"Hiss…"
Even Grey, seeing the sincerity Shauntal offered, couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
The Unova League was offering way too much.
They were even reimbursing Pokémon training resources—if you converted what that would cost into League currency, it would be an astronomical number.
Grey genuinely hadn't expected Unova to throw out such a massive offer. It left him feeling a little overwhelmed.
But.
Overwhelmed or not, even if the Unova League was willing to hand him such a huge sum—benefits that even far exceeded what local Gym Leaders got—Grey still wanted to refuse Shauntal.
[Dojo Annihilape: Elite Four Shauntal, what Unova is offering really is great, but life in Kanto has been pretty stable for me, so I don't have any plans to switch jobs for now.]
[Shauntal: Is that so… Alright, then. How about we talk about something else next?]
"Huh? There's a Plan B?"
Shauntal's message popped up on the screen, and Grey clicked his tongue.
Honestly, she really did write novels for a living. Even after he politely turned her down, she smoothly pivoted to "another matter" without the slightest awkwardness.
No matter how you looked at it, Shauntal's nerves were impressive.
[Dojo Annihilape: Sure, go ahead. I want to see what this is about.]
[Shauntal: I'd like to ask that when you come to Unova in the future, if you happen to discover Team Plasma's whereabouts, please step in and arrest them.]
[Shauntal: Of course, you don't need to actively search for them. Just act if you run into them while traveling.]
[Shauntal: We'll provide bounties based on which Team Plasma members you capture, and there will be additional rewards based on total numbers. Would that be acceptable to you?]
[Dojo Annihilape: Wow. Of course that's fine.]
Grey felt like this was a perfect chance to earn some extra cash.
Arrest an evil organization and make money at the same time—why wouldn't he?
[Shauntal: Then on behalf of the Unova League, thank you for your strong support. If you need anything later, feel free to contact me.]
[Dojo Annihilape: No big deal. Oh, right—do you want to come hang out in my group chat?]
[Shauntal: ? What group?]
[Dojo Annihilape: My private group.]
[Shauntal: Sure. Since it's an invitation from Gym Leader Grey, I'll definitely come show support.]
...
[VIP Lounge for Feeding Grey (9)]
["Dojo Annihilape" invited "Bestselling light-novel author Shauntal" to join the group chat.]
["Bestselling light-novel author Shauntal" is not friends with other members in this group. Please pay attention to privacy and safety.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Welcome, newcomer.jpg]
[Dojo Annihilape: Welcome, new buddy!]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: Hello.jpg]
[Ice Lorelei: Huh? Isn't this Shauntal, Unova's Ghost-type Elite Four? Didn't expect Gym Leader Grey to invite you into the group too.]
[Blue: Aren't you in a meeting? How do you have time to look at your phone? @Ice Lorelei]
[Ice Lorelei: It's just the Honorary Elite Four thing. Lance is up there explaining it. We've all heard it already—this is basically just showing up to support the scene. lol.jpg]
[Red: Unova?]
[Master Mustard of the Isle of Armor: That's the region where Alder is, right? I remember he's been Champion for ages—why hasn't he stepped down yet, then.]
[Shauntal: Champion Alder has been looking for a suitable Trainer lately. Maybe in a little while, he'll be able to step down. awkward.jpg]
Unova, Victory Road.
Inside an Elite Four room shrouded in darkness, a desk lamp suddenly flicked on. Cold blue light traced the refined profile of Shauntal's face.
The lenses of her black-rimmed glasses reflected Grey's group member list—dense lines of names.
Red, Blue, Cynthia, Mustard…
"This guy's group chat is basically a tea party for League Champions!"
Shauntal bit the cap of her pen, and even her typing unconsciously stopped.
Any one of these lurking big shots, pulled out at random, could flip the Unova League upside down.
She had no idea where Grey even met so many people.
He was clearly just a small-time streamer, yet anyone you grabbed from his group was someone with serious weight in the League.
Especially the one called Sleeping Beauty.
If she remembered right, that should be Caitlin from Sinnoh—her family's members were scattered all over the world, and every last one of them was at least somewhat famous.
The Trainer world, the finance world, the breeding world…
They'd really spread everywhere.
Knock, knock, knock…
Just then, the door was tapped.
"Come in."
Hearing the sound, Shauntal said without looking up. The door slid open silently with her voice.
A man's silhouette appeared in the doorway, a black scarf hanging down the front of his crisp suit.
His pale face looked even more gloomy under the dim light, and every step felt like it landed on a dangerous beat.
Like an omen—like he wasn't here to bring good news.
The newcomer was Unova's Dark-type Elite Four: Grimsley.
"Grimsley, what is it?" Shauntal finally lifted her head from the documents.
Grimsley's shadowy eyes fixed on her, his Adam's apple rolling once. "Dragonspiral Tower got blasted. Half of it collapsed."
"What!?"
Shauntal's tone shot up as she sprang to her feet, heavy tomes rolling off her knees and tumbling to the floor.
As a novelist, she knew Unova's history inside and out.
Dragonspiral Tower—a sacred ruin that had stood in Unova's northwest since the nation's earliest days, witnessing the rise and fall of countless dynasties.
And today, someone fired a cannon at it?!
This wasn't just provoking the League—this was crushing Unova's thousand-year pride underfoot and grinding it into dust!
"Wait—if they chose Dragonspiral Tower, then their target is…?!"
As if realizing something, Shauntal's pupils shrank.
"Exactly. Their target is the two legendary dragon Pokémon from Unova's history."
Grimsley took a deep breath and continued. "One piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Tell me the bad news first."
Shauntal slumped back into her chair, listening to what Grimsley brought.
"The Dark Stone—Zekrom's stone—was taken. Or rather… it seems like it… acknowledged a Team Plasma Trainer."
Grimsley's voice was grave.
This wasn't some ordinary legend.
This was the kind of legend that could outclass most regional Champions—
Not something the Legendary Birds could even begin to compare to.
"???"
Hearing that, Shauntal's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an apple.
Zekrom went with a Team Plasma Trainer.
If news like that got out… a huge number of Trainers in Unova would start believing in Team Plasma…
"Th-Then… what's the good news?"
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