Grey was just about to reply when he heard the private phone in his pocket ring.
[Contact: Lance]
[Answer][Decline]
"Huh? Why would Lance be calling me?"
Grey was a little surprised.
He'd literally just finished the battle, and Lance called the very next second.
Did he need something?
"Answer it. Might be something important."
Grey hadn't covered the screen at all, and on top of that, he'd just said Lance's name out loud—so Lt. Surge immediately knew who was calling.
Kanto Elite Four—Lance!
That name was practically a household name in Kanto.
He'd captured Team Rocket members countless times. Executive-level figures had never once managed to slip away from him—every single one got beaten into complete defeat.
The process was pretty brutal. The news reports were almost always a full screen of censor light bars and mosaics.
That just made Lt. Surge even more curious about why Lance was calling Grey.
"Alright, I'll take it."
Grey picked up the phone and pressed "Answer."
"Hello, hello. This is Grey. Elite Four Lance, what can I do for you?"
Grey's voice carried through the line.
And once Lance heard that Grey had picked up, his voice came through as well.
"Gym Leader Grey, Unova just called me."
The moment Lance said that, Grey's eyes cleared instantly.
Unova!
N's region!
The region where Team Plasma was active!
The region where Caitlin would eventually take an Elite Four seat!
With all those factors stacked together, compared to Galar, Unova was actually the region Grey wanted to go to even more.
Because the Fighting-type Pokémon there were everywhere.
Not only did they have the legendary construction-site workhorse—Conkeldurr—they also had Emboar, which even got Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Even a lot of that region's Legendary and Mythical Pokémon had Fighting as one of their types!
Way better than Kanto's three legendary birds.
You could practically say it was Grey's second hometown—one he'd never even visited.
If he could catch a few more Pokémon, the dojo's overall combat power would get a solid boost.
Besides, Grey's team really did need more high-end strength right now.
In half a month, it would be time for the Gym Leader Selection Tournament, and that time pressure had kept Grey's nerves taut.
Giovanni, Pryce, Blaine, and Koga—those four were genuinely Elite Four-tier forces, and the first two even had Champion-level trump cards…
Even if, for various reasons, they wouldn't bring out their strongest Pokémon, Grey still couldn't be sure whether they had other mainstays in reserve.
Giovanni of the earth. Pryce of winter.
If the former had already pulled out that Beedrill from the Pokémon Adventures manga, then what kind of strength did Pryce's Delibird and Swinub really have…?
Just thinking about it made Grey break into a cold sweat.
"Gym Leader Grey, are you listening?"
Lance heard Grey go silent for a long time, like he'd frozen in place, and called out.
"I am, I am. Unova called you—what's up?"
Grey was curious what Unova calling Lance had to do with Lance calling him.
"They're offering you two options. First: Unova sends someone over to take away one of Team Plasma's Seven Sages—Zinzolin—and they'll give you a ten-million bounty plus a Pokémon Egg."
Lance relayed Unova's "Option One" word for word.
"Then what's option two?"
Grey raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Unova to be this generous—ten million!
That was the price of expanding the dojo by a full hundred square meters!
So much money!
"I knew you wouldn't be swayed by money, Gym Leader Grey. I really didn't misjudge you!"
Hearing Grey press him for option two, Lance sounded even more excited than Grey did.
Grey: ???
No, seriously—why are you the one getting hyped?
Lance's shouting made Grey's ears tremble. He genuinely didn't understand what part of what he'd said was supposed to be exciting.
Lance, you get worked up way too easily.
"Option two: you personally bring the Seven Sage Zinzolin to Unova, and after you hand him over to the Unova League, you can stay there for one week. During that time, all your expenses will be fully covered by the Unova League."
"And when you leave Unova, they'll still give you a Pokémon Egg, plus a three-million bonus."
Lance laid out option two.
It sounded like a slight loss.
Seven million less in bounty, traded for a week of fully funded travel.
But honestly, that was still pretty decent.
"Anything else?"
Grey asked.
"No. Just those two. Which one do you choose? Either way, I'll support whatever decision you make."
The way Lance said it made Grey feel a little confused.
It just felt… kind of weird.
But he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was weird.
Whatever. Not a big deal.
"Then… option two. I've been wanting to visit Unova anyway. As for timing—how about I fly over after the top eight for the Gym Leader Selection Tournament is decided?"
Grey remembered that Caitlin would be arriving by plane early next Monday, and then the following Monday the Gym Leader Selection Tournament would officially begin—things were way too tight.
Besides, Caitlin was coming all the way from Sinnoh. Grey couldn't exactly just bail the second she arrived.
Anyway, the tournament in the next few days was only to decide the top eight. The real main event would be the official matches at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Perfect—he could head to Unova and see if he could snag a few Pokémon to bring back.
"Oh, right. If possible, can I bring people with me to Unova?"
Grey remembered Sabrina saying she wanted to find time to go to Unova for fun. And now Unova was basically handing him a pillow the moment he got sleepy—otherwise he'd have to spend his own money.
"Of course. The Unova League said if you choose option two, they can give you two additional slots."
Lance hadn't even hung up yet—he'd clearly been waiting for Grey to ask that.
"Oh, that's great."
Grey nodded. Unova League was handling this pretty well.
Including himself, that made three slots total.
Not bad.
Still, the gym had to keep running. Once he and Sabrina flew to Unova, the dojo would still need Bumiao and Silver to stay behind and manage things.
So who should that last slot go to?
Grey rubbed his chin, and for a moment he really couldn't think of the right choice.
"Gym Leader Grey, I'll hang up first. Next week, I'll discuss the details with you."
Lance had a lot going on over there.
After saying that, he hung up in a hurry.
Grey lowered the phone and saw a new message pop up in his inbox.
["Sinnoh Champion Cynthia" sent you a private message.]
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