"Not at all, Steven. You're exaggerating. It was just luck."
Grey's tone was light, like it was no big deal.
But the more casually Grey said it, the more Steven couldn't help taking a few extra looks at him.
Way too humble.
Even a Trainer like Steven still needed luck to encounter a Legendary Pokémon.
For Grey to run into two—and successfully catch both—meant he had far more "good fortune" than most people.
Even Steven himself wanted to befriend him.
And if possible…
Could he pull Grey over to Hoenn as an Elite Four member?
Hoenn's Elite Four were already strong, sure, but you could never have too many powerhouses.
A region's main strength came down to how many Champion-level and Elite Four–level Trainers it had.
Hoenn already had two Champion-level forces, and it had even more Elite Four–level Trainers.
Especially among the region's eight Gym Leaders, two of them had reached Elite Four level.
One of them was a Normal-type Trainer who had come over from Johto.
He used Slaking to terrifying effect—strong, with a bright future ahead!
And now Steven had arrived in Kanto and, the moment he landed, ran into someone with absurd luck like Grey. If he could poach him to Hoenn, Steven's future mining trips would probably feel a whole lot more comfortable.
After all, Grey was young and already this strong. Reaching the Elite Four was basically guaranteed.
"Steven, do you want to head to the hotel, or go out with me for some late-night barbecue?" Grey asked.
Grey hadn't driven. No matter what Steven chose, Grey planned to have Articuno fly them there.
Hearing that, Steven thought for a moment before answering, "Let's grab some barbecue. After that, I'll go to the hotel myself. You've really gone out of your way for me, Gym Leader Grey."
Steven hadn't brought any luggage this time. He was only here for the meeting. After it ended, he'd take a short stroll around, then go straight back to Hoenn to mine.
Next time he had free time, he'd come dig around Mt. Moon.
"Hop on. We'll take my Articuno."
Since they were two grown men, Grey made sure to say everything clearly.
Otherwise it would just be awkward.
He was very much straight.
As for Steven…
Grey scratched his head, remembering the stuff Shauntal had posted on her page.
Even if it was fanfiction, it still felt a little uncomfortable.
Yeah. Good thing Shauntal didn't have any contact with Steven and Wallace.
Otherwise… who knew what would happen.
While Grey was thinking that, he and Steven had already walked out of the airport.
Grey went to the takeoff area for Flying-type Pokémon and released Articuno.
"Kree!" (Again? You're dragging me out this late—wait, hold on, is that gem for me?!)
The moment Articuno appeared, it sounded a bit annoyed.
Getting hauled out late at night to be a taxi—Grey really wasn't taking Articuno seriously!
But then Articuno spotted the gem in Steven's hand out of the corner of its eye, and it practically started drooling.
It looked a bit like a diamond, but it held an extremely rich amount of Ice-type energy.
The kind of rare treasure you could hardly find in Kanto!
"Steven… that's a bit much, isn't it?" Grey clicked his tongue.
He recognized the gem at once.
Item: Ice Gem
Description: An Ice-type gem. When held, it boosts the power of one Ice-type move.
It was a one-time-use item—once you used it, it was gone.
And Steven had casually pulled out an entire big bag of them!
That was pure rich-guy behavior.
"It's fine. To me, it's not even a drop in the bucket. And these gems are ones I mined myself, not something I bought—so if you round it off, it's basically free."
Steven's words sounded outrageously rich.
But it was also high-EQ.
He understood Grey wasn't the type to accept handouts.
Steven had met all kinds of people. He knew where Grey's line was.
If Grey wanted to cash in, he could've used those Legendaries to rake in money however he liked.
Besides, Grey was a Trainer recognized by Legendaries—and a Trainer like that couldn't be all that bad, right?
So Steven used that explanation so Grey wouldn't feel burdened.
"You're making me feel kind of embarrassed now," Grey said, rubbing the back of his head.
He hadn't expected that just calling Articuno out as transportation would earn him this many Ice Gems.
Fine. He could let Articuno snack on them later.
With that thought, Grey took the Ice Gems from Steven and said, "Then I'll cover the barbecue later. Fair trade."
If you took something, you paid it back—Grey's rule for living.
He wouldn't take advantage of people for free. And for truly valuable items, unless it had been agreed in advance, he would never accept them.
"Alright." Steven smiled and nodded, then sat on Articuno's back at Grey's gesture.
"Zapdos, lead the way. Take us to that barbecue place you're always eating at."
Grey pulled out another Poké Ball and released Zapdos.
Ever since the public found out about Zapdos, Grey had relaxed and let it go out to feed once in a while.
A massive city like Saffron City definitely had electricity it liked.
And sure enough, Zapdos had recently gotten hooked on a barbecue place.
The electricity there somehow had a greasy, grilled aroma to it.
Grey didn't understand, but he respected it.
And since he'd been there once before and it was pretty clean, he figured he'd bring Steven there for a meal.
"Bzzat!" (Okay!)
Zapdos flapped its wings and shot up, flying toward the city ahead of Articuno.
"Again? Gym Leader Grey isn't sleeping at night—he's just showing off, huh?"
People watched the Zapdos and Articuno flying overhead and spoke with sour jealousy.
First it had been around six or seven, when he rode Articuno with Sabrina to dinner—and now it was past midnight and he'd even brought out Zapdos too!
It was seriously envy-inducing.
Damn it, why wasn't it them sitting on Articuno's back?
"Wait, who's sitting on Articuno with him? Pretty handsome, actually."
"No idea. Maybe one of Grey's big donors? Didn't he say he'd treat them to dinner?"
"Since when? It's not on his profile. Don't tell me you mixed it up with some Gardevoir cosplayer streamer."
"No, he said it on stream—told those big spenders he'd treat them next time they came to Saffron City."
"Oh. Got it."
Down below, residents sipped soda and quietly watched the two birds disappear into the night.
Before long, Grey and Steven reached the destination.
A barbecue shop tucked into a small corner of the Financial District.
After the two of them sat down, the owner walked over with a menu.
"Take a look."
"Steven, anything you want?" Grey asked, handing over the menu.
"It's fine. You decide," Steven said, shaking his head and pushing it back.
"Then bring out whatever your specialties are," Grey said, returning the menu to the owner.
After the owner left, Steven finally spoke. "Gym Leader Grey, there's something I want to ask you."
"What is it?" Grey blinked, phone still in his hand.
Steven's eyes were calm, but there was an unmistakable seriousness beneath the polite smile.
"Gym Leader Grey… have you ever thought about joining Hoenn?"
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