Pokemon: I am Gary

The preliminaries of the Indigo Conference require battling through four sub-venues. Out of over two hundred qualifying Pokémon trainers, only sixteen will advance before the finals. The competition is undeniably brutal... After a year of effort, ultimately only sixteen individuals are qualified to showcase their skills in the main venue of the Indigo Stadium. The preliminaries last a total of one week, allowing trainers time to adjust and train between matches.

Gary's second match is in the Grass Arena's fourth round, scheduled for the morning of the third day. With some free time, Gary decided to head to the league headquarters' training ground for some fun. Carrying Eevee on his shoulder and holding Togepi in his arms, Gary, dressed in a white hoodie, strolled leisurely through the food street of the celebration square. After buying himself a portion of crab roe fried rice cakes, Gary headed toward the training area with his paper box in hand. Togepi? Just stuff it into his hoodie. You think Gary wears hoodies for nothing~

"Whew~ Ahh~" Gary swallowed a big mouthful of fried rice cakes, letting out a satisfied grunt.

"Eevee, do you want some?" Gary asked with a smile.

"Eevee~" Eevee turned its head away, I'm trying to lose weight!

"Eh~ But Muk is also very cute~ It feels great to pet." Gary lamented.

"Eevee! ?`~′?!" You're the Muk! I want to maintain my figure! Eevee proudly raised its head, its tail displaying vibrant colors.

Ding ding ding~

"Moshi moshi~" Gary calmly swiped open his phone.

"Professor Gary?" The voice on the other end asked tentatively.

"Ah, it's Erika~ Is that right?" Gary asked curiously.

"Yes! I asked the principal for your number and it's indeed correct!" Erika replied happily.

"Soga~ What's up?" Gary mumbled while chewing on rice cakes.

"It's hard to explain over the phone; where are you now? I'll come find you." Erika stated directly.

"Ah~ I'm at Indigo Plateau, at that trainer practice area." Gary paused for a moment. "Eh? You came to Indigo Plateau?"

"Yes, a few of my disciples came here, so I followed along to take a look. Let's meet at the practice area." Erika said before hanging up.

Gary exchanged glances with Eevee and shrugged; whatever, let's check out the practice area first. The training grounds at Indigo Plateau are divided into indoor and outdoor areas. The outdoor training ground was almost empty as most people opted for private indoor spaces. After all, nobody wants to expose all their information to their opponents.

Gary's tourist-like outfit didn't attract much attention except from a few individuals. A green-haired trainer who looked somewhat cool was practicing Rollout with his Golem, casting a provocative glance at Gary. As a somewhat famous Rock and Ground-type trainer from Johto, he was very interested in Gary's Nidoking, who had dominated in the preliminaries.

Gary sized up this guy and smirked slightly. He remembered that according to the original timeline, this guy would kick himself out of the Indigo League in the last match of the preliminaries. He would end up with an embarrassing 32nd place finish. Nodding slightly in acknowledgment, Gary turned away, no longer paying attention to this guy. I'll deal with you later!

Finding an empty spot, Gary took out Nidoking. Since Nidoking had already been used in official matches, he wasn't concerned about leaking any secrets. "Roar~;｀ヘ′～" As soon as it landed, Nidoking raised both hands and let out an intimidating roar. It had an expression that screamed "I'm number one!"

"Eevee!" Eevee jumped up and then kicked back with its hind legs. Double kick! Smack! Smack! Two footprints appeared on Nidoking's face as it fell over and went to sleep... "Hey hey~ Don't knock Nidoking silly~" Gary helplessly picked up Eevee. Eevee pouted; why are you showing off here?

Nidoking awkwardly got back up and scratched its head; why does this feel different from yesterday's Eevee? The big sister hits really hard... "Alright, enough messing around; today we're going to work on something new for Nidoking." Gary clapped his hands together.

"Huh?" Nidoking looked at Gary curiously; it was quite skilled with moves. Although not as many as Eevee could learn, it had still picked up quite a few during special training at Viridian Gym. "Um, this is prepared just for you." Gary said seriously. "You've already grasped Ground-type moves; now I want you to try a Poison-type ultimate move."

