"Mr. Noland, Mr. Scott, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Gary still had to go back and upgrade his Pokémon, so he quickly excused himself.
"Don't be in such a rush. Which battle facility are you planning to challenge next, Gary?" Scott asked. He was still thinking about going to watch it live.
"The Battle Arena, naturally." Gary planned to challenge them one by one, in order.
"Is that so? Then I'll head over to the Pokémon Center near the Battle Arena in advance. Just call me when you arrive," Scott said.
"Alright, I will."
Gary nodded, and escorted by Noland and Scott, he made his way outside the Battle Factory.
Gary casually opened an Ultra Ball and released Moltres.
"Skreee!! Moltres!!"
Scott was stunned when he saw Moltres. When he had rushed over earlier, Gary had already recalled Moltres, so Scott hadn't seen it.
"Gary, you actually have a Moltres?!" Scott exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes. I captured it a while back."
With that, Gary jumped onto Moltres's back.
"Moltres, head to the Pokémon Center we passed by earlier."
At his command, Moltres flapped its wings, leapt upward, and quickly soared into the sky, flying toward the Pokémon Center they had passed on the way.
Scott watched Moltres fly off into the distance, then quickly got into his sports car and drove toward the Battle Arena.
...!
Arriving at the Pokémon Center closest to the Battle Factory, Gary handed his three Pokémon over to Nurse Joy for treatment, then went outside and released Gabite.
[Lv. 30 Gabite / Elite]
"Shaa!"
Gabite looked around at the unfamiliar environment with a puzzled expression, thinking that Gary had released it to begin training.
"No rush. You won't need any training for a while," Gary said.
"Shaa?"
If we're not training, why did you let me out?
"To improve your potential." Gary placed his hand on Gabite's head and used the Silver Crown to raise its potential.
[Ding! The Silver Crown was used successfully.]
[Pokémon: Gabite]
[Type: Dragon / Ground]
[Level: 30]
[Potential: Champion]
[Ability: Sand Veil (Evasion increases by 20% in Sandstorm weather)]
[Moves: Tackle, Dig, Dragon Breath, Bulldoze, Bite]
[Inherited Move: Metal Claw]
[Taught Moves: Shadow Claw, Rest, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Dragon Pulse, Body Slam, Fire Blast, Iron Tail]
[Intimacy: 200 (max 255)]
Aside from its Ability, Gary was quite satisfied with his Gabite.
Sand Veil wasn't a very good Ability—it could only be used in Sandstorm weather. Garchomp was clearly an aggressive, offense-oriented Pokémon at a glance. Obviously, Rough Skin was far more suitable for the Gabite line.
Gary was also curious about the effects of an enhanced Rough Skin—whether it could reflect more damage or offer some other improvement.
"Ah! It would be great if Gabite could master Dragon Dance," Gary said with regret.
"Shaa?"
Gabite tilted its head, as if to say that since Dragon Dance was a move with "dragon" in the name, it should definitely be able to learn it.
"Haha, don't take it seriously," Gary said with a smile.
Dragon Dance was indeed a Dragon-type move, but even in the games, the move learner for Dragon Dance required Garchomp's scales to craft.
Thinking of Dragon Dance, Gary began considering which move to select with his self-selected move learner.
Gary had no shortage of attacking moves, but he lacked status moves and defensive skills. Although Dragon Dance was good, and many of Gary's main Pokémon could learn it, none of the Pokémon that could learn it were from the Sinnoh region, so even if he exchanged for it, he couldn't use it at the League Conference.
Considering the Sinnoh-region Pokémon Gary had captured so far, it was better to choose Reflect or Light Screen. Many Pokémon could learn those moves, and they were also very practical. As long as the opponent didn't have moves like Brick Break that could shatter energy barriers, they were extremely useful.
"System, exchange for Reflect."
[Ding! Move exchange successful!]
After exchanging for Reflect, Gary released all the Pokémon he had with him and taught them one by one. Only Blastoise, Magnezone, and Weavile mastered it.
After Charizard, Electivire, and Glaceon were healed, Gary taught them as well. Only Charizard and Electivire managed to master it.
Gary had originally thought Glaceon would be able to learn it, but unexpectedly, it couldn't. He truly felt bad for his Ice-type.
Ice could reflect light. Logically, moves like Light Screen and Reflect should be learnable by Pokémon that could control light energy, yet Ice-type Pokémon couldn't learn them. It was truly embarrassing.
After that, he spent the night at the Pokémon Center.
Early the next morning.
Gary rode Moltres toward the Battle Arena.
The Battle Arena was located just outside Cerulean City, quite close to Saffron City. Thinking of Saffron City, Gary thought of Sabrina. He hadn't seen her in almost two years, and he didn't know how she was doing now.
Gary still occasionally saw Sabrina in movies and TV dramas. After two years apart, Sabrina had changed a great deal. Her queenly aura had grown even stronger. With that high-class iceberg face of hers, she could seduce nearly ninety percent of ordinary men.
Sabrina truly had the makings of a superstar. After being discovered by Tsuneko, she had entered Pokémon Hollywood, and within just one year, she became the most popular rookie of the younger generation. In only two years, she had secured a place for herself in Pokémon Hollywood in the Unova region.
Gary used to talk to Sabrina on the phone frequently, but as time went by, Sabrina became very busy and rarely answered his calls. The two of them basically kept in touch through text messages.
Even so, Sabrina was still very busy, and Gary himself was busy too. He was free at noon and in the evenings, while Sabrina's schedule was irregular.
Separated by distance, and with the passage of time, Gary gradually lost interest in this relationship. He still kept in contact, but not as diligently as before.
Sabrina was also very rational. She knew that Gary was only free at night, so she usually contacted him in the evenings.
On the surface, it seemed like Sabrina cherished this relationship very much, but Gary knew she was really just checking up on him. It all seemed reasonable, but if any girls appeared around Gary, he would be hunted down by a certain Psychic girl.
"We're here!"
Following the navigation as he flew, Gary arrived at the Pokémon Center near the Battle Arena before noon.
The Battle Arena was built on the outskirts of Cerulean City. It was a relatively remote location, and few people ever came by.
The Pokémon Center here was actually built for traveling Trainers. After all, if a Trainer's Pokémon were seriously injured out in the wild and they couldn't find a Pokémon Center, it would be a huge problem.