"That's right!"
For the Silph chairman, Steven's question hit the bullseye.
A Master Ball—100% guaranteed capture.
Even legendary Pokémon could be caught with a 100% success rate!
The chairman's eyes suddenly shone with a frightening brightness. He braced both hands on the conference table so hard that faint finger marks appeared in the wood.
"The Master Ball is a revolutionary invention—one that can make any trainer the master of legendary Pokémon!"
He spun his wedding ring in a twitchy, almost obsessive way, his voice growing more and more feverish.
"For it, I poured in most of my life's effort and money—only then did I barely manage to produce these five Master Balls!"
"So you invited us here because you want us to be the ones using the Master Balls?" Grey narrowed his eyes.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
When someone accepts something for free, they quietly become part of the product.
And this Master Ball definitely wasn't going to be as simple as it looked.
At the very least…
Grey didn't think someone like him—by status alone—was important enough to catch the Silph chairman's eye.
If it came down to what leverage he had, then the only things that might interest the chairman were those two legendary birds: Zapdos and Articuno.
Most likely, that was what the chairman wanted from him.
Otherwise, Grey had no idea what about him was even attractive to this old fox.
And Brandon was probably in the same situation.
As for Giovanni and Steven, Grey figured it was because of their business identities.
The former was the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto. He had Champion-level strength—and on top of that, he carried the image of a "local pillar" in Viridian City.
Either point alone was enough to make the Silph chairman's heart race.
And Steven—Devon Corporation's golden heir—also had strength not inferior to Lance.
A powerful alliance was exactly what the Silph chairman needed.
"Correct. I want to grant you the right to use a Master Ball," the chairman said, smiling. "That way, after using it, you can truly feel the Master Ball's power for yourselves—so you'll understand my sincerity."
"Once you've experienced that absolute sense of control… you'll understand the Master Ball's value."
"And Silph has the most complete Poké Ball industry chain in all of Kanto—from assembly lines to quality control. After you use them, all it takes is a small investment, and you'll receive substantial returns."
"So? This deal isn't a loss, is it?"
He spoke with a gentle grin, his gaze sweeping across the four of them.
"Then what does your 'small investment' actually mean?" Grey's eyes stayed sharp, unwilling to accept that phrase at face value.
A man who reached this position wasn't some harmless old saint.
He definitely wasn't doing charity.
Besides, the cost of producing Master Balls couldn't possibly be as "simple" as he made it sound.
"I think that point requires enough personal space for a private discussion," the Silph chairman said, still refusing to state it plainly.
In other words—each person's situation was different.
He'd tailor the requirements individually.
"Fine. Then who goes first?" Grey asked.
"I'll go first," Giovanni said with a faint smile.
"Then I'll take second," Steven followed immediately.
"Brandon, you go third. I'll go last," Grey said, glancing at Brandon and catching the flicker in his eyes. He offered it first.
"Alright. Thanks, Gym Leader Grey," Brandon exhaled in relief.
He'd been thinking about how to bring it up himself.
Since Grey offered, he simply took the step down the staircase.
"No problem. Order doesn't matter to me," Grey waved it off.
Honestly, he was only here to see what this was about.
If he truly wanted a Master Ball, he could just redeem one in the system shop.
And since the system shop could only exchange items, he might as well go for something higher-end.
Even if it wasn't displayed, Grey had been checking in regularly lately. The rewards were mostly just that—aside from Berries, it was usually Poké Balls.
"Alright then, Gym Leader Giovanni, we'll wait outside," Grey said, getting up first.
Silver, Steven, and Brandon followed right after.
…
Outside the office.
Grey sank into a leather sofa, glanced at the tightly closed door, and started thinking.
"Gym Leader Grey," Brandon asked proactively, "what do you think the Silph chairman's private talk with us will be about?"
"I think there's a good chance it'll be related to legendary Pokémon," Grey said. "Among the four people invited today, Giovanni and Steven haven't caught any legendaries, but you and I have."
"Also, the chairman just emphasized that the Master Ball can catch legendaries. And since Master Balls were only made recently—and legendaries are incredibly hard to find—I think this whole thing is going to revolve around legendaries."
Grey's reasoning was solid.
Otherwise, why would the Silph chairman personally invite two people like them—one a Gym Leader, the other an explorer who liked wandering around?
That only left one answer: legendaries.
In Grey's and Brandon's teams, there were plenty of Pokémon stronger than legendaries.
But compared to legendaries, they were still a step lower in sheer rarity.
To a businessman, rarity was value. Everything else was secondary.
"Pretty much what I was thinking," Brandon said. "Steven and Giovanni are both businessmen, and they're connected to Pokémon-item manufacturing."
"But you and I share one common point—we both caught legendary Pokémon. The Silph chairman likely chose us for that reason."
Brandon closed his eyes, thinking through trainers he knew who had caught legendary Pokémon.
Almost none.
If he broadened it to people who'd at least met or interacted with legendaries…
Other than Darach from the Battle Factory being acquainted with an Articuno, there wasn't much.
"Hey, Brandon—what do you think?" Grey rolled his shoulders, curiosity in his voice. "I'm mainly worried the Silph chairman might ask for something weird. It's tempting, sure, but I think it's better to have a line you won't cross."
"If possible, I still want a Master Ball," Brandon said. "I recently found the trail of another Regi titan. I'll probably head there in a few days. If what the chairman says is true… then as long as his request isn't too excessive, I can accept it."
Then Brandon opened his eyes.
"Gym Leader Grey… catching a legendary Pokémon is extremely difficult. You know that, right? When I caught Regirock, I used several hundred Ultra Balls. When you caught Articuno and Zapdos—how many did you use total?"
Grey thought for a moment, then held up three fingers.
Brandon raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Three hundred? That's… actually pretty good luck—"
"Uh, no," Grey cut in.
He met Brandon's eyes and gave an awkward grin. "One Great Ball… and two Ultra Balls."
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