Chapter 9: Leave a Good Review for the Gym!

"Cubone is unable to battle. Mareanie is the winner."

"Since both of the challenger's Pokémon are unable to battle, the victor of this match is Gym Leader Dylan."

The referee announced the battle's result.

"Yay~ Gym Leader is the best!"

The receptionist was overjoyed, bouncing up and down with excitement. The Gym Leader had won!

Yes, after a prolonged struggle, Cubone had finally succumbed to its injuries.

The battlefield had been covered with toxic spikes, and Cubone had no way to counter them. It couldn't use Rapid Spin to clear the spikes, nor could it fly to avoid them.

Cubone's defeat was inevitable.

As for the cheerleaders, they all looked deflated now.

Gary's face had turned pale, and his eyes were dazed.

He was Gary Oak, the grandson of the famous Professor Oak, and he had lost…

Moreover, he had been decisively defeated, losing two Pokémon to one.

This gym…

Gary raised his head slightly to look at Dylan across the battlefield, starting to doubt his own abilities.

This didn't make sense. The League's official website described the Rota Gym as weak. Could it be that the problem was with him, not the gym?

Gary fell into deep thought. Was he really that bad?

"It was a great battle. You performed well."

Dylan walked over to Mareanie, crouching down slightly to pat its head. Mareanie shyly lowered its head.

This child was still so bashful.

Seeing this, Dylan smiled. Despite it being their first official battle, Mareanie had performed excellently.

Usually quiet and shy, Mareanie followed commands well during battles without hesitation. Impressive.

"Mr. Gary, it's unfortunate you didn't win."

Dylan stood up and walked towards Gary.

"..." Gary snapped out of his daze, unable to respond.

"I wasn't well-prepared this time. I didn't perform at my best."

But his silence was short-lived. The proud Gary Oak wouldn't admit defeat easily, even if he had lost.

"Is that so? As the grandson of the renowned Professor Oak, I'm sure you have more potential than this."

Dylan responded with a smile, as if he suddenly understood.

Gary's face darkened. Darn it! But then he noticed something else.

"You know me?"

"I have great respect for Professor Oak. Unfortunately, due to my responsibilities at this gym, I haven't had the chance to visit him."

Dylan said regretfully. It wasn't entirely false; in his previous life, he had grown up watching Pokémon and had always admired Professor Oak from Pallet Town.

However, he had only been in this world for a week, not enough time to visit.

Gary understood. Many people admired his grandfather. After all, Professor Oak had created the Pokédex.

"I was careless this time. I'll prepare better and challenge you again."

Since Dylan had said so, Gary adjusted his attitude and spoke seriously.

He had to admit that he had lost this time.

But Gary believed that with better preparation, he could win the badge next time.

"Oh? Mr. Gary is very confident. I look forward to your next challenge." Dylan raised an eyebrow, smiling at Gary.

"Hmph~ Next time, I'll beat you! That Mareanie is nothing." Gary huffed, regaining his arrogant stance.

Poison-type? Mareanie, huh? Heh~

When he leaves, he'll catch a Magnemite, train it to a Magneton, and destroy Mareanie. Steel-type is immune to poison, and Electric-type beats Water. Easy win.

Mareanie, walking beside Dylan, raised its head slightly. It had heard Gary's words, and it seemed like he was underestimating it…

Mareanie seriously considered if it should use its tentacles to poke Gary and see how quickly he would collapse.

But it decided against it. Not out of fear, but because it didn't want to cause trouble for its trainer.

"Then I'll be waiting." Dylan chuckled, finding Gary's arrogance amusing.

"Just wait!"

"Take care."

"Goodbye."

Gary, still confident, bid farewell to Dylan and waved to his cheerleaders in the audience.

"Let's go, girls."

The cheerleading squad quickly gathered around him.

"Mr. Gary, wait."

As if remembering something, Dylan called out to Gary.

"?" Gary turned back.

"Remember to leave a good review for Rota Gym." Dylan said with a smile.

This was important. The reviews for Rota Gym on the League's website were currently quite terrible.

"..." Gary's mouth twitched.

Although the battle had ended, and he had a decent chat with Dylan, his experience with this gym challenge wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Okay."

But Gary was fair. He had lost to Dylan, and he recognized Dylan's skills.

Better than the previous three gym leaders he had faced.

Leaving Rota Gym, Gary glanced back at its luxurious exterior, lost in thought.

Dylan's use of toxic spikes had been torturous for him.

But on reflection, unless his Pokémon were Poison or Steel-type, dealing with toxic spikes would be tough.

Maybe… this strategy had potential?

"What's wrong, Mr. Gary?"

"Mareanie is an Alolan Pokémon. I can't just go to Alola to catch one, can I? And what about the rest of the team?"

Gary mumbled, now intrigued by the toxic spike strategy. He remembered other Pokémon could use it too.

But he lacked a complete strategy, and without defeating Mareanie, he hadn't seen Dylan's other Pokémon.

"Uh?" The cheerleaders looked at each other, puzzled.

Beep~ Beep~

Gary's phone rang. He answered quickly.

"Hey~ Blue."

Gary gestured for the cheerleaders to be quiet and greeted the caller.

"Gary, how's your gym challenge going?"

A lazy-sounding voice came from the other end.

"I've got three badges already. Now challenging the Rota Gym."

Gary replied, his tone respectful, unlike his usual arrogance.

"Rota Gym?" The voice on the other end sounded confused, not remembering this gym.

"Yeah, it's in a town near Pewter City. This gym… is something else." Gary hesitated at the end.

"Oh? I'll have to check it out sometime. By the way, I heard you took the family sports car on your journey?"

Blue's tone was playful, almost teasing.

Gary broke into a sweat. He wasn't afraid of his grandfather, Professor Oak, but his older brother, Blue, was a different story.

Growing up, Blue had always outshone him in every aspect.

Even their personalities were different. While others saw Gary as arrogant, he knew that compared to Blue, his pride was nothing.

Most importantly, Blue had incredible talent.

Gary knew he was a genius trainer, but his brother Blue was a monster!

Even Professor Oak acknowledged Blue's talent, believing he would surpass him.

"Well… uh…" Gary was at a loss for words, his grandfather's betrayal stinging.

"Return the car by tomorrow. If your performance in the Indigo League isn't better than Ash's, well, Gary~ you know what to expect."

Blue said casually.

"Oh…" Gary felt wronged.

Why did he have to compare his results with Ash? How could he lose to Ash? Ridiculous!

(Chapter End)