"Hey, everyone—long time no see~ I'm Grey, and I'm back~"
Still holding Sabrina's hand, Grey answered the greetings around them.
Ever since the day he'd left the Battle Club, he hadn't come back here once.
It had made everyone think Grey probably wouldn't return anymore.
But who would've thought—today, Grey not only came back, he even brought along the Saffron Gym Leader—Sabrina.
"They… aren't afraid of me?"
Sabrina's eyes swept across the area. When she met people's gazes, she couldn't sense a single trace of malice.
They were genuinely welcoming her.
In the past, outside of other psychics, this was almost unheard of.
"Afraid of you?"
Hearing Sabrina's confusion, Grey snorted like he'd just heard a joke, casually kicking aside an empty can at his feet.
"Around here, the one with the harder fist calls the shots. What you saw just now was already them holding back. If the guys inside who fight underground knew the Saffron Gym Leader dropped by, they'd be lining up to 'spar' with you."
"I… don't really understand that."
Grey's logic made Sabrina's brain stall for a second.
These people were also residents of Saffron City, and they weren't psychics—so why were they so different from everyone outside?
She didn't get it, and her curiosity about this alley grew.
She lowered her head and looked at their interlaced hands, staying close behind Grey as she scanned both sides of the narrow passage.
Flaking paint exposed pipes and wiring beneath, and puddles reflected the neighboring Silph Co. building.
Even though every paving stone was scrubbed until it shone, compared to the glossy glass towers downtown, this place felt like a corner the times had forgotten.
"Alright. Here we are."
Grey stopped, lifted his head, and looked at the restaurant sign.
Nelly's BBQ Rice Bowl.
It sounded kind of low-end, and the location definitely wasn't great.
"Hey, isn't that Grey? What brings you here to eat today?"
Nelly—who used to work the front desk at the Battle Club—stepped outside. She'd been wondering why the alley was so noisy today, and it turned out Grey had come back.
"Just wandering around on the weekend with nothing to do," Grey said with a shrug, nostrils twitching slightly. "Figured I'd swing by. Been a while—I kinda miss the taste of your place. What, you're not happy to see me?"
"Of course not, of course not. With the famous Gym Leader Grey and Gym Leader Sabrina showing up, how could my little shop not welcome you?"
After making a playful face, Nelly turned and pulled aside the curtain, revealing a dining area that was a bit empty.
"But next time, at least tell me in advance. You know how my place works—what we eat depends on my mood."
"That's exactly what I like, the mystery," Grey teased. "Besides, you making BBQ rice bowls in this many flavors is honestly ridiculous. Nobody else does that."
With that, he led Sabrina into the restaurant.
It was kept fairly clean, with that unmistakable hole-in-the-wall vibe.
The moment they sat down, Annihilape also popped out of its Poké Ball, completely at home as it took its usual seat.
"Time really flies," Nelly said, watching it. "Back then, that little crybaby Mankey actually grew into this. If I remember right, this guy helped you arrest a lot of Team Rocket members, huh? Didn't you even catch a few higher-ups with it—maybe even some senior executives?"
You could say Nelly had watched Grey grow, step by step.
Of course… only the first half of that road.
After Grey rode the Battle Club's connections to head off to Cerulean City, they hadn't seen each other again.
It had only been two weeks, but it felt like nearly two months.
Time was weird like that—too abstract to describe properly.
"Yeah. Most of the time, it was the one grabbing Team Rocket's officers," Grey said. "And in the last operation, it straight-up traded blows with the Team Rocket boss's Persian and took it down."
"Anni—anni!" (Not to brag, but I tore through the entire Team Rocket base. The boss couldn't stand watching anymore, so he finally showed up. Still got traded out by me in the end. Strength like that? Pretty average, honestly.)
Talking about it, both Grey and Annihilape couldn't help sounding proud.
"That was a Champion-level Pokémon, and we still beat it!"
"Give me time, and I'll personally send Team Rocket's boss to prison—let him eat League meals every day and enjoy the kind of treatment only a government employee gets."
"Then you have to treat me to a big feast," Nelly said with a smile.
She headed into the kitchen to prepare their lunch. "Give me a sec, okay? I'm gonna make you my deluxe signature lunch!"
Her voice faded as she walked away, until it disappeared completely.
Sitting beside Grey, Sabrina tilted her head slightly and stared at the side of his face for a long time without speaking.
"What's wrong? Your emotions are swinging a lot. Aura's telling me," Grey said.
He'd noticed Sabrina's aura fluctuating sharply in a short span. He turned to meet her gaze.
"It's nothing," Sabrina said softly, shaking her head. "I'm just thinking… this tiny alley is hiding some real power."
She understood why Grey had brought her here.
Going out for a walk was only part of it.
"So you noticed too."
Grey let out a quiet laugh. His eyes drifted around, then settled on the window, staring toward the Battle Club. His mood wouldn't settle down.
"Let's talk after we eat," Sabrina said, pausing briefly before continuing. "This place… actually feels pretty nice."
She meant it.
From the moment she stepped inside, the emotional feedback she'd received had been rich—warm, genuine.
It made the ice around her heart loosen, just a little.
But when she thought about what they were going to do next, she couldn't help sighing.
That unconscious release of psychic power made even the air around them ripple and twist.
"It can't be helped," Grey said, voice gentler now. "This is for tomorrow—for Saffron City."
His palm covered the back of Sabrina's slightly cold hand. The warmth spread, and the distorted waves in the air gradually calmed.
"But… you already knew?" Sabrina asked.
Watching Grey like this, she felt like the man in front of her was even harder to read than she'd thought.
He hid things too well.
She herself had only noticed the "rats" she'd never picked up on before when she entered the alley and passed the Battle Club along the way.
But Grey didn't look like someone who'd been clueless.
More like… he understood everything, and just hadn't acted.
"Yeah," Grey said. "Before, I didn't have the strength, and I didn't have the time to deal with it. This weekend's perfect—time to give Saffron City some real peace again."
As he spoke, Grey's bright, steady gaze traveled up along Sabrina's slender arm, finally settling on her calm, delicate face.
"And it's also time to make the whole city see clearly…"
"Who's really been carrying the burden all these peaceful years."
"Someone's coming," Grey said, turning his head. "And it's a familiar face…"
Grey turned toward the newcomer…
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