Bab 68: Chapter 68: The Ice Queen's Thoughts
The match had cooled off, and as Dragonite fell, Lance sensed it immediately.
Sure enough, facing his ace, Dragonite, Caitlin began a long tormenting journey.
Replacing the Pokémon with a Reuniclus, she took advantage of her Trick Room to start with a powerful Toxic attack!
Lance knew he couldn't afford to drag this out and quickly launched a counterattack.
However, what was infuriating was that this Reuniclus had the Magic Guard ability!
Immunity to ranged attacks! How frustrating!
With no choice left, he decided to go for close combat. Yet, despite Dragonite swinging its claws with smoke rising, the opponent simply wouldn't engage.
Defend—Substitute—Defend…
In fact, they even had time to cast Mystical Guardian and halve the damage with Reflect—
Ultimately, the invincible Dragonite fell. Looking at the Reuniclus that was sticking its tongue out at him, Dragonite could only think: "The shame remains unavenged; when will my enemies be destroyed? If you have the ability, let me hit you just once…"
Watching his fallen Dragonite, the referee's mouth twitched. "Um… the winner is Caitlin!"
"Phew~" Gary sighed in relief; after all, she won. His efforts to cheer her on weren't in vain!
"How's everyone feeling?" He patted his Eevee's head and asked curiously.
Arcanine opened its mouth, expressing that whenever it encounters a Psychic Pokémon using Trick Room, it would definitely bite their throat first...
Charizard nodded in agreement, showing empathy...
Eevee excitedly lay on Gary's head, brimming with battle spirit as it expressed a desire to spar with Lance's Dragonite, eager to see who knew more skills...
Scizor wiped its drool and looked at Gary as if asking if it was time to eat?
The newcomer Ponyta, though not as brave as its predecessors, was also eager to start training right away!
"Ponyta? I can't let down my master and seniors!"
Golduck adjusted his glasses. "Hmm, I think I need to improve myself too."
Perched on the ceiling, Gengar grinned widely; it had experience dealing with Psychic Pokémon—just lick them and be done with it!
Feeling satisfied, Gary nodded. Having his energy allowed him to hold a small meeting with his Pokémon even without words!
"Having watched the match, we've experienced the gap between us and top-tier experts. Next up is more diligent training," he encouraged his Pokémon.
The upcoming Cinnabar Gym would provide a large wave of quality experience; he expected Golduck to take center stage while Nidoking and Nidoqueen could also share some spoils.
As for slightly lagging teammates like Sneasel, Galarian Ponyta, and others like Scizor, they would be sent back to Professor Oak's lab for further training first.
Once the first tier reached a satisfactory level for Gary, he would start building up the second tier of his team.
Having finished watching the match and allowing everyone some rest, Gary recalled his Pokémon and sent back both Ponyta and Sneasel, retrieving Nidoqueen, preparing to set off again.
"Breaking news! A precious Pokémon fossil has been discovered in Grampa Canyon. Currently, there's a surge of fossil excavation in the area."
Suddenly stopping at the television report made Gary perk up. A huge wave of experience—this is just what he needed! Picking up the phone, he called right away.
"Ahem~ This is Agatha," came the voice of Grandma Agatha from the other end.
"Grandma Agatha, I need your help with something," Gary's sweet voice came through.
"Oh~ It's you, Gary! What do you need?" Agatha's voice seemed a bit loud…
On Indigo Plateau, just after finishing her match, Caitlin was in the VIP room boasting about her victory to Cynthia. Upon hearing Grandma Agatha's voice, she instantly quieted down and quietly moved closer to her.
Lorelei adjusted his glasses and casually approached Grandma Agatha from behind to gently rub her back… Both Lance and Bruno exchanged glances before simultaneously muting their microphones. Taking half a watermelon from Machoke's hands, they began eating seriously. Cynthia, bewildered by everyone's actions, wondered if they were playing a game of who would speak first? Alright! I won't lose!
