Kanto, Saffron City
"Leader Grey, thank you for your outstanding contribution to cracking down on crime in Saffron City."
The newly arrived Officer Jenny handed Grey a pennant that read "Act of Bravery" and informed him that fifty thousand would be transferred to his bank card.
Hearing that, Grey grinned and took the pennant with a smile. "Punishing criminals is our duty."
This was his second pennant—another "Act of Bravery," though.
"Um…"
With the criminals in custody, Officer Jenny hesitated.
Grey noticed and asked first, "Officer Jenny, is there something else?"
"You know about the Gym Selection Tournament in a month, right?"
She reminded him.
Grey nodded slightly, a bit puzzled by the question. "I remember. I already registered."
"Here's the thing—before it starts, the higher-ups will send an inspector to evaluate you. If you fail the inspection, your spot in the tournament will be canceled."
She told it straight.
"Oh? That's a thing?"
Grey rubbed his chin. He really hadn't known. In fact, he'd only learned the tournament existed after he transmigrated; he didn't know the fine print.
"With Primeape, you should be fine, right?"
"That's the problem."
Officer Jenny added, "You need at least three Pokémon to enter, so the inspection also requires three…"
She left the rest unsaid.
Grey got it. With only Primeape, he came up short on numbers.
There were three more in the dojo, sure—but their strength was… yeah.
To be blunt, they were there to squash small fry and pad the roster.
In a real fight, the inspector could probably beat all three combined.
"Raalts!" (You've got me!)
Ralts struggled up onto Grey's shoulder and thumped its chest.
"You?"
Grey couldn't help a laugh.
If it evolved into Gallade, sure, it could be a real fighter—but right now it was still just a Ralts, not even a Kirlia.
Forget an inspector—could it even get past a Tyrogue?
"Raalts."
Hands on hips, Ralts told Grey not to underestimate it.
Then it hopped back down and pointed at Officer Jenny's Growlithe, waving it over.
"Raalts!"
"Woof?" Growlithe tilted its head, not getting what this little kid was up to.
"Raalts!"
Ever since Grey had pounded Youmu into the floor twice, Ralts's courage had grown.
Facing a comparable Growlithe, it dared to try.
"Officer Jenny, this won't count as assaulting an officer, right?"
On the sidelines, Grey shot her an apologetic look.
"It won't. I'm curious to see what this little one can do."
She waved it off.
"Don't push yourself, Ralts."
Grey gave a quick reminder.
"Raalts."
Ralts stepped forward on light feet.
Between Jenny's words and Grey avenging it yesterday, Ralts felt it should do something for Grey.
A battle was the best thanks.
It took one step forward—one hand raised in front, the other tucked behind its back.
It looked like a martial arts master.
Ability: Trace
Trace → Justified
This was an off-the-cuff Pokémon scuffle; neither trainer gave commands.
"Woof!"
Growlithe barked; flames licked across its body, and it sprinted like a fiery wheel.
Its speed climbed until tiny sparks danced along the ground.
Ralts glanced up, slipped to the side, and cleanly dodged the Flame Wheel.
"Woof?!"
Growlithe was surprised Ralts had evaded with a simple sidestep.
But only surprised.
Its forepaws hit the ground—then it kicked off hard!
Boom!
Flames surged as Growlithe rocketed upward like a fireball, then dove straight down at Ralts!
"Raalts!"
Ralts dodged—then, as Growlithe came down, both little hands shot out and clamped the dog's hind legs!
"W-woof!"
Bad feeling. Growlithe thrashed to break free—
—but Ralts's raw strength defied belief.
Just holding it was enough to make resistance useless…
"Raalts!"
Ralts heaved—and lifted Growlithe clear off the ground, the world flipping, then slammed it to the other side.
The fight didn't end there!
It repeated the motion again and again, until Growlithe's barks turned to choked yelps.
"Whiiine…"
Tongue out, Growlithe was done.
"All right, all right—we get it. You're strong."
Grey rubbed his brow and scooped Ralts up.
"Your Ralts's strength is…"
Officer Jenny trailed off. Staring at her Growlithe lying like a dead dog, she thought for a long moment before managing, "It's certainly… unique."
"Raalts." (Naturally.)
Hands on hips, chin high, Ralts radiated pride.
"But Leader Grey, why are you in the back alley today? Weren't you scheduled to stream and accept challengers?"
She voiced her doubt.
"Oh, that? A little thief cleaned out my fridge. This little guy led me here—guess the culprit ran to hide."
Grey thought back to what Deyu said and figured the black market escapees and his fridge thief were the same bunch.
"I see…"
Jenny nodded faintly, then hauled Youmu and Deyu away.
"Good luck, Leader Grey."
"OK. Bye."
Grey waved and headed deeper into the alley.
Tap, tap, tap…
He said nothing on the way, but as he went deeper he felt a strange yet vast Aura surging.
"What a powerful Aura…"
He pushed forward through it.
At last, after a while, he reached the true end of the alley.
Here, at the core, it was spotless—nothing like the stenchy front half.
There was no garbage at all.
A fence rose to cut this place off from the city beyond.
"Odd. Why did the Aura vanish here?"
Grey looked around and spotted several big bags in a corner.
The tops were open: a few unopened bottles of Moomoo Milk and some Berries.
With that familiar packaging, Grey was sure—these were the bags nicked from the dojo.
He started toward them.
Rustle…
He'd barely taken a step when something rustled behind him—then went still.
Grey frowned, but didn't dwell on it.
The rustling grew more frequent as he walked.
As if something wanted to stop him—only to be held back.
Grey's eyes flicked. He raised his voice on purpose:
"If no Pokémon are here, I'm taking these back where they belong~"
"Rio!"
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