Pokemon: I am Gary

On the second day of the top sixteen in the championship tournament.

Gary's match was the second one of the day, giving him plenty of time to eat and drink before leisurely heading to the competition venue.

Don't ask why Gary's match times are always so perfect; just know someone from the organizing committee is involved!

While the contestants from the first match were battling fiercely, Gary, wearing a warm white fleece hoodie, quietly snuck off to the inner snack stall to grab some takoyaki and a complimentary bucket of milk tea.

"Boss, I'm not satisfied! Why does that person get such a huge bucket of milk tea?" A customer in line complained.

James, who was flipping takoyaki with a skewer, scoffed. "If you're not satisfied, go to another place. Do you think anyone else has my flavor?"

"Meow haha! Don't worry, this customer. That one is today's contestant; we're all his fans, so of course, we treat him specially," Meowth explained with a smile.

"Oh, I see~" The customer nodded in understanding.

The trio glanced at Gary's departing figure and silently offered their respect.

Thanks to their boss's kindness, even though they had failed their mission, they weren't penalized and could continue doing business and enjoying life.

Most importantly, he didn't scold us or fire us!

The trio could only bury themselves in hard work to repay their boss's kindness!

"Wow~ This takoyaki has such big chunks of octopus! So delicious~" Satisfied with his takoyaki, Gary arrived at the player's tunnel and showed his pass.

After confirming that Gary was the next contestant, the staff member let him in with a strange expression.

Eating before a match? This contestant really has a good mindset.

As the weather gradually turned colder, Eevee was even more willing to stay inside its Poké Ball. So today, Gary's little companion was Squirtle.

"Here, want some?" While waiting to enter, Gary offered some takoyaki to Squirtle.

Squirtle looked terrified—was this made from octopus?!

"Well~ No need to be that scared; you've eaten tuna salad and salmon before," Gary said while rubbing Squirtle's little head. Hmm~ Nice texture.

Squirtle diligently held onto the bucket of milk tea, following closely behind Gary, afraid that any spills would cost it its meal…

Soon enough, cheers and applause erupted from inside the venue. Gary knew that a winner had been determined.

Patting his pants, Gary stood up, took a couple sips from his milk tea while holding the toothpick with takoyaki in his mouth, and casually strolled into the arena with his hands in his pockets.

Squirtle followed closely behind him with the milk tea in its arms.

The audience's cheers had not yet subsided when they saw Gary enter again and erupted into applause once more.

"Gary! Look here!" The loudest voice came from a mom fan.

"Gary is really great! Gary is so handsome!" The young female fans were united; they were indeed members of the flourishing support club!

"Ah!! President Gary! I want to have your babies!" Why is that guy back again? Get out of here!

Gary smiled and waved at the audience, receiving another wave of autumn spinach.

Then he looked over at the friends' section where Principal Monet and Professor Oak were each holding a cup of tea, happily waiting for the match to start.

Students from Celadon University and Trainer Academy held up huge banners saying "Professor Oak kills!" in excitement!

Ash hadn't come after all…

...

In the contestant village, Misty and Brock looked helplessly at Ash lying on the bed.

After losing to Ritchie, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for almost a day now.

"Ash, aren't you going to watch Gary's match?" Misty asked cautiously.

"He'll be fine; it's not like me… I even said I'd see him in the finals. Now I have no face to see him…" Ash sulked.

"Ash, cheer up! As a friend, you should at least go support him," Brock urged earnestly.

Ash buried his head deeper into the blanket. "I'm not in the mood…"

Brock and Misty exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly. Aunt Delia sat in the living room glancing inside while continuing to sew clothes.

...

"Alright, everyone! Both sides have entered; judges are ready—the match officially begins!" The commentator shouted passionately.

A young boy in a pink jacket with an overly made-up face walked gracefully onto the stage.

Honestly, Gary never thought he would see "graceful" used to describe a man one day.

"Brother Gary~ You have to go easy on your little brother~" A-Tao pretended to blow a kiss.

Gary's face darkened as he held the toothpick between his teeth and pointed at her with his right index finger. "A-Tao, right? Today, let's see you smile all the way to your grave!"

The referee nearly threw up but quickly waved his hand. "The match begins!"

"Both competition and charm require full effort; go for it, Umbreon!" A-Tao sent out her first Pokémon.

Gary understood her strategy; she would first use Umbreon's excellent resistance to boost its stats before switching to her main Pokémon…

This guy is still a battling enthusiast? Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! This world only needs one dirty strategist like me… cough cough!

"Rhydon!" Gary threw out his Poké Ball. "Crush it!"

"Umbreon, use your cute charm!" A-Tao made a heart gesture.

In the stands, many male spectators shivered at this sight.

Principal Monet was already twitching at the corners of his mouth as he turned back to look at his students. "Where's my knife…?"

