Pokemon: I am Gary

Three days of rest passed quickly. Gary and Lorelei stayed at home playing games for two days…

Although staying up late to play games was a bit hard on the eyes, it also indicated that this game had the potential to become a huge hit.

Additionally, the stubborn Gary, despite the difficult process, finally found his main hero.

That is… Venusaur…

With Poison Powder and Vine Whip, the opponents were so furious they were spitting blood; they couldn't attack, and if they didn't attack, Gary would go to the second tower to cut off their minion line. When they chased after him in anger, they were harassed by Poison Powder and Leech Seed, and before they got close, they were already defeated…

"What filthy things! Get back, get back, get back!" The summoners queued behind Gary had gone mad; Venusaur was once referred to as the point-stealing behemoth…

"Tsk tsk, as expected, classic tactics are still the way to go." Gary nodded proudly. Over these two days, Venusaur had inexplicably been fed extra meals and was feeling a bit dazed…

With the rest day over, the championship tournament was officially upon them.

The first match was still a best-of-three!

Making it to the top sixteen meant they had some skill; Gary couldn't afford to let Nidoking continue to solo.

Thus, arranging the team became a major task.

The Indigo League operated on a pre-registration system; one hour before the match, trainers must submit three main Pokémon and one substitute.

Pokémon not registered cannot participate freely.

Lorelei had already left; Gary sat in the yard with his Pokémon gathered in a circle.

"First elimination match, who's going up?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

Boom! Recently replacing Nidoking as a main member, Rhydon stepped forward. "Rhydooon!"

"Squirtle" is not willing to be outdone; it directly knelt on one knee and punched the ground, creating a deep pit. "Master, I'm ready!"

"Alright, that's two; we still need one more…" Gary's gaze drifted toward Gengar, who was in the corner taking care of children.

"Gah?" Gengar pointed at itself in surprise. Gary nodded slightly.

"Gengga!" Gengar grinned widely, its tongue flopping around. "Finally, it's my turn to perform!"

As the Pokémon with intelligence second only to Golduck, Gengar wasn't just about babysitting and doing housework!

With the three main members confirmed, Gary thought for a moment and filled the substitute position with Charizard.

If he encountered any extraordinary opponents who could blow up fish ponds, he would show them Charizard's prowess!

The Pokémon had no objections to Gary's decision; they just needed to continue training hard—there would always be opportunities to shine.

Eevee-chan remained calm; being the ace meant it needed to keep some things hidden.

A notification dinged from his phone. Gary took it out; it was information from the tournament committee notifying participants to head to the lottery meeting.

After getting dressed, Gary wore a fitted black long-sleeve T-shirt, light blue sports pants, blue high-top sneakers, and topped it off with a white long coat.

He headed out holding Eevee-chan!

The villa area wasn't far from the venue. Gary bought a Jigglypuff, and he and Eevee leisurely licked their treats as they walked toward the venue.

"Ahh~ This flavor is actually a mix of strawberry and cherry; it's perfect!" Gary squinted his eyes in delight as the sweetness relaxed his mood.

"Eevee~" Eevee perched on Gary's shoulder stretched out its little tongue to lick Jigglypuff's ear; its adorable appearance was simply charming.

"Gary!!" At the entrance of the venue, Ash (小智), who arrived earlier, was standing with a familiar face and waved at Gary.

"Ash! Ritchie (阿宏)~ How's your preparation going?" Gary walked over with a smile.

"Hehe, just wait! I'll definitely battle you!" Ash said eagerly.

"Yeah, I hope I can learn from you too," Ritchie responded enthusiastically.

Gary raised an eyebrow at them suspiciously. "What's going on? How come you two are so familiar?"

"Oh! Previously Team Rocket came to steal Pikachu; Ritchie helped me out. We sent Team Rocket flying together!" Ash scratched his head and explained shyly.

"Oh~ Really?" Gary's mouth twitched. "So… did they fly far?"

Ash puffed out his chest. "Of course! When Pikachu made its move, those three nasty guys flew off into the horizon!"

"Actually, I didn't help much. But Ash's Pikachu is indeed very strong," Ritchie humbly added.

Gary broke into a cold sweat—these three big fools fell into one pit and were ready to sleep there…

He thought he should check it out later…

Just then, the big screen flickered on, and soon after that, the top sixteen groupings were officially announced!