Unaware of what was happening around him, Gary continued speaking. "It's about important intel regarding Pokémon fossils in Grampa Canyon!"
"Is there something special about this? You know fossils have far greater research significance than practical value. I won't help you cut corners! Plus, the league can't possibly ban spontaneous fossil excavation," Grandma Agatha chuckled.
"If I told you there are not only fossils but also revived ancient Pokémon?" Gary calmly threw out bait.
"What!" Agatha exclaimed. "Are you sure?"
"Ninety percent sure. So how about it? Is this intel enough for you to help me?" Gary asked earnestly.
"What do you want?" Grandma Agatha asked with an odd expression.
"I want the league to protect all of Grampa Canyon first. If all goes well, those ancient Pokémon have already awakened. I want to personally explore it while also reaping some experience points," Gary stated sincerely.
"I can agree to that; however, the league must send someone along with you. Moreover, any ancient Pokémon must be allocated by the league!" Grandma Agatha declared seriously.
"Deal~" Gary nodded. Aside from one egg from a Togepi, he truly didn't care about anything else in Grampa Canyon. If he guessed correctly, aside from those ancient Pokémon that Ash encountered before, there would definitely be plenty of fossils like Kabuto! Those creatures are social animals; how could there just be one or two? And fossils like Kabuto may look intimidating but actually have less attack power than Beedrill; they were simply perfect experience packages!
"Well then! It's settled! I'll notify Officer Jenny immediately to secure Grampa Canyon. After that, wait at the entrance for our people to meet up with you," Grandma Agatha nodded before hanging up.
"It worked~" Gary rubbed his hands together happily; a huge wave of experience was beckoning him! Back on Indigo Plateau after hanging up the phone, Grandma Agatha smiled brightly. "There might be an unknown number of ancient Pokémon in Grampa Canyon! Young folks—who will go?"
"I will! I'll go!" Caitlin immediately raised her hand enthusiastically. Cynthia, amused yet exasperated replied: "But Caitlin! Didn't you forget you have to return to various regions? Aren't you participating in Unova's Champion League next month?"
"But sister… I haven't said goodbye to Mr. Gary yet…" She looked at Cynthia with puppy eyes.
"You'll see him again later! Professor Gary is so talented; he'll definitely tour around holding seminars in various places—you don't have to worry about not seeing him again!" Cynthia comforted her gently while patting her head.
"Oh right! If I go then I'll make sure Gary works hard so we can hold an academic exchange meeting soon!" Caitlin nodded as she thought of a good plan.
Grandma Agatha turned towards Bruno. "Bruno—how about you go?" Bruno's expression darkened. "Uh… I'd rather not go; that guy Gary has too many tricks up his sleeve—I'm afraid he'll swindle me out of my underwear."
"Like anyone cares about your underwear~" Lance rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Then how about you go, Lorelei?" Grandma Agatha asked tentatively.
"Ah~! I… think it'd be better if Mr. Lance goes instead," Lorelei adjusted his glasses awkwardly while saying this.
"I'm actually quite interested." Lance glanced at his watch. "But I have a police meeting soon and then need to head over to Johto afterward…"
"Well then~ I guess I'll go." Seeing everyone clearly stating their positions made Lorelei nod reluctantly in agreement.
Grandma Agatha patted Lorelei on the shoulder and smiled knowingly. "Lorelei—work hard but don't overthink things. You're still young!"
Lorelei nodded helplessly before turning away from the VIP room.
After meeting Gary, this ice queen indeed experienced some changes in her mindset. To be precise—the heart of this Ice Queen had melted... Confident as she was now often wondering if she was getting too old too quickly or if she would become unattractive or not pretty enough or too sexy... Thus during this time Lorelei picked up her phone countless times but never dialed that number.
She thought they could slowly fade out of each other's lives but unexpectedly they were going to meet again soon...
"Ha~ Just let nature take its course. What an adorable little rival…" Shaking her head with a sigh, Lorelei's gaze returned to its usual shimmering sparkle.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone