely enough to scrape together one full team.
In some other regions, that might be enough to compete in a 'strongest Gym Leader' contest.
But in talent-stacked Kanto, it wasn't quite impressive enough yet.
Among Kanto's Gym Leaders, there were actually quite a few Trainers at Elite Four level.
Blaine and Koga were nailed-on, undeniable Elite-level combatants.
Lt. Surge and Sabrina could also be considered legitimate Elite gatekeepers.
Don't be fooled by how often Grey liked to roast Lt. Surge in daily life; he actually had nothing but respect for Lt. Surge's strength.
His evaluation was pretty high.
An iron-blooded tough guy.
At least in this point in the timeline, Lt. Surge had outright refused Giovanni's recruitment and was firmly standing on the Kanto League's side.
Sabrina, meanwhile, was a powerful Psychic with deep ties to the Fighting Dojo.
Being able to wipe the floor with the previous two Dojo Masters—twice, at that—said everything you needed to know about her strength. An undisputed Elite gatekeeper.
Take Erika, one of the mid-tier Gym Leaders among the Kanto Eight, as an example.
Koichi and Nobuhiko were, in simple numbers, about 1.1 Erikas and 0.9 Erikas respectively.
The fact that Sabrina could easily beat the two of them said plenty about how strong she really was.
Anyway—back to Gallade.
"Gallade!"
Gallade let out a sharp shout, its elbow joints locking onto Muk and Ariados as Psychic power flowed down its arms.
"An Elite-level Gallade?"
Proton and Petrel both felt the pressure of Gallade's aura.
Only a hair weaker than their own Pokémon.
Not bad at all. Solid strength.
And on top of that, its typing had a clear advantage. There was no way they could take it lightly.
Otherwise, there really was a decent chance they'd get caught and one-shot on the spot!
"Since it's a two-on-two, I should send out another Pokémon too."
Grey lazily pulled out another Poké Ball.
Out came Riolu.
"Rio?" (Why is it night again when it's my turn to fight?)
Riolu scratched its head as it appeared.
It could clearly feel some power inside its body being suppressed.
It could only fully unleash it during the day.
Yet for the past two days, every time Grey had sent it out to battle, it had been after dark.
Not a single ray of sunlight.
It was starting to get a little annoyed.
When would it finally be able to let that power erupt?
It really…
Felt like one of those 'stop right before the finish line' challenges, over and over.
"Ahem. Next time I'll definitely let you battle during the day, okay?"
Seeing Riolu this fired up, Grey knew it was about time to find a chance for it to have a full-on, all-out fight and evolve properly.
"Rio." (Mm, then tomorrow morning, let me fight, okay?)
Afraid Grey was just feeding it empty promises, Riolu hurried to nail down a time.
Who knew when 'next time' would actually be otherwise?
He needed something concrete.
"OK, OK, tomorrow you'll definitely be the star of the show."
Grey nodded, then glanced back at Proton and Petrel.
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Wow, you guys are really honorable, huh. Just standing all the way over there listening to me talk this long! Now I almost don't feel like bullying you."
Petrel & Proton: "…"
"If you've got the guts, try not keeping Mew right next to you, then!"
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