"Ariados, use String Shot!" In the courtyard of Koga's house, a massive spider web was being spun as the Poison-type Pokémon Ariados diligently sprayed its silk.
"Sneasel, use Icy Wind!"
Skillfully dodging the silk, Sneasel turned around and opened its mouth to unleash an icy gust!
A blast of ice-blue air swept through, freezing all the silk that Ariados had produced into ice sculptures.
"Quick Attack! Then slice through!" Gary's pursuit was incredibly smooth.
With a dash, Sneasel sprinted across the frozen silk, quickly maneuvering behind and striking down!
Smack! Ariados was exhausted and lost its ability to battle.
"Ah~ I lost," Janine said, taking off her badge and handing it to Gary with disappointment.
"To have fought me for so many rounds, you're pretty strong," Gary replied with a smile as he accepted the badge.
Under Gary's "unintentional" leniency, Janine's Muk and Ariados had engaged in several lively rounds against him.
It was a "narrow victory" for Gary...
Koga affectionately ruffled Janine's hair. "You've grown up; you did well."
Tears welled up in Janine's eyes; it had been a long time since her father praised her.
"I trust you with the Fuchsia Gym, so I can confidently head to Johto," Koga encouraged with a smile.
Quietly pocketing the badge, Gary glanced at the father-daughter duo chatting happily before turning to leave.
"Hey bro, your son-in-law just bolted," Aya reminded from the side.
"Ah?" Both Koga and Janine turned their heads to see Gary riding his Arcanine making a hasty exit.
Wow, if he didn't run fast enough, he wouldn't do justice to Arcanine's four legs.
"This kid is actually pretty good; what a pity," Koga shook his head regretfully.
"Dad!" Janine stomped her foot and ran out the door.
Watching her leave, Aya shook his head. "Saying she doesn't want him but her body is quite honest."
"Gary, good luck at the Indigo League!! I'll be cheering for you!!" She shouted loudly as she reached the door.
With his back to her, Gary raised one hand slightly in acknowledgment without saying a word.
Standing behind Janine, Koga shook his head helplessly. "This is what puberty is like."
Feeling envious, Aya tilted his head. "Meeting someone like that during puberty is quite nice~" Having run out of the deep mountains, Gary successfully arrived in Fuchsia City.
As a small city with its gym located deep in the mountains, one can imagine how rudimentary its infrastructure is.
He headed straight to the Pokémon Center where he restored Arcanine's stamina before hitting up the friendly shop for supplies.
Bread, ramen, protein bars, various energy drinks, and some energy supplements for Pokémon—
There was no choice; since Janine had nearly emptied his supplies earlier, he decided to stock up this time.
Who knows if his next friend would also be a bottomless pit...
Pushing three shopping carts full of goods, Gary returned triumphantly. In response to the cashier's astonished gaze, he calmly pulled out his credit card from Lance. "Charge this one~"
"Ding! Credit card charge of 130,000~" The phone in Lance's pocket rang with a notification while he was in a meeting at Indigo Plateau.
Looking across the table at Caitlin, who was snacking away, he wore a puzzled expression.
Why does it feel like something's off...
Smack! Old man Goodshow slammed his hand on the table. "Lance, what are you daydreaming about? We're in a meeting!"
Scratching his head, Lance replied, "Oh, I might have misheard; please continue speaking, old man." "Hey! It's Gary from Pallet Town! You have a video call~" Just as he returned to the Pokémon Center, he heard an announcement over the intercom.
"Ugh~ To make a video call just to reach the Pokémon Center; I really hope we can use smartphones soon," he sighed and walked over to the phone booth.
"Yo! Gary~" Professor Oak greeted cheerfully as he appeared on screen.
"Grandpa, why are you so dirty?" Gary frowned upon seeing Professor Oak, who looked sticky and surrounded by purple gas...
"Oh. This? Ash caught a Muk, and let me tell you—it's hilarious! It came right at me with a body slam. You wouldn't believe how fun it is…" Professor Oak animatedly described.
