"It's simple—we work together."
"Work together?"
Sabrina glanced at the Fighting Dojo, then back at Grey. "You mean the dojo that has fewer than six Pokémon total and only two people counting the front desk girl… wants to 'work with' Saffron Gym?"
"Ahem… you know the saying—quality over quantity."
Grey hadn't expected her to be so blunt. He scratched his cheek and forced a smile. "Besides, didn't you blow up your own place? You bring the people, I bring the venue. We both get a bright future."
"…"
Sabrina said nothing. She lifted one slender finger and pointed toward the three Tyrogue in the distance.
They were among the dojo's precious few Pokémon.
The two locked eyes again.
They said nothing, and said everything.
"How embarrassing… How does Master say stuff like that without blushing?" Bumiao muttered in the corner. Even she felt Grey's thick skin could tank a Close Combat.
"Sabrina, you know I only took over the dojo today. I haven't had time to catch more Pokémon—and then you showed up."
Grey shrugged helplessly and told the truth.
Sabrina gave Grey a long, meaningful look; her expression slid back to cool. "I have things to deal with. I'll be back later. Please look after things for now."
With that, she vanished in a Teleport.
As the Psychic pressure faded, Grey let out a breath.
"Finally… gone."
Both of them sighed at once.
Bumiao felt wiped out. After saying goodbye to Grey, the spacious dojo was left with Grey alone.
"Now I've finally got a minute—time to see what this cheat can really do!"
Grey patted his cheeks to focus and linked up with the system in his head.
"System, tell me what else you can do."
[This system is the Pokémon Deep Training System, dedicated to providing excellent training conditions for the host. Features include, but are not limited to: daily check-in, skill proficiency visualization, experience visualization, and a system shop (items only).]
That's the stuff. Exactly the stuff!
What matters most for a dojo?
Having plenty of Pokémon ready for challengers at every skill tier!
Whether mentoring newbies or guarding the city, it all comes down to Pokémon.
With "experience visualization," turning out a roster for incoming challengers in a short time wouldn't be a problem.
[Today's check-in location: Saffron City Fighting Dojo.]
Seeing the prompt, Grey checked in.
[Check-in successful!]
[Reward granted: 3× Technical Machines (Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch), +100 system points.]
Three differently colored CD-like discs popped into existence. Grey broke into a grin.
Nice one, system!
TMs aren't exactly cheap. As a trainee, his wages barely covered food, so buying these was out of the question.
With the system, his financial pressure just got a lot lighter.
One word: Sweet!
"Praiiime!"
Seeing its trainer waving his arms around, Primeape thought Grey might be having a seizure and hurried over, worried.
"Perfect timing!"
Grey grabbed Primeape and shoved the TMs into its hands. "Here—take these three discs and learn the new moves!"
Primeape: ???
Staring at the stack of discs, Primeape's brain lagged for a second.
But it still obeyed, slid a disc into the TV setup, and started following along move by move with the tutorial video.
While it trained, Grey planned how to make a splash fast.
After thinking it over, only two characters fit: livestream.
If you've got internet, you've got a stage—and an audience.
At this hour, plenty of people were eating.
Pokémon livestreams made for the perfect dinner show.
With that, Grey tweaked some settings and went live.
Title: [New Gym Master First Day—Come at me if you dare!]
Such a provocative title left the honest, old-fashioned denizens of the Pokémon world scandalized. "Immoral!" they cried.
People shouldn't—at the very least, they shouldn't!
But their fingers were honest: click.
[Just a passerby. Anything good here?]
[The Fighting Dojo? Didn't Sabrina crush it? It's still open?]
[Rumor says Saffron Gym got blown up, and the dojo started streaming—so actually this is…]
Barrage after barrage flew by; a few haters tried to whip up drama.
"Haters really be fishing. Saffron Gym got bombed and I was the one who called the cops. Look—these photos are mine! I even got a 'Bravery' banner!"
Grey held up his spare phone, opened the group chat images, and showed them to the camera.
[Streamer's a good citizen. Misunderstanding cleared.]
[Hey streamer—since you're a brand-new master, got any strong Pokémon?]
"Sure do, bros, sure do. Today's stream is to show you the dojo's Three Generals."
Grey swung the camera toward the Tyrogue.
One only knew how to punch; one did nothing but kick; the third was spinning himself into a top while the other two smacked him.
A real gathering of "talent."
[Grey's Pokémon have big personalities. Are they going to evolve into the corresponding forms?]
[What if the evolutions end up totally opposite?]
[What species is that? Why won't my Pokédex scan it?]
One line in the barrage caught Grey's eye.
The user ID read: Aiming to be a Pokémon Master.
Grey nodded and answered, "They're Tyrogue—three different evolution paths: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Hitmontop. Barring surprises, these three will evolve into those forms."
[Streamer, drop your location. This great me wants to 1v1 you IRL. (sends a Rocket gift)]
"Thanks to 'Pallet Town's Glory—Gary' for the Rocket! We're right next to Saffron Gym."
Catching the comment, Grey thanked the donor and shared the address—while roasting Saffron Gym on the side: "Find the ruins of Saffron Gym in Saffron City, then walk a few hundred meters to the left."
[Yeah? That's close. I'm fueling up in Saffron now—ten minutes tops.]
[Gary! Come to Cerulean if you've got guts! I'll fight you three hundred rounds!]
[Idiot Ash, all you're good for is eating my dust! I'm out first! grinning emoji]
Grey watched the trash-talk scroll by, fully entertained.
After a volley like that, he knew who the two were.
The bickering duo from Pallet Town—Ash and Gary.
"Alright, next I'll introduce—"
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock at the door. Grey blinked.
Gary already? That was fast.
Typing and driving at the same time—wasn't he worried about losing points on his license?
"Hang on, Pokémon Masters—be right back."
Grey stepped away from the stream, went to the entrance, and opened the door.
Boom!
Firecrackers popped—the visitor wasn't Gary.
It was a kimono-clad girl with pale-violet hair and a yellow ribbon tied at the back of her head.
Seeing Grey, she bowed slightly.
"Hello. I'm Jeanette from Crimson City. I'd like to challenge your dojo to a Gym match."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810