"Since the beginning."
Colress answered.
Ghetsis: "???"
Since the beginning?!
What the hell kind of answer was that? That was basically the same as saying nothing at all!
Ghetsis badly wanted to snap, but considering how special Mewtwo was, he forced his anger down and said with a chuckle, "Heh heh heh, Mr. Colress really does enjoy joking around. How about this, I'll give you ten million League credits for now. If you need more money later, come ask me again."
With that, Ghetsis leaned on his cane and slowly left the laboratory.
He did not even go check on Mewtwo's condition. He was afraid that if he looked a few more times, someone would ask him for even more funding...
Still, Ghetsis was not all that bothered by the expense. He knew it was necessary.
When Genesect had been created before, Colress had already listed out all the materials consumed in the process, so Ghetsis was willing to believe what Colress said.
After Ghetsis left the lab, a purple-haired man in a black robe drifted over like a ghost and floated beside Colress.
"That's another old fox."
"Mewtwo, I've done exactly as you instructed. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Colress bowed respectfully and then reported the progress on Mewtwo Three's creation over the last several days.
"Just keep following the plan. As for Mega Evolution, let's wait until Three... until Mewtwo is finished before we talk about it. No need to rush. Let's get Mewtwo made first."
After saying that, Mewtwo vanished with Teleport.
Only Colress remained, standing there in silence as he stared at the creation interface for Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo wants to create Mewtwo... no matter how you say it, that sounds complicated..."
His gaze lingered there as he muttered softly to himself.
...
...
Unova, Liberty Garden.
"The sea breeze is gentle and the weather's perfect, but where exactly is Kyurem?"
Grey watched the tides rise and fall, feeling the ocean wind against his face as he murmured softly.
"Vini." (Even if you do find Kyurem, with your current condition, do you really have a chance of beating it?)
Victini was still not entirely confident. Kyurem was not especially strong compared to other first-tier Legendaries, but in terms of mechanics, it was on a completely different level from dragons like Zekrom and Reshiram.
When Kyurem fought Reshiram or Zekrom, it practically treated them like fusion materials.
Who knew, maybe in the middle of the fight it would just fuse with one of them on the spot.
"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? Though when the time comes, I'll need a little help from you."
Grey rubbed Victini's little head. In the upcoming battle against Kyurem, he would need to use almost every bit of power available to him.
Little Riolu, Mewtwo, Reshiram, and Zekrom, those four were currently the strongest forces he had.
Champion-level Pokémon were still a little outclassed.
Of course, Champion-level Pokémon were still more than enough to stomp Ghetsis.
"Vini." (Okay, okay! Just remember to call me up when the battle starts, I'll stack buffs for all of you~)
With Grey petting its head, Victini planted its hands on its hips, looking completely full of confidence.
When it came to direct combat, it might not be the best, but when it came to piling on buffs, if it took second place, nobody would dare claim first.
"Alright, alright. I'll definitely remember."
Grey answered casually, then looked toward Caitlin.
"Grey, what is it?"
Caitlin clutched the hem of her dress, her cheeks a little red.
"Caitlin, once I wipe out Team Plasma, you'll probably have a pretty peaceful few years after taking your place in the Unova Elite Four. There shouldn't be any major problems."
In a way, Grey was clearing the road for her.
Once Team Plasma had been completely exterminated, her transition into office would be much smoother.
"Grey... thank you."
Caitlin had never expected that Grey was wiping out Team Plasma for her sake.
There was no personal benefit in it for him. He was doing it purely for her.
If Grey had wanted money, he could have asked her for it long ago.
But he never did. No matter how many times she offered, he would not take a single cent.
That moved Caitlin deeply. It was the first time anyone had cared this much about her so sincerely and so simply.
"Huh? Why are you getting emotional again? Aren't we friends? Friends are supposed to help each other."
Grey fondly patted Caitlin on the head. Caitlin checked the time, realized it was already very late, and headed back to the hotel.
...
...
Still on Liberty Garden, Alder and Mustard sat together on a bench in the park.
These two veteran Trainers gazed up at the starry sky, all kinds of emotions passing through their eyes, though what remained most was wistfulness.
"Sigh, the younger generation really is absurdly talented. Whether it's Grey or N, either one of them would have been the kind of unmatched prodigy who could suppress an entire era in the past."
Mustard had served as mentor to many Trainers, but in all these decades, he had only ever seen one Trainer with that kind of talent.
And as for prodigies this outrageous, the Kanto region had three of them!
As for whether other regions had any, that was hard to say.
"Yeah, we're getting old. Trainers have been improving so quickly these past few years. Trainers like us are gradually starting to fall behind the pace of this new era."
Alder sighed as well.
There were not many prodigy Trainers in Unova. Right now, he only saw two who had the talent to inherit the Champion's seat.
And one of those two was the king of Team Plasma. When all was said and done, there was really only one viable choice left.
"Our era has already passed. There isn't a ship in this new era built to carry people like us anymore."
After saying that, Mustard laughed heartily, but the energy in his voice slowly softened.
