Grey directly pushed Rosa to the front of the conversation.
Honestly, if Rosa ever devoted herself fully to raising and training Pokémon, her strength probably wouldn't stop at Elite Four level. At minimum, she had Champion-level potential.
"Rosa? If I remember right, wasn't she filming a movie in Virbank City recently?"
Alder, who had been listening nearby, immediately pictured a pretty young girl in his mind.
Rosa, Unova's rising young actress.
One of Professor Juniper's trainers.
Of course, what Alder knew best about her was that her acting was excellent.
What he didn't understand was why Grey had suddenly brought her up.
"Yeah. Rosa's talent is actually incredible. If possible, I think you should try developing her properly. As for direction, you could guide her along the same path as Diantha from Kalos."
Diantha, the Kalos Champion.
At the same time, she was also a globally famous movie star.
She was the kind of trainer who had both career and strength under complete control.
Grey felt that if Rosa was willing, she could absolutely walk that same road.
Maybe she wouldn't reach Diantha's exact level of achievement.
But reaching Elite Four level at the very least would be no problem at all.
Grey thought very highly of Rosa.
"I see... Thank you, Gym Leader Grey."
Alder thanked him sincerely.
Even though Grey didn't hold an official post in Unova, he had still pointed Unova toward a promising talent.
Rosa.
Alder made a mental note of that name.
If he got the chance, he definitely wanted to meet her in person.
"All right, I'm heading out. I'm going to check the place where you raise Tepig and see whether any of them click with me. Before that, I need to go meet Mustard."
There were still quite a few things Grey needed to take care of before leaving Unova.
Aside from finding a Tepig, Mustard was also supposed to give him two Kubfu.
At that moment, Mustard was already waiting quietly outside the Unova League.
"Got it, Gym Leader Grey. If you get the chance, you have to come visit Unova again!"
Alder had already given up on trying to get Grey to work in Unova.
Still, as long as Grey came back once in a while, that alone would be enough to keep the local villain organizations intimidated.
Ghetsis of Team Plasma had been arrested, but many of the group's members were still at large.
And that raised a problem.
Where exactly had the remaining Team Plasma members gone?
The Unova League had searched countless places. They had even combed through certain forests several times over, but they still hadn't found a trace of Team Plasma.
"Sigh."
Alder let out a long sigh and decided to gather the region's security forces for a massive sweep across Unova.
"Mr. Alder, there's a saying that I think might fit the current situation."
Grey paused slightly before continuing. "Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest place. Those places you'd never think of as secure might be exactly where Team Plasma's remaining forces are hiding."
That was as far as Grey went.
He knew there were still plenty of Team Plasma members who hadn't been caught.
So he was willing to give Alder a small reminder.
As for whether Alder could make the connection himself, that would depend on him.
"The most dangerous place is the safest place..."
Alder repeated Grey's words. It felt like he had already caught a thread of inspiration. After thanking Grey, he quickly headed back into the League offices to summon everyone.
"Yeah. Hopefully the next time I come to Unova, I'll see a completely different side of it."
Grey let out a light laugh as he watched Alder and the Unova Elite Four leave.
Before he departed, Caitlin's fingers clenched tightly around the hem of her skirt. As she lowered her head, her golden hair spilled down and hid her slightly flushed cheeks.
"G-Grey..."
Her voice was as light as a feather falling onto snow, and the tip of her shoe unconsciously traced little circles on the ground.
This newly appointed Elite Four member, who wielded psychic power with perfect ease, was now struggling to get out even the simplest sentence.
"Well... actually, I..."
Dong, dong, dong.
In the distance, the bell for the League meeting began to ring.
It was as if Caitlin had been jolted awake. She bit her lower lip, and all the words that were about to come out froze into a sigh.
"What's wrong?"
Grey stopped walking, both hands in his pockets, and met Caitlin's eyes.
He was waiting for Caitlin.
Caitlin was waiting for him too.
As for what exactly they were waiting for, only the two of them knew.
"We'll see each other again, right?"
