I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

"Seize the opportunity to attack—use Fury Cutter continuously!" Gary commanded, seizing the moment to launch a fierce assault.

Fury Cutter normally has a base power of only 40, but with each consecutive hit, its power doubles, up to a maximum of 160.

"Cha!"

Grovyle's Bug-type energy gathered around its wrists, forming twin blades of energy. It slashed ferociously at Slaking's massive body.

Slaking, still disoriented, struggled to react. It tried to counterattack with Hammer Arm, but Grovyle's speed allowed it to dodge every strike.

Like an elegant dancer, Grovyle weaved around Slaking, striking repeatedly with its blades.

Eight Fury Cutter hits in a row!

Whish! Whish! Whish!

"Tak!!"

Unable to withstand the relentless assault, Slaking let out an unwilling roar as its huge body finally collapsed.

"Slaking is unable to battle. Grovyle wins!"

"The Gym Leader's three Pokémon, all worthy of a Gym Leader, have been defeated. The winner of this Gym challenge is the challenger, Gary!"

Gary exhaled deeply.

What an exhilarating battle. Just as he expected, a fight between evenly matched opponents made for the most exciting contests.

"Grovyle, you did great... huh? What's happening to you?" Gary had barely finished praising his partner when he noticed something unusual.

The next moment, Grovyle's entire body began to glow with a bright white light that gradually enveloped it. The light grew stronger and stronger.

"It's evolving..."

Grovyle's form began to change, growing taller until it reached the height of an adult man, about 1.7 meters. A long tail sprouted behind it, covered in barbed leaves, and its legs became thicker and more muscular, enhancing its jumping power.

When the light faded, Grovyle had evolved into Sceptile.

"It evolved..." Norman said in surprise. He hadn't expected his own Pokémon to become the catalyst for Grovyle's evolution.

Gary approached his newly evolved partner and checked Sceptile's stats.

[Pokémon: Sceptile]

[Type: Grass]

[Level: 36]

[Potential: Elite]

[Ability: Overgrow (Boosts Grass-type moves by 1.5× when HP falls below one-third)]

[Moves: Pound, Leer, Leafage, Quick Attack, Detect, Fury Cutter, Leaf Blade, Assurance, Slam, Double Team, Energy Ball]

[TMs: Solar Beam, Dig, Iron Tail, Rest, Dynamic Punch, Hyper Beam, Body Slam, Rock Slide, Power-Up Punch, Thunder Punch]

[Friendship: 255/255 (Maxed out)]

After evolving, Sceptile had awakened the special move Energy Ball, a Grass-type attack with 80 base power. With Sceptile's strong Special Attack stat, it was a powerful addition to its arsenal.

"Gary, congratulations. Not only did you defeat me, but your Grovyle also evolved into Sceptile," Norman approached with a warm smile.

"No, Mr. Norman, you're very strong. If I hadn't found a flaw in your strategy, I doubt I could have won," Gary replied modestly.

This battle had been tough. If Norman had ordered Slaking to use Slack Off and recover HP, Sceptile wouldn't have stood a chance.

"This is the Balance Badge, proof of your victory at the Petalburg Gym," Norman said, handing Gary the badge.

"Thank you."

Gary accepted the badge.

[Ding! Mission complete. Rewards have been sent to your Space Backpack.]

"Mr. Norman, can I ask—why can your Slaking and Slakoth ignore the negative effects of Truant?" Gary inquired.

"That's... my personal secret. I'm afraid I can't share it," Norman replied.

Gary hadn't expected Norman to refuse, but he respected the Gym Leader's privacy.

"I understand. I'll be taking my leave then."

"Goodbye."

Gary left Petalburg Gym, eager to check the rewards in his Space Backpack.

[Top-grade Boxing Gloves: Boosts the power of punching moves by 20% and makes them non-contact attacks.]

Gary: (⊙o⊙) ...!

When he saw the reward, Gary was speechless.

These boxing gloves were pretty useless. Sure, they'd be helpful against Pokémon with Effect Spore or Rough Skin, but most punching moves are Fighting-type—and honestly, it was better to use a top-grade Black Belt.

It was clear the random reward this time wasn't very useful.

But the best prize was still the Normal-type TM of his choice.

Why?

Because Normal-type utility moves are incredibly powerful.

For example, Endeavor, which equalizes the target's HP with the user's. You can even use it creatively to "heal" opponents. If a full-health Pokémon uses it on a weakened target, it restores the opponent's HP instead.

There are also other useful moves like Protect and Pain Split, but for now, Gary decided to go with Endeavor.

After all, many Pokémon on his team could learn it.

"System, exchange for the move Endeavor."

[Ding! Skill exchange successful.]

After learning Endeavor, Gary quickly headed to the Pokémon Center to heal his defeated Breloom and Lairon.

Then, in the open training grounds outside, he tested which of his Pokémon could learn Endeavor—except for Latios.

Since it had been a long time, Gary couldn't remember all the compatible Pokémon off the top of his head.

After some testing, only Sceptile, Great Tusk, and Rhyperior successfully learned it.

Gary hadn't expected Great Tusk to be compatible with Endeavor, but this made the Pokémon even more versatile.

"Next stop: Fortree City."

Gary gazed eastward, suddenly feeling a headache coming on.

Fortree City was located at the far eastern edge of Hoenn's inland region. To walk there, he would need to head to Mauville City first, then go east, and cross Routes 118 and 119. It was a long, long way.

And with Pokémon training along the way, the trip could easily take nearly a month—even on a mountain bike.

He also didn't plan to take the Rusturf Tunnel route. This time, he would go straight to Slateport City and take the main highway from there to Mauville City, which would save some time.

"Gary, did you win the Gym Challenge?"

At noon, Zinnia returned from lunch, ready to resume training her Pokémon. Spotting Gary, she came over and asked.

"Of course I did. But why did you leave so early this morning? You're only getting back now?" Gary asked.

Zinnia usually trained her Pokémon in the morning in the public area.

After finishing the Petalburg Gym challenge, Gary had been wondering why Zinnia hadn't come back yet, but he hadn't worried too much.

"I went out to the suburbs to look for a Swablu," Zinnia explained. "But I ended up finding a Pokémon that wasn't even in the Pokédex—and I caught it."