Kanto region, Saffron City.
After several hours of traveling, Grey and Sabrina finally returned.
Silph Co. was still being rebuilt.
The reconstruction and renovation of the Fighting Dojo and Saffron Gym, however, were almost complete.
"Mm, not bad. They really are renovating it according to what I had in mind."
What Grey had imagined was three battlefields: left, center, and right.
The left and right sides would be ordinary Gym battlefields, capable of withstanding the full-power attacks of Champion-level Pokémon.
The one in the middle would be capable of withstanding the full-power attacks of battle-legend tier Pokémon.
With Blue's Rhyperior around, the central section was built the fastest.
By comparison.
The slowest part was the Fighting Dojo.
The Fighting Dojo truly had to be demolished and rebuilt. By contrast, Saffron Gym, which had already been reduced to ruins, was actually easier to build.
See? The Guts Trio had finished building it in just a few days.
Now they were going all out on renovating the Fighting Dojo.
"Gym Leader Grey, why are you back so soon? Aren't you going to watch the Indigo Conference matches?"
Blue walked over with his hands in his pockets, wearing a safety helmet.
Looking at Blue like this, Grey kind of wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.
The contrast was too much.
"No. I'm planning to go watch in person after the Top 16. What about you, Mr. Blue? Aren't you going to watch your younger brother's matches? It's fine if the Gym reconstruction slows down a little. And really, you only need to leave Rhyperior here. If you want to go, you can just go."
Grey was a little curious.
After all, what he wanted was Rhyperior's rock to use as load-bearing walls and battlefield material. He never said Blue himself had to stay.
"Sigh. The Indigo Conference is basically a baby cup. When I competed back then, I didn't even take those Trainers seriously. Only Red was worth this great me's attention."
Blue had no interest in the Indigo Conference.
Besides.
Back then, he had challenged the Elite Four directly the year after participating, only to be pulled down by Red.
It was truly his dark history.
"True. Although they're all Trainers who collected eight Badges, there are still gaps in strength between them. The strong ones may be very strong, while the weak ones may have only barely reached the passing line."
Grey deeply understood this.
Among the Trainers who had come to seriously challenge his Gym so far, there really weren't many worth watching.
How nice would it be if stronger Trainers came to challenge his Gym?
Speaking of which.
It seemed like he hadn't accepted a Gym challenge in a long time, right?
Mm.
Too much had happened. There was nothing he could do about that.
Giovanni next door only opened for ten days a year.
Grey had only closed his Gym for two weeks. He was still extremely diligent and devoted. Definitely.
"Gym Leader Grey, do you have any plans next? Are you planning to challenge the Elite Four, or travel to other regions?"
Blue took off his helmet, sat down on a nearby bench, and asked about Grey's next schedule.
"After the Indigo Conference ends, I'll go to the Hoenn region, then head to the Unova region to find Caitlin, then come back and see."
"Of course, more than that, I need to spend time with my partners. Things have been too busy these days, and I haven't been able to properly interact with them."
Grey felt a little embarrassed.
He had been very busy lately, constantly dealing with people. His interactions with his Pokémon had decreased a lot.
"I see. Then I won't bother you. Go find your partners."
Blue put his safety helmet back on and went to command Rhyperior in the reconstruction work.
"Hmm... Strange. Why aren't any of them in the Gym?"
As soon as Grey entered, he did not sense the Aura of his Pokémon.
That left him confused.
If they weren't in the Gym, where else could they be?
"Machamp." (Boss, what are you looking for?)
Machamp slowly walked over. Each of its four arms was holding a delicious sandwich, and it took a bite after every sentence.
"I'm looking for the others. Have you seen them?"
When Grey returned, he had only caught up with the Conference trio, so he had only seen them.
As for where the other Pokémon were, he had no idea.
It looked like in the past week, his partners had been living quite fulfilling lives too!
"Machamp." (Let me think... I only know that Victini, Pignite, and Larvesta are at the ruins of Silph Co. As for where the others went, I really don't know. You can go ask Victini and the others.)
Machamp had been fully devoted to construction these past few days.
As for the whereabouts of Grey's Pokémon, it only knew bits and pieces.
"All right. You've worked hard these days. Once this is over, I'll properly reward you."
"Machamp." (No problem. Then I'll keep working. If I go a day without pouring concrete, my whole body feels wrong.)