Gary looked up and quickly confirmed his opponent.

From Doll Town… someone named Karamy he hadn't heard of before…

However, Ash and Ritchie were shocked; just moments after sharing their hearts with each other, they became opponents in the next match.

They exchanged glances before Ritchie was first to shake off his emotions and smiled as he extended his hand. "Um… let's cheer for each other!"

Ash was an emotional guy; although he was straightforward, he really valued his friends.

Thinking about competing against a friend he had just gotten closer with made him feel uneasy inside.

Just as Ash was preparing for an emotional escape act, Gary leaned in close and scrutinized Ash while clicking his tongue.

"Tsk tsk! You're not thinking of crying over losing your little golden beans are you? Don't act all melodramatic~"

Ash's brewing emotions instantly collapsed as he pushed Gary away. "You're so annoying! Who's going to cry!"

Gary pouted. "Exactly! It's just a competition! Give it your all on stage; after competing we can shake hands amicably—that's what good friends and rivals do."

At this point, Gary became serious. "Respecting your opponent means giving it your all!"

Ritchie nodded in agreement. "That's right! Ash! I hope we can have a match that we won't regret regardless of the outcome—win or lose—you're still my good friend!"

Ash looked up touched; his eyes shimmering with emotion toward Ritchie—

Ritchie!!

Ash!!

Gary shuddered and turned to leave. "You two are really something else! You don't even see how worried Ash is about me! Every time we compete you charge forward yelling like you're afraid I'll die!"

Ash awkwardly smiled. "Um… thanks, Gary! You're also one of my best friends… one of them!"

"Pfft! You two have fun; I'm going back to study my opponent," Gary said as he left Ash behind with a cool demeanor.

...

At the Pokémon League commemorative badge booth inside the venue, Young Master Gary peeked inside.

Three disheveled figures with bandaged heads were still working hard on their products.

"Meow~ Meow~ My paws are too tired!" Meowth, complained while sticking pins onto processed badges as it looked up.

"Stop complaining! There's nothing we can do about it! This failure cost us all our previous funds—if we don't work hard now we won't have dinner tonight!" Jessie gritted her teeth while smashing bottle caps.

James was almost in tears. "Waaah~ My collectibles…"

"Still crying? Think about how you'll explain this when our superiors ask!" Meowth jumped up and started wildly swiping at both of them.

"That's my face! Meowth are you looking for death?!" Jessie immediately dropped her hammer to grab Meowth's tail.

"Exactly! When I got knocked down I was at the bottom! I got hurt the most!" James also joined in on their chaotic brawl without backing down.

The small booth turned into chaos…

"Ahem…" Gary cleared his throat twice; all three heads shot up simultaneously.

"Boss!" The trio quickly slid forward on their knees.

"We're sorry! We failed again!" Meowth lowered its head. "I promise we won't fail next time; if we do fail again you can fire Jessie and James!"

Jessie and James widened their eyes—Meowth are you trying to drag us down with you?

"Um… Boss… We'll pay back our expenses…" Jessie awkwardly rubbed her hands together while smiling nervously.

"Yeah yeah! We definitely will!" James nodded rapidly in agreement.

Looking at their disheveled appearances, Gary sighed. "Didn't I say? You three should use your talents for business instead."

Not listening—now look where you've ended up~

"Hehe… Boss is brilliant~" The trio nodded repeatedly while bowing their heads in apology.

"Forget it; I won't punish you for what happened before. Just don't cause any trouble until after closing ceremony ends. Your task is to increase sales these days to make up for previous losses," Gary sighed again while earnestly advising them.

"Yes!" The trio stood straight like soldiers at attention.

"This is your dinner money for tonight—eat something good since you're injured. Work hard~" Leaving them with some cash bills, Gary waved goodbye as he left.

Meowth held up the cash tearfully moved. "Waaah! We weren't even scolded and got dinner money!"

"The boss is so nice!" James also covered his face while crying tears of joy.

"Okay! Quickly finish processing those badges—we're going for late-night snacks at Family Restaurant tonight!" Jessie raised her hand commanding them enthusiastically.

"Okay!" James and Meowth responded energetically. The Team Rocket work crew set sail once again!