Author's Note: Apologize for the late timing of upload but here it is the next chapter and keep at it with the powerstones we might hit the goal by sunday.
Third Person POV
After coming out of the ruins, Grey finally relaxed a little at the Pokémon Center. The entire journey through the ruins had been far more eventful than he had expected, and after everything that had happened, he was glad to have a proper place to rest. Once he had settled down, he fed his Pokémon their usual meals. However, Larvitar's Poké Ball was still locked away due to the team rotation, so he couldn't feed it yet. Still, Grey decided to wait for some time before making the necessary arrangements.
After a while, Grey went to the Pokémon Center's communication booth and called Bill.
"Hey," Bill greeted him when the call connected.
"Hey," Grey returned.
Bill looked at him through the screen before asking, "So, why did you have to call me?"
"I wanted to ask for a team rotation. I caught my seventh Pokémon."
Bill immediately perked up.
"Finally! I was waiting for you to expand your roster, but you seem to have been taking your time. Let's see here. What did you get?"
Bill turned toward his computer and checked the latest updates connected to Grey's Pokédex and Pokémon records. He quickly scrolled through the information before suddenly freezing.
His chair nearly tipped backward.
"What?!"
Bill had practically flipped out of his chair.
He immediately grabbed the desk and pulled himself back toward the screen before staring at the information again.
"You caught a freaking Larvitar?!"
Grey simply nodded.
Bill's expression changed from excitement to concern almost immediately.
"Where did you get a wild Larvitar, Grey? I hope this thing wasn't illegally poached or anything."
Grey sighed before explaining the events of the day. He gave Bill the basic details about the ruins, the giant Golurk, Brandon and Steven, and finally how the Larvitar had followed him out of the ruins and seemingly chosen to join his team.
Bill listened to the entire explanation before finally letting out a long sigh.
"I didn't know Pokelantis had secrets this dark."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"But you can be assured that Pyramid King Brandon has experience dealing with this kind of stuff. His Regirock was also caught by him during an excavation, so he's not exactly unfamiliar with strange Pokémon discoveries."
Bill then looked back toward Grey.
"As for your Larvitar, even I'm surprised. A Pokémon approaching a trainer and actively wanting to be caught isn't something you hear about every day."
He shook his head before smiling.
"Well, good for you. So, which Pokémon do you want to swap?"
"I need to break it down with my team first," Grey replied. "But before that, I wanted to ask you when both the Protect and Teleport TMs are arriving."
Bill thought for a moment before checking the delivery information on his computer.
"They can arrive by tomorrow. At least Teleport should. Protect might take another day or two."
Grey nodded.
"That's fine. I want to train Exeggutor in Teleport. That way, he can zip over to Pokémon Centers whenever I need to swap Pokémon."
Bill nodded in agreement.
"That's actually a pretty good idea."
He then reassured Grey, "Also, don't worry about the logistics of the rotation. I've already assigned a butler to handle your Pokémon transfers whenever required. Whatever Pokémon you leave here will be taken care of properly and given everything it needs."
Grey nodded.
"Alright. I'll figure out the rotation with my team and call you again in some time."
"Sounds good. And congratulations on the Larvitar."
"Thanks."
The call ended.
Grey looked down at the Poké Balls containing his current team.
Now came the difficult part.
Deciding who would stay with him...
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Grey then went outside and found a quiet area in the village where he could speak with his Pokémon without being disturbed. Once he was settled, he brought out his entire team, with the exception of Larvitar. One after another, the Pokémon appeared around him, looking at Grey and each other with their usual reactions to being called out together.
Grey looked at all of them for a moment before explaining the situation. He had caught his seventh Pokémon in Larvitar, and according to the league regulations, he could only travel with six Pokémon at a time. That meant one of them would have to be sent to Bill for the time being.
Most of the Pokémon clearly weren't happy with the idea. Grey could understand why. None of them wanted to suddenly be separated from him after everything they had been through together. Grey himself didn't particularly want to send any of them away either. He had built a strong bond with every Pokémon on his team, and sending one of them away wasn't something he could take lightly.
However, he explained that Larvitar couldn't be the one sent away. The Pokémon was still young, and considering the circumstances in which it had joined his team, Grey felt that it needed his guidance for now. He couldn't just catch a young Larvitar and immediately leave it at Bill's place without even allowing it to properly adjust to its new trainer and team.
Still, Grey made it clear that this wasn't goodbye.
He planned to rotate his team actively throughout his journey. Every time he reached a new city or Pokémon Center, he could change which Pokémon were travelling with him. The Pokémon sent to Bill wouldn't simply be abandoned there. They would continue training, receive proper care, and eventually return to the travelling team.
After hearing that, four Pokémon stepped forward.
Fraxure.
Exeggutor.
Persian.
Cloyster.
