Pokemon: I am Gary

Taking advantage of the cool autumn monsoon, a barbecue movie party is definitely the best choice.

On the dirt clearing by the pond, Gary finished preparing the grill and charcoal.

Next, it was time to go shopping for ingredients.

"Eevee, let's go buy some groceries," called out Gary as he picked up a basket and got ready to head out.

In the yard, Gary's Pokémon had already gathered around to help a little.

Nidoking and Nidoqueen were responsible for hanging up the movie screen, while Arcanine and Charizard took care of heating the charcoal.

Venusaur helped Professor Oak move out the outdoor projector.

At a makeshift cooking station, Sneasel was using its paws to create sparks, chopping bell peppers, carrots, matsutake mushrooms, and onions into sizes suitable for skewers.

Scizor was preparing a bunch of wooden sticks for skewers. After glancing at Sneasel, it smiled with satisfaction.

The cutting task had a successor!

After being cut by Scizor again, Tyranitar was completely unmotivated, sitting by the river drawing circles in the dirt.

It couldn't understand how that Scizor could take it down in one hit despite having no advantage in level or type...

Thinking of Scizor's relentless slicing attack made Tyranitar tremble uncontrollably.

The one-hit KO move from Scizor was just too terrifying...

The newcomer Dratini had also been taken in by Gary and was playing around with Gengar and Togepi.

Although it was a newbie, under the training of Dragonite, this little guy's strength should not be underestimated.

It had mastered at least three types of moves: Water, Ice, and Electric. When it got fired up, it had quite the presence of a future champion.

Watching the little ones busily moving about, Professor Oak stood at the back door with a warm smile. "My dear grandson has so many good friends now; that's wonderful!"

"Muk!" A chubby Muk, taking advantage of Professor Oak's distraction, unleashed a powerful love tackle...

Venusaur turned around, tilting its head in confusion. "Hey? Where's the professor?"

"Wuwuwu~" The completely engulfed Professor Oak could only emit incomprehensible whimpering sounds...

With Eevee perched on his shoulder, Gary hummed a tune as he headed to the town supermarket.

The local aunties and uncles had watched Gary grow up, continuously praising him along the way for his achievements.

Gary smiled back at his neighbors. One uncle handed him two salmon fillets while another aunt gave him two bottles of homemade juice.

Before reaching the supermarket door, Gary helplessly realized he could no longer carry anything in his hands.

"What do I do now?" Gary said awkwardly with a smile.

"Eevee…" Eevee tilted its head adorably. "I'm also just Eevee!"

"Um…" A calm voice chimed in as Rhydon popped its goofy face out from behind a small tree nearby.

It turned out that this big guy had been secretly following Gary all along, thinking it was perfectly hidden.

"Come here; you can help me carry stuff," Gary smiled and waved. Rhydon happily walked over with its tail wagging excitedly.

Back then, it was alongside Eevee, Arcanine and Rhydon, known as the "Tail Wag Trio." The three Pokémon loved to line up from biggest to smallest and wag their tails together...

With Rhydon's help, Gary could finally shop without worry.

The supermarket in Pallet Town, although small, had everything one might need. After all, it served as the supply base for the entire town.

After selecting marbled beef along with chicken wings, drumsticks, shrimp, and oysters among other ingredients—all loaded onto Rhydon's back—Gary nodded in satisfaction. "Alright! Let's head home!"

After quite an adventure shopping, the sky gradually darkened. In the sunset glow, Gary led Rhydon and Eevee—three figures of varying sizes—into a harmonious silhouette stretched long behind them...

...

Click! As Gary pushed open the door to the lab, his eyes twitched slightly.

Professor Oak was sitting obediently on the sofa across from Agatha, who held a cane with Gengar floating behind her.

"Gary! It's been a while! I came to visit Professor Oak with Agatha," said Lorelei, her face slightly flushed as she explained.

"Is that so…?" Gary looked at Professor Oak with an odd expression. "If you've been kidnapped, blink your eyes…"

"Haha… haha… cough cough…" Professor Oak awkwardly chuckled twice. "Well, my dear grandson, Agatha and Miss Lorelei will be staying at our house today; please tidy up the guest room…"

Gary nodded silently. "Eevee, can you go find Gengar and have him tidy up the guest room?"

Eevee nodded and ran to the backyard. In a short while, Gengar returned wearing a pink apron.

"Thanks for your help, Gengar!" Gary said with an exasperated smile.

"Gengar!" Gengar flashed a peace sign with its big fangs gleaming...

"Well... I need to prepare dinner now; why don't we all go to the yard? Let Grandpa show everyone a movie first?" Gary suggested awkwardly.

"Oh right! I'll go set up the movie; before the main feature starts, we can watch a romantic film from Kalos!" Professor Oak leaped out of the room excitedly.

Seeing Agatha's meaningful smile made Gary bitterly smile back. "Grandpa, don't blame me; one of us has to survive…"

"Agatha! Let me arrange your seat so Grandpa can accompany you to watch the movie later," Gary said amiably.

"Hmm! You're so considerate," Agatha smiled knowingly and tossed Gengar a notebook after it finished cleaning...

"What's this? 'Self-Cultivation of Excellent Gengar: Skill Moves and Training Outline?'" Gengar's eyes sparkled as it hugged the notebook tightly.

Gary raised his hand; no! That's not what I meant... Well... that smells good...

Letting Gengar study on its own, Gary picked up some materials nearby. "Lorelei! Let's head to the yard too."

Lorelei nodded slightly with a gentle smile. "Sure!"

Thus, as sunlight gradually faded away in Professor Oak's backyard, a giant white screen was set up for an old movie screening.

The Kalos love story was a classic romantic art film starring an inexperienced actress named Diantha.

Each region has different mainstream movies; for example: Unova loves superhero films while Kalos prefers romantic idol movies; Galar leans more towards popcorn blockbusters...

While Gary prepared skewers during intermission, Professor Oak and Agatha watched Diantha and her male lead's love-hate relationship along with various Pokémon.

The romance between Gallade and Gardevoir also captivated everyone's attention.

At story's end, Gardevoir lay in Gallade's arms as Diantha tearfully recited that classic line: "Saranghae~ I love you!"

Agatha's gaze softened rarely while Professor Oak scratched his head awkwardly.

Noticing Lorelei's sparkling eyes directed at him made Gary uncomfortably pout. "So why does every romance movie have to end tragically?"

Lorelei turned her head towards Gary while he smiled slightly. "If I were the male lead knowing that my crush married someone else, I definitely wouldn't just give up."

"What would you do?" Lorelei looked at him expectantly.

Gary posed like he was holding a gun with his right hand. "I would take Eevee and Charizard and blow up their wedding car's axle! If I like someone—no way I'd let them go to someone else!"

Lorelei suddenly froze before breaking into a radiant smile. "Alright! I'll help you when that time comes!"

Gary beamed widely showing all eight teeth in a sunny grin. "A happy ending is much better; otherwise... let's just never finish!"

Nearby Pokémon cheered loudly as Gary held skewers in both hands. "Come on! The barbecue party begins now!"

Agatha held out hot tea handed over by Gengar looking kindly at Gary. "This child is better than you…"

Professor Oak could only smile wryly and shake his head. "Yeah... better than me..."