I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 688 - 688: Going to Naranja Academy

Days passed one after another, and before Gary knew it, half a month had gone by.During those two weeks, Gary hadn't gone anywhere. He stayed home, helped Professor Oak with his research, took care of the Pokémon at the lab, and spent the rest of his time training Pawniard and Drilbur.

In addition to those two, he also brought Wailmer and Sableye along for group training sessions. Because all four were relatively low-level, their progress had been noticeable.

[Lv. 37 Pawniard ♂ / Champion-tier]

[Lv. 24 Drilbur ♂ / Champion-tier]

[Lv. 34 Wailmer ♂ / Champion-tier]

[Lv. 39 Sableye ♂ / Champion-tier]

All of them except Drilbur had broken past Level 30. Wailmer had naturally been fed three low-grade Rare Candies at Level 27, or it wouldn't have caught up.

"All right, you're coming with me this time," Gary said as he recalled the four Pokémon and tucked their Poké Balls into his pocket.

He was heading to the Paldea Region today.

Gary had checked the calendar carefully. It was time for the spring battle tournament at Naranja Academy.

Along with those four, he also brought Togekiss, Annihilape, and Eevee. Eevee refused to be separated from him, so that was non-negotiable. Annihilape was there as a trump card—if the opportunity arose, Gary wanted to use it to challenge Paldean Gym Leaders as well.

Togekiss, meanwhile, served two purposes.

First, it was his primary flying transport.

Second, and more importantly, Gary needed to keep an eye on it.

Togekiss's level had climbed too high, and its personality had become a genuine problem. Among Professor Oak's Pokémon, Togekiss now ranked near the top in raw strength.

And it knew that.

Ever since realizing it was one of the strongest Pokémon in the backyard, Togekiss had gotten cocky. It started bullying other Trainers' Pokémon, demanding they acknowledge it as their boss. That alone would have been manageable, but it had also begun trying to expand its "territory," harassing Pokémon across the whole town.

Gary had tried mediating. He had even asked his other Pokémon to knock some sense into Togekiss. And it would behave—at first. Then it would go right back to causing chaos the moment Gary wasn't looking.

So Gary gave up and decided to bring it along. If he left it behind when he traveled to Unova next, who knew what kind of mess he'd return to?

He had briefly considered getting a Poison-type Pokémon to keep Togekiss in check, something like Brock's Croagunk. The problem was finding one that could actually fly and keep up with Togekiss while still being strong enough to restrain it consistently.

There weren't many good candidates.

Most Poison-types that could fly were either too weak or too situational. Togekiss might fall for the trick once, but with its intelligence, it would adapt quickly.

After some thought, Gary realized there was actually one Pokémon that would be perfect.

Pecharunt.

Pecharunt was a Poison-type Mythical Pokémon native to the Paldea Region. Its poison had a unique property—it could control the minds of humans and Pokémon who ingested it. The poison didn't drain stamina or harm the body, and Pecharunt could manipulate its victims as long as the toxin remained active.

The poison eventually metabolized out of the system, but as long as someone kept consuming it, Pecharunt could maintain full control.

The only problem was that Pecharunt was a Mythical Pokémon, which made encountering it extremely difficult. Gary knew it was tied to a location in northern Paldea, but he didn't know exactly where. And much like Jirachi, Pecharunt could apparently sleep for long periods of time. There was no telling when it would be awake.

Still, it was worth keeping in mind.

"Grandpa, I'm heading out," Gary said as he walked toward the door. "I'll be back in about a week."

"All right," Professor Oak replied. "Ash is coming back today, you know. Are you sure you don't want to wait and say hi?"

"I already made plans with Naranja Academy. Can't be late," Gary said. "Besides, the first thing Ash is going to do when he gets back is challenge me to a battle. I'm not interested."

Professor Oak laughed. "You really do know him well. All right then, be careful on your trip. And if you find anything interesting in the Paldean ruins, let me know."

"Of course. If I find something weird, I'll need you to help me figure out what it is anyway."

Gary released Togekiss, climbed onto its back, and flew to Vermilion City. From there, he boarded a plane bound for the Paldea Region.

Table City.

Because the Kanto Region was so far from Paldea, the flight took over seven hours.

By the time Gary got off the plane, it was already late afternoon. Luckily, the tournament wasn't until tomorrow, so he still had time to rest.

"I should've brought my Cyclizar," Gary muttered to himself.

As he left the airport, he noticed several people riding Cyclizar through the streets. They were commonly used as mounts in Paldea, and Gary briefly regretted not asking Tracey to teleport his over.

But it was almost dinnertime, and he didn't want to bother him now.

Instead, he hailed a taxi and headed straight to Naranja Academy.

Gary walked up to the academy gates and entered through the student passage. The automated security scanner confirmed his identity, and the gates opened automatically.

He made his way to the main office building.

As soon as he stepped into the lobby, he paused, looking around and trying to figure out where to go next.

That was when Dendra, wearing her usual sporty tracksuit, stood up from one of the public chairs and walked toward him.

"Dendra," Gary greeted. "It's been a while."

Dendra's impression of Gary wasn't particularly warm. Their first meeting hadn't been pleasant, and the fact that Gary was around the same age as her senior students—yet had easily defeated them—made her feel like her teaching methods were being called into question.

Worse, Director Clavell had invited Gary to serve as a special guest Trainer to help train students. It made Dendra feel like she was being replaced as the practical battling instructor.

Still, she kept her tone professional.

"Follow me. The Director is waiting for you in his office."

"Got it."

Gary followed Dendra into the elevator. They rode up to the floor where the Director's office was located. After getting clearance from the secretary, Gary stepped inside.

Director Clavell was seated at his desk, reviewing paperwork. When he saw Dendra and Gary enter, he immediately smiled warmly.

"Gary! Congratulations on winning the Lily of the Valley Conference. I watched your matches. Your strength truly exceeded my expectations."