Caitlin held both hands to her chest, her eyes shimmering with tears.
This stretch of time had been the happiest period she had ever had.
There had been no family troubles, no outside distractions.
She had simply been able to enjoy herself.
Grey had handled everything the whole way through.
And the feeling of being cared for wasn't the same as the familiar, routine care she received from Darach.
How should she put it?
A strange emotion had started to grow inside her.
As for when it had taken root and begun to sprout, even she didn't know.
"Of course. As long as you want to, you can video call me anytime."
Grey gave his phone a little shake. Once he unlocked the screen, the chat app showed the few conversations he had pinned to the top.
Caitlin was one of them.
"Waaah..."
The moment she heard that, Caitlin nearly lost it.
She had spent so long building up the mood, only for his answer of "video call" to completely ruin it.
"Oh, come on. It's not like this is some final farewell. Don't make that funeral face."
Seeing the tears welling at the corners of Caitlin's eyes, Grey quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
"When you miss me, just tell me. As long as I'm not busy, I'll fly over from Kanto to see you right away. How about that?"
"Grey... you're so good to me..."
Hearing him say that, hearing that he was even willing to fly all the way from Kanto to Unova just for her, only made Caitlin even more reluctant to let him go.
"Don't say I'm good to you. It's only right."
There was no deeper reason than the fact that Caitlin had given him far too much already.
If he converted it all into round-trip plane tickets, it would already buy dozens of them.
"Mhm... then I won't keep you any longer."
As Grey loosened his embrace, Caitlin tucked her head back into his chest, her voice a little muffled.
"Before you leave... there's one more thing I want to ask of you. Is that okay?"
"What is it?"
Grey's hand came to rest gently in Caitlin's hair. As his fingers slid through the golden strands, even his voice softened without him realizing it.
The warmth of his palm made Caitlin's lashes tremble, and like a Skitty enjoying being petted, she unconsciously leaned into his hand.
"Grey..."
Then, all at once, Caitlin rose up on her toes.
She tilted her face up toward him, all the pride of an Elite Four member gone. The tip of her nose was almost brushing his chin.
Her cherry-blossom lips parted slightly, and the white mist of her breath blurred the distance between them.
"Thank you..."
Their lips met for the briefest moment, then parted.
...
...
Outside the Unova League.
"Gym Leader Grey, what happened to you, hmm?"
Mustard stroked his whitening beard and, seeing the faint flush on Grey's face, couldn't help teasing him a little.
"Nothing."
Grey's tone was perfectly calm, as if absolutely nothing had happened.
Mustard saw through it, but didn't say anything. He simply clasped his hands behind his back and then, as if performing a magic trick, produced two Poké Balls.
"Gym Leader Grey, inside these two Poké Balls are the Kubfu, hmm."
The Poké Balls Mustard had taken out were Luxury Balls, which actually matched Urshifu's color scheme pretty well.
As he spoke, the Luxury Balls dropped to the ground.
Two little bear cubs standing on two legs appeared.
Their fur was mostly beige, with white markings concentrated around the head and upper chest. There were also tufts of white fur hanging behind their heads, making them look as though they were wearing white headscarves.
[Pokémon: Kubfu (Legendary Pokémon)]
[Type: Fighting]
[Level: 25]
[Ability: Inner Focus]
[Moves: Omitted.]
The two level 25 Kubfu looked like a single stat sheet at first glance, but in reality, their data was exactly identical.
"Beya?"
(An unfamiliar human? Who are you? Why is this place so bare? Whatever, eat this punch first!)
The moment the Kubfu got a clear look at Grey, the one standing in front shot forward like a cannonball.
Its fist tore through the air as it aimed straight for Grey's face, the force of the punch even lifting the loose strands of hair on his forehead.
Smack!
With a crisp sound, Grey's right hand had somehow appeared in front of him and caught the blow with complete ease.
Kubfu's fist didn't move an inch in his palm. The little guy's eyes went wide with shock, and its short legs remained suspended midair in its punching pose.
