"Keldeo, it's time to show what you can really do!"
"Got it!"
Hearing Grey give it a way to save face, Keldeo knew it was time to bring out its true strength.
Never mind that it had either been taking hits or on its way to taking hits this whole time. Its actual strength was not something an ordinary Pokémon could compare to.
It was Keldeo, a Mythical Pokémon!
The student of the Swords of Justice and Kyurem of the Tao trio!
With that kind of star-studded lineup behind it, Keldeo refused to believe it could lose to some ordinary Pokémon!
"Mismagius, use Charm!"
Morty was getting more fired up the longer the battle went on, but he made the wrong call.
Charm was a move that lowered the opponent's physical attack.
Under normal circumstances, as long as it landed, it was basically the same as cutting off one of the opponent's arms.
The problem was, Keldeo was a special attacker.
In other words, using Charm was the same as doing nothing, and it gave Keldeo a chance to counterattack.
That was understandable. Although Keldeo had used Icy Wind, it had mostly been using Sacred Sword, making Morty think it was a physical attacker.
That led directly to the decision he had just made.
"Keldeo, use Aqua Jet to close in on Mismagius."
Grey went along with the flow. Since Morty was using Charm, he would let Keldeo pretend to be a physical attacker and give him exactly what he thought he wanted.
At that, the corners of Morty's mouth rose uncontrollably, as though he could already see himself taking Grey down.
Wrapped in surging water, Keldeo shot forward close to the ground like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging straight at Mismagius.
"Mis, mis!"
Mismagius braced itself, ripples of brilliant Fairy energy spreading around it.
It blinked playfully, and countless heart-shaped bullets of light drifted out, gently sinking into Keldeo's rushing current.
The originally violent stream instantly became tame and sluggish, as though bewitched, its power greatly weakened.
Keldeo ignored the faded energy surrounding it and resolutely broke through the restraints of the Fairy energy, forcing its way right in front of Mismagius.
Then,
Boom!
A raging high-pressure column of water erupted from its broken horn, crashing into Mismagius like a dragon.
The explosive roar of bursting water shook the battlefield. Mismagius was blasted away by the sudden attack and slammed hard into the wall.
Thud!
Mismagius's eyes turned into spirals. It was clearly unable to continue battling.
"Mismagius is unable to battle. Gym Leader Morty, please send out your next Pokémon."
The first round still ended in Grey's victory.
Morty recalled Mismagius and came up with a new idea.
That Mewtwo was one thing. It looked like a pure walking cheat.
But Keldeo was different.
It clearly still belonged within the range of an ordinary Pokémon.
Against a Pokémon like that, Morty felt he really might be able to take a round back.
He still had two Pokémon left.
With two Pokémon dragging things out together, he refused to believe that he could not take down one of Grey's Pokémon in a three-on-one.
No matter how strong it was, it could not possibly be that strong, right?
The more Morty thought about it, the more fired up he became. Some mysterious force seemed to fill his whole body, making him feel like he had been strengthened and could go in now.
"Dusclops, I'll leave the second battle to you."
Morty's second Pokémon was a one-eyed Pokémon with its entire body wrapped in bandages.
Pokémon: Dusclops
Type: Ghost
Level: 57
Ability: Pressure
Moves: Curse, Pain Split, Poltergeist, Spite, Memento
Held Item: Eviolite
Grey fell silent.
Bro, was that really necessary?
Using Dusclops was one thing, but you even gave it an Eviolite?
And look at the moves it learned. Did those look like normal moves to you?
It even had Pain Split. Playing dirty, huh?
"This guy's Pressure is kind of intense, boss. What do we do next?"
The two sides were close in strength.
Because of Dusclops's Pressure ability, Keldeo felt like it could not quite move freely.
"What do we do? Come straight back."
Grey did not want to waste time with Dusclops. After recalling Keldeo, he said directly to Mewtwo, "Don't hold back. Show your power outright."
"Hm?"
Although Mewtwo did not know why Grey's attitude had changed so much, being able to fight this kind of one-sided match was still very satisfying for it, after all the frustration it had suffered recently.
Mewtwo entered the field again!
"Oh? I didn't expect Gym Leader Grey to send that powerful unknown Pokémon back out against Gym Leader Morty's Dusclops. Does it have some secret weapon that can counter Ghost-type Pokémon?"
