"Officer Jenny, how are you planning to handle that Team Plasma Sage?"
Grey recalled some information he'd looked up online before. Team Plasma hadn't done much openly lately—most of what they did was "preaching" through speeches.
It was the kind of gray-area behavior where the exact punishment depended on the laws and regulations of each region.
"Since he's from another region, my guess is the Kanto League will coordinate with the Unova League, then wait for them to send someone to escort him back."
Officer Jenny hadn't handled much international crime, and cases spanning regions like this were rarer still.
She could only judge based on past experience.
If it were Johto next door, it'd be easy—Johto and Kanto were basically one family. They'd just throw him straight into prison.
But the problem was that Zinzolin was from Unova. They'd have to talk to Unova first before making a final decision.
"Wait. I've got something I want to ask too."
Just as Officer Jenny was about to take the troublemakers away, Lt. Surge suddenly called out to stop her.
Officer Jenny paused. Grey also leaned in, curious what Lt. Surge wanted to ask.
"You Team Plasma… you're active again lately?"
Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes. Behind the sunglasses, you couldn't see any emotion—
But from his tone alone, it sounded like there was history between them.
Grey immediately connected it to Lt. Surge's past. He'd come back from Unova.
His online handle was even "Unova Retired Colonel," a term from earlier years—these days everything had already been folded into the League system.
"Colonel" was basically a relic of the past.
"Team Plasma never left the stage!"
Even while being escorted by Officer Jenny, Zinzolin still wasn't willing to let it go. He twisted back, his white beard bristling with rage.
"Our king will lead us to the summit! Lt. Surge, you'll pay for what you did back then sooner or later!"
With that, Zinzolin was hauled away.
Everything finally settled down.
"Alright, we can head back… Wait. Grey, what is that look?"
After Lt. Surge got the answer he wanted, he turned—only to see Grey staring at him with blatant curiosity, and Lt. Surge's eye started twitching.
This kid really loved gossip.
Lt. Surge glanced around and realized Sabrina, Giovanni, and Silver all looked… kind of curious too.
It was obvious: if he didn't spill at least some tea today, he wasn't making it back to the dojo.
"How about we go grab a meal somewhere? Eat while we talk."
Lt. Surge checked his phone. It was already lunchtime.
"I'm fine with that. Perfect timing—and hey, we can count it as Governor perks."
Grey thought it over. It was a good chance to treat everyone at the dojo.
They'd done a lot—they deserved a proper meal.
Especially Bumiao. While he'd been gone earlier, she'd basically handled everything by herself.
Front desk. Teaching moves. Cleaning. Refereeing…
Seriously—Bumiao was an all-purpose Gym assistant.
If she ever went on the market, she'd be the kind of all-rounder any Gym would fight over.
…
At the Saffron Grand Hotel, inside the Charizard private room.
Six people sat around the dining table, waiting for the food to arrive.
And while they waited, everyone wanted to hear about Lt. Surge's past.
Hearing a few "colonel stories" sounded fun—might even improve their appetite.
"Team Plasma has actually been around for quite a few years," Lt. Surge began.
"They claim they want to liberate Pokémon, and they travel around giving speeches and spreading their ideology."
"But in reality, they just want to seize other Trainers' Pokémon and build up a powerful Pokémon army."
Lt. Surge talked about Team Plasma, revealing a lot of secrets most people never heard.
To sum it up simply:
In one war he'd taken part in, Team Plasma's shadow had been involved.
"Sigh…"
A cup of sake went down, and Lt. Surge couldn't help shaking his head. He'd basically poured out everything about the past.
"What's done is done. The past is the past. These days I'm basically half a Kanto Trainer anyway—what happens in Unova doesn't really have much to do with me."
Ever since he'd settled in Kanto, Lt. Surge had thrown himself into improving his own strength.
Even becoming a Gym Leader was something he did because he wanted to push himself further.
"Gym Leader Grey—how did you become a Gym Leader?"
Lt. Surge suddenly tossed the question at Grey.
He was genuinely curious about this Trainer who had joined the group chat and immediately started causing a stir.
After all, Grey hadn't been a Gym Leader for long, yet he'd already done so much—and he even teased Lt. Surge constantly.
There was no way Lt. Surge wasn't curious.
"Me? When Gym Leader Nobuhiko was leaving, he said he wanted to see how much I'd improved lately. We battled once, and then he left the dojo to me."
Talking about it, Grey honestly felt a little emotional.
He'd joined the Fighting Dojo halfway through. In terms of seniority, he didn't even measure up to Bumiao.
And yet Nobuhiko still passed the position of Gym Leader to him.
It moved Grey more than he expected.
"Yeah. Before Gym Leader Nobuhiko left, he told me privately that I should support you and help you manage the dojo in the future."
When it came to becoming Gym Leader, Bumiao really did feel she wasn't as good as Grey.
Grey had only needed two and a half months to pass Nobuhiko's test, reaching the standard level of an ordinary Gym Leader.
And her?
She was still a bit short of that level.
Give her another month or two and she might make it.
But by then, the Gym Leader Tournament would already be over.
Grey was different.
With that speed of improvement, he was the most likely Trainer to defeat Sabrina.
And sure enough—after taking the Gym Leader seat, Grey's growth could only be described as a rocket launch.
In less than a month, he'd already brushed up against Elite Four level.
Maybe only "gatekeeper" tier, but among Gym Leaders in Kanto—no, in the world—he was already someone who ranked.
Just counting Kanto and Johto, aside from Giovanni, Blaine, and Pryce, Bumiao honestly couldn't think of many people who could truly threaten Grey.
"Grey, your improvement is insanely fast! The Fighting Dojo's glory—this time it's really going to shine in your hands!"
Bumiao sounded genuinely moved.
She'd originally planned to talk with Grey after the Gym Leader Tournament ended, and suggest they go somewhere else to open a Gym.
But now…
Maybe they even had a chance to take back the official Gym slot.
If that happened…
What would Sabrina do?
Just thinking about it gave Bumiao a headache.
During the time she'd spent with Sabrina, Bumiao had seen a side of her nobody else knew.
Now Bumiao wanted to stick close to Sabrina and take Polaroids of her every day.
But if Grey defeated Sabrina later and the official Gym position changed hands…
"I don't mind."
Sabrina suddenly spoke, giving Bumiao a faint smile.
"Because… I already promised him."
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