"Sneak attacks aren't a very good habit."
Grey smiled and gave the fluffy fist a little squeeze, and Kubfu immediately wilted like a balloon losing air.
"Beya!"
(Human, nice moves!)
The other Kubfu's eyes flared the moment it saw that.
It tapped lightly off the ground, and its body instantly turned into a string of afterimages.
Bang bang bang!
A storm of punches poured down like rain, each strike linked seamlessly into the next, its movements smooth and flowing.
"Oh? A real Rapid Strike prospect."
Grey crossed his arms to block, yet even so, the endless barrage forced him back half a step.
Kubfu's fistwork shifted between hard and soft, at times like a mountain-crushing blow, at times like willow fluff brushing across the face. Hidden within it was the true inheritance of Rapid Strike Style Urshifu.
Then the final uppercut suddenly changed in mid-motion, and the force behind it sharpened threefold.
Seeing that, the Kubfu whose fist Grey had restrained had a gleam flash through its eyes.
Its left fist suddenly exploded upward from a tricky angle.
In an instant, the two Kubfu formed a perfect pincer attack, their combined punches snapping Grey's clothes in the wind.
Grey only chuckled, his body swaying like a fish slipping through water.
First, he released the Kubfu he had been holding.
Then his right hand changed from a palm into a claw, locking around the first Kubfu's wrist and borrowing its momentum to hurl it straight toward the second one.
The second Kubfu saw its little brother flying at it like that and had no choice but to pull back.
But that hesitation gave Grey an opening.
Both of Grey's hands came down at the same time and pressed firmly on the two little cubs' heads.
Their flurry of punches stopped dead.
Their two pairs of short legs kicked helplessly in the air for a moment, and they looked exactly like naughty little bears being grabbed by the scruff of the neck.
"Beya!"
(Mercy, hero, mercy! I was wrong, I was wrong! I shouldn't have tried to sneak attack you!)
The Kubfu who had attacked Grey first immediately panicked and begged for mercy, hoping Grey would let it go.
It had never expected this human to be just as strong as Mustard.
He had pinned both of them down using nothing but his bare hands.
It had been a long time since any human had managed to bully them like this.
Normally, the trainers at the dojo were the ones getting toyed with by them.
Over time, these two Kubfu had become a little too lawless.
But after being manhandled like this by Grey today, they suddenly woke up.
A bear ought to act like a bear. What kind of accomplishment was there in bullying kids?
Yeah!
They had to work hard, get stronger, and take revenge on Grey in the future!
And just like that, a seed called revenge was planted deep in their hearts.
Grey: "..."
Uh...
Did these two Kubfu seriously not know that he could understand what was going on in their little heads?
Just by looking at the expressions on their faces, Grey didn't even need to think to know what they were planning.
Wasn't it obvious? They wanted revenge on him someday.
Come to think of it, the last time he'd seen that kind of expression was on Petrel's face.
Ah...
Speaking of Petrel, it had been quite a while since he'd seen him.
He wondered how that guy was doing in prison.
Had he started thinking about escaping yet?
Lately, Grey himself had been a little short on cash.
So, Petrel, if you've got any breakout plans, now would be the perfect time.
"Beya."
(Little bro, little bro, do you know what's wrong with this human? Why did he suddenly make that face?)
Kubfu Number Two, the one better at Rapid Strike Style, whispered that question to Kubfu Number One.
"Beya."
(No clue. He doesn't look like a good guy.)
Kubfu Number One shook its head. It was reckless, sure, but not stupid. It could still read a face or two.
The expression Grey had just made, if this were a cartoon, he'd absolutely be cast as the villain.
"Ahem, I was just thinking about something happy. As for what that happy thing was, I can't tell you yet. You'll find out later."
Grey cleared his throat, then crouched down and looked at the two Kubfu.
"From now on, I'm your trainer. I don't care what you were like at the dojo before, but since you're with me now, you need to behave. You can't keep pulling pranks all the time."
Mustard had already told him plenty about these two Kubfu.
They were the living definition of little bear brats.
