Author's Note: The poll is officially closed for the preferred pseudo legendary , let me just throw in some numbers out of 101 votes 39% was for tyranitar on patreon and out of 242 votes for RR 30.17% votes were for tyranitar , as we have a clear majority in both polls Grey will be getting a larvitar in the future , now as to when he gets it that is uncertain but it isnt anytime soon .
A lot of readers also had the query that suddenly Grey is starting to use the overused popular pokemon and moving away from before when he used to catch regular pokemon that were good but not too loved, I can understand but Grey catching those pokemon was a result of his circumstances rather than him being ready to catch them specifically that said only few pokemon for which I give a poll would be popular pokemon rest Grey's team would be filled with strong but not the most popular options as realistically rare pokemon arent given out of nothing I need some solid justification for it , for example the entire ss anne thing as I didnt want him to get Ash's pokemon or even introduce cross as even I have read that multiple times so I went with the whole tournament approach , that said a tournament was in my plans even without charmander its just that went out of hand a bit with the increase in the arc. That said enjoy , also chapters might be less as hectic week and next week also very tough for me but will try to keep regular weekly uploads at least.
Grey's POV
After receiving both the Cascade Badge and the reusable TM for Water Pulse, I headed straight to the Pokémon Center. The first thing I did was hand over all my Pokémon to Nurse Joy for treatment. While they recovered, I sat in the waiting area thinking back on the battle. It hadn't been the challenge I had originally hoped for, but Charmander and Axew had both exceeded my expectations, and Exeggutor had once again proven why he was the backbone of my team.
Once everyone was fully healed, I gathered them together outside the center and held up the Cascade Badge.
"We won."
A chorus of happy cries immediately followed. Charmander puffed out her chest proudly despite having been the only one to lose her battle. Axew looked excited after defeating a fully evolved dragon. Exeggutor looked as calm as ever, though a few of his heads seemed rather smug. Cloyster clicked his shell in approval, while Persian merely acted as if the victory had been expected from the beginning.
I laughed before taking out their Poké Food. Since today was something of a celebration, I mixed it with proper cooked food I had bought from one of Cerulean's restaurants. They all dug in enthusiastically while I grabbed myself a decent lunch as well.
Today would also be my final full day in Cerulean City.
It had been quite some time since I first arrived here. Between recovering from my injuries, training, exploring the city, visiting Bill, and finally earning the Cascade Badge, I had spent much longer here than I originally expected.
After lunch, I dropped Persian off with Mr. Stuffle once again so she could continue learning Dig. Today would be the last chance she had before we left Cerulean, so I wanted her to squeeze in as much practice as possible.
The rest of my day was fairly relaxed. I wandered through a few nearby routes and battled several trainers whenever they challenged me. Unfortunately, those battles turned out to be incredibly boring.
Normally, even if the opponents were weak, Charmander would at least have to put in some effort. However, after recovering from her battle against Kingdra, something had clearly changed in her mentality. Losing that match had lit a new fire inside her. She fought with far greater determination than before, and trainer after trainer fell without being able to put up much resistance.
Eventually I stopped accepting every battle that came my way.
There wasn't much point in bullying beginner trainers anymore. Instead, I focused on some light training with my team while using the free time to organize my thoughts for the journey ahead.
The plan itself was fairly straightforward.
Tomorrow I would leave Cerulean and head through Mt. Moon toward Pewter City. After crossing it, I intended to challenge the local minor gym there for another badge before continuing my journey. If everything went according to plan, I would eventually return to challenge Sabrina for my seventh badge.
As for my Pokémon, I already had clear goals for each of them.
Cloyster and Persian would begin working on Water Pulse after learning it from the TM. Cloyster still had his usual routine of refining Shell Smash, improving his aim with Icicle Spear, and polishing the finer details of his battling style.
Persian, on the other hand, had an extremely packed schedule ahead of her.
She still needed to completely master Dig. Iron Tail, and now Water Pulse had been added as well. She would probably be working on those three moves until Pewter, perhaps even beyond that.
Still, the investment would be worth it.
None of those attacks would receive STAB, so they would never hit as hard as her Normal-type attacks. However, they would give her valuable coverage against Pokémon she previously struggled to damage. Combined with her incredible speed, Persian would gradually become a jack-of-all-trades capable of answering a wide variety of situations.
Charmander and Axew would continue training together like always.
Axew, in particular, looked like he could evolve at any moment. He had grown noticeably larger than a normal Axew, and after all the difficult battles he had gone through—including the Cerulean Gym—I honestly felt he was simply waiting for one final push.
