"Long time no see, Mewtwo."
Even though Mewtwo was currently disguised as a human, its aura had not changed.
Which meant that no matter what form it took, it still looked exactly the same in Grey's eyes.
And now Grey had directly called out its name while standing face to face with it, making Mewtwo's brows knit tightly.
"Grey... why are you still in Unova?"
Mewtwo could not understand why Grey was still here. Hadn't he only been supposed to stay for a week?
And wasn't Grey supposed to be in Unova for fun? So why had he come all the way to Liberty Garden Island to take part in a tournament Mewtwo itself was hosting?
Could he be here specifically to target him?
The more Mewtwo thought about it, the more likely that seemed.
"Why wouldn't I still be in Unova? Once this thing on Liberty Garden Island is over, I still have to accompany Caitlin when she takes up her post in the Unova Elite Four."
Grey waved a hand, sounding completely unconcerned.
Aside from accompanying Caitlin, once she officially took her place in the Elite Four, he also had to make another trip to Virbank City to pick up Sabrina and take her back to Kanto.
Now that he thought about it, he really did have a lot on his plate.
"What, is this so-called Strongest Trainer Tournament of yours only open to Unova Trainers? Wouldn't that just be... a straight-up stomp?"
Grey scratched the back of his head and said it bluntly.
To be honest, the current Alder could get steamrolled by someone like N, a Trainer who had never even gone through systematic training.
As for the rest of the Elite Four, all of them put together still would not be enough to count as a snack for Zekrom.
Under those conditions, if Mewtwo was holding a tournament in Unova without any outsiders, then it obviously was going to be a one-sided beatdown.
Of course, Grey knew that was not actually the case.
Mewtwo had even invited Galar's Unbeaten Monarch, Leon's teacher, Mustard.
At the very least, with a powerhouse Champion-level Trainer like him around, the event still had some real credibility.
That said, there was no Dynamax energy here. Given Mustard's preferred battle style, it would probably be difficult for him to use Dynamax at all.
So the amount of his real strength he could bring out here would be limited.
At most, he was probably operating around the level of an ordinary Champion.
"Grey, don't underestimate this tournament just because I'm holding it in a place like this. Most of the Trainers who made it here are genuinely strong. This round of invitations included Unova's Champion, its Elite Four, and even Mustard, the former Champion of Galar."
"And I, Mewtwo, will rise above them all, beating them one after another... no, actually, I'll crush them all at once!"
Mewtwo spread its arms, looking unbelievably excited.
It had been waiting for this day for a very, very long time.
Its original plan had been to hold this thing in Kanto.
But the result?
There were simply too many absurdly strong Trainers in Kanto.
It honestly felt like even if it went there itself, it would not be confident of beating them.
So Mewtwo had shifted its focus to Unova instead.
The overall strength here was a little weaker, but there were still Champion-tier battlers around.
And on top of that, there was Mustard, a master of Fighting-types. What more could Mewtwo ask for?
"My comeback starts small. Once I finish this tournament in Unova, I'll go to Kalos. Then Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos again, and finally Kanto!"
Mewtwo wanted to work its way up step by step.
After hearing that, Grey could not help interrupting.
"I have a question. What about Johto and Alola?"
"Johto shares a League with Kanto, so it doesn't count. As for Alola... what kind of backwater place is that?"
Mewtwo had never even heard of Alola.
It assumed it was some remote little nowhere region.
"It's nothing. I'm just saying, if you wanted a true opening match, Alola would actually be perfect."
"What do you mean?"
This was the first time Mewtwo had ever heard of Alola, so it had no idea what kind of strong Trainers that region had.
Grey answered from Mewtwo's perspective.
"You want to build up from weaker to stronger, right? Unova's currently the weakest region, but there's actually an even weaker one, Alola."
"Alola doesn't even have a Pokémon League, though its strongest local Trainer is still around entry-level Champion strength. If your first stop were there, and then you came to Unova after that, it would honestly make more sense."
"I see... that was my oversight."
Mewtwo immediately found itself wanting to go check Alola out in person.
