I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

"Oh? What kind of Pokémon did you catch?"

Gary was surprised. The Pokédex given to him by Professor Oak currently contained entries from only three regions.

If Zinnia had encountered a Pokémon not listed in the Pokédex, it had to be a species from another region.

"Look."

Zinnia took a red-and-white Poké Ball from her waist bag and opened it.

With a flash of light—

A small, purple bat the size of a football appeared.

[Lv. 22 Noibat / Elite Potential]

"Noibat!!"

Gary was stunned.

Noibat was a Pokémon native to the Kalos region—how could one appear in Hoenn?

But then again, considering that Pokémon like Great Tusk had already appeared here, it wasn't too surprising. Pokémon smuggling was still a common problem.

Even though the Pokémon League had banned it, there were always those who risked breaking the law for profit.

Since Zinnia was able to catch this Noibat, it most likely had escaped from smugglers and been living in the wild for some time. Without anyone to protect it, it had been open for capture.

"You know what it is?"

Zinnia was surprised. "Tell me! What kind of Pokémon is Noibat? I can smell the scent of a dragon on it."

Gary: →_→!

Gary still didn't know what special ability Zinnia had, or why she was so focused on dragons, but her sense of smell seemed oddly sharp.

"Yes, Noibat is a Dragon-type Pokémon—or, well, partly. It's a Flying and Dragon-type that evolves into Noivern later. Noivern's a strong Dragon-type Pokémon."

Although Noivern isn't considered a pseudo-legendary, it's a natural enemy of Hydreigon—especially at night. If a Hydreigon runs into a Noivern after dark, it'll flee immediately.

"Awesome! I knew you were a dragon!" Zinnia gave Noibat a big hug.

Noibat didn't resist her affection at all and looked very happy.

Judging from Noibat's demeanor, it seemed Zinnia hadn't battled it to capture it—Noibat probably joined her willingly.

Zinnia's current team was full of powerful Pokémon with great potential, but they were all late bloomers.

Tyrunt evolves into Tyrantrum at level 39.Shelgon evolves into Salamence at level 50.Noibat evolves into Noivern at level 49.

The evolution levels were all quite high.

"By the way, did you buy your supplies?" Gary asked.

He had given Zinnia some money in the morning, asking her to buy supplies on her own to help her develop independence.

"Heh… I went to the suburbs this morning looking for a Swablu, and forgot all about it while catching Noibat." Zinnia laughed awkwardly.

"Go buy them this afternoon—we're leaving tomorrow," Gary said.

"Already? In such a hurry?"

Zinnia had hoped to stay in Petalburg City a little longer, raise some of her Pokémon, and take a short break. She'd been traveling nonstop for quite a while.

"We're heading for Fortree City, and it's a long way. You'll get plenty of time to rest once we board the ship," Gary explained.

"If there's a shortcut, why didn't you take it earlier?" Zinnia asked, puzzled.

"Because we needed to take Kirlia home to see its parents. Since we were already in Verdanturf Town, it was naturally quicker to go through Rusturf Tunnel that time," Gary said.

"Oh, okay."

Zinnia followed Gary to the Pokémon Department Store to buy the supplies she needed.

The Next Morning

At dawn, the two left Petalburg City and headed west to the harbor town to catch a boat to Slateport City.

They took a speedboat and reached Slateport City in just two days. From there, they took a taxi to the main highway and arrived in Mauville City by the afternoon.

Transportation had certainly made the journey faster—but from here on out, there were no shortcuts.

Half a Month Later

The trek from Mauville City to Fortree City took them through tropical climates and rugged terrain. There were no roads in some parts, only wild paths through forests and wetlands.

Despite the challenging route, the journey was mostly smooth. Neither Team Rocket, Team Magma, nor Team Aqua caused any trouble. The two stopped occasionally to train their Pokémon, but didn't lose much time overall.

Gary also took the opportunity to search near rivers and lakes for Water-type Pokémon. He was still missing one from his team—and had his sights set on either Swampert or Milotic.

Route 119, with its winding river, reed beds, and wetlands, was an ideal habitat for Pokémon like Feebas and Marshtomp.

Gary spent an entire afternoon sitting alone by the water, quietly fishing with his back to the world.

But unfortunately, he didn't catch a single satisfactory Pokémon. Not one had the potential he was looking for—let alone a Feebas or Marshtomp.

Disappointed, Gary shifted his focus back to training his Pokémon—especially those who hadn't evolved yet.

These included Vigoroth, Shelgon, Lairon, and Combusken.

Current Pokémon Team:

Rhyperior Lv. 60Eevee Lv. 61Sceptile Lv. 38Breloom Lv. 34Shelgon Lv. 33Vigoroth Lv. 35Gardevoir Lv. 31Lairon Lv. 40Combusken Lv. 27

Gary's team had changed a lot recently. Kirlia, who was level 27 not long ago, used three low-level Rare Candies to reach level 30, triggering its evolution into Gardevoir.

Today, Gary planned to evolve Vigoroth. He wanted to test if the negative effects of Truant could be eliminated or altered when Vigoroth evolved into Slaking.

Since Norman hadn't explained how his Slaking avoided Truant's drawbacks, Gary had to figure it out for himself.

After Lunch

Gary walked over to Vigoroth.

Vigoroth was training hard while wearing a Macho Brace. Thanks to its Vital Spirit, it rarely rested—eating, drinking, and basic hygiene were about the only things that interrupted its intense daily training. Even when it did rest, it slept for only two or three hours at a time—and sometimes with its eyes still open.

Through its hard work and great potential, Vigoroth's level had already surpassed Breloom's.

"Vigo—Vigoroth!?"

When it saw Gary approaching, Vigoroth was startled. It knew this could only mean one thing: evolution time. After seeing Kirlia evolve into Gardevoir, it had been eager to evolve into Slaking too.

"Relax. It's just time for you to evolve."

Gary gave a meaningful smile.

The surrounding Pokémon saw Gary's smile and looked at Vigoroth with envy. They knew their teammate was about to get stronger.

Gary placed his hand on Vigoroth's shoulder and used a mid-level Rare Candy, bringing Vigoroth to level 36.

"Viiigoroth!!"

Vigoroth's body froze as its cells were suddenly stimulated, triggering rapid growth. A layer of brilliant white light surrounded it, shining brighter and brighter as the evolution took hold.