"[Oh right, streamer—if we want to battle Articuno, what do we do? (sent Ultra Ball ×1)]"
Someone in the barrage voiced what a lot of people were thinking.
Battling a Legendary bird Pokémon!
Just thinking about it was enough to get your blood pumping!
"Thanks to 'GreyGymLeader_daisuki' for the Ultra Ball~ You want to battle Articuno? Well, you'd at least need to have won a League Conference, or show power on that level first~"
When it came to Gym battles, Grey normally sent out Pokémon that matched the challenger's level—or were even a little weaker.
Before this, Gary had stubbornly insisted on making him use Primeape. That was one of the few times Grey had truly had no choice but to send it out.
Battling like that made it way too easy to crush a challenger's spirit.
So Grey usually "seasoned the dish based on the badge count."
If someone could actually win a League Conference, odds were they'd be able to trade blows with his Elite-level Articuno a bit.
Letting them get that experience was about as far as he'd go.
[Streamer streamer, I've got all eight Kanto badges—what can I battle then?]
"Eight badges, huh? Let me think…"
Grey tapped a finger against his chin, taking a moment to mull it over.
Eight badges meant you had a ticket to the League Conference.
But nearly half the Trainers couldn't even break into the top 128.
As for the overall level of Kanto's Trainers in recent years…
You couldn't exactly say it was bad; on average it was actually pretty decent.
The strong ones were ridiculously strong.
Red and Blue—those two were the League's twin prodigies of recent years.
Then there were youngsters like Ash and Gary, just starting out on their journeys.
But aside from them…
The weak ones were really weak.
Grey honestly didn't know what to say about a random Trainer who'd managed to get eight badges.
Most people who came to challenge the Fighting Dojo couldn't even get past his Three Aces.
If you couldn't even beat the Three Aces, you could forget about the Pokémon further in.
"If you've got eight badges, start by seeing whether you can get past Machoke and Poliwhirl. Don't be fooled by the fact they've only evolved once—plenty of Trainers with eight badges have lost to those two."
Grey felt that just getting past Poliwhirl was already pretty impressive.
After all, Poliwhirl was level 36, the same level most starters evolved.
If you couldn't even get past Poliwhirl…
You might as well go wash up and sleep.
You wanted to challenge Articuno like that?
Careful it doesn't turn you into a popsicle with one Powder Snow.
[What if it's a fellow Gym Leader bro coming to battle you?]
A line of text caught his eye.
Grey focused on that one and answered in a deeper tone:
"That depends which Gym Leader we're talking about. There are gaps even between Gym Leaders. For example, if Erika and Giovanni showed up to battle me at the same time, the Pokémon I'd send out would obviously be different."
"Miss Erika's strength is middle of the pack among Gym Leaders—she's firmly mid-tier. So I'd also use mid-tier Pokémon against her."
"But if it's Giovanni turning up, then of course I'd bring out my ace to face him."
[What about Lt. Surge? Could he force you to bring out an ace?]
[I doubt it.]
[I remember the streamer soloed Lt. Surge once. It wasn't on stream, but I was flying my drone that day and happened to record the Vermilion Gym battle.]
[I already said I wasn't using my main team back then…]
Before Grey could say anything, the chat exploded.
Lt. Surge's message was right there on the screen.
He'd said it plenty of times: the battle he'd had with Grey used the Pokémon he kept in the Gym!
It absolutely wasn't his main team!
Why did everyone keep clinging to that match?!
[If he can solo you once, he can do it twice. Lt. Surge, you'd better do your best. At this point, your goal is to see whether you can at least knock out one of Grey's Pokémon in a 3v3.]
[…]
Lt. Surge was speechless.
They were already writing him off before the battle even started.
If you've got the guts, come say that to his face first!
They were just a bunch of keyboard warriors—cowardly little Squirtles hiding in their shells, using Rocket Headbutt only online!
[Heh, I'm actually in Saffron City right now. I'll be heading to the Fighting Dojo later to see Grey's strength for myself.]
[I'll let you all see what an Electric-type Gym Leader can really do!]
"Oh? Lt. Surge is in Saffron City this early in the morning? And he didn't even tell me? What, planning to give me a surprise ambush or something?"
Grey teased.
He honestly hadn't expected Surge to already be in Saffron.
[You two are kinda sus.]
[After Champion Lance, it turns out Grey and Lt. Surge also have an unspeakable little story between them?]
[This ship is sailing.]
[I know this trope—the two guys who roast each other nonstop are secretly best bros. Didn't you see Lt. Surge already bought Captain and Star Guardian for Grey's channel? That says everything…]
[Yikes! I'll be gasping in disbelief for a whole year over this one.]
[Can't believe those two are actually like that behind the scenes…]
[Sabrina: Guys, who understands how it feels? I live at the Fighting Dojo and still got my place 'invaded' by Lt. Surge, Giovanni, and Lance.]
[LOOOOL who sent that one? I can't stop laughing!]
[The Kanto Succubus: Grey!]
[No, no—he's just scouting the place. There's still half a month before the Gym Leader Tournament begins. I'll probably be staying in Saffron for that half month.]
Lt. Surge finally revealed why he'd come.
"Oh? Then what about Vermilion Gym?"
Grey raised a brow at his message.
[I left it to an acting Gym Leader. This way I can use the time to get into peak condition. Grey, I hope you'll give me a nice surprise.]
[Fighting Dojo vs Vermilion Gym, huh? That's gonna be good.]
[I'm seriously looking forward to this! If Grey can beat Lt. Surge's main team, he's definitely top four material among Kanto Gym Leaders, right?]
[More or less. Giovanni, Blaine, Koga, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, Erika, Muno, Daisy. That's probably the ranking.]
[I feel like someone's dragging the average down…]
[Daisy: Wow. Why don't you just post my Trainer ID number while you're at it.]
"Someone's here—it's a challenger."
Just as Grey was about to keep bantering with chat, Sabrina spoke directly into his mind with Psychic.
"Hm?"
Grey froze mid-sentence and looked over at her, puzzled.
If he remembered right, this was the first time Sabrina had ever taken the initiative to tell him a challenger had arrived.
"He challenged Saffron Gym before, and won a badge from me. If it's you facing him, don't take him lightly."
Her tone was flat.
But hearing her say that made Grey raise an eyebrow.
Being able to defeat Sabrina…
That was no small feat.
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