"Cynthia, you wouldn't want Caitlin to be upset, would you?"
On the other end of the call, Cynthia: "…"
Would Mr. Grey of the Kanto region please rein it in a little?!
Was it really appropriate to say something like that to her?
Cynthia's eye twitched. The moment Grey said that, the odds of Caitlin being "carried off" genuinely went up.
"Ahem. Cynthia… Caitlin's been staying with me comfortably. Just let her have a few more days, alright? These next few days happen to be the Gym Leader tournament. She'll just sit in the stands as a spectator."
Grey made a whole bunch of promises on his end.
Only then did Cynthia finally feel comfortable letting Caitlin keep following Grey for now.
"Oh right. Can you put it on speaker? I want to say something to Caitlin."
Cynthia still couldn't fully relax about Caitlin.
Grey turned his head and met Caitlin's eyes.
With just a look, they understood each other.
"Okay."
Caitlin nodded.
Grey turned on speaker. "It's on. Cynthia, what do you want to say?"
Caitlin tilted her head, listening carefully.
"Caitlin—when you go to Unova later, remember to send me your address. I'll send you a gift."
Cynthia didn't say anything more.
After that, she hung up.
Caitlin froze.
She'd thought Cynthia would say something like "don't cause Grey trouble"…
But instead, she said she wanted to send her something?
Cynthia…
Caitlin lifted a hand to her chest.
Her feelings were all tangled together.
Best friends for life!
"Alright then. Today's the day the Gym Leader tournament starts, so we should go prepare."
Grey stretched his arms and checked his phone.
It was already 8:00 a.m.
The Gym Leader tournament started at 9:00, and with Articuno around, getting there from here would still be pretty fast.
"Yeah! Grey, you have to do your best!"
Caitlin cheered him on.
As long as they didn't run into someone like Giovanni,
it didn't seem like there'd be any huge problems.
"Yeah. This is also the third time the Fighting Dojo has entered the Gym Leader tournament. We're only allowed to succeed—failure isn't an option."
Grey rubbed between his brows.
Even though he had Elite Four–level strength…
there was still pressure, of course.
There were just too many monsters in Kanto.
It wasn't like Elite Four–level Trainers were everywhere, but one by one, the Gym Leaders here were all seriously strong.
"Forget it. No point overthinking. Let's head straight to Silph Co.!"
Grey led everyone toward Silph Co.
…
…
Saffron City, Silph Co.
In Saffron City, land was worth a fortune—there wasn't even a proper convention center.
So this time, the League chose to hold battles on the top floor of Silph Co.
And even though it was "just a company," the top-floor battle venue could already rival a League stadium.
It just wasn't as large.
Not only the top floor—Silph Co's ground floor also had plenty of battle fields.
They weren't as massive as a League Conference venue,
but for Kanto's Gym Leaders to run the Gym Leader tournament simultaneously, it was absolutely enough.
"Gym Leader Grey, Gym Leader Sabrina—long time no see!"
As soon as they arrived at Silph Co, President Silph came forward to greet them.
Articuno was way too flashy—there was no way people wouldn't notice something like that.
Kanto's Gym Leaders all turned to look, their burning gazes landing on Grey as they instinctively compared him to themselves.
Most of the Gym Leaders felt that if they ran into Grey, they probably wouldn't even last a single move.
"Long time no see, Mr. President."
Grey shook hands with President Silph. After they separated, he looked around.
"Huh—today, is Cerulean Gym's Gym Leader Misty?"
Grey noticed that the Trainer representing Cerulean Gym was actually Misty.
That surprised him a little.
"Yeah. My sisters, honestly… I keep telling them to train their Pokémon properly, and in the end I still have to come do this myself."
Misty sighed helplessly, hugging a Togepi in her arms.
Her sisters did train their Pokémon.
But…
In the whole Gym, only Daisy had truly trained her Blastoise up.
The rest of their Pokémon honestly weren't good enough.
Against the sea of talent in Kanto's Gyms, they'd get steamrolled.
So Misty could only step in at the last minute.
They were all from Cerulean Gym and related by blood, so the League wouldn't pursue it.
"Misty, you've got this!"
Ash was here too—acting as part of her support squad, cheering her on.
And while he was here, Ash ran into Blaine, challenged him, and successfully earned his seventh Badge.
Once he headed to Viridian Gym after this, he'd be able to get his final Badge.
"Then the trainer for Pewter Gym is…"
Grey turned and saw it was Muno.
"Yo, Grey! Good luck!"
Noticing Grey's gaze, Muno waved his arm and greeted him.
"Yeah, thanks for the support, Gym Leader Muno."
Grey returned the greeting.
Then—
Thump!
A familiar touch hit his shoulder.
"Good morning, Gym Leader Grey~ The Fighting Dojo better give it your all this time. With your strength, making top eight should be no problem. If we end up facing each other, remember to use Zapdos against me."
Lt. Surge was grinning from ear to ear. He really wanted a battle with Grey's Zapdos.
A moment worth savoring.
"I'll try."
Grey didn't lock in the promise.
There was no guarantee he'd even get matched with Lt. Surge.
This was the most complete turnout of Kanto Gym Leaders so far.
And after recovering, Giovanni had also come to Silph Co to participate in the Gym Leader tournament.
Even though with last year's first-place finish, Giovanni could've skipped qualifiers and gone straight into the main bracket—
he didn't.
Someone once asked him why. Giovanni said he wanted to battle all kinds of Trainers.
And whenever he faced someone weaker, he'd use a Pokémon of comparable strength and give them guidance during the match.
That made many Gym Leaders extremely grateful toward him.
With a senior like that guiding them, Kanto really was thriving.
Grey chatted with the Gym Leaders he knew for a while.
At 8:30, the matchups were finalized.
Some people were happy, some were miserable.
"Why did I get matched with Giovanni?!"
"Damn—Lt. Surge!"
"Please no… why is it Gym Leader Koga?! Please go easy on me!"
"Huh? Why did I draw Gym Leader Grey?!"
Misty's voice suddenly rang out.
She'd even had Togepi help draw the matchup.
And yet…
How did she end up drawing Grey?!
She knew how strong Grey was.
Elite Four–level strength!
If it were before, maybe there'd be a sliver of hope.
But the problem was—
this was the Fighting Dojo's third time entering.
If Grey played it safe and sent out his strongest Pokémon, or even Zapdos, what was she supposed to do?!
"It's okay, Misty."
"Getting knocked out in round one is still great."
"Your opponent is Grey, so it's understandable."
Misty's three sisters said those things one after another.
They were trying to make her feel less burdened.
But…
"When you say it like that, I feel even more pressure!"
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