"My old friend, the stage should be handed over to the youngsters now..."
"Yeah. The future belongs to them. More and more monstrous talents are starting to emerge. Speaking of which, how's the World Championships coming along on your side?"
Alder remembered that Galar was also preparing to hold a World Championships event, he just did not know how far along it was.
"It's still in preparation. Right now we're inviting Trainers from every region. Hopefully we can make the first World Championships a success. What about your side, old friend?"
Mustard also knew Unova was preparing to hold a World Championships, so the two regions had deliberately staggered their schedules to avoid overlap.
"It's going pretty well. We're planning to start with a World Championships for Gym Leaders first. One step at a time."
When the subject turned to tournaments, Alder brightened considerably.
When it came to running events, he felt this was exactly where Unova had the advantage.
Mustard stroked his beard and said with a cheerful smile, "That's good. I'll come ask you for advice when the time comes."
"No problem. But before that, let's first see how the battle between those two youngsters turns out tomorrow."
"That sounds excellent."
...
...
Grey still had not gone to sleep. Just thinking about the battle with N tomorrow made his emotions rise and fall.
So, he simply started a stream.
Title: [Late-night stream, your friendly advice guy is here tonight.]
Tags: [Late Night Chat] [Call-ins] [Bring Your Dreams]
Although it was nighttime where he was, due to time differences, it was daytime in many other regions.
It was called a late-night stream, but for a lot of the audience, it felt no different from a daytime one.
[Just passing by. Why are you calling this a late-night stream this early in the morning?]
[The streamer probably still hasn't adjusted to the time difference. It should be daytime where he is.]
[Yeah, Gym Leader Grey should still be in Unova taking part in that tournament, right?]
[I'm really curious how Gym Leader Grey managed to catch a first-tier Legendary. (sent 6 Ultra Balls)]
"Thanks to 'What's Grey Eating Today' for the six Ultra Balls. A first-tier Legendary? Oh, you mean Reshiram, right? How should I put it... we just clicked."
Grey glanced at the comment from one of his longtime viewers and gave a rough answer.
[I'm so jealous. You actually clicked with a first-tier Legendary. Why can't I ever do something like that?!]
[Gym Leader Grey really is worthy of being our Kanto League Honorary Elite Four. Once you come back, I hope I can battle your Reshiram sometime. (activated 12 months of Governor-tier membership)]
"Thanks for all the gifts, everyone, and thanks to 'Dragon Master Lance' for the annual Governor-tier membership! Lance, that's really too generous. You honestly don't need to buy an annual Governor-tier membership for me. It's twenty thousand a month, so twelve months comes out to two hundred and forty thousand. That's way too much."
Grey looked a little overwhelmed. And after taxes, he would only actually get a little over a hundred thousand of that.
The platform cut was pretty steep.
Lt. Surge had wanted to buy him a full year of Governor-tier membership before, too.
Afterward, Bumiao had even asked him why he did not just take the money in person.
Grey's answer was simple. If he really accepted money directly offline, that would count as bribery.
The League was very sensitive when it came to money. Gifts sent through a stream were fine, but taking money in private was a serious issue.
So Grey generally only accepted gifts through the stream, never money handed to him offline.
[By the way, what made you start streaming, Gym Leader Grey? You run a Gym every day, and most of the rest of your time goes into streaming stuff. Isn't that exhausting?]
"It is. It can definitely be tiring."
When the topic turned to streaming, Grey scratched his head.
"But as a Gym Leader, besides receiving challengers, I'm also supposed to guide people. I want to do my small part to help more and more Trainers find their way out of confusion."
At the beginning, his goal had been to expand his audience and make a name for himself.
But now it was different.
Now, Grey wanted to give the public a place to learn.
He wanted to serve more like a teacher, someone who could guide people when they had lost their direction.
[Grey, you're the best!]
[Hey streamer, when are you going to lower the conditions for challenging your Gym? I really want to come to the Fighting Dojo, but the prerequisites are way too hard. I'm suffering over here.]
"Well, if you're challenging one of my apprentices, then the prerequisites actually aren't that strict. The conditions I set are only for people challenging me personally."
"If you want to come to the Fighting Dojo, everyone is welcome. It's just that if you don't have enough badges, I can't hold an official challenge match. But if you just want to come hang out and chat, then as long as I have time, that's totally fine."
Grey spoke at length, explaining a few things about the Gym.
The badge requirements existed to stop weaker Trainers from getting completely swept in one round by him, but if they were challenging an apprentice, there was no such limit.
And if fans simply wanted to visit and hang out, then as long as it was during his free time, he thought chatting with them was perfectly fine.
[Wow, Gym Leader Grey, you're seriously so nice! I didn't think you'd really be willing to just chat with us.]
[Seriously. You're already so famous now, Gym Leader Grey, but you still don't put on airs like other internet celebrities. I'm actually tearing up.]
"It's not that big a deal. I'm really not as great as you all make me sound. The fact that you're willing to come support the stream already means a lot to me. Guests are guests, right? You came all this way, I can't exactly chase you off."
