"I didn't hear that wrong, did I? Not three hundred balls?" Brandon couldn't believe it.
Back when he caught Regirock, he'd genuinely gone through a ridiculous amount of effort. He'd prepared hundreds of Ultra Balls and kept throwing them nonstop until he finally succeeded.
But coming from Grey, it sounded like the most ordinary thing in the world.
"No. One Great Ball and two Ultra Balls," Grey repeated.
"Brandon, I think catching Pokémon is really about having feelings," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Like, before you catch it, you can say something to help both sides feel closer."
"..."
Brandon's brain blanked.
Of course he knew what Grey meant.
They were both trainers—this was something everyone understood.
But the problem was…
Those titans, right when they awakened—and even when they started fighting—didn't listen to a single word anyone said!
Legendaries were proud and bad-tempered.
That was the public's impression of most legendary Pokémon.
On that point, Grey actually agreed.
When he caught Zapdos, that thing's temper had been insanely explosive.
Even Articuno, despite looking all regal, had a mouth on it too—one curse after another.
Calling itself "Grandpa Articuno" every other sentence, like manners didn't exist.
"Gym Leader Grey, besides that… is there any other trick?" Brandon asked.
"There is, buddy. There is," Grey said. "Brandon, I strongly recommend you catch a Breloom—especially if the next thing you're going after is one of the other two titans, right? They're all weak to Fighting, and they all get wrecked by Spore."
On this topic, Grey was a veteran.
Whether it was Articuno or Zapdos, both had been caught thanks to Breloom landing Spore through type disadvantage.
It was basically a god-tier catching technique.
"Breloom, huh…" Brandon nodded lightly. "Then I'll find a chance to catch one."
He knew Breloom could use Spore, but in most cases, it was something Shroomish learned first, then passed on.
Still, lately more and more Breloom seemed able to remember the move.
Brandon didn't know why, but it was a good thing, so he didn't overthink it.
"And there's more," Grey continued. "When you're catching Pokémon, try to throw from a good position. Different Pokémon seem to have different capture 'tiers.' Take Ursaring, for example—if the ball hits right in the center of its ring, the capture rate feels way higher."
"Though I have no idea how it works for the Regi line. Maybe try aiming for something distinctive and see what happens."
Grey had plenty of personal experience to share.
Brandon listened, feeling like he'd learned a ton.
It honestly made him feel like all those years of catching Pokémon had been a waste… because apparently there were tricks like this the whole time.
"I didn't expect you to have such deep insight into catching Pokémon," Steven joked with a smile. "If I run into a Pokémon I really want someday, I might need Gym Leader Grey to give me some remote guidance."
"Of course, no problem," Grey said confidently. "If you have questions about catching Pokémon, just ask. As long as I know it, I'll answer."
Steven was the guy who'd given him a shiny Beldum. Helping him later with a little catching advice was nothing.
They chatted casually for a while.
Two hours passed.
During that time, Giovanni, Steven, and Brandon each went in once.
When they came back out, each of them was holding a Master Ball.
"Gym Leader Grey, your turn," Brandon said as he came out and patted Grey on the shoulder.
"Sure. I'm going in," Grey replied, then entered the office.
Only two Master Balls remained on the table.
The Silph chairman sat behind the desk, still wearing that same pleasant, smiling expression.
"Gym Leader Grey, please sit. Let's talk slowly," the chairman said.
He poured Grey a cup of tea, then tapped the tabletop.
Tap tap tap.
A woman in a fitted office uniform walked over carrying a pile of snacks and placed them in front of little Riolu.
Seeing that, Grey's eyebrows rose.
He really gets it.
No wonder he'd reached this position—he even handled details like this.
"I don't know what you want to discuss with me," Grey said, "but there's one thing I want to make clear in advance. I'm not the kind of person who will do anything."
"I know," the chairman said. "You're a major contributor to the Pokémon League. When you helped arrest Team Rocket, I'm sure plenty of people tried to pay you to look the other way—but you didn't."
The chairman glanced at the two remaining Master Balls and said, "There are two left. I want to give both of them to you."
"Oh?" Grey was mildly surprised, but not much. "Everyone else gets one, and I get two? You think that highly of me?"
There were only two left—either he got both, or the chairman would keep them for himself.
"Gym Leader Grey is young and accomplished, and you're Saffron City's Gym Leader," the chairman said warmly. "And the other day you even went on a date with Gym Leader Sabrina. Consider this a small gift in advance—for the two of you."
The chairman smiled.
The smile looked gentle.
"Then what's the price?" Grey leaned forward, his half-lidded eyes slowly opening fully.
"Price? No, no, no—Gym Leader Grey, don't think of it that way," the chairman said quickly, his heart jumping. "What I mean is… during the Gym qualification battles, if you win the championship, and if you're acknowledged by Moltres, then you'll use this Master Ball to capture it."
"Huh?"
Grey was a little surprised.
To be honest, he'd been wanting to use a regular Poké Ball to catch Moltres.
No special reason—just because the color scheme would match.
Articuno with a Great Ball, Zapdos with an Ultra Ball, Mewtwo with a Master Ball… then Moltres naturally belonged with a Poké Ball.
"Is something wrong, Gym Leader Grey?" the chairman asked, seeing Grey's expression.
Grey explained his reasoning.
"Uh…"
The chairman rubbed his forehead, feeling like his worldview had cracked slightly.
There definitely were trainers who cared about matching ball aesthetics.
But Grey's style…
Well, he'd already caught two legendary birds. Wanting matching colors wasn't that strange.
Either you don't chase aesthetics at all—or you chase it to the end.
Fair enough.
"So… do you have a Plan B?" Grey asked. "Something like this should, theoretically, have one."
"It's fine, Gym Leader Grey," the chairman said easily. "If possible later, just record a video of you using a Master Ball to catch a legendary Pokémon. One video is enough. Keep the other Master Ball and use it in secret whenever you want."
The chairman was surprisingly open-minded about it.
If Grey wanted matching colors, then let him have matching colors.
Maybe there'd be a legendary Pokémon later that fit the Master Ball's look perfectly.
"Alright. Then I'm heading out," Grey said.
He picked up the two Master Balls, pocketed one, and walked outside.
Brandon saw him come out and immediately spoke up, eyes bright.
"Gym Leader Grey—would you be willing to have a battle? A legendary battle!"
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