The corner of Gary's mouth twitched. "Grandpa, have you awakened some strange hobby?"
"Ahem~ Don't mind the details," Professor Oak said seriously. "So where are you now?"
"Oh. I just arrived in Fuchsia City after finishing my gym battle." Gary shrugged casually.
"No surprise you're my grandson; even after all that happened on your journey, you're still the fastest," Professor Oak nodded approvingly.
"I'm the fastest?" Gary asked in confusion.
"Yes! Shawn got stuck at the Celadon Gym while Leaf has already given up on her challenge~" Professor Oak sighed heavily.
"I see." Nodding thoughtfully, it seemed that this year only he and Ash from Pallet Town could smoothly participate in the Indigo League.
"By the way, are you planning to head to the Wild Prairie Zone next?" Professor Oak asked curiously.
"I'm considering it." Gary nodded; after all, Pokémon quality in that area is generally good. He could think about catching a few there.
"That's great! Make sure to stop by at the residence of the Laramie tribe on your way." Professor Oak clapped excitedly.
"That nomadic tribe?" After thinking for a moment, Gary asked for clarification.
"Exactly! The old chief there is an old friend of mine. He mentioned that there's a girl named Lara who discovered an undocumented Pokémon and wants me to verify it." Professor Oak took a sip of tea. "You're quite knowledgeable about global Pokédexes; I'm counting on you to check it out."
"Oh~ okay then; I'll take a look while I'm there. By the way, Grandpa, has my Poké Ball unblocking application been approved?" He asked while nodding again.
"Hmm! I was just about to tell you that it has been approved." Professor Oak pointed at the screen of his phone. "You need to put your Pokédex into its card slot."
Taking out his Pokédex and placing it into the card slot of the phone,
After some operations from Professor Oak, they saw three flashes from the indicator light on the Pokédex.
"All done! Now you can carry more than six Poké Balls," Professor Oak said proudly with hands on his hips.
"Great! Grandpa, please send over my Nidoking and Charizard." Satisfied after recalling his reliable partners back to him, Gary hung up after thanking him.
As night fell, he decided to rest at the Pokémon Center in Fuchsia City for one night.
The next day, he rode off from Fuchsia City on his Charizard.
Wearing windproof goggles, he watched Charizard cut through clouds at high speed with satisfaction.
After training with Professor Oak's old Dragonite, Charizard's flying abilities had indeed improved significantly.
"By the way, Charizard; I heard Grandpa's Charizard helped you quit drinking—did you really quit?" He patted Charizard's back curiously while asking.
"Wah~" Charizard tilted its head and pouted while shaking its head in response.
"No way~ Drinking just makes me stronger; fighting doesn't hurt either. But now I don't drink while flying."
Charizard gave a thumbs-up indicating non-compliance—tears streaming down both sides...
"Well then." Nodding contentedly, Gary thought that drinking occasionally isn't unaffordable; as long as Charizard doesn't fly him around while drunk...
Buildings gradually became sparse beneath him until vast grasslands came into view ahead.
"The Wild Prairie…" Nodding thoughtfully as he observed. "This should be where Wild Zone is—wait! Is that a Kangaskhan?"
His eyes lit up; Kangaskhan isn't an ordinary Pokémon but rather rare in Kanto Plains and Kalos Plains!
Truly wild treasures; most importantly—Professor Oak has one too; that's legendary!
"Heh heh~ This must be heaven-sent! Charizard! Dive down!" He took out a Poké Ball. "Watch me catch it today!"
└o┘ Ah woo~
Charizard responded excitedly before diving rapidly into the grassland!
"I'm coming!"
The next second… snap—
Under Officer Jenny's gunpoint, both Gary and Charizard squatted down obediently with their hands raised high. "Um... Miss Jenny... I truly didn't see that there were signs saying 'Protected Area' behind 'Wild Prairie'... It's all just a misunderstanding…"