So this was the trap waiting for him!
The initial price of five hundred million had never been genuine. Gracidea flowers were rare, but they were nowhere near that valuable.
Grey was no sucker. There was no chance he would spend that much money on a few Gracidea flowers.
Now the girl was saying that he could receive them for free as long as he completed a task for her. The offer almost made Grey laugh.
This was the most obvious bait-and-switch imaginable.
First, he would find out what kind of seeds these were.
Grey accepted the two bags of seeds from the girl.
[Item: Carrot Seeds]
[Description: Seeds intended to be planted in a field. The variety of carrot produced will depend on where they are planted. Note: Planting them in the field at Snowslide Slope will produce Iceroot Carrots. Planting them in the field at the Old Cemetery will produce Shaderoot Carrots.]
Incredible. They were not even trying to hide it anymore.
This really was Calyrex!
Grey could not think of anything else associated with these carrots besides Calyrex.
Surely they were not intended for some white rabbit from an entirely different universe.
That was obviously impossible.
They did not even belong to the same world.
"Listen, Grey. As long as you're willing to do this favor for me, I'll give you all these Gracidea flowers! Not only that, I'll arrange every flower in my basket into a bouquet and give that to you too!"
The girl became increasingly enthusiastic as she spoke.
"Think about it! You don't want that beautiful woman to arrive and find you standing here empty-handed, do you? If you want your relationship with her to progress, giving her a bouquet will definitely improve your chances!"
"If you're only offering the Gracidea flowers and these unidentified flowers, I still don't think that's enough."
Grey rubbed his chin.
"These Carrot Seeds are extremely sensitive to their environment. If I casually find a random field and plant them there, I'll only harvest ordinary carrots."
"Since you specifically need me to plant them, you must want me to visit the most dangerous parts of the Crown Tundra. The Crown Tundra is an extremely hazardous place. Aside from the freezing weather, all kinds of wild Fossil Pokémon live there. Sending an ordinary person into that environment would practically be a death sentence!"
Grey placed a hand against his forehead and sighed softly.
"If I died for the sake of a few Gracidea flowers, I'd be getting a terrible deal. Besides, if I need a gift, I could always visit the Tree of Beginning and find something even better."
"Riolu?" What?
Grey's abrupt mention of the Tree of Beginning completely confused Riolu.
"Cough, it's nothing."
Grey patted Riolu's head, indicating that he had merely said it to strengthen his negotiating position. He could not allow the girl to control the conversation.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
The girl narrowed her eyes.
"It's simple. Give me a Radiant Petal. No, actually, I want an entire Radiant Flower!"
Grey demanded a Radiant Flower from her.
He did not know whether the complete flower was truly called a Radiant Flower, but that was what he decided to call it.
The petals were called Radiant Petals.
Therefore, asking for a complete Radiant Flower was perfectly reasonable!
"You! You're asking for far too much! An entire flower? Why don't you just rob me?"
The girl clenched both fists.
If Grey had only asked for one petal, she would have given it to him without hesitation.
Instead, he wanted the entire flower!
Radiant Petals were incredibly rare. Even giving away a single petal would have caused her considerable pain.
Furthermore, Radiant Petals were used to create the Reins of Unity.
Grey wanted to take an entire flower just to impress a woman?!
The girl, or rather Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests operating behind her, could not help twitching in irritation.
For Farfetch'd's sake, this man knew how to squeeze every last drop out of a deal!
No wonder he spent so much time with Mew.
They were both equally greedy!
"Come on, just tell me whether you'll give it to me. I don't really need these Gracidea flowers. Besides, you should know that most people would have to pay far more than this to convince me to help them."
"Your Radiant Petals might be incredibly rare to you, but they're practically worthless to us. The fact that I'm willing to help in exchange for something so inexpensive means I'm already giving you the friends-and-family rate. As the King of Bountiful Harvests, you should know how many Legendary Pokémon I'm acquainted with, right?"
Grey spoke with complete sincerity.
After listening to his answer, the girl sighed helplessly.
"Fine. The flower is already in the basket. I know you have many things to deal with recently, so how about visiting the Crown Tundra after you finish your current business?"
"That works. We have a deal."
Grey considered the transaction perfectly reasonable.
As for how he would reach the Crown Tundra when the time came...
