"Mm, then I'll head to Cinnabar Island for a bit of rest."
Grey answered with a smile.
He thought for a moment, then added, "Ms. Lorelei, want to join our group chat?"
"Group chat? What group?"
Hearing that, Lorelei's interest piqued. She glanced at the phone Grey handed over.
On the screen was a chat group.
Not many members.
Just Red, Blue, Mustard, and Caitlin.
All of them were Grey's big backers.
"???"
Seeing the first three names, Lorelei's first reaction was that someone had to be cosplaying.
"Gym Leader Grey, your network's something else…"
She let out a soft sigh, swapped contact info with Grey, and got pulled into the chat.
With that done, Grey prepared to set foot on Cinnabar.
"There's a volcano on the island—should we switch to short sleeves?"
Green came over, gazing toward the not-so-distant Cinnabar, and pointed at the volcanic island.
She figured, with a town this close to a volcano, short sleeves would be the move.
"Hard to say. I actually feel kinda cold right now."
Grey didn't feel any heat at all.
Maybe because they hadn't landed yet; if anything, the weather felt downright chilly.
Even in long sleeves, he kind of wanted a padded coat.
"Whatever. I heard Cinnabar's famous for its hot springs. Since it's this cold, we should just go soak!"
Green didn't overthink it and took the speedboat ashore with Grey.
——
Cinnabar Island, a small town built on one of Kanto's larger isles.
There's a massive volcano on the island, and Kanto's strongest Fire-type Gym sits here because of it.
Before visiting Blaine, Grey wanted to stroll around.
And maybe pick up some local specialties for the two girls who watched over his dojo.
Except…
It seemed like, other than hot springs, there weren't many "specialties" to be found.
As they neared Cinnabar, the expected heat didn't arrive—it even dipped a few degrees.
Green suddenly felt that going short-sleeved had been a mistake.
She hurriedly asked the boatman, "Mister, is it always this cold here?"
"Eh, it didn't used to be."
The boatman shook his head, helpless. "Judging by the look of you two, you came to soak in Cinnabar's hot springs, right?"
"Yep, yep! It'd be a crime to come all the way here and not visit the hot springs!"
At that, Green's heart sank.
No way…?
"Sorry to say. These past few days, Cinnabar's been unusually cold. Even some of the lava from the volcano cooled into obsidian and other igneous rock."
The boatman eased the craft up to the pier and gave them a small bow. "So if you were hoping for a natural hot spring, you can forget it."
"Wha—?!"
Green wanted to cry.
She'd hoped for a silver lining—if Galar was off the table, at least she could soak here.
But the result?!
No natural hot springs at all!
"Cooling lava… that's no small thing."
Grey's focus went elsewhere.
Lava turning to obsidian requires a sharp drop in temperature, typically in a short window.
To pull that off—had to be an Ice-type Pokémon.
And a strong one.
"Yeah, no small thing—it just nuked our hot spring trip…"
Green looked like her soul had left her body, listless and deflated.
"Forget it. Let's get on the island first. If the natural springs are out, there are always man-made ones."
Grey didn't mind much.
Fun is fun, wherever you have it.
Hot springs fall under the same logic.
Set up a pool, pump in hot water—close enough.
"Sigh, you don't get it."
Green didn't want to explain. "No hot springs means coming to Cinnabar was pointless."
"Look on the bright side—we just saved a chunk of cash."
Grey chuckled, then stopped a passerby to ask for directions. "Excuse me, how do we get to the Cinnabar Gym?"
"Cinnabar Gym? That name rings a bell…"
The passerby halted, thinking hard for a while.
"The one run by Gym Leader Blaine," Grey prompted.
"Oh! Old man Blaine's place! Far northeast corner of town, if I remember right. You can check over there."
"Great, thanks."
With an answer in hand, Grey led Green northeast.
…
"Off-season really is off—hardly anyone around."
On the way to the Gym, Green noticed how quiet the nearby shopping streets were.
No street vendors calling out, no bustling restaurants.
Which, to be fair, made sense.
Cinnabar is a tourist town.
The hot springs are its biggest draw.
No hot springs means fewer visitors.
"Run!"
Just as Green was lamenting the low foot traffic, a shout came from a nearby research facility.
Several researchers burst out the doors and locked them behind, as if trying to trap something inside.
Their panic stirred up a commotion.
Luckily, since it was the off-season, there weren't many people around—no risk of a stampede.
"Shing—shing!!"
A sound like blades grinding together cut the air, prickling at the spine.
Grey frowned and looked toward it.
The lab's door split cleanly in two, like paper.
A brown, triangular-headed Pokémon with scythe-like arms burst out and charged down the street.
[Pokémon: Kabutops]
[Type: Rock/Water]
[Level: 42]
[Ability: Weak Armor]
[Moves: (omitted).]
"A fossil Pokémon?!"
Green's eyes went wide. She clapped both hands over her mouth, stunned.
Fossil Pokémon have been extinct for ages—you hardly ever see them anywhere.
Yet here one was—
Rampaging like a mad beast!
"Bullet Seed."
Grey tossed Breloom's Poké Ball.
Rat-tat-tat!
The instant Breloom landed, it spat a nonstop stream of energy seeds that hammered into Kabutops.
With the boost from Technician—and Kabutops being 4x weak to Grass—one salvo nearly benched it.
Green flashes popped in rapid bursts; by the third barrage, Kabutops toppled and blacked out.
The battle ended in a blink.
"Th-that's it?!"
The researchers who had been watching blinked hard, floored.
This thing had stymied their entire lab, yet a passing Trainer had one-shot it.
"Wait—that's Gym Leader Grey, isn't it?!"
One of the researchers recognized him.
"A viewer from the stream?"
Seeing the man coming over, Grey arched a brow.
"Yeah! My fan badge is level six. You only streamed for two days—when are you going live again? Everyone's waiting."
The researcher scratched his head with a sheepish grin, then blinked. "Gym Leader Grey, what brings you to Cinnabar?"
"I'm looking for Blaine—planning to swing by the Cinnabar Gym."
"?"
That line left the researchers dumbstruck.
A small chill ran through Grey. "What's wrong?"
The researcher answered honestly, "Ever since that boy named Red challenged it, the Cinnabar Gym's been shut down—going on a year now."
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