"No need. I brought Officer Jenny with me."
Grey turned toward the voice—and saw Giovanni had arrived.
A large group of Trainers followed behind him, and an Officer Jenny stood at his side.
"Yo, Gym Leader Grey. Fight didn't even last five minutes, huh?"
Lt. Surge shoved his way out of the crowd. He glanced at Archer, who had already surrendered, sighed in disappointment, and then looked at Grey. "We brought a whole squad to help you out, and the moment we get here, you've already wrapped it up."
From downtown to the back alley was a long way.
Even riding Pokémon the whole time, it still took around ten minutes.
Even flying, it would take at least five.
They'd rushed as fast as they could, but still didn't make it in time to snag an assist.
"Gym Leader Lt. Surge, Gym Leader Giovanni… and everyone else too? You all came."
Grey looked at the sea of Gym Trainers and recognized quite a few.
Besides Lt. Surge and Giovanni, even Erika, Daisy, Koga, Blaine, and Muno—Gym Leaders from the Kanto circuit—were here.
It was obvious they'd all arrived early for the Gym Leader selection battles.
And with Saffron City "in trouble," they'd rushed over hoping to get in on some easy credit.
Too bad the moment they arrived, Archer had already surrendered.
"I've seen Gym Leader Grey's livestreams online. I'm Koga from the Fuchsia Gym. It's an honor to finally meet you in person today."
A middle-aged man stepped forward. He had dark teal spiky hair and wore a deep-blue ninja outfit.
A red scarf circled his neck, and his whole presence had a ruthless edge—like an Arbok ready to strike.
A ninja.
One of the few ninjas in Kanto.
And a Gym Leader explicitly recognized as having Elite Four–level strength across both Kanto and Johto—someone slated to take up the Johto Poison Elite Four seat next year.
"Likewise. You must be Gym Leader Koga," Grey said with a smile. "I've heard Kanto has a ninja Trainer, but seeing you in person really is something else."
"Hahaha, you're too kind. I'm just a simple fighter. I still have a lot to refine on the ninja path," Koga said, clearly pleased. "If anything, I should be learning from you, Gym Leader Grey. I'll aim to catch even more Team Rocket members."
"Come on, come on. Haven't you been voted one of the most responsible Trainers in Kanto and Johto for years now?" Grey didn't dare take all the praise for himself. "I've just been lucky. Whenever I arrest Team Rocket, I usually have capable allies nearby. If I were alone, I probably couldn't have caught this many."
"I disagree. If you didn't have the strength yourself, you couldn't have arrested so many Team Rocket members," Koga said. "If you ever have time, come sit down at the Fuchsia Gym sometime."
Koga liked what he saw more and more.
Strong, but not arrogant. Confident, but not overbearing. The kind of young man a middle-aged guy couldn't help appreciating.
"Of course. If I get the chance, I'll definitely visit."
Grey shook Koga's hand. The way they talked, it felt like they'd found kindred spirits—one step away from swearing brotherhood on the spot.
There was an old saying for this sort of thing: Pokémon is about social connections, not just fighting.
You don't slap a smiling face.
They were all friends here. A little mutual hype was harmless.
"…"
Off to the side, Giovanni listened to their conversation without the slightest change in expression, silently carving two names into his memory.
Grey. Koga.
These were both Trainers he wanted to recruit into Team Rocket.
It was just… he hadn't expected that what happened back then would derail his plans this badly.
There was another old saying that really hit home: the Magikarp that got away always grows bigger in your memory.
The more Giovanni watched Grey stop Team Rocket again and again, and the more executives Grey arrested—
the more Giovanni wondered.
If, back then, he hadn't sent Petrel, but instead sent Lance, Archer… or even shown up personally—would things have gone better?
Maybe he could've used that chance to pull Grey, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga under his banner.
With those four helping, plus Karen and Will, and a few more months of time for Grey to fully grow…
maybe Team Rocket would've had a chance to stand against the League.
Unfortunately, unless you could subdue a Pokémon tied to time itself, going back was almost impossible.
Even Karen and Will had been acting a little strange lately.
And with all four Team Rocket admins captured, Giovanni felt exhausted.
Too many useless grunts. Not enough backbone in the middle ranks.
In the end, the only one who could really carry the flag… was him.
Team Rocket was strong. In other regions, it could genuinely clash with the local League.
But Team Rocket's region was Kanto.
There were too many monsters here.
Even if he somehow managed to defeat the League's Elite Four…
there were still Blue and Red above them—two living battle legends.
He was tired.
Team Rocket wasn't weak.
Its opponents were just too strong.
And on the League's side, Grey was still growing—shooting upward like a rocket.
He was already comparable to the Red and Blue from back then.
Damn it…
Why couldn't Grey have been on Team Rocket's side?
"Your emotional fluctuations are getting too big. Rein it in."
A warning suddenly echoed in Giovanni's mind.
"…Yeah."
Giovanni knew it was Mewtwo reminding him.
Good thing he still had that thing.
Maybe later, it could at least stall Blue.
Thinking about the fact that, among his Pokémon, there would eventually be two that reached that level, Giovanni's mood finally improved.
It was only a bit of hardship.
Once Team Rocket developed properly, swallowed other regions one by one, and expanded—
the Kanto League would be left isolated and helpless.
Yeah. Start with Alola.
There wasn't even a League there. If he could swallow it up and turn it into Team Rocket's business territory, it wouldn't draw attention for a while.
Giovanni thought the plan was perfect.
"Grey, that guy's emotions are fluctuating pretty hard. He's hiding it well, but I still caught it."
Little Riolu sent the message into Grey's mind.
The "that guy" it meant was obviously Giovanni.
"I know," Grey replied. "After the Gym Leader selection preliminaries are over, I need to take a trip to other regions."
Grey had already ended the livestream. He glanced at his phone, saw a friend request, accepted it, and turned the screen off.
Then his eyes settled on Giovanni.
Giovanni noticed the look and gave Grey an approving expression.
"Gym Leader Grey, Gym Leader Sabrina—you both did very well this time. You've made an enormous contribution to the League by striking a heavy blow against Team Rocket."
Giovanni suddenly began clapping, his tone filled with admiration.
"I think everyone should learn from them."
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