I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 689 - 689: Testing the Strength of Naranja Academy Students

"You watched the Lily of the Valley Conference?" Gary asked, a bit surprised.Trainers of Clavell's caliber rarely bothered watching League Conferences unless they were specifically invited. These were, after all, tournaments for teenagers. Someone of Clavell's level—comparable to a Champion—would usually only pay attention to professional-level competitions or inter-school tournaments. Regional League Conferences were beneath their usual notice.

"It was hard not to pay attention this time," Clavell replied with a faint smile. "Your opponent, Tobias, used nothing but Legendary Pokémon."

"What?! All Legendary Pokémon?!" Dendra exclaimed loudly.

Clavell turned to look at her, clearly confused.

"Dendra, you're going to be cooperating with Gary to teach the students during this period. Didn't you research his background beforehand?"

As a teacher handling practical combat classes, preparation was absolutely essential. Before Gary arrived, Dendra should have studied his battle history and understood his tendencies. That knowledge was necessary so she could properly guide students in developing approaches and tactics when facing him. Without that preparation, she couldn't help them grow from the experience.

"Director," Dendra said, crossing her arms, "with all due respect, I'm not sure what kind of results you're expecting here. Do you honestly think our students can compete with someone at Gary's level?"

She wasn't being dismissive of Gary. She was being realistic about the students.

Gary's strength was obvious even from a distance. Most Naranja Academy students couldn't even clear the preliminary rounds of a League Conference, let alone put up a fight against someone who had just won one.

"You can't look at it that way," Clavell said, keeping his tone measured. "Gary isn't necessarily going to be using his main team in these matches."

He turned to Gary.

"Isn't that right, Gary?"

"That's correct," Gary confirmed. "I'll adjust my approach depending on the situation. For this training exercise, I've specifically prepared Pokémon at a lower level so the matches are actually useful for the students."

"There you go," Clavell said, turning back to Dendra. "Gary has already thought this through carefully and prepared accordingly. What about your side of the preparation?"

Dendra's expression stiffened.

"I'm sorry, Director. That was my mistake. It won't happen again."

Clavell studied her for a moment, then softened slightly.

"I understand you're not entirely satisfied with this arrangement. But consider this—letting students experience firsthand how strong trainers from their own generation can be is genuinely important for their development."

He paused, his expression becoming more serious.

"Dendra, haven't you noticed? Our students have been attending League Conferences for years, and almost none of them can make it to the main tournament anymore. More than a decade ago, we regularly had students reach the finals. Now? Not a single student can even reach the all-member battlefield stage."

Dendra went quiet.

That was the reality neither of them could argue with.

For an institution as well-regarded as Naranja Academy, having zero representation in League finals was embarrassing. It was a stagnation that had been building for years, and Clavell had clearly decided he was done ignoring it.

"The only real solution," Clavell continued, "is to invite active League competitors onto campus and let our students battle them directly. Theoretical training only goes so far. The students need to feel the gap themselves before they can seriously work to close it."

"Understood, Director," Dendra said, her tone firm now. "I'll cooperate with Gary completely."

Clavell nodded with satisfaction, then looked back at Gary.

"Gary, I'll be counting on you during your time here. I hope you'll train the students according to the standards you'd expect from actual League Conference competitors. Don't hold back too much."

"Understood. I'll do what I can."

Gary had already accepted the job and been paid accordingly. He was going to see it through properly.

"Dendra," Clavell said, "please take Gary to the staff dormitory and get him settled. Have the dorm manager assign him a room, and make sure he receives his academy pass."

"Of course."

Dendra gestured for Gary to follow, and the two left the Director's office together.

They took the elevator down to the first floor of the office building, where Dendra helped Gary register and apply for his academy pass.

The pass was essentially a universal key for the entire campus. With it, Gary could access any training facility, use the cafeteria meal system, and unlock his assigned dormitory room without issue. For the duration of his stay, he would be treated as a visiting faculty member.

Gary took the pass from Dendra and turned it over in his hand.

It gave him an odd nostalgic feeling, like being back in school.

Afterward, Dendra led him to the staff dormitory building. The dorm manager on duty assigned Gary a modest but comfortable private room. Gary dropped off his luggage, freshened up, then followed Dendra over to the cafeteria for dinner.

"So," Dendra said as they sat down with their food, "what exactly are you planning to use against the students tomorrow? What's your approach?"

Clavell had instructed her to cooperate fully with Gary, so understanding his plan was the first step.

Gary considered for a moment before answering.

"Originally, I was going to keep things very relaxed and use only low-level Pokémon. But since the Director specifically asked me to simulate real League Conference conditions, I'll need to set up some proper rules and bring out Pokémon around the Elite tier."

Quasi-Elite level Pokémon were technically above the average standard for most regional League Conferences, but not by an unreasonable margin. It was a tough but realistic benchmark—exactly the kind of challenge that would force Naranja Academy students to actually grow rather than just go through the motions.

Beyond his Elite-tier Pokémon, Gary also had several Gym-tier options he could rotate in. Crobat, Butterfree, and eight fossil Pokémon all sat around peak Gym level. They had been prepared back when Gary was running through Gym rematches and had never seen much use since. Most of his Hoenn team also hovered around the Elite tier and could serve as reliable opponents for the academy students.

"There are twenty students challenging you," Dendra said, getting to the practical side of things. "Are you sure your Pokémon can handle that many consecutive battles?"

It was a fair concern. Each match was a 3v3, meaning Gary would be cycling through a total of sixty matchups across all twenty students. Even with strong Pokémon, back-to-back battles accumulated wear and fatigue quickly.

"Don't worry," Gary said simply. "I have more than enough Pokémon to rotate through. Stamina won't be a problem."

Dendra didn't push further on that point. She honestly had little insight into how many Pokémon Gary had raised or what his full depth looked like. League Conferences were competitions she rarely paid close attention to unless a Naranja Academy student was involved, so Gary's actual scale as a trainer wasn't something she had a solid grasp on.

What she did know was that Clavell trusted him, and Clavell's judgment was rarely wrong.

The whole situation had actually come about rather suddenly. In previous years, the academy had handled practical training entirely through internal events. But this year, Clavell had made the unexpected decision to push Naranja Academy students toward competing in the Paldean League Conference externally. Inviting Gary to come and train them was part of that new direction.

Dendra's own battling ability exceeded most League competitors, but she lacked the specific experience of competing in those high-pressure tournament environments. Gary, as an active competitor who had just won a Championship, offered the students something she simply couldn't replicate on her own. Clavell had made the right call, even if she hadn't seen it that way at first.

She would cooperate. That was her commitment.

After dinner, the two walked over to the academy's Pokémon Center.

Gary connected to Professor Oak's Laboratory through the teleportation terminal and reached out to Tracey, asking him to send over several of his Hoenn Region Pokémon, along with his eight fossil Pokémon and Crobat.

These were the Pokémon best suited to matching the students of Naranja Academy at a fair and productive level.