After resting overnight at Lorelei's villa, Gary woke up early, full of energy.
Today, he was going to solo Grampa Canyon and needed to prepare early.
Yes, solo! With Lorelei as the nominal main character, she wouldn't get a single point of experience.
Thinking this way, Gary worked even harder on breakfast.
There was no way he could give away money or experience, and offering himself was too soon, so he had to bribe Lorelei's stomach well...
Sitting in the living room, Golduck was watching "Crazy Fiery Horse Show," giving a thumbs up. To win a woman's heart, one must fill her belly—no problem with that!
Gary's mouth twitched. "Can you watch something normal about Pokémon?"
"Cuba~" Golduck pointed at the laptop nearby.
Sneasel was seriously watching Lorelei's Ice Techniques, with countless question marks floating above its head.
Gary nearly lost it. With a better teacher around, why not ask her?
He picked up Sneasel and handed it to Slowbro. "Slowbro, please take care of my useless Sneasel. Make sure it understands how to use Ice Punch!"
Sneasel looked skeptically at Slowbro, wondering if it could be trusted.
"Yah~" Slowbro looked dazed for a moment before suddenly doing a little shuffle in place. With a swift motion, it threw two punches, sending a chilling breeze that made Sneasel's pupils shake!
Electabuzz was charging up the power generator; today was its turn to shine, and it was full of energy.
Eevee and Lorelei's Glaceon were peacefully strolling around the house.
Although Glaceon was raised later, its aura felt more like an older sister as it kindly led Eevee on patrol.
Charizard rested behind the sofa to regain energy, while Gengar floated on the ceiling taking a nap. Nidoking and Nidoqueen were at the door enjoying the flowers—
Only Scizor was diligently practicing its energy gathering. When it noticed Gary's gaze, it calmly closed its eyes and focused.
Gary couldn't help but roll his eyes. Although Lorelei's other Pokémon liked living in water, couldn't they be a bit more polite? Did they really take this place as their home?
"Oh no! My pot is boiling!" With his hands behind his back, Gary hurriedly shuffled into the kitchen in his fluffy slippers.
The breakfast menu included cappuccino frothy coffee paired with tuna sandwiches and plum rice balls—emphasizing carbohydrate replenishment.
Berry salad and pan-seared cod served as side dishes, topped off with French toast for dessert.
A hearty breakfast was soon served on the table.
After preparing breakfast for his Pokémon, Gary returned from feeding Cloyster by the lake just as Lorelei came back inside.
"Wow~ Today's breakfast looks so rich!" Lorelei smiled as she sat down at the table.
"It's going to be a tough day today, so I prepared more carbohydrates," Gary replied with a grin.
"Hope I won't gain weight~" Lorelei worriedly touched her slender waist.
"Don't worry, Lorelei! I'm good at calculating calories," Gary assured her confidently. "The bread is whole grain, and all the sweetness is replaced with zero-calorie sugar. I guarantee it's tasty without adding weight."
"Whew~ You're truly a savior for girls!" Lorelei cheered as she picked up a slice of French toast and began to eat contentedly.
With a smile, Gary reached for a napkin to hand to her. Noticing that she had both hands holding toast and instinctively pouting her lips while positioning her cheek made him pause for a moment.
Gently wiping away the cream from the corner of her mouth made him act casually while starting to eat himself.
As Lorelei took a sip of coffee, her cheeks flushed slightly under her glasses. Oh my gosh! What am I doing? This is too bold!
Gary swallowed half of his sour plum rice ball in one bite; oh no—why did he feel like his mouth tasted so sweet...
The two shared an odd glance before quickly averting their eyes.
While eating quietly, Golduck, munching on its rice bowl, secretly glanced over at Gary... "Cuba~ (If I'd known dog food would be this delicious, I would've eaten less for breakfast!)"
Finishing breakfast in silence, Gary and Lorelei tidied up their Pokémon before heading to the entrance of Grampa Canyon.
"Hello! Are you Miss Elite Four Lorelei?" Officer Jenny greeted them at the entrance in an official manner.