Basically just like huskies, always getting into trouble and wrecking things.
If they got to the Fighting Dojo, they'd probably tear the place apart by the second day.
"Beya?"
(What? You actually want us to stop pranking people? You're trying to erase a Pokémon's natural instincts!)
Kubfu Number One's ears shot straight up, and a flash of unwillingness passed through its round eyes.
Its fur instantly puffed up all over, and the cute little face it had a second ago turned fierce on the spot.
"Beya!"
(Eat my strongest punch!)
With an adorably ferocious shout, Kubfu Number One slammed its hind legs into the ground and launched a fully loaded right hook straight at Grey's chin.
The punch came so suddenly that even the air around it twisted into spiral ripples.
Grey raised an eyebrow slightly, and his left hand shot out like lightning.
Smack.
With another light, crisp sound, that grievance-filled heavy punch was caught firmly in one hand.
Kubfu stayed frozen in its punching pose, hanging there in midair, its whole face full of disbelief.
"Mischievous."
Grey curled a finger and flicked it lightly on the forehead.
Thunk!
After the clear, sharp sound, Kubfu clutched its reddening forehead and rolled across the ground like a deflated ball, tumbling twice before finally stopping.
It looked up with watery eyes, only to meet Grey's half-smiling expression, and its ears drooped at once.
"What about you? Any objections?"
Grey turned his gaze toward Kubfu Number Two, and the little guy instantly stiffened all over.
Its round eyes blinked twice, then it raised both paws in surrender, its fluffy ears flattening against its head in fear.
It carefully backed up half a step, and even nudged its companion lying on the ground with one paw, making it perfectly clear that it was not taking the blame for this.
And just like that, the Kubfu had been completely subdued by Grey.
"Oh ho, not bad at all, young man, hmm."
Even Mustard hadn't expected Grey to make those two Kubfu submit in less than half an hour.
That was something the trainees at his own dojo had never been able to do.
Sure enough, handing those two troublesome little Kubfu over to Grey had been the right decision.
"Nothing special."
Grey waved it off.
Back when Zapdos and Articuno used to start trouble, they were way more chaotic than these Kubfu.
Compared to that, what the Kubfu had just done barely counted as roughhousing.
"All right, I'm not trying to wipe out your natural instincts. What I mean is, don't pull pranks every single day. As long as it's not nonstop, do whatever you want."
Grey lifted the two of them up and finally explained himself clearly.
After saying that, he recalled them into their Poké Balls.
There just happened to be a Pokémon Center nearby, so once he registered the Poké Balls, the two Kubfu were sent back.
When the time came, he would train them together with all the Pokémon he had caught on this trip.
After finishing all that, Grey reported the trip to Cynthia.
[Annihilape Dojo: Miss Cynthia, I'm about to part ways with Caitlin.]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: ? ?]
...
...
Sinnoh Region, Pokémon League.
"What?! Grey, you're breaking up with Caitlin?!"
The moment she saw the message Grey had sent, Cynthia's first reaction was that he and Caitlin had broken up.
"No, how did you two go on just one trip to Unova and already end up breaking up?!"
Cynthia had completely misunderstood.
She had clearly taken "part ways" to mean "break up."
"No way, I need to call and get this straight!"
Cynthia immediately dialed Grey's number. The moment he picked up, she skipped any greeting and blurted out, "Grey! You are not allowed to break up! Even if you are going to break up, absolutely not during this period!"
Grey: ?
"Miss Cynthia, when did I ever say I was breaking up with Caitlin?"
Grey felt like Cynthia was being very strange.
The two of them were doing perfectly fine, so how had a breakup suddenly entered the picture?
"Huh?"
"...Huh?"
The two confused sounds came out of their mouths at the same time.
Only then did Grey explain everything clearly.
"Ohhh, misunderstanding cleared up."
Cynthia let out a sigh of relief.
"Right, Miss Cynthia, if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
With that, Grey was just about to end the call.
Cynthia stopped him.
"Wait a second. I actually do have something to tell you."
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