This woman was Daisy.
She was also the eldest of the four Cerulean sisters.
"Good evening, Mr. Grey~ Hearing about you was one thing, seeing you in person is another. Didn't expect you to be this young~"
Daisy smiled, one hand propping her cheek while the other stirred her coffee with a spoon.
She'd assumed the stream had used too much beauty filter.
Seeing him live, Daisy was a little surprised.
She hadn't expected the newly appointed Gym Leader to be this clean-cut.
"Good evening, Miss Daisy. Staying at the café this late—were you waiting to welcome me?"
Grey stepped forward, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
His eyes rested on Daisy's face, meeting her gaze.
He had to admit—Daisy really was pretty.
Fair skin, tall figure, and a gentle way with people.
It softened his tone a bit.
"Yep. You came all the way from Saffron City~ As the host, of course I had to wait for you~"
Daisy smiled and slid over a menu. "This is Cerulean's best café. How about a cup?"
"Mm, let me see."
Without a ripple, Grey slipped the envelope tucked inside the menu into his keeping, then said, "I'll have a cappuccino."
"Waiter, a cappuccino for this gentleman~"
Daisy called to a free server.
Then she downed her own coffee, looked at Grey—
—the bitterness settling in her stomach put a shadow on her face.
"Sigh… Cerulean hasn't been peaceful lately. Team Rocket runs wild, could care less about League law. It's miserable, just miserable~"
She took the hand that had been propping up her cheek and set it on the table with a sigh.
Sure, the Cerulean Gym wasn't exactly a powerhouse, and they really did prioritize performance.
But as Gym Leaders here in Cerulean, they were doing their part to pull the local economy.
The economy had been lifted, but security hadn't kept up.
Hence calling in outside help.
If no one stepped in, Cerulean might very well become the next Team Rocket base!
"Sigh~ Business or battle—you can only pick one~"
Daisy ordered another coffee, hoping to wash down her worries with bitterness.
"Mr. Grey, how did you train Primeape to be that strong?"
She couldn't help asking.
Grey had only just taken over the Gym, yet his strength was already that impressive.
It made her want to learn.
"Well… I can only say: raise your Pokémon with love."
Grey rubbed his chin, lifted the cappuccino that had just been set down, blew on it, and answered:
"Trainers and Pokémon grow together. With steady emotional guidance and training, your Pokémon will hit a moment—or an event—where all of it bursts out and pays you back."
"I see…"
Daisy mulled it over.
She and her sisters poured most of their time into water ballet, and didn't actually do much hands-on training.
Can't see the forest for the trees. An outside voice was clearer.
After hearing Grey's take, Daisy felt she needed to carve out time to focus on training.
At least stop the set-and-forget approach.
Mm—aim to bring their win rate up to fifty percent as soon as possible!
"Raa~"
Ralts hopped up on the table and padded over to the cup.
It bent close, sniffed the cappuccino's aroma, and showed a blissed-out face.
Seeing that, Grey took a straw and passed it over. "Here. If you like it, I'll order you one."
"Raa~"
Ralts sipped the cappuccino through the straw and swallowed.
Then shivered head to toe.
The bitterness bloomed in its mouth.
Ralts declared it didn't like it.
"If you don't like it, then never mind."
Grey rubbed Ralts's head, then released Primeape and the others to ask about their tastes.
The result…
"Shroo~!" (Me! I want some!)
Only the little mushroom, Shroomish, wanted coffee.
"So this is how Mr. Grey spends time with his Pokémon…"
Daisy felt like she'd learned something.
But when she thought about the Pokémon she had on hand, she abandoned the idea of letting them out right now.
"Thank you, Mr. Grey."
"I haven't done anything."
Grey waved it off with a small smile. "Miss Daisy, if you're thanking anyone, it should be yourself and your Pokémon."
Looking at Grey's smile, Daisy couldn't help but smile back.
"Then, I'll be counting on you tomorrow~"
"As long as the money's right, I'll even help you wreck Team Rocket."
Grey quipped and waited for Shroomish to finish the coffee.
In the meantime, the two of them chatted about gym operations.
"Mr. Grey, would you consider doing a co-stream?"
Daisy dropped a question.
"Co-stream? Not really."
Grey shook his head.
Co-streams were usually for PK battles—or sometimes just chatting.
But his stream focus was taking on challengers; co-streaming didn't quite fit.
"I've watched your two streams. Didn't you feel it gets a bit monotonous sometimes?"
Daisy pulled out her phone and opened a screen recording. "Look—after you finish a match, it's all chat interaction. Some comments don't get answered in time. That can cause… small issues."
"True."
Grey nodded.
As his popularity grew, so did the flood of comments.
Right now, he could only try to reply one by one as much as possible.
Replying to every single message? That was tough.
"See? If replying to all is hard, and only answering a few makes people feel ignored…"
Daisy finished her coffee in one go and shook the phone.
"Why not co-stream with me? The stream gets livelier, and we pull attention toward us. Even if some messages slip by, people get absorbed by the content and won't notice as much."
"Makes sense. Let's find a time to try it."
Grey nodded, making a mental note.
If someone else had said it, Grey might've just smiled and let it go.
But this was Daisy, the eldest of the Cerulean sisters.
He figured it had legs.
You could call the Cerulean sisters weak in battle, but not talentless.
Ask which Gym in Kanto is the most popular—Cerulean takes it, hands down!
Reason? Water ballet!
Most challengers come to Cerulean for fun; the real draw is the water ballet.
This wave, this wave is "Big-Headed Son and Small-Headed Dad."
"Alright, it's late~ Mr. Grey, bye-bye~ Come by the Cerulean Gym when you have time."
Daisy rose, gave a polite nod, and left the café.
"Shrooo~" (Tasty, tasty—any more?)
Shroomish had been downing coffee cup after cup—nearly ten—and still wasn't satisfied.
"Good grief, at this rate you'll turn into a 'mogu-latte.'"
Grey rubbed Shroomish's head, then signaled the server for another cup.
After about ten cups, Shroomish was finally content.
Grey, half laughing and half crying, recalled the team and headed for the Pokémon Center.
Plan: grab some sleep there.
But on the way back, a small accident.
A stunning girl happened to jog past and ran straight into Grey's chest.
She bounced right off on the spot.
Girl: ???
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