[Yeah. Grey's battle mindset is mature—doesn't feel like an ordinary trainer at all.]
[Whoa—Cynthia!]
[Why has Champion Cynthia been watching the streamer so often lately?]
Cynthia's appearance instantly revived the livestream chat that was about to go completely dead, like a tide surging back in.
No one expected Cynthia had been lurking there the whole time—and then suddenly popped up!
Who was Cynthia?
She was the Sinnoh Champion, a powerhouse trainer who was busy with a mountain of responsibilities!
A trainer who could suppress the other Sinnoh Elite Four with ease, a top-tier name even on a global scale!
And yet, she was appearing in the stream of Grey, a supposedly "ordinary" trainer whose strength was… at best "barely decent" worldwide.
In a situation like that, people couldn't help thinking Cynthia must have some kind of leverage in Grey's hands.
Otherwise, why would Cynthia, out of all streamers, specifically choose to watch Grey's?
That curiosity spread fast.
But Cynthia didn't reply.
Because she didn't know how she could reply.
Was she supposed to say she was watching to make sure her best friend didn't get tricked and "stolen away" by Grey, that "blond guy," so she was doing a little pre-screening?
That really was her original plan.
But after watching for a while, Cynthia realized Grey genuinely had his own sharp understanding of battling.
And that made her want to recruit him.
He looked decent, his strength was solid—if he were in Sinnoh, he could probably serve as an Elite Four member!
Anyway, Sinnoh's fourth seat was Aaron, and if Aaron fought Grey, it wasn't even guaranteed he'd win. So why not pull Grey over first and see if there was a chance to boost Sinnoh's overall strength?
As for Grey's Gym…
Worst case, just move the whole thing—person included.
The Sinnoh League wasn't worse than the Kanto League. Whatever Kanto could offer, Sinnoh could offer too.
And most importantly, Cynthia had a premonition.
If Caitlin actually met Grey in person successfully, she'd probably try every possible way to stay in Kanto.
Cynthia had no issues with Kanto, and no issues with Grey either—but considering how Caitlin's psychic powers were going, it would be safer to stay in Sinnoh for a year first, make sure her powers wouldn't flare up violently, and only then decide whether leaving was a good idea.
Otherwise, if her psychic powers went out of control one day and the wrong people seized the opportunity, it could easily turn into a foreign-affairs incident.
For example, Kanto's Team Rocket had been eyeing Sinnoh for a long time.
They'd even smuggled in a Riolu before…
That was like a thorn driven deep into the Sinnoh League's toe. Even if you pulled it out, you'd still remember the pain clearly.
If Caitlin lost control of her power while traveling in Kanto, Team Rocket would absolutely fan the flames. They'd seize the chance to pry open the door to Sinnoh and slip their claws inside.
…
…
Sinnoh, Pokémon League.
"Ugh…"
Before she knew it, Cynthia felt like a worn-out mom, worrying nonstop that her best friend would run into all kinds of trouble while traveling.
Knock knock knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Cynthia glanced at the door and gave permission.
Then Lucian walked in, carrying a huge pile of documents.
Only one day had passed, and there were already more files that needed Cynthia's attention.
"Cynthia, these documents—"
Lucian had just started to speak when Cynthia raised a finger in a "shh" gesture.
"Lucian. Believe it or not, I just made a huge contribution to Sinnoh. So… I'll be leaving these documents to you."
Cynthia stood up, walked to Lucian's side, and gently patted his shoulder a few times with her pale hand. Then she left the Champion's office without looking back.
She only left behind Lucian, standing there in confusion, staring at the mountain of paperwork in his arms.
"???"
Lucian quickly turned around—only to hear a loud BANG!
Cynthia had closed the door.
"…"
That move completely broke Lucian.
He suddenly realized he was just an honest, hardworking guy, and the League threw everything at him—big or small.
Not the Champion… but basically the Champion!
Today, Lucian was a "half-step Champion" (paperwork edition)!
And Lucian wasn't the only one in Sinnoh who had a similar vibe.
There was another person who was basically Lucian's twin in spirit:
Darach, the Battle Castle's butler.
On a normal day, every major and minor task fell on Darach. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was the one who owned the Battle Castle.
Right now, Darach had been dragged to Veilstone City by Caitlin for no apparent reason. She said she wanted to buy outfits for traveling.
He did know about the travel—she was going to Kanto, after all. The little dresses she usually wore really weren't convenient for long trips.
But… buying travel clothes and calling him over?
Darach sat there stiffly.
He was a butler, sure, but he wasn't the flawless butler from some CEO romance novel.
He could drive, ride a bird Pokémon, do accounting, make desserts, battle…
It looked like he could do a lot, but he honestly knew nothing about picking clothes.
"Miss, there's a reservation at the Battle Castle today. How about I take Staraptor back first?"
Darach checked his phone and stood up, preparing to leave.
Caitlin was his employer—she could do whatever she wanted.
But as the butler, he couldn't just fool around with her.
Two hours out today was already his limit.
If he didn't hurry back, he'd be standing the guests up.
He'd calculated it carefully: if his Staraptor flew at full speed, he could get from Veilstone City to the Battle Frontier within an hour.
The appointment was at 1 p.m. If he left now, he could barely make it.
Worst case, he'd eat lunch late, or just grab something quick.
"Sure. You can go first."
Caitlin nodded, agreeing to Darach's request.
"Today's guest is really impo—wait, huh?"
Darach was about to explain how important today's guest was, but then he processed what Caitlin had just said.
She… agreed immediately?!
That was completely different from usual.
Before, he always had to talk his way out, waste a bunch of breath, and only then could he leave.
He'd even factored that argument time into his schedule.
Now that he didn't have to argue at all—his lunch was saved!
"I haven't seen Miss being this reasonable in a long time!"
Darach looked deeply moved, just shy of tears.
"Miss, I'll be on my way. If anything happens, call me right away—don't get into trouble with other people!"
After a few more reminders, Darach climbed onto Staraptor's back and flew off.
"…"
Watching Darach disappear into the distance, Caitlin let out a quiet sigh.
"Excuse me, miss—would you like to come in and take a look?"
A sales clerk approached. Seeing Gallade beside Caitlin carrying a bunch of shopping bags, she instantly knew Caitlin was a big spender.
"Sure. Let's try."
Caitlin nodded and told the clerk to bring out all the clothes in the shop.
"T-that…"
The clerk looked troubled—until her eyes suddenly lit up in the next moment.
Because Caitlin pulled out a lifetime VIP membership card!
"Honored member, please come with me!"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.