["Sinnoh Champion Cynthia" sent you a private message.]
[Sinnoh Champion Cynthia: Next Monday's matter—I'll be counting on you.]
"?"
Seeing someone with that kind of ID, Grey's first reaction was that the scammer from last time was back again.
This time, he didn't reply immediately. Instead, he tapped into the other person's profile to check.
ID: Sinnoh Champion Cynthia (V)
Bio: If you need materials related to theology or history, you can DM me.
IP location: Unknown
To prevent public figures from being harassed by extremist fans, the platform would proactively hide the IP location for Trainers like Cynthia.
Of course, a Gym Leader like Grey could choose to hide it too.
When Grey saw the big yellow verified V next to Cynthia's name, he knew this time it was the real one.
"Next Monday's matter? Caitlin?"
Grey thought for a moment. As far as next Monday went, the only thing that needed "pick-up service" was Caitlin's arrival.
[Dojo Primeape: Got it. I guarantee Caitlin will be completely comfortable while she's in Kanto.]
[Sinnoh Champion Cynthia: Good. Is it convenient to add a private Line? If anything unexpected happens, just call me directly. This account gets too many DMs—I'm worried the message will get buried.]
Cynthia's concern wasn't unfounded. With her follower count, she'd be getting thousands upon thousands of DMs every day like a tidal wave.
Luckily, if she didn't reply, everyone could only send one message—otherwise her inbox would've been buried under fan comments ages ago.
"Huh, that was fast."
Grey clicked his tongue. Then he typed out a bunch and sent his Line ID over.
After thinking it over, he added one more line.
[Dojo Primeape: Want to join my group chat for a bit? Caitlin's in there too.]
…
…
Sinnoh Region, Pokémon League.
"Hm? What group chat? Caitlin's in it too?"
When Cynthia saw Grey's message, the finger hovering over her screen froze.
She didn't join many group chats.
And even when she did, she rarely chatted.
Plus, the groups she was in weren't exactly the kind you "hang out" in.
They were almost all work groups.
Most of the time, she was privately messaging people about archaeology, history, theology—she barely had time to breathe, let alone chat in groups.
That said, Grey's group rarely had people talking either.
Only when certain topics came up would the heavy hitters suddenly swarm out all at once.
It was the definition of: quiet until it isn't—and then it's explosive.
Every time they showed up, it was practically "the whole nest mobilizes."
"But if Caitlin's in there…"
The moment Cynthia thought Caitlin was inside that group chat, she felt it wasn't unreasonable to go take a look.
After all, if Caitlin got into an argument with someone, Cynthia could step in and comfort her right away.
With that thought, Cynthia set her finger down and started typing.
[Sinnoh Champion Cynthia: Sure. Then I'll trouble you with it.]
[Dojo Primeape: Sure, no trouble. I'll add you right now!]
Then Cynthia added Grey as a friend.
Almost the very next second, she was pulled into a casual chat group.
[VIP Lounge for People Who Feed Grey (8)]
["Dojo Primeape" invited "Archaeologist Cabbage" to join the group chat.]
["Archaeologist Cabbage" is not friends with other members in the group. Please pay attention to privacy and safety.]
[Dojo Primeape: Welcome, newcomer!]
[Sleeping Beauty: ? Cynthia? Psyduck-scratching-head.jpg]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: ? Caitlin? Garchomp-tilting-head.jpg]
[Ice Lorelei: Eating-popcorn.jpg]
[Isle of Armor Mustard: Isn't this Cynthia, lol? Why are you here too, lol?]
[Red: …?]
[Blue: He says, "Champion Cynthia is here too—now that's new." Honestly, I didn't expect Champion Cynthia to know Grey either. @Dojo Primeape, I acknowledge your connections.]
[Cynthia: …You all really have a lot of free time.]
Cynthia glanced at the member count—exactly eight people, not even ten.
But if you threw these eight out into the world, who among them wouldn't make an entire region tremble?
Grey and Caitlin might be slightly behind the others in raw standing, but the former was the Fighting Dojo Gym Leader who'd arrested multiple high-ranking Team Rocket executives—and had even captured two of the Legendary bird Pokémon.
And Caitlin was a Sinnoh psychic; even if Sabrina came, Caitlin wouldn't be any less formidable.
Sinnoh League's upper management didn't even dare let her travel far—and even then, only with outside guarantees could she be allowed out.
That alone showed how insanely high-value this group chat was.
[Sleeping Beauty: So, Cynthia, why are you here?]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: I'm here to chat.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Really? Why does it feel like you joined because you're afraid I'll argue with someone, so you came to keep an eye on me?]
[Dojo Primeape: Dragonite-turning-head.jpg]
[Dragon Tamer Lance: Dragonite-turning-head.jpg]
[RedRed: ...]
After a whole string of goofy reaction images, Cynthia almost lost her composure.
Seriously—her best friend really was her best friend. She nailed exactly what Cynthia was thinking.
But Cynthia obviously couldn't say the truth out loud, so she tried to use her usual "archaeology brain" to smoothly change the subject.
[Archaeologist Cabbage: Did you finish packing? Want me to help you pack a few things, or go shopping in Veilstone City?]
[Sleeping Beauty: Stare——]
"…Caitlin is getting harder and harder to soothe."
Looking at the messages on her phone, Cynthia rubbed her brow, stared up at the ceiling, and let out one sigh after another.
Sure enough, as Caitlin gained more experience, Cynthia's old "talking-to-a-kid" tricks were gradually losing their effect.
A few months ago, Cynthia only had to suggest shopping, and Caitlin would forget all her worries and go with her.
Now? She didn't buy it anymore.
Ding-dong~
Cynthia hadn't set the group chat to Do Not Disturb, so the notification pulled her gaze back to the screen.
[Dojo Primeape: Veilstone City… I remember that place has the biggest department store in Sinnoh, right? And a ton of clothing shops too?]
[Sleeping Beauty: Yeah! But it's been forever since I went there. I wonder if the clothes there would look good on me.]
[Dojo Primeape: If it's you, Caitlin, then anything you wear will look good.]
[Sleeping Beauty: Really? But a lot of people don't want to get close to me… Pachirisu-fake-crying.jpg]
[Dojo Primeape: That's just because they haven't discovered your beauty. Grinning.jpg]
"?"
It hadn't even been long, and Cynthia was already watching Grey seamlessly link up with her best friend and start chatting away.
And the content of that chat made Cynthia's eye twitch a few times.
Why did it feel like her best friend was really about to get stolen away by that blond guy from Kanto… (Grey)?!
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