"Mm… you!"
Green stamped her foot, fuming.
But Grey was the boss for now.
Under someone else's roof, you bow your head.
She swallowed her anger so he couldn't use it later to haggle her fee down.
"Alright, I'll treat you to a meal in a bit. See? I'm generous, right?"
Grey wagged a finger and swaggered out of the room.
"What are we eating?"
Green's eyes lit up.
"You'll see."
…
"This is it?"
Green's eye twitched as she watched Grey carry food out of the Pokémon Center cafeteria. She was too annoyed to speak.
Grey slid the tray in front of her and arched a brow. "Just answer one thing—am I treating you or not? I fought the crowd to get this, and you don't even have to squeeze in."
"Sigh…"
Green let out a long breath.
She swore never to believe a single word out of Grey's mouth again!
Not even the punctuation!
"Don't pout. When I've got cash, I'll spring for a real feast."
Grey forked up a sausage, popped it in his mouth, and polished it off in three bites.
Green didn't bother with his pie-in-the-sky promise. She tossed back her hair and devoured everything on the tray like a whirlwind.
Gotta admit—it was tasty.
"Rio!"
Riolu came over, balancing big and small plates.
Behind it strode Primeape—and two Pokémon that looked nothing like they did yesterday:
Combusken and Breloom!
What can you say—[EXP Efficiency Boost] from the system was nuts.
One night, and the pair evolved on the spot!
"Huh, they've already evolved?"
One glance at Combusken and Breloom and Green pegged them as yesterday's Torchic and Shroomish.
"Yeah. They were already on the cusp, and after all that coffee last night—oops, evolution."
Grey nodded, a little wistful.
Torchic and Shroomish had both overindulged.
"?"
Green had her doubts, but when she remembered how wired those two were last night, it started to make sense.
The harder you grind, the luckier you get!
—
Full and satisfied, Green patted her little belly, then lowered her voice. "When do we move?"
"In a bit. According to the latest tip, those guys keep office hours—won't hit the bridge for a while yet."
Grey checked his phone. Half an hour to spare.
Plenty of time to stroll there easy.
But first—today's check-in spot.
[Today's Check-in Location: Route 4]
Seeing it, Grey raised a brow.
Route 4. If memory served, that road ended at Mt. Moon.
Close enough to walk.
"Gotta walk it off after eating. Before the job, we'll swing by Route 4."
He stood and stretched.
"?"
Green didn't get why he said that—
—but Grey was the boss.
As long as the money landed in her account, fine.
Right before they left, she asked the only question that mattered:
"Grey, are you sure there's a bonus?"
"There is. At least five thousand, baseline. If you don't believe me, check my League-filed record."
Grey pulled up his phone and showed her the "act of bravery" from two days ago.
When she saw the payout on the banner photo, Green's eyes practically turned into little money signs.
"Got it, boss—let's go!"
—
Route 4 lies west of Cerulean City, with no towns along the way—pure wilderness.
No wonder Team Rocket and poachers loved bolting for Mt. Moon.
Slip out its east side into the woods and you vanish.
Heck, you might even melt straight into security-thin Cerulean City—
then it's "the sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly."
If Grey were them, he'd base here too.
"Desolate. Not a soul. You really came out here to stroll?"
Green eyed the endless rough path. This didn't feel like a walking route.
More like a dump-a-body-and-run route.
"You don't get it. This is where you feel the vibe."
Grey spread his arms to the breeze and silently triggered check-in.
[Check-in successful. Reward: Berry Big Pack, +100 system points (300)]
Seeing the first reward, Grey blinked and opened it.
Wiki Berry ×30, Mago Berry ×30.
Judging by market prices, that quantity would save him a bit of cash.
Though, compared to his tiny stash… a drop in the bucket.
"We'll go another kilometer or two, then head back. Timing should line up."
He did the math.
Showing up exactly at nine would look sus. Since they were on Route 4 anyway, not taking a look would be a waste.
"You're the boss; your word's law. I'll follow your lead."
Green shrugged.
As long as he didn't spring anything weird, she'd go with his plan.
Big world, bigger sky—boss is biggest.
They didn't slow down. After soaking in the wild air, Grey went deeper along Route 4.
Naturally, wild Pokémon appeared.
A massive purple cobra slid from the grass. Seeing Grey blocking the path, it flicked its tongue and hissed.
Dark venom brewed in its mouth—as if warning that if Grey and Green didn't move, they'd eat the blast.
[Pokémon: Arbok]
[Level: 23]
"Well now, so there are wild Arbok around Cerulean's outskirts?"
Grey rubbed his chin. No thought of retreat.
When a Pokémon brings the fight to you, you don't turn it down.
He sent Combusken.
"Combusken!"
Compared to its Torchic days, Combusken was far more robust.
The stubby wings had grown into powerful arms; its sharp claws flashed white—one tree in the way and it could cleave it in two with its new strength!
"Arbok!"
Arbok snapped, jaws yawning wide as the acid it had been brewing surged out!
Sss–sssh!
A deep purple wash sprayed forward, the air filling with a rank, sour stink.
Just looking at Acid made your skin crawl; the smell had you pinching your nose.
Grey frowned and barked, "Combusken, use Flame Charge to juke it!"
"Combusken!"
Searing flames cloaked it. Combusken stamped in place a few times to warm up, then burst to the side.
Acid carved a dark arc through the air—but its target was already gone, sprinting straight at Arbok.
With Speed Boost kicking in, Combusken's pace spiked in a heartbeat—
even in Arbok's eyes, all it saw was a streak of fire crashing in!
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