Grey looked at the four Pokémon for a moment before smiling. In a way, it actually made sense. He couldn't send Charmeleon or Heracross away so soon after catching them. Both Pokémon still needed more personal training and guidance from him, especially Charmeleon, who still had plenty of room to develop.
But these four were different.
Grey had trained Fraxure, Exeggutor, Persian and Cloyster for a long time. Their individual toolkits had been developed to the point where they could train themselves without needing Grey to constantly stand over them and give instructions. Even if they weren't travelling with him, they could continue improving and become stronger through their own efforts.
Grey then looked toward Cloyster.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Cloyster gave a firm nod.
It was clearly not thrilled about being separated from Grey, but it seemed willing to stay at Bill's house for the time being.
Grey then explained his plan to the group.
"Tomorrow, Bill should be giving me the Teleport TM. I'm going to use it on Exeggutor and Cloyster and teach both of you Teleport."
Cloyster immediately looked displeased at the idea.
Grey ignored the expression.
"Exeggutor will probably have an easier time learning it since he's a Psychic-type, but Cloyster, you're going to learn it too."
Cloyster didn't look particularly happy about that, but it eventually accepted it. Grey wanted Cloyster to work on Teleport because it would allow him to rotate between Exeggutor and Cloyster depending on what he needed. At times, he could also use Persian for the same purpose. If he wanted two Pokémon to stay at Bill's place together, he could send both of them there so they could train together and even spar with each other.
The team nodded as Grey explained the plan.
Most of them also seemed to realise why Grey hadn't mentioned Fraxure as one of the Pokémon being sent away. Fraxure was the oldest member of the team and the Pokémon Grey trusted the most.
Grey quickly cleared that up.
"Fraxure has training duty."
Fraxure immediately froze.
Grey could practically see the realization hit him.
He had to babysit another kid.
Fraxure let out a tired sigh.
Grey couldn't help but feel a little amused internally. He knew perfectly well that he couldn't send Fraxure away. Fraxure was his starter and had been with him from the very beginning. That alone was enough reason, but the fact that Fraxure had somehow become the unofficial senior member of the team and was constantly helping the others was another reason.
Grey then set a time limit for Exeggutor.
"You have to master Teleport before we leave this village."
Exeggutor looked at Grey confidently.
Grey had another reason for setting that deadline. After his conversation with Steven, he had already received permission to challenge the gym leader at any point during the coming week. Steven had promised that he wouldn't leave for another excavation during that entire period, meaning Grey had a full week to challenge him.
Brandon was another matter.
Grey had also asked Brandon about a battle, and the Pyramid King had agreed to a quick one-versus-one match tomorrow. Brandon had to leave the village tomorrow and relocate his Battle Pyramid, so he wouldn't have much time afterward.
Grey had agreed to the arrangement.
That meant he had roughly a week to get his next badge.
Technically, Grey could simply challenge Steven tomorrow, get the badge and move on. There was nothing stopping him from doing that.
But there was one advantage to staying.
Heart Village had a Pokémon Center.
That meant Grey could spend the week rotating his Pokémon in and out while still keeping them nearby. At any given time he could only travel with six Pokémon, but he could use the Pokémon Center and Bill's arrangement to maintain different training slots for the week.
That meant Cloyster didn't necessarily have to spend the entire week away from the team.
Grey could bring it back whenever he needed it.
The others seemed to understand the plan and nodded.
Grey then turned toward Cloyster.
"I'll set up some training for you before you stay with Bill. I'll also explain to Bill and his butler what I want you to work on. They can show you videos on the Pokénet of the moves I want you to learn, and you can attempt to reproduce them yourself."
Grey was confident Cloyster could handle it.
The moves he had in mind were moves that Cloyster's evolutionary line could naturally learn, meaning Cloyster wasn't being asked to do something completely outside its abilities. With the right references and enough practice, Grey believed it could continue developing even without him physically being there to guide every attempt.
With the plan settled, Grey thanked his team and gave them their food for the day. Once they had finished eating, Grey prepared to return to the Pokémon Center.
Before that, however, he decided to inform Bill about the rotation.
He also wanted to introduce Larvitar to the rest of the team properly.
As he walked back, Grey remembered one more thing he needed to mention to Bill.
Larvitar would need a different diet.
He would have to ask Bill to arrange rock-type and ground-type food for the little Pokémon. Larvitar was a Rock/Ground-type Pokémon, after all, and Grey wanted to make sure its diet supported its development properly.
Then another thought came to him.
He still had that Rock-type energy essence fluid.
Grey had previously acquired the substance and had considered how he could use it to reinforce the Rock-type energy of his Pokémon. Perhaps he could mix a small amount of it into Larvitar's meals.
Not enough to overwhelm the young Pokémon, but enough to gradually reinforce its Rock-type energy over the course of its journey.
Grey nodded to himself.
That could be another long-term project.
For now, though, he had a new Pokémon to introduce to the team and a team rotation to arrange.