Pokemon: I am Gary

At 2:30 PM, in the Ice Arena of the sub-venue.

Gary, dressed in a white trench coat, walked through the player passage and stepped onto the trainer's command platform.

Looking around, the large venue was almost filled with spectators.

"It seems that Trainer Gary is quite anticipated," said Old Lady Agatha cheerfully while chatting with Lorelei in the VIP area at the highest point of the audience.

"After all, he's a favorite to win the championship; this level of popularity is expected," Lorelei nodded. "Moreover, there are quite a few spectators who should be competitors, probably here to gather intelligence."

The preliminary rounds of the Indigo League follow a three-on-three format, so unless one side completely overwhelms the other, no one can guarantee that their data won't be discovered by their opponents.

Gary's opponent was a little girl from the Orange Islands, wearing round-frame glasses and sporting long red hair.

"Is that... Sister Lorelei?" Gary thought to himself, tilting his head.

"The Ice Arena, first match of the preliminaries, begin! Both sides prepare!" The referee entered the arena, arms crossed, signaling both sides to take out their Poké Balls.

"Nidoking, it's your turn!" Gary wasted no time and went straight for it!

After intense training, Gary's Nidoking was no longer the weakling it once was; anyone who came would face defeat!

"Go, Cloyster!" As soon as the opponent's Pokémon was sent out, Gary paused for a moment—she really did mimic Sister Lorelei...

"The match begins!" The referee waved his hands downwards, signaling the official start of the match!

"Soft as water, hard as ice! Cloyster, use Ice Beam!" The little girl posed with one hand on her hip, imitating Sister Lorelei's battle stance.

"Pfft~" Gary couldn't help but chuckle; this kid was quite adorable. However—competition is competition! "Nidoking, use Flamethrower!"

"Roar!" Nidoking stomped its right foot on the ground and opened its mouth wide as a wall of fire surged forth in a big letter shape.

Boom! The opponent's weak Ice Beam was almost instantly shattered; Flamethrower directly hit Cloyster!

"Cloyster, withdraw into your shell!" The little girl shouted anxiously.

Gary was puzzled—was that Poké Ball just for decoration? Put it away...

"Nidoking, use Rock Smash!" Gary waved his hand.

Nidoking charged towards its opponent, its fist glowing red and smashing down onto Cloyster's shell.

Crack~ The shell shattered, and Cloyster immediately lost its fighting ability.

Hiss~ A collective gasp arose from the audience.

"So strong! This is what it means to inherit Professor Oak's name; he's fierce as a dog~!"

"Wow, such brutal tactics against a little girl... Hehe... I like it."

"Gary is really good; Gary is really awesome!"

The little girl clearly began to lose her composure and hurriedly switched to her next Pokémon.

Seeing Eevee trembling in front of him, Nidoking fell silent—Recalling being dominated by Sister Eevee at home filled Nidoking with dread...

"Eevee, use Sand Attack!" The little girl urged.

Smack! A cloud of dust was thrown at Nidoking, who blocked it with one hand and then excitedly charged forward.

Watching Nidoking's enthusiastic expression made Gary twitch; if one didn't know better, they might think he was a pervert...

"Split Stone!"

With his right hand raised high, white energy gathered without dissipating. Nidoking even made a slight jumping motion.

A powerful strike!

Boom~ The arena trembled as a massive crack opened in the ice surface.

Nidoking pulled back his hand; Eevee had stars in its eyes and collapsed on the ground.

"Roar~!!" Nidoking felt his masculinity returning!

In the audience, Team Rocket dressed as delivery guys secretly watched the match.

"Meowth, no doubt about it; this guy is just dominating—so strong!"

"Jessie, we can't lose either!"

"James, we must sell big!"

"Excuse me, can I get a juice over here?" A spectator raised their hand in the back row.

Whoosh! Three figures flashed by and stopped in front of them.

"To prevent audience thirst...

To protect audience appetites—

To embody love and truth as delivery personnel—

Jessie—

James...

..."

"In that case, I'll take another bento." The surrounded spectator laughed awkwardly.

"Thank you for your patronage~" The trio happily collected money and left~

During Team Rocket's selling spree, the match had already concluded.

The little girl's Tentacruel hadn't even shown its true strength before being taken out by Nidoking's Thunderbolt.

Gary raised his right hand as the audience cheered enthusiastically.

One against three without mercy—this was Gary's league debut!

After finishing his match, Gary stepped down from the platform. Checking his phone for the time—it was 2:40 PM. He finished battling in ten minutes~

The reporters waiting at ringside immediately set up their cameras and approached Gary.

"Hello Trainer Gary! We are reporters from Kanto TV. What are your thoughts on winning your first preliminary match so decisively?"

"Trainer Gary, what's your secret to such strength?"

Gary took the microphone and calmly shrugged his shoulders. "I think in competitive matches, everyone just looks at results. All Pokémon trainers here are very talented individuals. So I'm happy to win."

After a brief symbolic interview lasting only a few minutes, Gary left directly from the venue.

It wasn't a championship declaration; being too excited would seem insecure instead.

With time still on his side, Gary thought for a moment and slipped from the player passageway to the Water Arena.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford tickets; it was just more cost-effective to get in for free.

Arriving at the Water Arena, Gary casually found a front-row seat.

After all, it was just preliminaries; there wouldn't be any sold-out scenes.

Brock and Misty were acting as "coaches," securing front-row seats for watching.

However, Ash's situation didn't seem very optimistic.

Krabby was being controlled by Exeggutor's psychic powers in a whirlpool and struggling fiercely.

The trainer across from them wore a sinister smile which made Gary pause.

Wasn't that Mandi? He didn't expect him to show up for this competition after all!

And he encountered Ash in the first match!

As Mandi pondered how to humiliate Ash as an opponent, Ash and Krabby exploded with power.

In a desperate move for survival, Krabby suddenly attacked and clamped down hard on Exeggutor.

Then came a series of stomps that pressed Mandi's face into the ground.

Gary tactically leaned back—this secured Ash's victory!

After defeating Exeggutor, Krabby absorbed experience points and evolved into Kingler right away.

Ash continued his momentum and also swept through one against three to win his first round.

"Yay! I won! I won!" Ash danced with joy while wildly gesturing towards reporters about how he would definitely win till the end or something like that.

Gary shook his head watching him; this kid was still so young~

Seeing that Ash had finished up on this side, Gary walked over.

"Hehe, how about it? Did you see my heroic figure?" Upon seeing Gary, Ash immediately puffed up proudly.

"Uh-huh; you did okay." Gary nodded. "But I finished my battle in ten minutes; I even had time to watch you compete."

"Eh?" Ash paused for a moment.

"Alright then; I don't want to bicker with you today; let's go grab something to eat?" Gary invited.

"No problem." Ash agreed readily without hesitation.

"What about Miss Lorelei?" Misty asked curiously.

"The tournament committee is very busy; so Sister Lorelei had lunch in her office with everyone," explained Gary.

"Then let's hurry up! First take our Pokémon to recover their stamina before going straight to eat," Brock reminded them.

During tournament times at Pokémon Centers there are huge crowds; if they arrive late they might have to wait all night...

"Oh right! Let's go!" Ash slapped his forehead and rushed out quickly.

Watching Ash run off in that direction left Gary confused as he pointed out "I remember Pokémon Center is this way?"

Misty shrugged helplessly "I'm already used to it~"

Brock exclaimed "Σ￣□￣!Ash! Come back! You're going the wrong way!!"