Machamp had become deeply fascinated with construction work.
Grey merely smiled, sat on Reshiram's back, and headed toward the ruins of Silph Co.
Silph Co., once the local corporate overlord of Saffron City, was a world-class giant even when viewed across the globe.
Unfortunately.
Because of Team Rocket, it had been destroyed.
"Gym Leader Grey, what brings you to Silph Co. today? In the past, I could have welcomed you with good tea, but what a shame, what a shame. Now Silph Co. doesn't even have a tearoom left."
The president of Silph Co. recognized Reshiram the moment he saw it and knew Grey had arrived.
"It's fine. I'm here to look for my Pokémon. Are they here with you? They haven't caused you any trouble, have they?"
Grey felt a little embarrassed.
Why weren't they properly staying near the Gym? Why had they run off to someone else's company?
"Oh, you mean little Victini and the others! They're eating snacks here. I'll take you to them."
With that, the president of Silph Co. led Grey to one of the few intact rooms.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch..."
As soon as Grey entered the room.
He heard chewing.
Following the sound, Grey saw Victini eating potato chips.
"Victini!" (Grey, long time no see!)
Victini greeted Grey with its mouth full, words coming out muffled.
Grey: "..."
"You've been living pretty comfortably in someone else's company."
"Victini!" (Of course! There are endless potato chips every day, and endless ice-cold soda! It would be great if I could stay here forever. Heh, heh, heh!)
Victini lived a "luxurious" life every day.
Clearly, during the days Grey had been absent, Silph Co. had taken very good care of it.
"Where are Pignite and Larvesta?"
Grey only smiled at the gluttonous Victini and then asked about the other two Fire-type Pokémon.
"Pignite and Larvesta? They seem to be upstairs. If you want to go, I'll take you."
Victini stuffed the remaining potato chips into its stomach, then grabbed Grey's clothes with both hands. Using every bit of strength in its tiny body, it pulled him upward and tried to fly...
Grey: "..."
"Let's just ride on Reshiram's back."
Even though Victini had been pulling from behind Grey, he could tell exactly how much effort Victini was using.
He had Reshiram come over to pick him up, while Victini acted as the navigator and guided them forward.
Very soon, under Navigator Victini's guidance, Grey found Pignite meditating on a relatively intact platform above Silph Co.
"Larvesta..." (Release your Fire-type energy outward to achieve the effect of condensing armor. Inhale, exhale... That's right, just like that. Pignite, don't rush. If you want to break through your limits, you must take it one step at a time...)
Larvesta was lying on Pignite's head, guiding the other Pokémon's training.
But what they were training...
Made Grey feel like he had walked onto the wrong set.
Releasing Fire-type energy outward to condense armor?
Are you practicing mana armor over here?
"Larvesta." (Shh. Don't interrupt. This is a special training trial made specifically for Pignite. It has now reached a crucial moment, so family members should not disturb us.)
Larvesta turned its head and explained the situation to Grey. Only then did it continue having Pignite maintain its "training."
"Mm..."
Grey did not understand, but he respected it.
Everyone had their own way of training.
Especially Pignite.
Although it was a little absurd, the results did seem pretty good.
At this moment, Pignite's "training" was nearing its end.
Grey held his breath and focused. He released his Aura, observing the situation around Pignite.
With Pignite as the center, endless Fire-type energy lingered around it. With each breath, that energy surged into its body, providing an increase in strength.
This was somewhat similar to the Sleeping Arhat Fist given by the system.
Both allowed Pokémon to improve their strength through a method similar to "sleeping."
However, Pignite's method was conscious.
The system's method improved strength through the subconscious.
The two were quite different.
But if Pignite could learn to control this method on its own and combine it with the system's Sleeping Arhat Fist, its upper limit would become terrifyingly high.
"Larvesta!" (Now! Absorb all the Fire-type energy, break through your own limits, and step into a new world!)
Larvesta shouted fiercely. It suddenly leaped up, shot silk at a nearby concrete pillar, wrapped it around the pillar, and swung away while its compound eyes stared at Pignite.
"Pignite!"
Pignite shouted.
Its body actually burst with bright light!
This was...
Evolution?!
Wait, whose evolution worked like this?!
Grey was almost amused.
This was the first time he had seen such a novel evolution method.