Slowking did not quite understand why Grey was doing this, but since Grey had sent Mewtwo out again, he definitely had his own considerations.
As the commentator, Slowking only needed to commentate and see how Grey would handle things next.
"Gym Leader Morty's Dusclops, huh… I really have been disgusted by that thing before."
"Does anyone else get it? Gym Leader Morty brought out his Eviolite Dusclops again!"
"Oh my god! Lord Dusclops!"
There were plenty of Trainers in the chat who had been tormented by Morty's Dusclops before.
Everyone wanted to see whether Grey could help them vent their frustration.
Who even popularized this miserable stall strategy?
Even if you used Taunt, Dusclops's own bulk was basically a wall of sighs.
Brutal.
They just did not know how Grey would fight it.
"Mewtwo, Psystrike!"
Grey chose to crush it outright.
Mewtwo floated in midair, the corner of its mouth curling into a cold arc.
It held both hands out as psychic power madly compressed and condensed in its palms, turning into a constantly spinning and swelling sphere of dark energy.
Ominous ripples flowed across the surface of the sphere. The terrifying pressure it released made the Dusclops below tremble violently, fear filling its ghost-flame-like single eye.
Absolute terror.
Before Morty could react, Mewtwo hurled Psystrike down with overwhelming force!
Although it had restrained the move's power somewhat, to Dusclops, it was still a devastating blow.
Rumble!
With a deafening roar, the energy sphere exploded. The ground shattered on impact, and the violent shock wave swallowed Dusclops completely.
As the dust slowly scattered, Dusclops was already lying in the rubble, unable to battle.
Morty fell silent, his pupils trembling faintly.
To completely crush Dusclops in just one attack, that kind of strength was difficult even for an Elite Four-level Pokémon to reach.
After all, only he knew exactly how absurd the Dusclops he had trained really was.
And now that Mewtwo had defeated it in one move…
That meant one thing.
The Pokémon before him had reached Champion level!
From the exclusive seats reserved for the Elite Four outside the battlefield, Lance's pupils suddenly contracted.
He stared hard at Mewtwo in the arena, his fingers tightening around his cape.
He knew this Pokémon all too well!
Back when they surrounded Team Rocket at the Rocket Game Corner, it had been this purple figure that tore through their defenses and took the Team Rocket boss away right in front of him.
The Psychic that had pierced through the underground base that day still shook his nerves in his dreams even now.
But why…
Why was an existence that should have been Team Rocket's ultimate weapon standing beside Grey right now?
Perhaps sensing Lance's gaze, Grey turned around and gave him a thumbs-up.
That simple gesture instantly steadied Lance.
Right. Lance had seen Grey's accomplishments with his own eyes.
Even if Grey really was Team Rocket's boss, it was not like he would expose himself here, right?
On Grey's side, as though he had sensed something, he glanced back at Lance. Meeting his uncertain and startled gaze, he suddenly curved his lips upward and gave Lance a bright thumbs-up.
That gesture made Lance's tense shoulders suddenly relax.
That was right. He had personally witnessed many of the things this young man had done.
If there really were any hidden danger, someone with Grey's personality would never be this calm.
Lance shook his head with a laugh and tossed his doubts behind him along with his cape.
At the very least, he was willing to believe Grey would give him a reasonable explanation.
"Gengar is unable to battle. Since all of Gym Leader Morty's Pokémon are unable to battle, the winner of this match is Gym Leader Grey!"
The result was announced.
The winner, just as expected, really was Grey.
Morty smiled bitterly and recalled Gengar.
He had originally planned to use Destiny Bond and see whether he could trade one-for-one with Grey's Mewtwo.
In the end, Mewtwo moved too quickly. Before Gengar could even use its move, Mewtwo had defeated it with a single attack.
The conclusion of the battle was settled.
Grey left the battlefield.
He saw Lance waiting in the competitors' tunnel.
"Grey, that Pokémon…"
Lance hesitated slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but did not know how to begin.
"That's right. It's the same kind of Pokémon as the one from the Rocket Game Corner back then."
Grey admitted it openly.
"I see… Wait, you said the same kind of Pokémon?"
Lance immediately caught the difference in Grey's wording.
The same kind of Pokémon, did that not mean it belonged to the same species?
That Pokémon actually had a species?
