"Sabrina, could you watch the Gym for me? I'll be right back."
Grey finished speaking, tossed her three Poké Balls, and jumped straight out the window without looking back.
He left Sabrina staring, bewildered.
"So… he wants me to act as the dojo's Gym Leader?"
Sabrina eyed the three Poké Balls hovering in midair and thought back to what Grey said last night, thoughtful.
"Ding-dong—"
"Hello? Anyone here? I watched a stream last night that said there's a Gym here. I'd like to challenge!"
The doorbell rang, the voice obviously that of a green beginner.
"Coming."
Sabrina Teleported to the door and opened it.
"?"
The challenger froze. Seeing Sabrina, his brain blue-screened for a beat.
Then he bowed in a hurry—just in case those rumors about her turning challengers into dolls were true. "Sorry! Wrong place!"
Sabrina shook her head. "No, you didn't."
Challenger: "???"
Today, the Fighting Dojo was unusually lively.
——
Saffron City, Back Alley.
Following the route Ralts sensed with its peculiar perception, Grey arrived at a back alley in Saffron City—might as well check in while he was here.
[Check-in complete. Congratulations: Power Bracer acquired. System points +100.]
Oh?
A Power Bracer. Nice pull.
Grey nodded. Luck wasn't bad today.
Whoosh—
A breeze drifted past.
And with it, a stench.
"Ugh… that reeks."
Pinching his nose, Grey swept his eyes over the mounds of trash piled high and decided to make this quick—find the thief and get out.
"Raalts…"
Ralts clapped both hands over its nose and shrank down into Grey's jacket pocket.
It was simply too foul here; hardly any Pokémon would want to stay in a place like this.
"Of all places to run, it had to be here. Even if we get the food back, it's probably contaminated…"
Grey sighed and moved deeper into the alley at a brisk pace.
Rustle… rustle…
A trash bag shifted.
The stench that wafted out almost made Grey toss up last night's midnight snack.
"Primeape, you handle this."
Hands trembling, Grey sent out Primeape, then fished a mask from his pocket, tore the wrapper, and put it on.
"Praaai?"
Primeape blinked, pointed at the mask covering half of Grey's face, then pointed at its own nose.
The meaning was clear: it wanted a mask too.
"I don't have one your size. Tough it out and I'll make you something tasty when we get back."
Grey put his hands together.
"Praaai! Praaai!"
Primeape fumed.
So he was just going to treat the monkey like a monkey, huh?
"Watch out!"
Grey caught something at the edge of his vision, pupils tightening. "Turn and use Thunder Punch!"
Primeape understood; lightning crawled over its fist.
As it spun, the gathered electricity flared in the dim alley, throwing light across the scene!
In that flash, several mud clods shot in fast!
"Splurt—splurt—splurt!"
They burst on contact, splashing residue across Primeape's knuckles.
"Praai—!"
Fighting the urge to retch, Primeape flung the sludge off and looked toward the source of the barrage.
A deep-purple sludge monster stood atop the heap of garbage.
It opened wide and gurgled something unintelligible.
"Muk!" (Little ones, go!)
It raised a lumpy arm and bellowed.
A swarm of smaller sludge monsters rushed in.
Muk & Grimer!
"Wait—we're not here to pick a fight!"
Grey stepped forward, waving both hands to show goodwill.
"Muk!"
The Muk clearly didn't buy it.
It had just watched Grey come in with murder in his eyes.
In a situation like this, the human was either here to stir up trouble or to do something bad.
As the king of Saffron City's back alleys, how could it let a human like this pass?
This was a challenge to the king's dignity!
Thinking that, it condensed another ball of rancid sludge.
Add in the sheer number of Grimer around it, and the stink rolling off the pile was too much for a face mask to handle…
"Raalts…" (So stinky…)
Even Ralts, hiding in the jacket pocket, couldn't escape. It peeked out, woozy.
Grey noticed and pulled up the system to check Muk's data.
[Pokémon: Muk]
[Type: Poison]
[Level: 38]
[Ability: Stench]
[Moves: Minimize, Toxic, …]
"Not that strong. Primeape can take it."
A quick scan of Muk's power told Grey Primeape could handle this easily. "Primeape, use Rage Fist!"
"Muk?!"
Muk flew into a rage. So the human really had come to cause trouble!
It tried to shout for the Grimer to swarm Grey—
—but in the very next second, a murderous ghostly glow replaced its view!
Boom!!!
Primeape's fist slammed down; the gale it threw up sent trash bags collapsing.
Muk lost its footing, tumbled off the top, and Primeape's fist caught it clean on the noggin!
That body of gloopy sludge couldn't take the impact; Muk went limp from head to… well, ooze.
"Griiimer!"
The Grimer, worried for their boss, started forward in unison—intent on surrounding Grey and sacrificing him to their king.
"Stop. I wasn't looking for a fight. I came to find a few Pokémon—and if you hadn't ambushed us and refused to talk, I wouldn't have done this."
Grey rolled his shoulders. He could understand their behavior; that didn't mean he had to accept it. "Besides, your boss just got one-punched by Primeape. If you rush us now, you're just handing over KOs."
The Grimer froze.
Thinking it through, the human… wasn't wrong.
If they rushed, they'd get one-punched too!
How were they supposed to fight that?
They couldn't!
"Relax. Primeape didn't go for the kill. Your boss will be fine after a rest. I'm heading in—don't block me on the way out."
With that, Grey recalled Primeape and moved toward the alley's depths.
The deeper he went, the stronger the stink.
Grey frowned.
He couldn't imagine what kind of Pokémon would raid a fridge and then hole up here.
"Ralts, you sure you didn't misread the spot?"
He glanced at Ralts, now back on his shoulder.
"Raalts!"
Ralts nodded firmly, patting its tiny chest, promising it couldn't be wrong.
"All right."
Grey rubbed his brow—and then felt it: clear residue of aura near a trash can.
"That's strange. Such a foreign flavor of aura. I don't remember any Kanto Pokémon tied to aura…"
Thinking that, Grey extended his hand. Azure light spread from his fingertips; it resonated with the lingering aura above the can, sending ripples through the air.
Ting—ting—ting—
It was like faint chimes echoing in his ear.
And then it faded.
Grey withdrew his hand and started forward again.
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!
Suddenly, the air shrieked—something sliced toward him!
His danger sense spiked. Grey snapped his head around—
—and saw a flurry of razor wind blades scything in!
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