Still, it was good that Pignite was evolving.
Later, it would also be able to accept some Trainer challenges.
Within the light of evolution, Pignite's figure continuously changed.
Just looking at its shape, it was clear this was a burly Pokémon.
The light of evolution did not last long.
It ended very quickly.
Pignite disappeared, replaced by a Pokémon with a humanoid body and a boar-like head.
It had a massive reddish-brown body. Its wild boar head looked heroic and rugged, and it did not look like anything that should be provoked.
Its black eyebrows stood upright. Cloud-like patterns covered its abdomen, and its white tusks shone brightly beneath the flames burning around its neck.
[Pokémon: Emboar]
[Type: Fire, Fighting]
[Level: six-star Pork Mage—crossed out—36]
[Ability: Reckless]
[Moves: Omitted]
Grey: "?"
What the hell do you mean, six-star Pork Mage?!
"Emboar." (I feel that my strength has improved greatly... Boss, I want to see Master.)
Emboar cupped its fists and saluted Grey.
Hearing that, Grey looked to the side.
Only then did he realize that, for some reason, Reshiram had disappeared.
"Well, how about letting Moltres train Emboar from now on?"
Reshiram spoke to Grey in his mind.
Grey blinked and fell into slight thought.
Then he looked at Emboar and slowly said, "Little Blaze, something happened to Reshiram recently, so it can no longer guide your training. Before Reshiram left, it was worried about you, so it said it would have one of its friends guide you instead."
Grey took out Moltres's Poké Ball and sent it out.
After privately explaining the whole story to Moltres, Moltres stared fixedly at Grey as if it had seen a ghost.
"Screech?" (Are you saying you want me, a Fire and Flying-type Pokémon, to teach Emboar, a Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon?)
"Mm... No, no, that's not right. It's not that I want you to. Reshiram wants you to teach it."
Grey had just been about to nod, but he immediately realized something was wrong. After correcting himself, he explained Emboar's situation to Moltres.
"Screech." (So my role now is that after Reshiram was captured, I become the guardian bird standing in for it?)
"That's right. More or less."
Grey nodded.
"Screech." (Then I have a question. For this kind of strength improvement, shouldn't there be a sense of crisis? Besides, training to death alone is useless. If you have a whole body of cultivation—ah, no, strength—but no real combat experience, isn't that still pointless?)
Moltres got into character in one second and began thinking of ways to make things interesting for Emboar.
"What do you mean?"
Grey raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Screech!" (Very simple! I know a lot of friends. I can have them come over and act as villains. Every once in a while, they can come cause trouble, and Emboar can drive them back! That way, there's not only a storyline, but it also gets real combat experience. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?)
Moltres spoke at length, completely lacking the reluctance it had shown earlier.
"That works. Then we'll do it your way, Bird Venerable."
Moltres: "?"
What the hell do you mean, Bird Venerable?!
"Screech!" (Wait, I have another suggestion!)
The moment the term "Bird Venerable" appeared, Moltres suddenly wanted to make things even more interesting.
"Go on."
Grey listened attentively, curious to hear what kind of stunt this newly joined Moltres could come up with.
"Screech." (Didn't I just say that Emboar's development has to be long-term? In other words, long-term training. Since it needs long-term training, that means it needs a long-term villain. This villain should preferably stand on the opposite side, meaning what people commonly call a villain organization. And the villain's strength can't be too weak. It would be best if it created a feeling of oppression, while still leaving a slim chance of survival.)
Moltres secretly gestured wildly at Grey with its wings and claws.
"What's your idea? From the way you're talking, you already have one, don't you?"
"Screech." (I do. I think Kyurem would be pretty good. It can play the villain who captured Reshiram. Then its general, Articuno, can serve as the first major villain, often sending subordinates to cause trouble for Emboar. In the end, Emboar will counterattack every time and gradually be raised into an existence capable of defeating Articuno.)
"Screech." (During this time, Emboar will also make enemies with Zapdos while trying to learn Wild Charge. Then, after its strength increases, it will defeat Zapdos too.)
Moltres had created an entire feast just to justify one little setup.
"Screech?" (What do you think? Isn't it great? If there are no objections, let's do it my way!)
"Wait. I object."
From the Timer Ball at Grey's waist, Kyurem cast its opposing vote...
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