Chapter 65: Caitlin's Call

In Stonetown, the Eevee Three Brothers invited Gary to a Pokémon battle.

Naturally, Gary was extremely grateful to accept. What wonderful people—they not only provided evolution stones but also experience points!

Arriving at the battle arena, Gary didn't rush into the match. Instead, he prepared to accomplish his own objective first.

"Could I borrow an ordinary evolution stone? Any type will do," he said while gently stroking Eevee's fur.

"Of course! This is just a small gesture; please take them all," Sparky generously produced a box of ordinary evolution stones for a servant to carry over to Gary.

Gary raised an eyebrow. Wow, asking for one and getting a whole box—this is the confidence of a gold miner!

Opening the exquisite gift box revealed six types of evolution stones: Sun, Moon, Fire, Thunder, Water, and Leaf, all neatly arranged.

Taking a Fire Stone, Gary gently placed it in front of Eevee. "Alright, Eevee-chan, let's show them some high-level moves."

Eevee nodded lightly, returning the Everstone to Gary, then raised its paw and firmly pressed it onto the Fire Stone.

"See? Mr. Gary thinks Fire-type is the best!" Pyro boasted proudly to his older brother.

Sparky rolled his eyes. "He just picked one up casually; don't flatter yourself too much or I might have to smack you~"

Boom! Suddenly, Eevee's body transformed into a blazing fireball.

Amidst the intense flames, a bright red Flareon emerged with golden fur.

"Whoa~" Raising its head and calling out, Flareon opened its mouth and inhaled all the surrounding flames.

As the flame energy gathered, everyone watched in astonishment as the fiery evolution energy began to coalesce in Flareon's chest.

"Whew~" As it absorbed energy, Flareon shimmered with white light.

Finally, all characteristics of Flareon faded away, and Eevee reappeared before everyone with a streak of red fur on its tail!

"This—this is! Did Eevee fail to evolve?" The Eevee Brothers exclaimed in surprise.

"No, to be precise, Eevee absorbed the evolutionary power and mastered advanced fire abilities," Gary explained with a smile.

Originally, Eevee could only use Ember and multi-type abilities within Water Gun's range. After unlocking its genetic lock, Eevee could learn more powerful moves.

For example: Flare Blitz or Hydro Pump...

Next, Gary methodically fed Eevee the Water Stone, Thunder Stone, and Leaf Stone.

Eevee's tail now sported blue, gold, and green strands of fur as well.

Having fully grasped the essence of evolution, Eevee cheered joyfully as its body glowed once more—this time evolving into Espeon.

Afterward, it reverted back to its Eevee form but now had a pink streak on its tail.

"I guess you have the prettiest tail among all Eevees," Gary remarked while rubbing Eevee's head in admiration.

He could feel that without using any evolution stones; Eevee could now freely switch between Solar and Umbreon forms.

While other forms still required evolution stones as keys even after unlocking their genetic locks...

"It looks like I can find an opportunity to teach Eevee Round Eyes," Gary thought to himself quietly.

The Fairy-type Pokémon also didn't need an evolution stone to switch forms.

After absorbing energy from several evolution stones at once, Eevee was filled with strength and jumped into the battle arena, barking at the Eevee Brothers twice.

"Bui!? ▼ヘ▼"

Gary smiled back. "Alright then! Who's up first?"

As the eldest brother, Sparky stepped forward first. "Let me test my skills; I was once in the top 64 of the Indigo Conference—watch out!"

Gary's mouth twitched. Top 64? You only won two rounds in qualifying!

"Go! Jolteon!" He threw his Poké Ball open revealing his Pokémon—a spiky-haired Jolteon appeared across from Gary.

"Use Thunderbolt!" It immediately launched a violent attack; it seemed like this Pokémon had quite an explosive personality!

Gary snapped his fingers. "Dig!"

Eevee dove into the ground quickly leaving behind a large hole in the courtyard.

"Where is it?!" Sparky looked around nervously; he was even more anxious than Jolteon!

"This really matches your top 64 level," Gary sighed. "Burst through and use Swift!"

Boom! Jolteon was suddenly hit in the abdomen by Eevee bursting out of the ground and flipped over. Then with a flick of its tail, golden stars engulfed Jolteon instantly!

"Ugh~ skr~" Jolteon fell down unable to get up again.

"I only used Eevee's natural abilities," Gary winked at Mikey.

