[Sleeping Beauty: I've finished coordinating with the Kanto League, my ticket's booked for early next Monday morning!]
[Dojo Annihilape: Congrats, congrats. Need me to pick you up in the morning, boss?]
[Sleeping Beauty: Mm, I'll be in your care then.]
[Dojo Annihilape: You're the best, boss!]
[Sleeping Beauty: Don't call me boss, just call me Caitlin. There are a lot of things I'll have to rely on you for this time in the Kanto region—please take good care of me!]
[Dojo Annihilape: No problem. I'll give you the full Saffron City tour when you get here.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Mmhmm, I'm really looking forward to it! Oh, by the way, is there anything fun to do in Saffron City?]
That one sentence left Grey completely speechless.
It seemed like…
There really wasn't anywhere fun to go in Saffron City.
It wasn't like Nimbasa City over in Unova—that place was a dating paradise, home to the most famous amusement park in the whole world.
But Saffron City…
Oof.
Of the few well-known places, aside from Sabrina's Saffron Gym, all that was left was Silph Co.
What was he supposed to do, take Caitlin to the ruins of Saffron Gym, or drag her to Silph Co. to experience the soul-crushing life of a corporate drone?
Yeah, that'd be fun.
"What are you thinking about?"
Sabrina, noticing Grey giggling to himself at his phone, Teleported right over, stared at his face for a good long while, and then slowly asked.
"Mm…"
Grey glanced at Sabrina, gave her a quick once-over, then rubbed his hands together.
"Miss Sabrina, tell me something—if we teamed you and your Pokémon up with the Fighting Dojo's Pokémon, do you think there's a chance we could build an amusement park in a week?"
"?"
Sabrina tilted her head and placed a pale hand against Grey's forehead, as if checking something.
"Your body's perfectly normal. No injuries from other Pokémon, no fever… so why are you saying nonsense like that?"
Her tone this time carried genuine confusion, something you almost never heard from her.
She really had been spooked by Grey's sudden, absolutely insane proposal.
Perfectly good Gym Leader, and this guy wanted to go play construction worker?
"I do have one question."
Sabrina thought it over carefully, then voiced her doubt. "There's no land left in Saffron City where you can build an amusement park."
"Well… actually, there is one place."
Grey turned his head to the side as he spoke, trying hard not to burst out laughing.
Just thinking about what he was about to say made him want to chuckle.
"Where?"
The confusion on Sabrina's face only deepened. Her Psychic power brushed through her hair, and she hadn't the faintest idea that there was such a 'secret spot' in Saffron City Grey was talking about.
"You have to promise you won't get mad first, or I'm not telling you."
Grey coughed lightly, barely managing to hold the laughter in.
"All right, I promise."
Sabrina nodded, curiosity clearly written on her face.
"About a kilometer east of the Fighting Dojo, there's a parcel of land. It's a ruin that's been waiting forever to be rebuilt…"
Grey didn't finish the sentence. He cut himself off halfway.
"…"
Sabrina understood exactly what he meant.
He was eyeing that piece of real estate.
Though, to be fair…
If they really did turn that land into an amusement park, life would be a lot more interesting in the future.
Sabrina turned the idea over in her mind for a while, then shook her head.
She was the Saffron Gym Leader. How could she turn her Gym into an amusement park?
"Ahem, forget I said anything."
Grey scratched his cheek and tried to brush it off.
"No…"
Sabrina's tone grew heavier as she forcibly dragged the topic back.
"If you can win the Gym Leader Tournament, I'll entrust Saffron Gym's land to you."
"???"
This time it was Grey's turn to put a hand to Sabrina's forehead.
"You're not running a fever either, so why are you suddenly giving up a perfectly good Gym?"
Grey really couldn't understand why Sabrina suddenly wanted to relinquish her Gym.
Sure, Saffron Gym was in ruins at the moment, but Sabrina, among Psychic-types, had tremendous prestige.
It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say she could call and a crowd of Psychics would answer.
Under those circumstances, she was really planning to give up her home turf?
"Mm. Because I want to go somewhere. And if I keep the title of Gym Leader, it'll be hard to be away for a long time."
Sabrina stood and walked over to the window.
"Grey, you know… I once saw Lt. Surge describe a certain region in the group chat. It was where he used to serve as an officer."
"That place has all kinds of entertainment, and it's welcoming and open to everyone…"
"I feel that after being a Gym Leader for so long, it's time to set down that burden and chase what I really want to do…"
Sabrina seemed to be opening her heart to Grey. Emotions he'd rarely, if ever, heard from her poured out all at once.
Ever since she'd awakened her Psychic powers, Sabrina's emotions had been unstable.
Especially after she became a Gym Leader—there were times she wasn't sure she even understood what 'feelings' were anymore.
Her heart was like a frozen lake. Only constant tapping could hope to crack the surface and get the water moving again.
On the day Grey took up the Dojo Master's post, Saffron Gym just happened to be targeted by Petrel.
Back then she'd been in a state of 'foreseeing the future'.
She'd glimpsed a sliver of time, seen a future different from the one she knew.
Compared to her current, withdrawn, rarely-speaking self, the future Sabrina was laughing every day, doing what she wanted to do.
And in all of it, Grey was there at her side.
It all felt a bit like fate—but Sabrina was willing to bet on that chance.
So if Grey truly wanted Saffron Gym, Sabrina was willing to let go.
"You're making me feel kind of embarrassed here."
Listening to Sabrina's confession, Grey honestly didn't know what to do with himself.
She was way too straightforward—you could tell at once she meant every word.
Sabrina didn't lie.
In fact, she disdained lying.
What she said was what she meant, and reality was what it was.
Once the words were out of her mouth, not even a four-horse chariot could drag them back. Since she'd already said that once Grey won the Gym Leader Tournament she'd hand Saffron Gym over to him, she would absolutely follow through.
"Do you have anything else you want to ask?"
Her tone returned to normal.
The switch was so fast that even Grey felt like the person from just now had been someone else.
"What is it you want to do?"
He wasn't asking for himself, but for Sabrina's sake.
"I don't know."
Sabrina shook her head. Her ideas were mostly spur-of-the-moment. As for what she'd actually do once she got to Unova, she really had no idea.
All she knew was the name of the place; beyond that, she was totally clueless.
"I know the place Lt. Surge was talking about—it's in the Unova region. It really is a very open and welcoming place. When we get the chance, let's go wander around Unova together."
A smile curled at the corners of Grey's lips as he stood next to Sabrina, looking up at the starry sky. "People gotta get out and see more of the world. Who knows, you might even catch some rare Pokémon native to the region."
"Then… it's a promise?"
"Yeah. It's a promise. No backing out."
Under the brilliant starry sky, the two of them etched that promise into their hearts.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810