But at the moment, it was already here in Unova.
So forget it. Thinking about it was enough.
"So you're entering too?"
Mewtwo narrowed its eyes.
Through its psychic power, it could clearly sense that Grey's strength was no longer what it used to be.
If the old Mewtwo could have casually crushed Grey's Pokémon, then the current situation was very different.
Now, defeating Grey had become extremely difficult.
In fact, among the Pokémon Grey currently had with him, there was one that truly had a chance to beat Mewtwo.
"Unova's legendary Pokémon? A top-tier Legendary?"
Mewtwo had been spending a lot of time online lately, so naturally it knew the categories fans liked to use for Legendary Pokémon.
Top-tier Legendaries, lesser Legendaries, and Mythicals.
The first two were both Legendary Pokémon, but the top-tier ones were vastly stronger. Typical examples were Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, and Dialga.
As for the lesser ones?
Their strength was a lot more underwhelming.
For example, Articuno and Zapdos, the two Grey had caught, fell into that category. They were not exactly impressive.
Then there were Mythicals.
Their upper and lower limits were all over the place. Some were incredibly strong, like Mew, while others were weak enough that even Phione counted more as an oddity than anything else.
That whole category was basically a grab bag.
Among them, Reshiram clearly belonged to the top-tier Legendary group.
Most top-tier Legendaries were at minimum around the level of a powerful Champion's ace. For someone like Mewtwo, whose own strength was roughly that of an ordinary Champion's main battler, that was a very rough fight.
Mewtwo really had not expected Grey to come to Unova and immediately go out and catch one of the region's top-tier Legendaries. If they ended up facing each other later, the odds looked pretty bad for him.
"What kind of people did that Hydreigon invite... were they really all supposed to be around my level, or weaker than me...?"
Mewtwo had some very strong opinions it wanted to express.
Out of everyone it could have invited, why had it invited Grey?
Yeah... Hydreigon was definitely getting its pay docked.
Mewtwo decided the real culprit here was Hydreigon, so it settled on directly cutting its wages.
Though there had not been much to begin with.
Having made that decision, Mewtwo looked Grey up and down a few more times with a scrutinizing gaze, then vanished with Teleport.
"Come to think of it, I remember N got invited too. Where did he go?"
Grey realized N was nowhere to be seen.
That was his buddy. And now the guy had disappeared completely.
Then again...
N had split off from him back at Castelia Harbor.
He had not seriously gotten lost, had he...?
Meanwhile, over on N's side...
Zekrom's dragon wings cast a massive shadow over the sea as N leaned down and spoke to the Water-type Pokémon poking their heads out of the waves.
"Hello, everyone. Do any of you know where Liberty Garden Island is?"
"I do! I do! Follow me!"
A group of Alomomola immediately grew excited and started gesturing wildly.
"I know too!"
The Basculin leading them even smacked the water with its fins, signaling N to follow.
"Great, then I'm counting on you!"
Full of anticipation, N had Zekrom lower its altitude and followed the group at full speed through the sea.
Two hours later, the neon lights of Castelia Harbor came into view.
Staring at the glowing sign on the docks that read Welcome to Castelia City, N rubbed his brow helplessly.
Those overly enthusiastic Pokémon had apparently heard "Castelia Harbor" instead of "Liberty Garden Island," and had led him across nearly half of Unova's waters.
And honestly, that was not even their fault.
Liberty Garden Island was private property for the wealthy, so ordinary wild Pokémon had no real reason to know about it.
Meanwhile, these sea-dwelling Pokémon had probably long since come to view the brilliantly lit skyline of Castelia City as the model answer for any "island out at sea."
So when N had asked for directions, they had eagerly volunteered and brought him here.
Zekrom's tail generator flashed once. There was a feeling stuck inside it, like a complaint it badly wanted to spit out.
Looking at the Alomomola and Basculin still happily circling in the water as if proudly showing they had led him the right way, N could not help laughing. He gently stroked Zekrom's neck.
"It's fine. They just... mistook the brightest harbor for the correct answer to every island question."
