Right then, Bruno could practically see it—Grey stepping on Lance and leading Kanto to become the strongest region of them all.
Of course, Grey had no idea what Bruno was thinking.
He was watching Timburr closely.
The instant Machop swept in with a gale of force right up to its face, Timburr suddenly burst with dazzling Fighting-type radiance!
Timburr twisted its body and slipped aside. Machop's arm barely grazed its skin, and the pressure from the passing strike tore a visible "rip" through that glowing aura.
In the blink of an eye—
"Now! Brick Break!"
Timburr's hand was already loaded with power.
It merged waist and stance into one motion, lifted its arm, and chopped down with a mountain-splitting force!
Boom!!!
That strike landed squarely on the back of Machop's neck. The shockwave made everything around them rattle and clatter.
Machop's heavy body slammed into the ground, carving out a human-shaped crater.
And that single hit was enough to end the fight—Machop couldn't battle anymore.
"Hah…"
Bruno exhaled a rough breath.
Everyone was stunned.
"Gym Leader Grey… beat Elite Four Bruno?!" someone blurted out.
Machop wasn't Bruno's main Pokemon, sure—but facts were facts.
Grey had also used an unevolved Pokemon, and their strength wasn't far apart.
And under those conditions, Grey won.
He beat Bruno.
The onlookers felt their brains shake.
If Grey kept getting stronger… could he just become an Elite Four member outright someday?
And with at least a top-three ranking, minimum…
Thinking about Grey's Annihilape, people even felt that once Grey truly stepped into Champion level, he might realistically become the strongest in Kanto beneath Red, Blue, and Lance!
"Still just a little short of evolving?"
Grey's gaze fell on Timburr.
After beating Machop, Timburr showed no sign of evolving yet.
Grey walked over and patted Timburr on the head.
Then he pulled out a Great Ball and tossed it into the distance.
"Go on—pick up Timburr's lumber and bring it back."
Grey was ordering Articuno around like it was a Growlithe.
Articuno: "...?"
"Kree!" (Grey, don't push it. I'm the great Articuno, and you're really telling me to fetch a piece of lumber? What exactly are you planning here?!)
Articuno was furious. It was one of the legendary birds, and here it was being bossed around like a pet dog to retrieve wood.
If Zapdos found out, it would laugh itself sick—and it would use it as material to mock Articuno for a full year.
"Alright, alright, my bad."
Hearing Articuno's protest, Grey nodded, then changed his wording. "Then… bring it back in your beak."
Articuno: "...??"
That was even worse!
Articuno badly wanted to beat Grey into the ground.
But after remembering it wasn't Grey's match in a fight, it chose the sensible option.
It flapped its wings, summoning a gust under the lumber.
Then it used the wind to lift it and carry it over.
Straight into Timburr's hands.
"Tim-burr." (Thanks, Articuno.)
Timburr had been about to go pick it up itself, but it ended up being Articuno—the legendary bird—who helped.
Timburr was both grateful and a little overwhelmed.
After all, Articuno was a legend. It really was terrifyingly strong.
Timburr hadn't even dared get close to it before.
It also couldn't figure out what kind of relationship Poliwhirl had with Articuno—Poliwhirl was always yelling and snapping at it like they were trash-talking best friends.
For a moment, Timburr felt… envious.
So that was it.
You really did have to become stronger.
With that thought, Timburr let out a shout.
And the instant it took the lumber—
Light wrapped around its entire body.
That was—
Evolution light!
Grey: "???"
Wait, what?
It's evolving now?!
Grey blinked, then looked at the lumber in Timburr's hands.
Don't tell him… it needed to retrieve its lumber to evolve?
The idea sounded ridiculous, but… not impossible.
Still, an evolution this sudden really did catch him off guard.
"Seriously—evolving now?"
Bruno had already been ready to leave, but Timburr evolving at this exact moment hard-locked him in place.
And it wasn't just Bruno.
The moment the crowd saw evolution starting, everyone froze in place—onlookers, passersby, all of them stopping to watch.
Pokemon evolution was simply something you couldn't not watch.
A form shedding into something brand new was always exciting.
Now, Timburr's silhouette flickered inside the glow.
Bigger, smaller—over and over—until the light grew blinding.
And then…
Pop!
The glow dispersed, and a new Pokemon replaced the former Timburr.
Compared to Timburr, its muscles looked denser, more solid.
The color scheme didn't change at all.
But—
The lumber it used to hold had transformed into a red steel girder.
It looked far more lethal.
With the same force, getting hit by steel would hurt a lot more than getting hit by wood.
Pokemon: Gurdurr (Shiny)
Type: Fighting
Level: 25
Ability: Guts
Moves: omitted.
Up one level. Nothing else really changed.
"Gym Leader Grey, congratulations. That's a big power boost."
Bruno applauded.
Compared to Timburr, Gurdurr was obviously stronger.
And Grey already had a Machoke. Later, once Grey got a Link Cable or some way to trade-evolve, he could trade Gurdurr and Machoke and have them evolve into Conkeldurr and Machamp.
At that point, any Trainer who came to challenge the Fighting Dojo would be in for a truly miserable time.
Thinking about the future gatekeepers of the Fighting Dojo, Bruno rubbed his hair and laughed a few times.
Fighting Trainers really were thriving.
It really did match that saying—
The harder you work, the luckier you get.
…
…
After saying goodbye to Bruno, time passed into night.
Grey went to the Celadon Department Store and wandered around alone.
He really had shortchanged Sabrina and Caitlin this time—he should buy them some small gifts.
As for why he wasn't shopping at night…
It was because Grey had promised to spend an entire day with them. If he only showed up for one evening, it felt like he was exploiting a loophole.
"Sir, I've noticed you've been browsing for quite a while. Are you stuck wanting to buy something, but not sure what to pick? If it's convenient, you can tell me, and I'll try to help."
The front-desk clerk called out to Grey.
Grey stopped and started thinking.
What should he buy?
Perfume?
No—Erika already had perfume prepared.
If Grey bought perfume too, it would just be redundant.
A handbag?
Forget it. One of them didn't carry bags, and the other was a wealthy young lady who didn't lack designer brands.
Grey finally tossed the problem to the clerk instead.
"I want to buy a gift for some girls. Do you have any recommendations?"
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