BOOM!!!
The instant Blaziken's Fire Punch landed on Electrode, a streak of white light flashed dazzlingly bright.
A small mushroom cloud rose out of nowhere inside the dojo, black smoke rippling outward with the blast.
[Holy crap, it really blew up!]
[What just happened—did Electrode just one-shot Blaziken with a single move?!]
[How did Aftermath trigger like that? Was it trying to die?!]
[No, that doesn't look like Aftermath—this was a straight-up explosion!]
[??? Lt. Surge is this ruthless?!]
[Rollout + Discharge + point-blank Explosion… yeah, that's basically it…]
The chat immediately started dissecting what they'd just seen.
Most trainers felt like Grey's Blaziken was basically done for.
In that situation, even if it managed to use Protect, it might not hold for long before being shattered anyway.
No other reason—Explosion's power was just that terrifying…
There weren't many moves that could match it.
Whoosh—
The smoke cleared quickly.
Electrode's collapsed body appeared in everyone's view.
Right after that, Blaziken—half-kneeling on the ground, gasping for air—came into view as well.
That entire combo had dealt massive damage.
Even Blaziken couldn't fully withstand it.
"Lt. Surge… just to see Zapdos, you really will do anything, huh…"
Grey's mouth twitched. He genuinely hadn't expected Lt. Surge to be willing to straight-up sacrifice one of his main Pokémon just to reach Zapdos.
But Grey had to admit it—Lt. Surge's choice was correct.
It was one of the few ways to heavily injure Blaziken.
Discharge plus Explosion—unless you were a pure wall-type Pokémon, almost nothing could take that.
With both sides close in strength, that hit dragged Blaziken down to "last legs" territory.
Compared to full health, it had maybe a third left.
"Heh. It's part of battling. Gym Leader Grey can use tactics like that too, you know."
The moment Lt. Surge said that, Grey almost couldn't hold it in.
But he wasn't wrong—this really was part of battling…
"Whatever. Lt. Surge, just send out your last Pokémon."
Grey waved it off, not treating it like a big deal.
Team Rocket had pulled off way bigger explosions than this—he'd been numb to it for a long time.
"Raichu—my ace! I choose you, go!"
Lt. Surge's final partner was Raichu.
Its fur was dark yellow-black, and compared to Pikachu's tail, its tail was longer and thinner—yet the tip was jagged in a stepped shape like lightning.
But this Raichu wasn't the one that got reverse-swept by Ash.
This was the one that had been with Lt. Surge the longest.
Even though he was a Unova colonel, he still raised Kanto's representative Pokémon—Raichu.
[Pokémon: Raichu]
[Type: Electric]
[Level: 62]
[Ability: Lightning Rod]
"Hm…"
Staring at that Raichu, Grey had a hard-to-describe feeling.
"What? Scared of my Raichu? That's normal—after all, I'm Lt. Surge—"
Before Lt. Surge could finish, Grey cut in with the most polite wording possible.
"This Raichu… has been eating a little too well."
"?"
Lt. Surge and Raichu both had question marks over their heads as they stared at Grey in disbelief.
Why did this guy's mouth sound so nasty the moment he opened it?
What did you mean "eating too well"?!
"Or maybe you've got other Raichu now, and your ace hasn't been training much…"
Grey added.
"Raichu!" (F**k! What do you mean, kid?! Say that again and I'll beat you so hard you won't even recognize your own partner!)
Clearly, this was a tank Raichu—full of Unova slang.
[I can't—Lt. Surge's Raichu really has eaten a bit too well. Compared to normal Raichu, it didn't grow much taller, but it got way wider.]
[What do you know? This is called a power build. If it uses Body Slam, it'll definitely hit way harder than a normal Raichu!]
[Calling Sunyshore City's Nami—(scratch that)—Volkner! Compared to Lt. Surge's, whose Raichu is stronger?!]
[Volkner's Raichu is a speed build, I think. Lt. Surge's… uh… kind of a power build. Oh right—Kanto's Electric Mouse… does it have Thick Fat?]
[LMAO Flint, you didn't let Lt. Surge off the hook either!]
[Wait—Flint, are you slacking off? How do you have time to watch a stream?!]
[I only clicked because I saw Blaziken battling, but this looks kind of dangerous now, huh?]
[Yeah. Grey's two Pokémon both got "caught" once—Lt. Surge really, really wants to see Zapdos.]
[Ohhh, see Zapdos… wait, what?!]
On the other end of the phone, Flint—currently at the Sinnoh League—felt his brain buzzing when he saw the chat flooded with "Zapdos."
Zapdos… wasn't that a legendary Pokémon?
Sure, an Elite Four member like him could handle a weaker legendary in a straight fight—
But the issue was the rarity of legendary Pokémon!
Aside from the Arcanine you could see at various police stations, where else could you even run into something "legendary"?
"Who the heck is this streamer…?"
Flint scratched his explosive afro, itching with curiosity at what the chat was saying.
That was a legendary Pokémon!
Something you normally never got to see!
Being able to beat it didn't mean you'd ever laid eyes on it!
"Let me check his profile…"
Flint tapped into Grey's page and skimmed quickly.
Only then did he understand who Grey was.
A Kanto Gym Leader, specializing in Fighting-types.
"So Kanto actually has a Fighting-type Gym? Wait—how does he also have Articuno?! Is this a Fighting-type trainer or what? Why not catch Moltres too?"
Flint didn't remember most Gyms outside his region—he could name the big eight and that was about it.
Now this "Grey" popping out of nowhere shocked him.
"Hm? You're watching a stream too?"
A familiar woman's voice suddenly pulled Flint back to reality.
"Hey, I'm just balancing work and rest," Flint said with a grin.
Then he looked up at Cynthia and added, "Oh, right—this streamer is a Kanto Gym Leader. And he has two legendary Pokémon: Zapdos and Articuno. He even posted pictures on his official account."
"Hm? Let me see."
Hearing about someone that ridiculous, Cynthia's curiosity was piqued too.
Come to think of it, the recent news she'd heard had all been connected to Kanto somehow…
Cynthia also remembered Grey—the one who'd completely captivated her best friend.
"Become a Governor to see his strength…"
The person who said that… sounded like a streamer too, didn't it?
No way…
As that thought hit her, Cynthia's expression changed sharply.
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