Castelia really was beautiful at dusk. Its glass towers reflected the sunset, and the cruise ships on the water looked like glowing jewels.
It was no wonder these simple ocean-dwellers had decided that a place shining this brilliantly had to be the "Liberty Garden Island" a Trainer was looking for.
Zekrom's black tail hummed, streaks of blue lightning flickering across it.
Human-like helplessness shone in its dragon eyes.
It turned its head and met N's gaze, as if asking, "So what now?"
If the directions had been even remotely correct, it could have used its特殊 sense to locate the Pokémon on the island.
But this was the exact opposite direction.
Which meant it had to make the whole flight again.
The more Zekrom thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
N laughed too and patted his partner's scales, his green hair whipping in the sea breeze.
"It's all right. Think of it as taking in the harbor lights."
"Fine."
Zekrom exhaled two streams of mist laced with sparks through its nostrils, then slowly spread its wings.
Just before taking off again, it still remembered to nod in thanks to the Alomomola.
Even if that "helpful guidance" had added another three hundred nautical miles to their trip.
"Next time, if you don't know the way, just say so."
Zekrom left behind that bafflingly solemn line and soared off, leaving the Alomomola behind in total confusion.
"What did that mean?"
"No idea. Human Trainers' Pokémon are weird. It was probably some kind of Trainer slang."
The Alomomola were still far too pure and uncorrupted to understand that kind of jab.
After watching Zekrom and N leave, they all dispersed.
Back on Liberty Garden Island, Victini sat on Grey's shoulder, clutching a lock of his hair in its little paws to keep its balance.
Its round eyes were wide as it curiously watched the Trainers moving around the island.
This was the greatest number of strong Trainers it had ever seen gathered in one place.
Then, around a corner, a familiar sweep of dark purple fabric came into view.
Shauntal was still dressed in her signature style.
Beneath the hem of her purple leather skirt, her black stockings showed plainly, and the thick-soled little shoes on her feet clicked sharply over the cobblestones.
She was walking with her head buried in a light novel, almost bumping right into Grey.
"Well, if it isn't Elite Four Shauntal."
Grey stopped, raised a hand in greeting, and smiled with obvious amusement.
"How've you been lately?"
When it came to Shauntal, he had way too much to say.
How did literally every kind of fanfiction exist?
And why was she the one writing all of it?
And more importantly, how was there still nothing featuring him and Caitlin?
The moment she heard that all-too-familiar voice, Shauntal's fingers suddenly clenched around the edge of her skirt, and a sample copy in her hands fell to the ground with a slap.
The back cover landed face-up, clearly displaying the preorder ad for The Stoic Aura Wielder and His Mythical Pokémon.
The illustration showed a chibi Grey with one arm around Meloetta.
"Haha... nice weather we're having..."
She laughed dryly and tried nudging the book under a nearby bench with the tip of her shoe, her ears red enough to drip blood.
Victini tilted its head, completely unable to understand why this human had suddenly started walking with both arms and legs moving together like someone afflicted with confusion.
Grey's gaze landed on the book Shauntal had tried to hide in a panic, and the chibi cover art froze him in place.
As an aura wielder, his eyesight was sharp enough that he even caught a fragment of the inner text.
"He stroked Meloetta's long hair, delicate as instrument strings, and whispered beneath the moonlight, 'Your melody is the rhythm of my heartbeat...'"
Grey only made it halfway through before swallowing hard.
"Good lord. Shauntal, is this really what women's light novels are like?"
Even he was having a hard time processing it.
Then, all at once, the air went deathly silent.
Victini blinked in confusion as it realized the aura around Grey had suddenly become jagged and erratic.
Meanwhile, Shauntal had already retreated three full meters away. After snatching the novel up, she held it in front of her face like a shield, peeking over the spine with one wide, panicked eye, like a Skitty being stared down by an Arcanine.
"W-wait, hold on!"
Shauntal frantically yanked a notebook out of her bag.
"If you don't like it, I can rewrite it right now!"
She flipped to a blank page in a blur, her pen spinning so fast in her fingers it almost left afterimages.