Perhaps he could borrow Brandon's flying Battle Pyramid.
Grey immediately thought of Brandon, who specialized in capturing the three original Legendary giants.
The Crown Tundra was home to Regieleki and Regidrago. Brandon would undoubtedly want to visit the region.
When that happened, Grey could simply hitch a ride.
The thought put him in an excellent mood.
He accepted the flower basket from the girl.
"There's one extra Radiant Petal inside. That petal has another purpose, so keep it safe."
Before leaving, the girl specifically warned him about it. She was afraid Grey might use the extra Radiant Petal while trying to impress Caitlin.
"No problem."
Grey gave her a reassuring gesture and began arranging the flowers.
Grey was genuinely quite skilled at making bouquets. He owed that skill to Erika, who had patiently taught him when he wanted to prepare something that would make Sabrina happy.
Faced with an entire basket of flowers, Grey worked with practiced ease. His fingers moved swiftly, and even the petals seemed to tremble in rhythm with his movements.
Before long, an elegant, carefully layered bouquet had taken shape in his hands.
Grey used simple, understated flowers to create the foundation, then decorated the edges with brilliant Gracidea flowers.
At the very center, the Radiant Flower quietly bloomed.
It resembled the first ray of sunlight at dawn, naturally drawing every gaze toward itself.
"Perfect!"
Even Grey was impressed by his craftsmanship.
"Oh, please. If I hadn't been using my psychic power to help you, arranging that bouquet would've been much harder."
Riolu complained from beside him, warning Grey not to claim all the credit.
"Fine, fine. I know you made the greatest contribution. Still, how did you determine that Calyrex was behind that girl? Calyrex lives in the Crown Tundra in Galar, which is extremely far from Unova."
Grey considered the distance between the two regions.
He could not understand why Calyrex would cross such an enormous distance specifically to find him.
"I don't know. Calyrex probably lacks sufficient faith and needs someone to help it."
Riolu sounded strangely nervous as it spoke.
Grey noticed its unusual behavior and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me this has something to do with you."
"Cough, of course not. Do I look like the kind of Pokémon that would trade your exact location and future travel plans for a meal of delicious Berries?"
Riolu responded with a question of its own.
Grey fell silent.
So their friendship was not even worth as much as someone else's meal of Berries?
"Those are two completely separate matters."
Riolu adopted a serious expression.
"Don't assume those Berries were ordinary just because they looked like something you could casually pick beside the road. They were grown personally by Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests. That practically makes them royal produce!"
When strengthened by the faith of its followers, Calyrex was a true king. It possessed a castle, governed its own territory, and could reasonably be described as royalty.
The Berries it personally cultivated were infused with its core power and the essence of nature itself. Their extraordinary flavor could not be compared to that of ordinary Berries.
That was precisely why Riolu had eagerly agreed when Calyrex offered those treasures in exchange for information about Grey.
"Then let me ask you something. How many Berries do you have left?"
Grey extended his hand toward Riolu.
"Since I was involved, I get half."
"None. I ate all of them."
Riolu rubbed its stomach and licked its lips with a thoroughly satisfied expression.
Those Berries had clearly been delicious.
"Something still doesn't add up. How did you receive the Berries? Did Calyrex come all the way to Kanto?"
Grey narrowed his eyes.
He genuinely did not understand how Riolu had obtained Berries grown by Calyrex.
"Well, the story begins when I heard that your body was weak and returned to the Tree of Beginning to find some restorative ingredients for you."
Riolu explained what had happened.
Not long ago, it had returned to the Tree of Beginning, intending to break off several branches and gather fresh leaves that could help restore Grey's strength.
At that moment, a communication request from the Crown Tundra had quietly arrived through the Tree of Beginning's vast network.
The Tree of Beginning where Riolu lived was the main tree, and its network connected to branches growing in many distant regions. One such branch grew in the Crown Tundra.
Through that connection, Riolu and Calyrex could communicate across the vast distance as though they were speaking face-to-face.
During their conversation, Calyrex had simply asked whether anyone was willing to visit the Crown Tundra and help plant some carrots.
In return, it offered several delicious Berries that it had cultivated personally.
The moment Riolu heard the offer, it remembered the pure natural essence and incomparable sweetness contained within those Berries.
Without hesitation, Riolu volunteered Grey for the job.
