Clap clap clap…
As Giovanni spoke, the applause thundered.
Giovanni started clapping first, and once everyone heard that, the rest followed and clapped along as well.
"Gym Leader Grey is seriously incredible… I wonder when my Blastoise will ever reach that kind of strength."
At the very back of the crowd, Daisy raised a hand to her cheek. She'd just watched the entire livestream, and she was completely won over by Gallade.
It wasn't even a Water-type Pokémon, yet that Aqua Cutter looked no worse than what other Water-types could pull off—straight-up hit her right in the heart.
"It's way too cool! Ugh… if only Gallade actually had the Water typing…"
Daisy said regretfully.
That Aqua Cutter was just too stylish. If she could catch a Pokémon that could use it, how great would that be?
"Come on, Daisy. Later you can just ask Gym Leader Grey which Pokémon can learn it."
Violet, with her aqua-blue hair, patted Daisy on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "You're all pretty familiar already. Asking won't hurt, right?"
"I wouldn't say we're that close. I've basically just played the middleman twice."
Daisy ran her fingers through her long blonde hair and sighed.
One time was calling Grey to come help catch Team Rocket out near Cerulean City.
The other time was helping Erika ask whether Grey had time to go to Celadon City.
Both times she was just a go-between—she hadn't actually talked to Grey much at all.
"It's fine. Later just be a little thicker-skinned and treat Grey to dinner a few times. He'll probably tell you."
Violet leaned against Daisy's back with a grin.
Daisy shifted a few steps away and shot her a look. "You talk too much."
"Bleh~"
"Alright, alright, stop messing with her."
Lily, standing between the two sisters, spoke softly. "If you get the chance later, just gift Grey a Governor subscription. Maybe he'll even give you some pointers."
"True. Grey's stream has been blowing up lately. Feels like it'll hit 500k followers sooner or later."
Daisy checked her phone, opened her following list, and found Grey's account.
When she tapped in—two hundred thousand followers already.
That livestream arresting a Team Rocket executive had been under five minutes, but the quality was insane.
And it wasn't just Daisy's group talking about Grey—pretty much everyone here was discussing what they'd just seen.
Grey arresting a Team Rocket executive left a deep impression, and that sub-five-minute replay clip had already made its way to the League.
Far away at the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League, the Elite Four convened a meeting—and the topic was Grey.
"Everyone saw the video just now, right? Gym Leader Grey and Gym Leader Sabrina arresting Team Rocket—this is a huge contribution to our efforts against Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto."
Lance stood in front of a screen, looping the clip over and over.
He couldn't get enough of it.
"Lance, how many times have you played it already? Maybe pause it for a second."
Lorelei pressed a hand to her forehead. The more she listened to what Grey said to Archer, the weirder it sounded.
It was so twisted.
If you didn't know any better, you'd think Grey was the villain and Archer was the poor righteous guy getting bullied.
Mostly it was Grey's wording.
Way too down-to-earth.
Still, Lorelei could understand it—Grey came up from underground fighting, after all. If his mouth was a little rough, that was normal.
And honestly, compared to Sidney from the Hoenn Elite Four… Grey sounded downright wholesome.
Judging by appearances wasn't great, but Sidney really did look like he used to run with punks. If you dropped him into Kanto or Johto, people would probably assume he was Team Rocket.
At least an executive.
"Alright."
Lance nodded and paused the video.
Still, he looked a bit unsatisfied.
Watching Team Rocket get arrested made him feel unbelievably good—like when you're scrolling online looking for something good, and the very first thing on the first page is exactly what you wanted. Pure bliss.
No need to search.
The algorithm just delivered it right to his face.
Like getting a pillow handed to you the second you start nodding off.
"So, Lance," Bruno asked, chewing on a slice of watermelon in the corner as he looked up, "you called us in for a meeting… what are we actually meeting about?"
He'd been training, then got dragged in for this "quick" meeting.
After watching the sped-up clip dozens of times, his head was buzzing.
Bruno felt like he was just a simple martial artist—if there was something to say, Lance should just say it, instead of making him guess.
"Wait a bit. Four more people are coming."
Lance shook his head and kept looking toward the door.
He'd called seven people—eight including himself.
Speak of the devil.
A few seconds after Lance finished speaking, the meeting room doors swung open.
A boy walked in with hair that looked like it had been styled to imitate Zapdos, his face more mature now, his expression full of arrogance.
"Yo, Lance. You called me over like your life depended on it—don't tell me you just wanted me to watch Gym Leader Grey's replay."
The newcomer was the battle legend—Blue.
"…"
Beside Blue, another boy in a bright red cap followed at an unhurried pace.
He stayed silent, not saying a word.
The battle legend—Red.
"Pick it up back there. You're practically about to take Elite Four seats—why are you moving so slow?" Blue casually pulled out a chair, gestured for Red to sit first, then sat down himself while glancing toward the door. "You know how much you can get done in five minutes?"
"We're here."
Karen and Will stepped in.
These past few days, they'd been running around nonstop for the Gym selection battles, and they'd finally finished everything two days ago.
"Relax. The meeting's sudden, but the content isn't urgent."
Lance motioned for everyone to calm down.
"Draa~" (Everyone, have some tea~)
Suddenly, three Dragonite emerged from the shadows.
One carried a tray with a full tea set.
Another handed out cups.
After the cups were distributed, the last Dragonite poured tea for everyone.
Clear division of labor—efficient and smooth. They had everything done in moments.
"Good tea."
Agatha, the most senior among them, took a sip, then looked at Lance and said slowly, "Now you can talk business."
"Alright. Then Karen and Will—why don't you two start by talking about the Gyms you visited these last few days?"
Lance returned to his seat and handed the floor to the two newcomers.
"Honestly, aside from the eight major Gyms, most of the Gyms were… unimpressive."
Karen couldn't help sighing.
No wonder Kanto's rookies had been so weak in recent years.
The smaller Gyms were just not up to standard—barely capable of properly training new Trainers at all.
"But."
Karen's tone shifted. "There was one Gym that satisfied me."
Everyone present already knew the answer.
Who it was—if you know, you know.
That would be the Fighting Dojo.
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