"Ahem, let me explain."
Grey coughed lightly, finally bringing Lance's attention back.
"Let's walk while we talk. It's not something I can explain in a few words."
The matter of an artificially created Pokémon was still too unbelievable.
Even with Team Plasma's Genesect as an example, Mewtwo's ability to keep improving its strength until it could stand alongside a first-class Legendary Pokémon was still hard to accept.
Grey walked ahead, and Lance followed behind him.
"Mewtwo is an artificial Pokémon developed by Team Rocket. When Team Rocket's base was destroyed earlier, Team Plasma's scientist Colress took advantage of the chaos and picked up Mewtwo's data."
"Lance, you know what happened after that. While Colress was being escorted, Gym Leader Giovanni was attacked by Mewtwo, and afterward, Mewtwo took Colress back to Team Plasma."
"Later, I also went to Team Plasma. After I arrested Ghetsis, one of Team Plasma's Seven Sages, Team Plasma was left leaderless. Apparently, Team Plasma recently left the Unova region, but I don't know where they went."
"This Mewtwo was Colress's work. It was created at Team Plasma's base. For some unknown reason, it came to me. I had a connection with it, so I caught it along the way."
Grey explained the whole story with the right amount of detail.
Lance understood it immediately.
"So in other words, this Mewtwo was created by Team Plasma, then turned against them and followed you?"
"Yes."
Grey nodded.
"Well done. As expected of Gym Leader Grey. Having you in the Kanto and Johto regions really is a blessing for our League."
Lance could not help laughing.
Now it was set in stone. Grey was truly the third battle-legend tier Trainer.
"By the way, have you considered becoming the Champion of the Kanto region? With your current strength, I think you would have absolutely no problem taking the position."
Lance extended an invitation to Grey.
"Uh, about that… I think I still need more experience."
Grey did not want to become Champion.
The Champion position sounded imposing enough on the surface.
But in reality?
Of all the Trainers who had been Champions, at least half of them wanted to step down while they were in office.
Steven Stone, Wallace, Cynthia, and Alder were all experts when it came to wanting to quit.
Especially the first two.
One of them would pass the Champion title to the other whenever he did not feel like doing it anymore, and when the other did not want it either, he would reluctantly take it back, making the Champion position sound almost cursed.
Blue and Red had also served as Champions.
The former was pulled down by Red, while the latter served as Champion for a while before stepping down.
Because the Kanto Elite Four kept sniping at one another, the Kanto region had not produced another Champion since Blue and Red.
Now that Lance had confirmed Grey had that level of strength, he extended the invitation, only to be refused on the spot.
"Sigh."
Lance sighed deeply.
Why did capable Trainers never want to become Champion?
"Lance, a man's ambitions lie beyond the horizon. You know me. I still prefer running a Gym and guiding Trainers. Sitting in an office handling League affairs is completely unsuitable for me. I also don't like rotting away in an office all day."
Grey put both hands in his pockets and gazed into the distance. "Maybe another prodigy will appear after a while. Once he grows up, it won't be too late for you to invite him."
"You mean Red's younger brother?"
Through the livestream, Lance knew Grey had guided Red's younger brother, Ash.
Lance rather liked that boy.
He had successively caught Charizard, Gengar, and Aerodactyl. He was a textbook League Trainer with a proper background.
"That's right."
Grey nodded.
Whether Ash would agree or not had nothing to do with him.
He was simply mentioning it in passing.
"I understand. I'll find a time to make contact with him later."
After saying that, Lance switched topics. "Grey, what do you think about this Indigo Plateau Conference?"
"Hmm… I have faith in it, but I also don't."
Grey gave a rather abstract answer.
He had faith in it because there was a Champion-level Trainer participating.
But he also did not have faith in it because that Champion-level Trainer was not from Kanto, but an outsider.
Was that not just smurfing?
A perfectly good Champion-level Trainer coming here to smurf was something that made Grey both amused and helpless for a moment.
"The Masked Royal, huh? He seems to come from a place without a League. I hear Team Rocket plans to make a move there, so he really does need a battle to prove his strength."
Lance recalled the information Grey had provided.
Team Rocket had thoughts of moving against the Alola region.
That alone showed Alola was in imminent danger too.
"And that blue wormhole from earlier. It also seemed to come from the Alola region."
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