There wasn't much I could do besides continue believing in him.
Charmander's focus remained Sunny Day.
Now that she had finally learned the move, the next objective was refining it while drawing out more of her Solar Power ability. Eventually, I wanted my entire team to become accustomed to battling under harsh sunlight. Two of my Pokémon already benefited immensely from it.
Who knew?
Maybe sometime in the future I could even teach Axew a Fire-type move so he could take advantage of the sunlight as well. Persian might also benefit if I could find the right techniques for her.
Exeggutor's training plan remained mostly unchanged.
He still needed to reduce his weaknesses while continuing to refine Solar Beam. Although the attack had looked impressive during the gym battle, both of us knew it still relied heavily on Sunny Day and Chlorophyll. The goal was to eventually shorten its charging time through practice alone so that even without perfect conditions it could become a reliable weapon.
Satisfied with my plans, I let everyone continue training while I relaxed beneath a nearby tree and casually browsed PokéNet.
Most of the news was the usual mix of tournament results, League announcements, and trainer gossip.
Then one article caught my eye.
Security Increased Across Celadon City.
I frowned.
The article didn't explain much. It simply stated that police presence throughout the city had noticeably increased and that several League officers had also been deployed. Officially, it was being called a routine security measure.
"..."
My stomach sank.
No...
Please don't let it be what I'm thinking.
Team Rocket.
Had my report of the game corner after the S.S. Anne finally started something? Were the League preparing for a major operation? Or worse... had Team Rocket already begun making their own move?
Nothing had actually happened yet according to the article.
Still...
I immediately opened my phone and messaged both of my parents.
Me:Stay safe. Security in Celadon is unusually tight. Please take a few days off from work and stay home if possible.
A few minutes later my mother replied.
Mom:Grey? What's wrong? Why are you suddenly telling us this?
I hesitated before typing back.
Me:I have a bad feeling. There might be some incidents soon. I just want both of you to stay safe.
Another minute passed.
Then she simply replied,
Mom:Okay.
I let out a small sigh of relief.
Normally, convincing my parents to miss work would have been almost impossible. They weren't the type to stay home because of a vague warning.
Thankfully, money was no longer the issue it once had been.
Flashback – After the S.S. Anne Tournament
After winning the tournament, I had called my parents and insisted on sending them part of my prize money.
They refused immediately.
"Use it for your journey," Dad had said. "You'll need it more than we do."
Mom had agreed just as stubbornly.
After nearly half an hour of arguing, we finally reached a compromise.
Instead of sending them spending money directly, I would deposit any surplus earnings into a joint bank account registered under my mother's name.
Bill would help manage those funds.
Some of the money would remain safely in the bank, while the rest would occasionally be invested into companies Bill believed had good long-term potential. If my family ever genuinely needed money, they could withdraw it whenever necessary.
On my end, I would only deposit funds that I knew I wouldn't need during my journey. After all, I had already learned to travel fairly cheaply.
Everyone accepted that arrangement.
...Well, there was another tiny advantage too.
If I somehow ended up in a messy divorce decades from now, at least most of my assets wouldn't technically be under my own name.
Future Grey could thank present Grey for planning ahead.
Flashback End
I smiled slightly to myself.
As strange as my warning must have sounded, my parents trusted me enough not to question it too much.
Hopefully...
Nothing would happen.
But if Team Rocket really was preparing to move...
Then I'd rather look paranoid than regret staying silent.
————————————————-
Grey's POV
Anyway, with that dealt with and today's training completed, I took all of my Pokémon back to the Pokémon Center to get them healed. Once Nurse Joy finished treating everyone, I thanked her and went to pick up Persian from Mr. Stuffle.
Persian seemed a lot more confident than before. According to Mr. Stuffle, she had managed to grasp the basics of Dig and should now be able to continue improving the move through regular practice with me. He also gave me a few tips on how to train it more effectively, mainly about helping her navigate underground better before focusing on speed. I quickly noted everything down in my small notepad before thanking him for all his help over the last two days.
After that, I treated Persian to another premium meal for surviving another day with that digging man. She happily accepted the food, immediately forgetting all the dirty looks she had been giving me earlier.
With everyone healed and fed, I returned to the Pokémon Center. There wasn't much left to do in Cerulean anymore. I spent some time reorganizing my backpack, making sure I had enough supplies for travelling through Mt. Moon. Potions, food, spare clothes and the rest of my essentials were all packed properly.
Tomorrow, my team and I would once again head into Mt. Moon, this time not to explore it, but to finally cross it and continue our journey toward Pewter City.
With that thought, I lay down on my bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.