Mikey looked surprised at Gary and Eevee. Could it be that Eevee could be this strong?

"I lost! No wonder you're Professor Oak's grandson," Sparky shook his head as he recalled Jolteon who ran off in circles.

"Next up is my turn! Watch me reclaim some pride with my Vaporeon!" The third brother Rainer stepped up for his challenge.

"Bring it on." Gary nodded confidently.

"Bui~ o′｀o" Eevee proudly declared that it felt it wouldn't lose against anyone now!

Secretly using his Pokédex on Eevee revealed that its level had skyrocketed by five levels—it was now level 41!

These evolution stones were more effective than any drug...

"Vaporeon! Go! Use Water Gun!" Rainer commanded confidently.

"Aren't you going to test your opponent first?" Gary lamented along their journey. "Eevee! Thunderbolt!"

Long before unlocking its genetic lock—Eevee could already use Electric-type moves. Using Water Gun directly against it was practically handing over victory!

Sure enough—the electric current spread through Vaporeon's Water Gun...

Sizzle...!! Vaporeon collapsed with blackened fur while puffing out smoke...

What an outstanding effect!

"Ah this…" Rainer was already known as the weakest among the three brothers but being knocked out in one hit was still quite embarrassing...

"Hah! You two can't do this; watch me!" Pyro laughed as finally got his chance to show off...

"Flamethrower!"

"Dig... then use Water Gun…"

Having lost so quickly in their shared hole—both he and big brother Sparky fell down twice!

Feeling a headache coming on from this level of competition truly fitting their rich persona,

After all—once someone becomes wealthy enough—their fighting power can simply be bought!

"Well then according to our agreement—these three Evolution Cores are yours." Handing over the Evolution Cores to Gary, the three brothers directly served tea and sent him off.

For Gary, that was fine; he got what he needed anyway.

"All right then; next I should prepare for going to Cinnabar Island." Back at the Pokémon Center, Gary pulled out his notebook deep in thought.

Before competing at the Cinnabar Gym, he needed some extra training first.

As a traditional old-school gym trainer—Blaine likely had an average team level above 40 for daily battles...

So just to be safe—he thought it best to train further before challenging Blaine again.

"Where should I go... where can I find plenty of Pokémon lined up for experience?" He mused whimsically about potential locations when suddenly—

Ding-a-ling!

His private phone rang. Curiously picking it up he said: "Hello~ this is Gary Oak."

"Mr. Gary!!" A cute voice burst through the receiver almost piercing through his eardrum!

"Hiss~ Caitlin! Lower your voice—gosh! I almost went deaf…" He held the phone far away while complaining about her volume level.

"Don't mind details; where are you right now?" Caitlin's voice sounded slightly anxious.

"Oh! I'm at the Pokémon Center in Stonetown," he replied honestly.

"Great! Hurry up and turn on your TV; I'm going to compete against Lance. You must watch!" she urged eagerly.

"Okay okay! I'll cheer for you!" Gary promised her quickly.

"Whew... that's great! Now I can relax. Wait for me while I go smash that red-caped emotionless guy!" Caitlin said excitedly as she pumped her fists in anticipation.

"Ahem~ Don't underestimate him; Lance's true strength might rank among the top three in Master Class battles," Gary suddenly had an idea. "By the way—Lance's lineup aside from Dragonite might surprise you with Electric-type attacks."

"Really?!" Caitlin giggled mischievously on her end of the line.

"Yes! Use Electromagnetic Wave for crowd control followed by Thunderbolt—it'll work perfectly!" Gary instructed seriously.

"What about his ace Dragonite? Do you have any strategies?" Caitlin probed cautiously for advice.

"You can try using your artificial cell eggs first. Start with other Pokémon creating space for tricks,

Then use Poison-type moves first; if they hold or not… Substitute and Dual Barrier... Hmm—it should work," Gary whispered guidance softly.

"Mhm! Got it! Now I'm off to deal with Lance!" Caitlin nodded excitedly before hanging up abruptly.

Leaning back comfortably against his sofa while sipping on some sweet red bean wine,

Gary turned toward the large screen TV at the Pokémon Center watching intently as—

"The journey of life truly feels lonely like snow..."

Slurp~ Taking another sip from his drink, he relaxed watching live coverage of Master Challenge Tournament where Lance faced off against Caitlin—it was about to begin…