"But this time, why don't I see your other two partners?"
Grey looked around and only saw Ash and Gary. He'd assumed Brock and Misty had come along too.
But they hadn't.
"Brock and Misty didn't come," Ash said, counting on his fingers. "One went to see Gym Leader Muno, and the other is with her three sisters."
With the Gym Leader competition drawing closer, Muno had arrived in Saffron City early.
He'd left his Gym at home in the hands of his second son, Forrest.
And, just to add—Muno had ten kids in total, Brock included.
In Kanto, basically nobody could beat that record.
As for Misty's three sisters, they'd finally saved up enough money, and with the Gym Leader competition coming up, they'd come to Saffron City ahead of time too.
Erika had shown up in Saffron City earlier as well, but because of her perfume shop, she'd gone back for a trip.
She still hadn't returned.
Which was perfect—Grey was planning to take Caitlin to Celadon City tomorrow to chat for a bit.
They were both girls, after all. Talking about perfume sounded pretty nice.
Back to the point.
"So that's what's going on. You two came to challenge the Gym again?"
Grey asked with a smile.
At a time like this, aside from Saffron City, most of the Gyms were either being run by stand-ins or just closed.
And judging by Ash and Gary, they were probably here for a badge.
They both liked battling the real Gym Leader. Getting a badge from an acting leader just felt… weird.
So they'd taken a detour and come to Saffron City to find Grey.
"Yeah. I was planning to challenge Blaine next," Ash said, scratching his head, sounding a little embarrassed. "But Blaine came to Saffron City, so I figured I'd drop by and see you too, Grey."
Then his tone flipped instantly.
"Grey! I'm really strong now! Charmeleon evolved into Charizard, and I even managed to catch an Aerodactyl!"
Ash was practically buzzing.
After all, he'd successfully caught an ancient sky tyrant—an Aerodactyl, the same kind Lance has!
Grey remembered that old livestream call-in.
Ash's Aerodactyl had been level 45.
Forty-five might not sound crazy, but that was already around the level of a lot of more ordinary Gym Leaders.
Train it a bit more, and it could probably bulldoze through the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Still, Grey had a small doubt.
With Ash at his current level… could he really rein in Aerodactyl? Or even command it properly?
That Gengar situation had been a fluke.
Ash had only been able to move Gengar by trading sincerity for sincerity.
But Aerodactyl? The system's description had made it clear—it was a freshly awakened Pokémon, with a lot of fight in it.
Not exactly the sort of thing a laid-back guy like Ash could just casually order around.
Thinking that, Grey reflexively rubbed his chin and looked Ash up and down.
"I told you to let me raise it," Gary said, flicking his hair. "If my Blastoise and Alakazam weren't covering you, do you really think your Primeape and Charizard would've gotten anywhere near that Aerodactyl so easily?"
Gary had been eyeing Aerodactyl too.
Back then, he and Ash had basically been in it together, and they'd used rock-paper-scissors to decide who got first capture attempt.
And who knew? Ash's luck was insane. After Gary failed, Ash stepped in and just… caught it.
Gary had been so jealous he could've cried.
Blue also had an Aerodactyl, and Gary wanted to follow that same path—see if he could debut and become Champion in a year.
"Heh. My Primeape and Charizard were the ones carrying," Ash shot back. "If it weren't for them, your Blastoise would've already gone down to Stone Edge."
And honestly, that was true.
Aerodactyl could fly, and it didn't care about pain.
Even after taking a brutal Hydro Pump, it had forced its way through the damage and counterattacked anyway.
"Hmph!"
Gary turned his head away.
This time, he'd lost to Ash.
But at the Indigo Plateau Conference, he couldn't lose to Ash again.
Of course, neither of them realized yet…
Their year had a "shark in a kiddie pool" competing in it.
How far they'd make it? Who knew.
"Alright, you two—come on in," Grey said. "Standing outside and chatting isn't ideal. And we can talk about whether you want to challenge together or what."
Grey had been thinking about a double battle.
And even though Ash and Gary bickered nonstop, their teamwork was actually pretty solid.
You could tell just from how they'd worked together to catch Aerodactyl.
Ash and Gary's Pokémon were only around level 40.
But Aerodactyl had been level 45.
Even if it had just awakened and wasn't back at full strength, it still wasn't something two rookie Trainers should've been able to mess with at all.
"I'll pass," Gary said, shaking his head. "After the Indigo Plateau Conference is over, then I'll fight you."
He knew exactly how ridiculous the gap between him and Grey was.
Grey was the kind of Trainer where the more you fought him, the more unreal he became.
And with a battle-legend older brother at home, Gary could really feel how monstrous Grey was.
It made him suck in a cold breath.
Even Gary's grandfather—Professor Oak—had been surprised when he heard about Grey.
Oak had thought Kanto wouldn't produce another monster like Red or Blue anytime soon.
And then Grey showed up.
It made Professor Oak feel that Grey could very well become Kanto's third battle legend—after Red and Blue.
When Gary heard that, it scared him too.
A battle legend.
That was a realm even Champions in most regions struggled to reach.
Professor Oak was that confident in Grey.
So Gary didn't dare throw out a casual challenge anymore.
But Ash was different.
He loved battling strong opponents.
The stronger the opponent, the more he lit up.
As for whether he could win…
That was another story.
"Grey! I'm the one challenging you this time! My Pokémon have changed completely—huge changes! I'm sure I can win!"
"Pika pika!"
Ash—and the Pikachu at his waist—were burning with fighting spirit.
But then…
"Pikachu, you're not going out this time. I have to save the spots for the rest of the team."
Ash rubbed Pikachu's cheeks apologetically.
Last time, Pikachu had fought Grey and lost.
This time, Ash had brought a totally different lineup.
Including two Flying-type Pokémon!
With a lineup that stacked, surely he wouldn't lose to Grey again, right?
Ash felt like he definitely had this.
"Pika…"
Hearing it wouldn't get to battle, Pikachu's ears drooped.
This was rough.
"Alright then," Grey said. "Three-on-three. Let me see how much you've improved."
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