"What kind of setup do you prefer? Miss Sabrina locking you up with psychic powers? Lady Caitlin in a runaway marriage plot? Or maybe... a three-way aura resonance...?"
Grey's temple started throbbing. He was just about to speak when he sensed a different shift in aura.
He turned his head and met Caitlin's sparkling eyes.
Caitlin's gaze was shining.
Apparently, she was very interested in what Shauntal had just proposed.
"A three-way... resonance?"
Caitlin repeated softly, one finger idly twirling her hair.
And honestly, that did sound kind of interesting.
That was three people, after all.
The possibilities felt endless.
Just imagining it was thrilling.
Caitlin liked excitement these days. She still blushed easily, but she liked it anyway.
Very much the type who was bad at it and still wanted to play.
As for stories like that, Caitlin felt that if she secretly read them on her own, it probably would not hurt anyone.
"You know, Miss Shauntal, this isn't really about whether you rewrite it or not. It's more... that kind of issue. You know?"
Grey spoke in riddles for once, wanting to see how much sincerity Shauntal actually had.
"Huh? Wh-what kind of issue?"
Shauntal genuinely did not understand what Grey meant. She tilted her head with a blank, adorable look, wanting to ask what exactly she had to do for him to let her off the hook.
"Miss Shauntal, you really don't understand? You wouldn't want your novel taken down for unauthorized use of my likeness, would you?"
Grey raised a brow and even slipped into a certain familiar kind of phrasing.
"I really don't get it."
Shauntal answered honestly, but after considering that what she had done was indeed inappropriate, she hurriedly added, "Though if it earns money, I can give you a cut! Hmm... actually, direct payment might be awkward. Let me think... how about I gift you a year of Governor-tier membership?"
"That works perfectly."
Grey nodded.
Since Shauntal had that kind of sincerity, she could go ahead and use his image as much as she wanted.
Still, once the first draft was finished, she absolutely needed to let him see it.
She could not be allowed to write it at three in the morning and upload it straight away full of typos for the readers to fix.
"Hahaha! Never thought I'd run into Gym Leader Grey and Elite Four Shauntal here!"
An old man whose hair looked uncannily like Volcarona wings came striding over from the distance, laughing loudly with his usual bright energy.
He had seen the scene from afar.
He did not know exactly what they had been talking about, but seeing how flustered Shauntal looked, maybe something had happened between her and Grey that had made her shy.
Alder approved of that very much.
What Unova needed right now was strong Trainers.
And Grey was exactly the kind he liked most.
The only pity was that Grey was already an honorary Elite Four member of Kanto.
Trying to recruit him now would be extremely difficult.
Back in the old days, money could move people.
But things were different now. Grey was an Elite Four-level figure from Kanto. Trying to win him over directly was nearly impossible.
The best Alder could do was build goodwill in other ways.
Originally, he had thought dealing with just Caitlin would already be difficult, but now that Shauntal was here too, it looked more and more like Grey truly had built close ties with Unova.
That was what Alder was thinking.
"By the way, Gym Leader Grey, do you have any interest in raising a Volcarona?"
Alder actually had a Larvesta, one born from his former ace.
He wanted to use Pokémon as a way to bring the two of them closer together.
Only...
"Volcarona? Mr. Alder, I appreciate the thought, but I've already caught a Larvesta, and it's even a shiny one. So I'll have to decline."
Grey politely turned him down.
"Hahaha! So even you get rejected sometimes, Alder."
Another old man approached from the distance and did not hold back in the slightest before turning to Grey.
"Gym Leader Grey, nice to meet you. I'm Mustard from Galar. It's a pleasure."
This old man was Mustard, one of Grey's earliest audience members.
Grey had not expected to run into these two Champion-level Trainers this quickly.
That made him take Mustard more seriously, and sure enough, the man's clothes matched what Grey remembered exactly.
Noticing Grey's gaze, Mustard's first question was, "Gym Leader Grey, have you ever thought about training a Legendary Pokémon?"
Grey scratched his head and instinctively shot back, "Senior Mustard, are you the one who actually has something to ask me?"
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