At the top of his pinned chats, Boss "Sleeping Beauty" had sent two messages.
[Sleeping Beauty: Psyduck-scratching-head.jpg]
[Sleeping Beauty: Could you be my guarantor?]
[Grey: Huh? Riolu-confused.jpg]
Seeing the message from Caitlin, Grey honestly had no idea what she meant.
A guarantor?
Guarantee what?
Why does anything need guaranteeing?
Those three questions popped up in Grey's head, and just as he was about to type and ask, Caitlin sent over a long string of messages.
[Sleeping Beauty: Like, if I want to leave the Sinnoh region and head to Kanto, I need a fairly well-known local Trainer to act as my guarantor, otherwise I'm not allowed to leave.]
[Sleeping Beauty: I want to visit Kanto, but none of the Kanto people I know can be my guarantor. So I'm asking you to be mine.]
[Grey: Ohhh, when you put it like that I get it. So you just need someone to vouch for you, right? And they have to be a well-known local Trainer… sounds like my reputation's gotten pretty big, huh. Grinning.jpg]
[Sleeping Beauty: Yes, that's it. Is that okay? I can even pay you a security deposit! Hands-pressed-together.jpg]
[Grey: No need for that. When you actually need the guarantor, just call me. But when you come over, you've gotta stay in a good mood, okay? Don't let those people get under your skin~ heart-gesture.jpg]
[Sleeping Beauty: Thank you!]
[Grey: You're welcome. Just come to me if anything comes up.]
The chat ended there, Caitlin's avatar going grey.
Seeing that, Grey set his phone aside and turned his attention back to the dojo.
"Dojo Master Grey! I'm counting on you to teach that Rage Fist move!"
Now that Grey had finished his messages, Ash hurried over and sent out his Primeape in front of him.
"Primeape!" (Such rich Fighting-type energy— this place is literally my dream land!)
The moment Primeape appeared, it glanced around and then started waving its arms and stomping its feet like some kind of monkey king.
For one simple reason: the martial arts atmosphere here was absolutely maxed out.
It loved places like this. If it could live here permanently, that'd be perfect.
"This Primeape evolved pretty recently, right? Its build is decent enough, but it hasn't had much actual training yet. Looks like you've only had it for, what, less than three days?"
As a certified Primeape expert, Grey's insight into this kind of Pokémon wasn't bad at all.
Before the system ever showed up, he'd spent two and a half months hard-raising his Primeape to level 45. You didn't get there without some serious grind.
"Yeah, yeah, I caught it just outside Saffron's city limits. It's got kind of a bad temper, so please be careful with it, Dojo Master Grey!"
Ash nodded and reminded Grey to watch out for this Primeape.
Among all his obedient little partners, this one was still really hotheaded.
It had even knocked out a whole string of Ash's other Pokémon earlier, and he'd only managed to catch it thanks to Charmander in the end.
"It's fine. If a Primeape wasn't hot-blooded, it wouldn't be a Primeape anymore—it'd have to be called 'Niceape' or something. Don't you think?"
Grey reached out and rubbed Primeape's head, unable to keep himself from putting a bit of extra force into it.
Ahhh—
This was exactly the feeling!
Ever since his own Primeape had evolved into Annihilape, the sensation of petting its head had gotten… weird.
It was obviously a living, breathing Pokémon, but touching it was like groping a ghost—cold and eerie.
Not that Grey didn't understand why.
Annihilape was a Fighting/Ghost-type Pokémon. Of course it ran cooler than the Primeape stage.
Now, getting to rub a Primeape's head again, that familiar feeling washed over him like a tide.
"Primeape!" (You human dare touch my head?! You've got guts!)
A vein popped on Primeape's forehead where Grey's hand rested. It swung both arms forward, trying to grab Grey and slam him over its shoulder again and again.
"Yup, that's the feeling."
Seeing Primeape's reaction, Grey suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
Back when he'd rubbed his Primeape's head, it had wanted to throw him with an over-the-shoulder toss too.
Of course, he hadn't let it have its way back then.
And he certainly wasn't going to let this one have its way now.
Grey caught one of Primeape's lunging arms in a firm grip. His own arm muscles tightened, and with a burst of strength he lifted the Pokémon high into the air and hurled it down behind him.
Boom!!!
With a deafening thud, Primeape was counter-thrown on the spot, doing a full-on "monkey-face-plant" into the floor.
"…"
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Silver were all stunned speechless.
Bumiao, Sabrina, and Green, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed, like this was nothing out of the ordinary.
When you played in the Fighting-type field, having a powerful body was just normal.
"Judging from raw physical strength alone, Dojo Master Grey might be about on par with Elite Four Bruno by now, right?"
As a diehard Bruno fanboy, Brock swallowed hard.
He'd seen Trainers go hand-to-hand with Primeape before. But someone who could one-hand a Primeape and toss it over their shoulder? He genuinely hadn't heard of anyone who could do that.
Even early on, Bruno had needed both hands just to go toe-to-toe with a Primeape.
He could only say that Grey's existence had completely shattered his worldview.
"Haha, I'm really not that impressive."
Grey scratched his head sheepishly. "I just have a habit of keeping up with physical training, and after spending enough time around Primeape, you gradually figure out that kind of Pokémon's weak points."
"Ohhh, I see~"
"So that's how it is…"
"Got it!"
Ash and his friends all let out little exclamations of understanding and clapped in unison.
"Alright, you convinced now?"
Grey helped Primeape back up, then unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it to the side.
"Annih!"
Annihilape appeared and, noticing the Primeape that Grey had just pulled to its feet, walked over to greet it.
"Primeape!"
The moment Primeape saw Annihilape, its eyes went wide.
"Annih!" (Watch this punch, kid!)
Annihilape took a few steps back, bending its arm slightly as a chill rose from its body out of nowhere.
In everyone's eyes, a layer of ghostly light instantly coated Annihilape's black arm.
Thick ghostly aura surged outward, and a massive purple-black fist-shaped shadow flashed into being from the air itself, rending the air with a horrifying wail.
Before the actual force even arrived, the floor in front of Annihilape began to tremble from the move alone, faint cracks starting to spiderweb across the surface.
Rage Fist!
Annihilape deliberately slowed its movements so Primeape could see every detail clearly.
"Primeape…" (Amazing…)
Watching the scene, Primeape copied Annihilape's stance, swinging its own arm forward in a heavy imitation.
"Not bad. Give it a day or two of practice, and I'd say this move will at least take basic shape."
Grey tapped his chin and gave Ash's Primeape a solid evaluation.
Among all the Primeape he'd seen, this one could definitely rank second.
"Alright! Then I'll just stay in Saffron City for the next couple days! Dojo Master Grey, sorry to trouble you!"
Just imagining his Primeape learning such a powerful move had Ash whooping with excitement.
"It's no trouble."
Grey smiled, about to say more when a notification chime sounded from his phone.
Ding-dong~
["Archaeologist Cabbage" wants to add you as a friend.]
[Note: I'm Sinnoh Champion Cynthia]
[Source: account search]
[Accept] [Decline]
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