Speaking of which… the young Riolu should know Meloetta, right?
Grey lowered his gaze to the young Riolu at his feet.
"What is it?" the young Riolu asked, speaking to Grey through telepathy.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask if you know Meloetta," Grey replied in his mind.
"Oh, the little songstress? Of course I know her." The young Riolu nodded.
Mythical Pokemon were basically one big family.
And Meloetta—who even shared a Psychic typing with it—was practically an old friend.
That pulled the young Riolu back into a memory from long ago…
Back when it, Meloetta, and Victini had wandered around Unova, carefree, searching for food.
Good times…
"What's up? You want to meet the little songstress?" the young Riolu prodded, following its own thoughts. "If I remember right, she seems to be worshipped somewhere these days."
Truth was, it had been years since it last saw Meloetta.
As for Victini, that one had followed generation after generation of humans.
First it was some kingdom nobles, then later it went with a rich businessman.
No idea how it was doing now.
The young Riolu couldn't stay in Unova forever. After they separated, it never saw them again.
If it was convenient on Grey's side, it could tag along and take a look at how its old friends were doing.
"Grey, when we go to Unova later, make sure you take me around," the young Riolu said, its curiosity fully stirred.
Since Grey brought it up, then it was going too—no complaints.
"Sure. No problem," Grey agreed, feeling like the plan was going smoothly.
If he could coax Meloetta back, great.
If not, then forget it—no need to force it.
His attention returned to reality.
Hearing Grey's words, Burgh naturally stayed friendly. "Of course. When you come, I'll invite you to my personal exhibition. Stay and have fun as long as you want."
"By the way," the designer suddenly asked, "are you here to customize something?"
"Yes, yes. I want to customize something as a gift," Grey said, explaining what had happened.
"I see…" The designer thought for a moment. "Then how about scarves?"
"Hm?" Grey lifted an eyebrow.
It was getting close to autumn, and the weather was starting to cool down.
A scarf…
Yeah, that worked.
"About how long would it take?" Grey asked.
It was delicate work.
Even with Pokemon helping, weaving scarves still took time.
He needed to give them the gifts as soon as he got back, so the faster the better.
"Normally, it would take two days," the designer said, stroking his chin.
That answer told Grey everything.
If someone said "normally," it meant there was also an "abnormally."
"But…" the designer continued.
Grey knew it—this was going to be good.
"With Burgh here, it'll be much faster. And the quality will be much higher."
The designer looked toward his good friend Burgh.
Leavanny were born to weave clothes.
And Burgh's Leavanny was the best of the best.
Two perfect scarves? If his Leavanny handled it, two hours would be enough.
Fast and clean.
"Gym Leader Burgh, could I trouble you?" Grey blinked and pulled out a bank card. "I'll pay."
"It's fine, it's fine. Just weaving two scarves isn't a big deal," Burgh said, meeting Grey's eyes—then glancing at the shiny Metang beside him.
A shiny Pokemon… and a Hoenn pseudo-legendary…
Burgh admitted it—he was tempted. Right now, he desperately wanted to paint Grey's Metang.
Wait…
Grey also had a bunch of once-in-a-lifetime things, didn't he?
Burgh thought of Articuno and Zapdos.
Kanto's legendary birds!
He'd come here specifically to seek an artistic "breakthrough."
If he could paint them, Burgh felt like his art would advance again.
"Gym Leader Grey—how about a battle?"
"If I win, let me paint Articuno. Of course, I'll pay."
"If I lose, I'll weave your two scarves for free."
Burgh didn't want to freeload.
"That's it? Paint whatever you want. Anything else you want to paint? As long as I've got a model, go for it," Grey said casually, like it was nothing.
He'd thought it would be something serious.
But it was just a painting.
Just modeling.
Grey didn't mind at all.
"I… might need quite a bit of time," Burgh warned.
"That's fine. You'll paint outdoors?" Grey looked around.
If it was done here, it felt kind of cramped.
"More or less. I can paint near your hotel," Burgh said. The opportunity was rare—if he could do it, he wanted to.
"No problem. I don't care. And Articuno is super vain—if it hears you want to paint it, it'll probably come running on its own," Grey said, feeling a little helpless about Articuno.
Way too proud.
"As for money, that doesn't matter," Grey added.
He rarely used Pokemon to rake in cash.
At most, he let viewers send gifts in exchange for a few Pokemon selfies.
Otherwise, if he really wanted to make money, the Fighting Dojo would've been expanded multiple times already—he might've even bought a luxury apartment in the center of Saffron City.
"So that's how it is…" Burgh's respect for Grey climbed even higher.
Not moved by money at all.
Grey, you really are as people say online—clean-living and upright!
Clearly, Burgh had misunderstood something.
Grey not cashing in didn't mean he didn't want to make big money.
He just wanted to make it the legal, reasonable way.
"How about this, Gym Leader Grey," Burgh said, pulling a ticket from his bag. "I'll give you a ship ticket."
"This ticket can only be used from Castelia City. But it can be used unlimited times."
"This ticket is…?" Grey narrowed his eyes.
And then he realized the system could display information for it too!
Item: Liberty Pass (Key Item)
Description: A special pass used to travel to Liberty Garden. You can board in Castelia City.
The Liberty Pass!
Liberty Garden!
A certain "V" Pokemon instantly popped into Grey's mind.
The Victory Pokemon—Victini!
He hadn't expected Burgh to pull out a Liberty Pass as an opening offer.
Grey was thrilled.
"Gym Leader Grey, this pass lets you reach a place called Liberty Garden. But… going there can be dangerous…"
As Burgh spoke, his confidence started to fade.
Handing over a pass like this…
Was that really okay?
"It's fine. Gym Leader Burgh, I appreciate it," Grey said sincerely.
"I've heard about Liberty Garden for a long time. Supposedly, if you can reach it… something unexpectedly good happens, right?"
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