That was how this troublesome arrangement had begun.
"The Tree of Beginning can even do that?"
Grey was genuinely amazed by how absurdly versatile the Tree of Beginning was.
It could apparently function as a long-distance communications network too.
"Exactly. Then I told Calyrex that you would be visiting Unova soon. As for how it knew you would be in Humilau City, I used a branch from the Tree of Beginning to contact it again."
Riolu waved the branch it had broken off from the Tree of Beginning.
Grey finally understood the entire sequence of events.
"You aren't angry, are you, Grey?"
Riolu gave him a mischievous grin.
"Of course not."
Grey waved dismissively.
Riolu had helped him many times. Being tricked by it occasionally was hardly a serious problem.
Besides, Grey already intended to visit the Crown Tundra.
Galarian Zapdos lived there.
It was a Fighting-type Pokémon. As a Fighting-type Gym Leader, Grey naturally needed to catch one.
Aside from Galarian Zapdos, there was also Galarian Articuno, which possessed the Psychic type.
He could catch Galarian Articuno and allow either Sabrina or Caitlin to train it.
Since he would have to visit Galar eventually anyway, setting a date for the trip would be useful.
There was just one more thing.
"Hey, were you the one who told Calyrex to demand five hundred million?"
Grey narrowed his eyes and stared ominously at Riolu.
Calyrex could not possibly understand modern prices.
The moment the girl demanded five hundred million, it sounded exactly like something Riolu had taught Calyrex to say.
After all, Riolu was the only one who regularly discussed money in units of hundreds of millions.
"Hehe."
Even Riolu had the decency to laugh awkwardly.
"Grey, you already said you wouldn't blame me!"
"That was a separate issue. Jokes are jokes, but five hundred million is crossing a line!"
After fooling around for a while longer, Grey finally stopped and checked the time.
It had only just passed noon.
This was the perfect time for lunch.
He wondered when Caitlin would arrive.
She should be here soon.
After thinking about it, Grey decided to ask whether she had already eaten. They could either have lunch when she arrived or eat separately and meet again for dinner.
[Dojo Annihilape: I've arrived in Humilau City. When do you think you'll get here? Should I reserve a table somewhere, or should we eat separately and have dinner together instead?]
[Sleeping Beauty: I'm almost there too! Let's have lunch together! Afterward, we can walk through the Marine Tube. By the time we reach Undella Town, it should be close to evening.]
Caitlin replied almost instantly.
Since she was nearly there, Grey searched online for local restaurants to determine which one would be best.
Their reviews all seemed fairly similar.
Grey selected a restaurant with an especially pleasant atmosphere and reserved a table.
Around ten minutes later, Caitlin arrived in Humilau City and met Grey on a quiet beach.
Waves rolled across the shore in the distance. The midday sun shone upon the water, causing its surface to sparkle brilliantly.
Grey stood with his back to the ocean, watching Caitlin approach.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Caitlin noticed that Grey was holding both hands behind his back, making his posture seem slightly unusual.
"It's fine. I only arrived a little while ago."
Grey smiled and brought out the bouquet he had been hiding behind his back.
"These are for you. I hope you like them."
Caitlin froze.
The moment her eyes landed on the carefully arranged bouquet, two crimson patches appeared on her cheeks and rapidly spread to the tips of her ears.
She instinctively raised a hand and lightly touched one of the petals. Her eyes shimmered, and even her voice became gentler when she thanked him.
"Thank you. These flowers are beautiful."
Seeing her reaction, Grey could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman. Nothing could be more appropriate."
Caitlin's ears became even redder. She turned her face aside and let out a soft huff, her voice carrying a mixture of embarrassment and playful annoyance.
"You're terrible. Who taught you to say such shamelessly sweet things?"
Despite her words, Caitlin unconsciously hugged the bouquet more tightly against her chest.
The flowers were truly beautiful.
Caitlin gently inhaled their fragrance, her eyes rippling with emotion.
This was the first time anyone had ever given her a bouquet.
She had never expected Grey to prepare such a thoughtful gift to celebrate their reunion!
In that case, she would have to prepare an equally impressive gift for Grey.
What should she give him?
Caitlin looked at Grey, buried her face in the bouquet, and lightly licked her lips.
Hehe.
Grey, you're definitely going to love this gift!
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.