Lorelei presented her prepared written order to Officer Jenny, who then cleared a path for them through the surrounding officers.
Curiously observing their surroundings, they made their way to the center of the canyon.
"Is there really fossil Pokémon here?" Looking at the uneven ground that seemed like it had been dug by dogs, Lorelei asked doubtfully.
"Don't worry; my intel is reliable. This should be the spot," Gary replied after checking the elevation around them; the focal point should be right beneath their feet.
"Come out! Nidoking! Nidoqueen!" He waved his hand as his husband-wife duo entered the scene!
"Roar!" It might have been an illusion, but today Nidoking looked especially imposing!
Nidoqueen gazed lovingly at Nidoking with affectionate sounds...
Lorelei: "A couple?"
Gary: "￢￢ Oops! I just fed myself some dog food."
"Stop showing off you two; let's create an earthquake!" Gary called out once more as he released Golduck, who used telekinesis to lift both Gary and Lorelei into the air.
"Roar!!" Nidoking and Nidoqueen exchanged glances before nodding in unison.
Boom! With their powerful legs stomping down on the ground as two Nidoking became the epicenter of shockwaves rippling outward!
Gary smiled slightly; this served as knocking on doors—saving them from being accused of sneak attacks by any ancient Pokémon down below.
Crash! A sound of collapsing ground echoed as Nidoking and Nidoqueen leaped to safety. Meanwhile, where they had caused tremors had revealed a dark entrance below them.
"This is it! Let's go," Gary said looking at Lorelei.
Lorelei nodded and took out her Poké Balls. "Let's go!"
With Golduck guiding them down gently until they firmly stood inside the cave...
"I didn't expect Grampa Canyon to be an empty cavern; thankfully there wasn't extensive excavation," said Lorelei, relieved.
If there had been significant collapses here, it could have endangered lives!
"Eevee! Electabuzz! Charizard! Get ready!" Throwing out his Poké Balls, Gary cautiously scanned their surroundings.
The power granted by his energy allowed him to sense that there was an overwhelming malice surrounding them!
Buzz~ Deep within the cave, several pairs of crimson eyes lit up slowly approaching Gary and Lorelei's direction.
"Jinx! Slowbro! Get ready!" Lorelei released her bodyguards before calmly facing whatever approached them.
With thuds growing closer from afar, unknown Pokémon gradually revealed themselves in full view.
To their surprise—there were two Kabuto and one Kabutops along with two Omanyte and one Omastar.
"It really is ancient Pokémon!" Lorelei's brows furrowed. "Their aura…"
"They're fierce~" Gary nodded. "Unlike fossilized Pokémon that have been revived—they are truly prehistoric creatures that lived hundreds or thousands of years ago!
These Pokémon harbor no goodwill towards humans; they firmly believe in survival of the fittest!"
Looking into those bloodshot eyes filled with aggression made Lorelei reason that they genuinely intended to eat them—"How to tame them will be quite problematic."
"Actually, it's simple; ancient Pokémon are drawn to strength. There must be one strongest ancient creature here. Find it and defeat it—then these little Kabuto won't dare provoke humans anymore," Gary calmly explained.
"I see! Then let's not hold back." Adjusting her glasses while revealing an icy smile she said: "Let's do this without holding back."
With a clap of his hands, Gary pulled out two pairs of sunglasses for himself and Lorelei.
"?????~ Electabuzz! First hit with Thunder Wave followed by Thunderbolt!"
Electabuzz excitedly swung its arms. "Electa!"
With a snap—a bright light flashed through illuminating the cave like daylight followed by blinding golden electricity raining down!
Having lived in this cave for countless ages—the Kabuto were fine; their small eyes were manageable...
However, other Pokémon with normal-sized eyes like Omanyte couldn't handle such brightness and immediately covered their eyes while collapsing down flat; subsequently getting struck by lightning left no chance for escape!
Watching all those ancient Pokémon get wiped out completely made Gary push up his sunglasses comfortably...