"No problem, but are you sure you want me to sign it here?"
Grey's gaze swept over the surroundings.
Team Plasma members were practically strewn across the ground like corpses. Asking for an autograph in a setting like this felt a little too creepy.
"You're right. Then we'll wait until the cops and Officer Jenny arrest these Team Plasma bad guys, and then you can sign it for me, okay, Grey?"
Rosa's eyes sparkled as she stared at him, leaning forward slightly until she was almost pressed against him.
"Yeah, that's definitely fine."
Grey waved it off. It was just an autograph.
"By the way, how do you know me? Through my streams?"
He was starting to get curious about how Rosa had heard of him.
Normally, livestreams from Unova and Kanto didn't really overlap. Even if you wanted to watch them, you had to search them up on purpose.
Local streams almost never got recommended across regions.
"Well..."
Rosa suddenly turned shy, like she was hiding some little secret she didn't want to admit.
"What is it?"
Grey raised a brow. The way she was acting made it very hard not to get the wrong idea.
"It's this."
Rosa suddenly pulled a gaudy light novel out of her little shoulder bag.
Grey took a closer look, and his brows immediately knit together.
Reborn as Kanto's Favorite: The Cold-Faced Psychic Queen's Pampered Darling
The cover illustration showed a chibi Grey being held in Sabrina's arms. Hearts floated in the background along with dark Poké Ball effects.
Stamped across the spine was a label reading #1 on the Women's Fiction Bestseller List, and the publisher logo in the corner belonged to Phantom Press, one of Shauntal's regular partners.
"Th-this is the newest release..."
Blushing furiously, Rosa tried to hide the book behind her back, but the slogan printed on the back cover had already been exposed for everyone to see.
He chases, she runs, neither can escape.
Grey, Sabrina, Caitlin: "..."
Unbelievable. There was already fanfiction shipping him and Sabrina.
"Why Sabrina?"
Grey rubbed his chin, unable to understand why Sabrina had been cast as the female lead.
He had thought it would be Caitlin.
Ah, right. Caitlin was a wealthy heiress from Sinnoh. If someone wrote and published fanfiction about her, it would be very easy for her to cause trouble for Shauntal.
Wait.
Then what about Wallace and Steven?
Grey suddenly remembered that one infamous "masterpiece" Shauntal had written before, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
That light novel had nearly caused Devon's stock price to fluctuate for three straight days, and the title alone was unforgettable.
The Diamond Bachelor's Runaway Sweetheart: The Hoenn Champion and His Handsome Young Man from the Sootopolis Gym
The cover featured a chibi Steven wrapping his arms around Wallace's waist from behind, the two of them gazing deeply into each other's eyes in front of Meteor Falls.
The most outrageous part was the title of the bonus chapter:
Devon Metagross Does Not Dream of Sootopolis Milotic
The mental image was too much.
He had even heard there was a Maxie fanfic from Team Magma floating around somewhere.
Honestly, Shauntal really knew how to write them.
If it were anyone else, they probably would have been hunted down offline by celebrity fanbases already.
No wonder Shauntal had acted like a thief when she came to see him before. So that was why she had so many haters.
Damn it. The next time he saw her, he was absolutely demanding compensation for image rights.
And while he was at it, he'd collect Sabrina's share too.
"Grey?"
After stuffing the fanfic back into her bag, Rosa waved a hand a few times in front of Grey's face.
Only then did he come back to himself, but the way he looked at her now was definitely a little different.
If Green had been the one caught reading something like this, she would've gotten thoroughly messed with.
But he had only just met Rosa.
Yeah. In a situation like this, his hands were tied.
"Ahem. Anyway... Rosa, do you follow me on Doule?"
Grey changed the subject.
"I do, I do! I'm even one of your Captain-tier supporters! You and Miss Sabrina are so incredibly shippable! You're practically made for each other!"
Rosa's gaze bounced back and forth between Grey and Sabrina, then landed on Caitlin, whose fist had quietly clenched at her side.
"Huh! Then that means this beautiful lady must be Governor Caitlin, right? Oh no!"
Rosa started fussing to herself, her eyes darting between the three of them again and again.
In the end, she lifted a hand and began spinning it over her head, clearly deep in thought.
"What is it?"
Caitlin loosened her fist, curious about what this slightly airheaded girl was trying to say.
Grey and Sabrina exchanged glances, then looked back at Rosa as well.
"Ugh... Caitlin looks so good with Grey too. Why are there so many amazing ships all at once?"
Rosa's problem was simple: in such a short time, she had suddenly found three pairings worth shipping.
As for the last one, she didn't dare say it out loud.
That one was Sabrina and Caitlin.
"Grey, Miss Sabrina, Miss Caitlin, I'm sorry... I just realized I said my ships out loud right in front of you. I hope I didn't offend you..."
Rosa's face turned bright red. She hurriedly waved both hands, trying to show that she meant no harm.
"It's fine. I don't mind."
Caitlin rested a hand against her cheek, her mind still full of Rosa's words.
Caitlin looks so good with Grey too.
That one line had completely soothed her mood.
"I don't mind either. It just proves, from another angle, that Grey is good enough to deserve that kind of attention."
Sabrina looked at Grey's profile, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. To her, Rosa's words were nothing more than a joke.
Still...
In Sabrina's mind, scenes from her recent date with Grey drifted past.
Candlelit dinner. Fireworks at midnight.
Honestly, Grey really did know how to charm people.
Even someone like her, a cold-faced beauty, had ended up a little flustered by him.
As she remembered those moments with Grey, Sabrina's cheeks gradually began to redden.
Rosa looked at Caitlin, then at Sabrina, and finally back at Grey, as though she had just figured everything out.
Rosa had seen through it all.
"Ahem. Miss Rosa, did you just come out of that café?"
Grey pointed toward the café behind her. The exterior looked rundown, but he had sensed an unusual aura from inside.
It felt somewhat similar to Little Riolu's.
And yet very different.
Grey estimated that Meloetta was inside that café.
"Yep! Don't let Café Sonata's shabby exterior fool you. It's actually decorated really nicely inside, and they even have live guitar melodies!"
The more Rosa talked, the more excited she got. She even grabbed Grey by the hand and started pulling him toward Café Sonata.
"Come on, all three of you. Coffee's on me!"
"Sure. We can wait for the cops inside too."
Grey nodded, then had Lucario stay outside on guard.
Just in case any of the Team Plasma members were only pretending to be unconscious.
Inside Café Sonata, the warm lights glowed softly.
Little Riolu was already sitting in the café, and beside it sat a Pokémon with long, wavy pale green hair and the appearance of a little girl...
The Mythical Pokémon, Meloetta.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.