I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

"Voir!"

Gardevoir was surrounded by a soft pink light that shimmered and pulsed, transforming into radiant beams of Fairy energy. The light spread across the field—Swellow was the only one in range.

"Use Brave Bird!" Winona shouted.

Swellow cloaked itself in a fiery red aura, resembling a comet as it dived straight into Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam.

BOOM!!

"Voooiiir!"

The impact was explosive. Gardevoir was knocked back harshly, heavily damaged by the Brave Bird. However, Swellow also grimaced in pain from the recoil—a price paid for such a powerful move.

"Gardevoir, use Life Dew on yourself!" Gary commanded.

As Swellow reeled from the recoil, Gardevoir summoned a cluster of shimmering water droplets. They gently surrounded her, slowly restoring some of her lost stamina.

"Swellow, don't give it a chance to recover! Aerial Ace!" Winona cried.

"Swreee!!"

Swellow darted forward like a missile and struck Gardevoir in the abdomen with its sharp beak, sending her flying back again.

"Gardevoir, return and rest," Gary said, holding out her Poké Ball and recalling her.

"He withdrew her?" Winona blinked in surprise. "The battle was so intense… and he still chose to switch?"

Even if Gardevoir continued using Dazzling Gleam, she could have done more damage to Swellow. Was there really a need to swap out?

"Slaking, your turn." Gary tossed another Poké Ball.

"Graahh!!"

A towering, ape-like Pokémon emerged, beating its chest with a deep growl.

[Lv. 36 Slaking ♂ | Champion Potential]

Slaking had evolved recently, but due to his EX Truant condition, he had to rest three days for every day of training. As a result, his level progression was extremely slow—he had remained stuck at Level 36 for a long time.

"Slaking... is standing?" Winona raised an eyebrow. She had seen many Slaking before—most of them just slouched or lay down lazily. This was the first time she'd seen one standing upright and ready to fight.

She remembered Norman, Petalburg's Gym Leader, who trained Slaking. But Norman was only a few years older than her, and she'd never officially challenged his Gym.

"Swellow, Aerial Ace!" she commanded.

"Swreee!!"

Swellow soared at top speed, slamming its beak into Slaking's back.

But Slaking didn't even flinch.

"…What?!"

Winona was stunned.

"Swellow, keep using Aerial Ace! Wear it down!"

Swellow continued slashing at Slaking with its sharp beak. Shadows danced around Slaking as blow after blow landed—yet the hulking Pokémon barely reacted. While Slaking had high base stats, even he was beginning to show signs of strain.

But Gary wasn't concerned.

Slaking could hold on—Swellow, however, was flying nonstop. Eventually, fatigue would catch up.

"Slaking, Slack Off!" Gary commanded calmly.

Slaking lay down and closed his eyes. A soft aura surrounded him as Slack Off restored a significant portion of his HP.

"…This guy," Winona muttered.

Gary was using a slow-burn strategy, relying on stamina and recovery to outlast Swellow.

It was frustrating… but effective.

Swellow was clearly tiring after the repeated charges. Its speed, once blinding, had started to drop.

Gary noticed.

"Now, Slaking—Yawn!" he called.

Slaking yawned widely, emitting a wave of drowsy energy.

As Swellow completed its final Aerial Ace, it was hit by the effect—and drowsiness set in. Moments later, Swellow's wings drooped as it gently glided down to the ground… and fell asleep.

"Swellow, wake up!!" Winona shouted in desperation.

"Let's end this. Slaking, use your strongest Ice Punch!" Gary ordered.

"Graah!!"

Slaking leapt up with surprising speed for his size. His fist was cloaked in freezing white energy as he brought it down on the sleeping Swellow.

CRASH!!

"Sweeellooooow!!"

The devastating blow created a crater beneath Swellow's body as it cried out in pain. Then it fell limp, its eyes turning white.

"Swellow is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "All of Gym Leader Winona's Pokémon have been defeated. The winner of this battle is the challenger—Gary!"

The match was over.

After the Battle…

Winona, though disappointed, smiled and handed over the Feather Badge.

Gary accepted it. A prompt from the system immediately chimed in his head:

[Ding! Mission complete. Reward has been delivered to your Space Backpack.]

As Gary exited the Gym, he opened the Space Backpack to check his reward.

[Item Acquired: Top Scope Lens]

(This item raises the holder's critical hit ratio.)

"Scope Lens, huh…" Gary muttered, rubbing his chin. "It's decent, but not quite as good as a Mega Stone."

Still, he noticed something interesting—so far, no reward item had ever been repeated. Perhaps if he collected all the in-battle items, the system might eventually reward him with a Mega Stone?

"System," Gary asked aloud, "do the in-battle item rewards ever repeat?"

[No.]

Gary nodded, satisfied. "Good. Then I'll redeem a new move now—Defog."

[Ding! Skill exchange successful.]

With the skill obtained, Gary hurried back to the Pokémon Center.

As he entered the Center's main lobby, he spotted Brendan and Zinnia sitting together.

Gary didn't approach immediately. First, he handed over Gardevoir and Slaking to Nurse Joy for treatment.

Then he made his way toward the two.

"Gary, you're finally back! Did you win your Gym match?" Brendan asked, jumping up.

Gary glanced at Brendan, then at Zinnia, who looked quiet and irritated. She didn't greet him.

"I won. How'd your battle with Zinnia go?" Gary asked.

"Of course I won!" Brendan said proudly.

"Don't get cocky—I'll win next time," Zinnia snapped, still clearly upset.

Brendan looked completely relaxed and happy. Defeating Zinnia had put him in a great mood.

"So, Brendan," Gary said, "are you planning to challenge me next?"

"Absolutely! If your Pokémon need to rest, we can battle tomorrow," Brendan replied.

Now that he had defeated Zinnia, Brendan naturally intended to challenge Gary next.

"I don't mind—I'm ready any time," Gary said. "But your Pokémon just battled Zinnia. Are you sure they're up for another fight?"

Back in this timeline, recovery machines weren't as advanced as they would become. They could heal injuries, but restoring energy and stamina still required proper rest.