The student representative who used to be Giselle's fanboy was now one of Gary's little admirers. "I'll go get it…"

Professor Oak quickly stopped these two fools; they couldn't let them interfere before explaining the match. "Alright! You two take a break; based on what I know about Gary… this girl… no wait; this kid won't have an easy time…"

"Eevee~" To be fair, Umbreon's charm was indeed quite cute; too bad it was with the wrong person.

"Rhydon! Horn Drill!" Gary commanded directly with a wave of his hand.

This move is different from Ground-type moves like Drill Run; Horn Drill is guaranteed critical hit upon landing!

Boom! Rhydon stomped down hard on the ground as cracks formed beneath its feet while it lunged forward powerfully.

"Hmph! How could such a slow move possibly hit?" A-Tao raised her nose high enough that Gary wanted to punch her.

"Ignorance is no excuse; annoying people is your fault!" Gary crossed his arms and coldly snorted.

With Grandpa's Kangaskhan combined with Uncle Giovanni's Earth techniques trained together—do you think I'm joking?!

Smack! Cornered by Rhydon against the wall, Umbreon was left dumbfounded!

A-Tao exclaimed in shock—how could it be so fast!

Gary rolled his eyes; explosive power and speed are not concepts on equal footing!

Using its massive body for agile positioning along with explosive acceleration for an instant compressed its opponent's survival space…

This was one of Professor Oak's Kangaskhan's best combat techniques!

Grabbing her opponent firmly, Rhydon revealed a goofy smile as its horn began spinning rapidly!

"Horn Drill!" Without mercy, Gary commanded as Rhydon charged forward!

Low accuracy? Not possible! Hold your opponent down—let's see if you can miss!

Bang! Umbreon spiraled out like a broken sack and nearly flew out of bounds!

"I might have hit too hard; sorry~" Gary explained calmly.

"How dare you! I won't forgive you!" A-Tao glared at Gary with tears in her eyes like a pear blossom in rain.

Gary almost broke character as he fiercely glared back. "If you keep looking at me like that after this match ends—you'll regret it!"

"Ah! I'm scared~" A-Tao pulled her hands close together like an injured little beast making people want to fry oil…

"Hmph! Go forth, Chansey!" A-Tao sent out her second Pokémon.

Gary raised an eyebrow. "You actually have Chansey?"

"My mom is part of the Joy family; isn't that allowed?" A-Tao replied matter-of-factly.

Gary twitched at this revelation—could it be that her dad ran away leaving her raised among women?

"This time I won't lose! My Chansey is very tough!" A-Tao declared confidently while raising one foot and waving her hand. "Chansey, use Minimize!"

Gary couldn't even be bothered to retort. "Earthquake!"

Rhydon faithfully lifted its two sturdy arms and roared toward the sky! "Roar!!"

A yellow energy ring appeared around its arms as Rhydon slammed its fists into the ground!

Boom! The earth shook violently!

Chairman Goodshow fell onto his backside while rubbing his back with a wry smile. "Oh ho ho! What an intense tremor; I can't take it anymore~"

Before Chansey could minimize much at all—it rolled around painfully on the ground…

"Not even a one-hit KO? Finish it off! Use Heavy Slam!" Gary exclaimed in surprise but still ordered without mercy.

Rhydon stepped forward confidently as its right arm shone brightly with white energy—I'll give you one good slam!

Bang! Chansey flew out of bounds crashing against a nearby wall.

Gasps erupted from the audience—so brutal!

In the VIP seats, several older members of Team Joy couldn't help but shake their heads.

"The level difference is too great; there's no way she can win."

"There's nothing we can do; that kid originally lacked strength. But our goal isn't for him to become champion…"

"I hope this will wake him up."

As an influential family within the league, Team Joy hoped their child could stand on their own feet someday.

But due to their living environment combined with busy work schedules—they had no time to pay attention to their child's growth. Before they knew it—their child had already gone from being pampered to being crushed…

On stage watching A-Tao on the verge of tears made Gary unable to hold back anymore. "Are you even a man? If you're going to fight—fight properly!

You can't even make a decent counterattack—your Pokémon is too pitiful! Are you going to hide behind your Pokémon sucking your thumb?!"

Facing Rhydon's brutal charge—the trainer's first reaction wasn't retaliation or avoidance—this guy covered their eyes—you gotta be kidding me…

With such skill level reaching top sixteen must mean their Pokémon fought desperately!

After being yelled at by Gary—A-Tao directly knelt down trembling as she looked at Chansey lying motionless on the ground.

"Chansey…" Struggling to raise her head—Chansey managed an encouraging smile towards A-Tao before falling heavily back down again.

"Chansey… get up!" Her heartfelt call had no effect as Rhydon charged forward delivering an elbow strike—this would leave even steel behind deep dents—

Ignoring how her makeup was smeared by tears—A-Tao wiped her eyes fiercely and stood up straight once more.

With a soft yet determined voice she declared: "The match isn't over yet!"

Gary rarely showed a smile. "That's more like it—bring it on!"