Seeing the message from "Sleeping Beauty," Grey's brain stalled for a beat.
This sounded exactly like one of those top tippers trying to "keep" a streamer…
No—this would be a top female tipper trying to keep him.
[Sleeping Beauty: Come to the Sinnoh region to be my private tutor. Baseline of 300,000 a month, plus a large local condo—pick any address you like.]
[Grey: !??]
[Grey: Boss, I sell my skills, not my body. (teary-eyes.jpg)]
[Sleeping Beauty: Am I not offering enough? (Psyduck-scratching-head.jpg)]
[Grey: Boss, it's really not about the money!]
Truth be told, when "Sleeping Beauty" tossed in a free condo, Grey did wobble a little inside.
She was offering way too much!
[Sleeping Beauty: Then what is it?]
[Grey: You know I'm a Gym Leader. I've got Pokémon to train. I really can't do any kind of "sell-myself" deal. (covering-face.jpg)]
[Grey: But—if you just want a gaming buddy, I'm happy to keep you company.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Gaming buddy?]
[Grey: Co-op titles online. If you need to unwind, ping me and I'll queue with you—when I'm off stream.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Okay. Send your bank details.]
Grey sent a string of numbers.
Then…
[Kanto Bank: Dear customer, hello! Your account (ending in xxxx) has received a transfer in the amount of 300,000.00.]
Grey: ???
Just like that—three hundred grand?!
[Sleeping Beauty: This month's fee for your company in games. Please take care of me.]
[Grey: You got it, Boss! I'll take good care of you!]
—
Sinnoh region, Battle Frontier.
Inside a grand castle was a bedroom drenched in pink accents.
A "steel crab" stood guard at the door; noticing movement inside, it rose slowly.
"Haaah…"
A blonde girl sat up with a yawn.
A pink nightgown wrapped her long frame from top to bottom.
Only pale toes peeked out.
Right now, Caitlin's cheeks were rosy. Her fingers blurred over the screen.
After reading Grey's last message, she typed a long, flowing reply—
—then thought better of it and deleted everything.
"Kanto, huh? I'll find time to go have a look."
She put her phone on the nightstand. Blue light gathered over her body.
In an instant, every plush in the room lifted into the air and held steady.
"Success!"
A small smile touched Caitlin's lips. She set the dolls gently back.
"Kirlia?"
The two Kirlia in a warm little nest opened their eyes. Sensing their Trainer's good mood, they smiled in unison.
Knock, knock—
A rap at the door.
"Young Lady, it's time for afternoon tea."
"Okay."
Caitlin's expression cooled again, as if nothing had happened.
She opened the door. A butler stood outside with a tray—fine tea service and a planning document laid upon it.
"Young Lady, this is the Battle Castle's schedule for the month. Please review."
Darach set the tray on Metagross's head, then offered the document.
Caitlin's eyes glowed blue. Darach took a half-step back—
—already braced to bolt on Staraptor if things went haywire.
Whenever Caitlin did this, something usually ended up wrecked.
But this time was different.
The document floated up smoothly and drifted into Caitlin's hand!
"What—"
Stunned, Darach murmured, "It's been so long since I've seen the Young Lady control her power like that."
"Darach."
Caitlin looked up and sent the document back to the tray.
"Here, Young Lady. Your instructions?"
He stood ramrod straight.
Caitlin steadied the tray with her mind. Calmly: "Find a time this month. I'm going to Kanto."
Darach nodded. "Understood."
—
Kanto region, Saffron City.
After Fumika left, Riolu strutted around after the win, flexing its arms at anyone who'd look.
Most Pokémon offered congratulations. A few looked… unconvinced.
"Tor–chic!" (I want to battle you!)
Torchic hopped out, chirping at Riolu.
"Rio? Rio~" (You? Nah, pass~)
Riolu waved it off with an exaggerated sigh and planted its hands on its hips.
Torchic: ???
We bled and sweated together and one win goes to your head?
Torchic wasn't having it. Its beak flared white—and it jabbed hard at Riolu!
"Rio?!" (Wait, you're serious?!)
Riolu sprang back, chased all the way into a corner.
It stamped against the wall—
Thoom!
The wall boomed. Using the rebound, Riolu launched up and fired a heavy punch down at Torchic!
Wham!!
Torchic's little head rattled. Its legs gave out and it sat flat, KO'd for the moment.
"Tor–chic, tor–chic!" (I want to get stronger!)
It took a long breath before it could stand again.
First order of business: beg Grey to help it grow.
"If you want to get stronger, battles are fastest. But if we head into the wild today, the travel time could drag…"
Grey rubbed his chin. The bright, eager faces around him were hard to ignore. "Announcement: we're doing a two-day wilderness survival training!"
The Pokémon around him shot their hands up and cheered.
\O/\O/\O/\O/
\O/\O/\O/\O/
"Hold it!"
Bumiao cut in. "Gym Leader, one Trainer can only carry six Pokémon outside. You've got eight. That's against the rules. Also—if you take everyone, who's running the Gym?"
"Tsk…"
Grey winced. Right—nothing's ever simple.
"Anyone want to stay and take challenger matches?"
He looked over the eight.
"Chan!"
"Lee!"
"Top!"
Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Hitmontop stepped forward.
They thumped their chests, volunteering to hold the fort.
"Great. Then the honor of the Fighting Dojo is in your hands!"
Grey clapped each of them on the shoulder and flashed a thumbs-up.
Beep-beep—
His phone chimed.
A PM from Daisy at the Cerulean Gym…
[Daisy: Good afternoon, Gym Leader Grey! Are you free in the next couple days?]
[Grey: About to head out. What's up?]
[Daisy: It's like this—on the outskirts of Cerulean, at Nugget Bridge, Team Rocket keeps trying to recruit. Every time Officer Jenny heads over, they get tipped off and scatter.]
[Daisy: So I was hoping you could come by, blend in as a tourist, and sniff out intel. Of course we'll reimburse your travel expenses~]
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