Grey really did not think much of it. To him, this was all simply part of what he should be doing as a Gym Leader and a streamer. How could he let challengers or fans make the trip for nothing?
[No more talk, I'm getting you a Captain membership right now!]
"Thanks to 'Only Loves Grey' for the Captain membership~ Ah, that's really too generous. Things like Captain memberships should always be within your means."
"Honestly, I'm already very satisfied just getting to see all of you here every day, reading your comments, chatting with you, and all that."
"So here, I want to give a special thanks to all my viewers. Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me these past two months!"
[Grey! Grey! Grey!]
The comments exploded in cheers.
Grey looked at the flood of messages on the screen, adjusted his mood a little, and then forcibly dragged the stream back to the topic.
"Ahem, tonight's theme is being your friendly advice guy. Any viewers want to hop on voice chat with me?"
[I do! I do!]
As soon as that comment appeared, a voice chat request popped up on Grey's screen.
Grey looked at the username and saw it was [Ralts Little Angel].
This was another one of his longtime viewers, apparently a Ralts Trainer.
Grey hit accept, and a frail-looking young boy with green hair appeared on the other side of the screen.
The boy had delicate features and a thin build. Both hands were clutching a small shoulder bag. One Ralts stood on his shoulder.
And in his arms, he was holding another Ralts.
What was more, the color of this Ralts was different from the one most people knew.
Its horn was orange, and its hair was blue.
A shiny Ralts!
The moment the shiny Ralts appeared, the comments exploded again with messages like [RNG god alert!] and [How is there another lucky guy here?!]
Seeing those comments only made Wally even more nervous.
But when he noticed the encouraging look on Grey's face, he gave a small nod and finally introduced himself.
"H, hello everyone! I'm Wally, a Trainer from the Hoenn region. Gym Leader Grey, I've already decided what I want my Ralts to evolve into!"
Wally had two Ralts. The one on his shoulder was male, while the shiny one in his arms was female.
There was not much to think about there. The male one would become Gallade, and the female one would become Gardevoir.
"S, so I wanted to ask Gym Leader Grey, how should a Pokémon like Gallade be trained?"
The only Gallade Trainer Wally knew was Grey. He did not want his Ralts to go down the wrong path, so he wanted to ask whether Grey had any advice that could help him avoid mistakes.
"If your Ralts wants to become Gallade, then before it evolves, it's best not to focus too much on ranged moves. I'm not saying never use them at all, just try not to rely on them."
"Moves like Knock Off, Shadow Sneak, Body Slam, Zen Headbutt, and a whole range of other physical moves that Ralts can learn are all worth preparing. Also, it's best to let it practice attacking with its elbows from time to time."
"Some of Gallade's moves are released through its elbows, too. If it gets used to that in advance, then after it evolves, it won't need as much extra practice."
Grey gave quite a lot of his own insights. Then, seeing how slowly Wally was taking notes, he said, "Don't rush so much. I'll send you the recording later, so for now just listen carefully."
"Of course, I'll also post this recording online as a teaching video, so I hope everyone will remember to like, favorite, and subscribe when the time comes~"
[Sounds good, sounds good. I'll toss you a Guaranteed Viral boost then. I've even got a thirty percent off coupon.]
[Then I'll throw the stream a Doule boost too. Hopefully this one breaks the million mark, meow!]
"Sounds good, sounds good. Thanks for the love, everyone. This little streamer is really grateful."
Grey clasped his fists in thanks, answered a few more questions from viewers, and then proudly ended the stream.
"Rio~" (So after this stream, how much money did you make?)
Little Riolu's eyes shone as it rubbed its paws together eagerly and bounced around in front of Grey.
"Not much. Why don't you spot me some?"
Grey raised an eyebrow at Little Riolu.
"Rio~" (Yeah, never mind then. I'm going to sleep first. Good night~)
Little Riolu dropped over and went straight to sleep, curling up beside Victini in dreamland.
Grey only smiled and said nothing.
"Tomorrow's battle is finally here."
...
...
The next day, Liberty Garden.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Viewers from all across the world, hello! I'm your commentator, Slowking! And today's Strongest Trainer Tournament finals will once again be brought to you by me!"
"I'm sure everyone has already heard the news, right? The backgrounds of today's two Trainers are anything but ordinary. Both of them are Trainers of first-tier Legendaries from the Unova region!"
"And now, let's bring them out!"
"On the blue side, N, the Trainer of the dragon of ideals, Zekrom, the legendary Hero of Ideals!"
Bang, bang, bang!
Fireworks burst overhead as N stepped out of the player tunnel, his eyes bright and focused straight ahead.
"On the red side, Grey, the Trainer of the dragon of truth, Reshiram, the Hero of Truth!"
More fireworks exploded in the air. Grey walked forward at an unhurried pace with both hands in his pockets, Victini lying across his shoulder.
[Wait, what's with that Victini?! So even Unova's Mythical Pokémon got taken by Grey too?!]
[I can't take this anymore. How many Legendary Pokémon does your Unova region even have left?]
[It's already over for us!]
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810