Nidoking nodded eagerly, waiting for Gary's next words. "Today we're going to practice~ Mud Bomb." Young Master Gary put on a mask and gloves and pulled out a huge sealed jar from his backpack. "The potent venom from Toxicroak, mixed with black sludge and hallucinogenic mushroom spores that have been fermenting for a month. This stuff isn't cheap~" Looking at the large jar filled with what looked like mud from a cartoon show, Nidoking shivered instantly.

Eevee and Togepi quickly found their Poké Balls and returned themselves; as soon as the lid was opened, that smell wafted out like it could travel ten miles... "Σ???」∠Ugh~ Who dug up the drainage system of the training ground?!" "This is freaking toxic… Run!" "How could they be cooking shit outdoors! This is too much…" Almost simultaneously, Pokémon trainers around Gary turned their heads and fled.

Those who were slower fell flat on their faces foaming at the mouth... "Oh dear... Looks like I've gone too far~" Gary awkwardly observed the panicking trainers around him. Taking out some Sweet Peaches, he used them to cure two downed trainers before finally calming down and starting to prepare Nidoking for what was next.

"Nidoking~ Enduring hardship leads to greatness~" Patting Nidoking's shoulder, Gary earnestly advised him. "The power of Mud Bomb depends on your ability to condense mud. This is something I've meticulously prepared—one of a kind—so... Big guy~ Just drink it down!" Nidoking struggled; wait for my brother Rhydon to come back before you say that!

"Gary! We're here!" Just when Gary was about to force-feed Nidoking mud, a crisp voice rang out. A shy ninja girl named Janine wearing an orange scarf appeared alongside Erika, who looked like a traditional woman dressed in green sleeves resembling Yamato Nadeshiko.

"Janine! Erika; you two actually weren't scared away by this stench?" Gary exclaimed in surprise. "What's there to be afraid of? My dad's Muk smells way worse than this; I got used to it long ago." Janine covered her face with her scarf but seemed unfazed by it all.

As for Erika, she elegantly covered her mouth while chuckling lightly. "You must be joking; no matter how bad it smells, can it compare to my Gloom extract?" Gary nodded in admiration; these two women are tough! "Alright, Nidoking, stop struggling and drink it down!" After nodding at both girls again, Gary turned back to Nidoking.

"I see now; you're raising poison types! Your method is just like my dad's," Janine chimed in eagerly. "As long as you can accept external toxins, Poison-type Pokémon will become more potent over time and enhance their affinity for poison types."

"Nidoking! You heard that too! Come on now; be a man! Don't make me have Venusaur tie you up and force-feed you!" Gary placed his hands on his hips dramatically.

Nidoking was also somewhat stubborn; since the boss has spoken up, I'll go all in! Grabbing the sealed jar, Nidoking gulped it down without hesitation.

Σ???」∠Ugh… The collapsed Nidoking emitted purple light all over its body while its face turned pale... "It seems like that was too strong; let's take a break." After recalling Nidoking into its Poké Ball, Gary sighed heavily.

Son~ It's not that I'm being cruel; it's just that Mud Bomb really is effective.

Not even mentioning its power—just look at its shape and viscosity—who wouldn't be scared?! "Oh right! Erika! Didn't you say you were going to bring two disciples for me to meet?" After sorting things out with Nidoking, Gary finally remembered.

"Yes! Aren't they right there?" Erika pointed not far away at two girls who had collapsed on the ground foaming at the mouth while laughing softly.

"Eh? Aren't they about to pass out?!" Gary exclaimed in horror.

Erika shook her head with a smile. "It's fine; this is just some minor training. If one cannot endure hardship, how can they blossom into beautiful flowers?"

"Gary! If Erika takes them apart inside they'll definitely be blackened—maybe even lacy…" Janine whispered conspiratorially to Gary.

Gary twitched at the corners of his mouth; what exactly are you talking about—character or underwear...