"Yeah. When the movie comes out, I'm inviting everyone from the Saffron Gym and the Fighting Dojo to come watch."
To Sabrina, this was her first time acting in a movie. That made it something truly meaningful.
So of course she wanted to invite all the friends she knew.
The cost did not matter much. She could afford it.
"Grey, can I battle you?"
Once the movie talk was over, Rosa immediately shifted her attention back to Grey.
Not many Fighting Dojo badges had been handed out yet, and Rosa wanted to become the second Trainer to win one.
"Hm? Sure, I don't mind, but the Pokémon I brought with me are all really strong. Are you sure you still want to battle me?"
Grey scratched his cheek.
Even if he temporarily swapped out his team back at the Dojo, the weakest Pokémon in his lineup, Conkeldurr, was already level 45, while the rest had all reached the 50 mark.
If Rosa wanted to battle him and actually win, it would be incredibly difficult.
Almost impossible, really.
Against opponents at the same level, Grey considered himself solidly Tier 1.
He could even go toe-to-toe with the real Tier 0 monsters, Trainers on the level of Red and Blue.
That was not him joking around. He genuinely believed he had reached that level.
"Ehh..."
Rosa dragged out the sound, then looked toward Grey's Lucario.
Honestly, even if every Pokémon on her team rushed in together, they probably still would not be able to bring down Grey's Lucario.
"Grey, then what Pokémon do you have with you this time?"
Rosa was curious what sort of team he had brought to Unova.
"Annihilape, Gallade, Blaziken, Articuno, Metagross, and Lucario."
Those were the six Pokémon Grey was openly carrying with him.
Aside from those six, there were also Little Riolu and Genesect, two special cases that sat outside the normal scale.
One of them was not in a Poké Ball, and the other one's Ball was currently being carried by Little Riolu.
That was right. Genesect's Poké Ball had been handed over to Little Riolu for safekeeping.
It was basically a small loophole exploit.
Almost his entire visible team was at Elite Four level, and even Metagross was getting close to the level of a powerhouse Gym Leader's ace.
His partners were improving at an incredible pace, so for Rosa to battle him on even footing was genuinely difficult.
"In that case, I guess there's nothing I can do."
Rosa's voice dropped with disappointment.
She had finally worked up the courage to challenge a Gym Leader who was practically at the Elite Four level, only to find out that because he was carrying almost all of his main team, there was no chance of having a balanced match.
"Melo!" (I want to battle!)
Meloetta floated over and volunteered on her own.
Little Riolu stood behind her, smiling as it watched the scene unfold.
There was no need to think too hard about it. Little Riolu had clearly been the one nudging this along.
"Oh? Meloetta, you want to battle?"
Grey raised an eyebrow. If it was Meloetta, then her strength really was around the same level as the Pokémon Rosa was carrying.
That meant there was no need to worry about one of his main battlers completely steamrolling her.
"Melo." (Yes~ You're supposed to be a really amazing Trainer, right? Even Mew had endless praise for you. If it's you, then I guess letting you command me once wouldn't be out of the question.)
Meloetta lifted one of her musical-note-like hands, lightly brushed back her long hair, and then offered Grey a fist bump.
Seeing that, Grey smiled and held out his own hand, bumping fists with Meloetta.
"Then let's call this a temporary partnership. Please take care of me, Meloetta."
After saying that, he looked at Rosa and asked, "Miss Rosa, how about I use Meloetta to battle you?"
"!!!"
Rosa's pupils widened instantly. A flush spread across her face so quickly it was visible to the naked eye, and even a few strands of her hair seemed to spring up with excitement as her voice leaped an octave higher.
"R-really?!"
Not only was she getting to battle Grey, she was also getting to battle with adorable little Meloetta in the match.
This...
Today, she was officially the happiest Trainer in all of Unova.
"Your four cappuccinos are ready."
The guy at the counter had finished making the coffee.
Rosa felt like time was too precious to waste, so she did not bother sipping hers slowly. She simply gulped it down in big mouthfuls without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing her drink like that made Grey laugh a few times.
Then he followed suit and finished off his cappuccino too.
Sabrina and Caitlin both fell briefly silent.
They were much more refined when drinking coffee, so suddenly seeing this kind of bold, heroic drinking style left them a little unable to adjust.
"Take your time. I'm not in a hurry."
Rosa waved her hand, then sat back down and carefully wiped off her Poké Ball.
But the moment she thought about battling Grey and Meloetta, her hands started moving faster and faster.
Half an hour later, inside Café Sonata, there was a dedicated battle field in one of the inner rooms.
"Should I start a stream...?"
Grey found himself facing a new question.
He did not know whether Meloetta was willing to appear on camera.
She was a Mythical Pokémon, after all, and members of Team Plasma were constantly trying to get their hands on her.
If her location got exposed because of a stream, that would do far more harm than good.
"Melo!" (I don't mind at all! And I really want everyone to hear my singing too!)
Even though Team Plasma was after her, Meloetta still wanted to share her voice with the world.
From Little Riolu, she had learned that Grey was a fairly well-known streamer. If she could use his stream to spread her own name and let more people hear her singing, that was exactly the kind of thing she wanted.
So Meloetta had no intention of avoiding the stream.
It was not like she was meeting people face-to-face. There was nothing to be scared of.
Compared to her offline social anxiety, learning that streaming meant she would not actually have to meet strangers in person made Meloetta much bolder.
"Okay, then I'll start the stream."
Grey set the streaming equipment off to the side, then entered the title and tags for the broadcast.
Title: [First Meeting with Unova's Little Songstress, Sparring with a Rising Film Star]
Tags: [Songstress] [Cute] [Movie] [Not Staged]
[Yo, yo, yo, isn't that Rosa? How did Gym Leader Grey run into the hot new young film star?]
[I remember Rosa only got her Pokémon pretty recently, right? It hasn't even been half a year yet. What Pokémon is Gym Leader Grey using?]
[Don't tell me it's Annihilape?]
[What's that cute little Pokémon? Does anyone know?]
[Holy crap! Isn't that the Mythical Pokémon Meloetta? The streamer goes to Unova, just gets off the plane, and already runs into a Mythical Pokémon!]
["Just landed in Unova, randomly met a Mythical Pokémon."]
The audience exploded with excitement.
No one had expected that not only would they get to watch Grey battle Rosa, they would also get to see the strength of the Mythical Pokémon Meloetta for themselves.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.