Meeting Gary

Inside the Pokémon Center in Saffron City.

Xia You ate dinner while talking to Looker on the phone.

"You were incredible!" Looker praised him over the phone. "I only asked you to check things out, but you actually went ahead and took care of everything!"

"I wouldn't call it taking care of everything..." Xia You took a large gulp of juice. "Even with their leader gone and no one in charge, they held out for ages and nearly succeeded. Then, at the last moment, they wisely chose to retreat without leaving a single wounded member behind."

"All right, don't get too hung up on the details." Looker sounded just as enthusiastic. "Anyone else would've had a hard time completing the mission the way you did. So, how about joining the International Police? I really think you have potential."

"I'll pass. My goal is to win the championship, not deal with those crooks every day." Xia You turned him down outright, then leaned back in his dining chair and asked, "How are things going on your end? Have you found Team Rocket's base?"

"No," Looker said bluntly. "Celadon City is so big that I hardly know where to start. I did find a lead earlier, but it quickly went cold. By the way, this is your next destination, right? Once you get here, I'll treat you to a meal as thanks."

"Sure. I'll get in touch once I'm there."

Although he said that, Xia You was thinking about something else.

Team Rocket's base?

He almost said something, but decided against it after giving it some thought.

Knowing things ahead of time wasn't necessarily a good thing. The more he said, the more chances he had to slip up. Any careless remark might arouse suspicion or cause a misunderstanding.

After resting in Saffron City for a night, Xia You set off for the next Gym the following day.

According to the map, the nearest city with a Gym was Celadon City. Since he hadn't contacted Misty, he didn't know whether Ash had managed to earn his fifth Badge.

The two cities weren't that far apart, but even so, he had only covered a little over half the distance by noon.

Along the way, he crossed plains and forests.

A gentle breeze happened to be blowing, and flocks of Butterfree flew overhead, like a myriad of dancing butterflies.

After taking a photo of the rare sight, Xia You was just about to find somewhere to rest when a red convertible roared past him from behind, only to quickly reverse back toward him.

When the dust kicked up by the car settled, Xia You turned to look. Five people sat inside. Apart from a handsome boy with reddish-brown hair in the front passenger seat, everyone-including the driver-was a beautiful young woman!

Wearing a large pair of sunglasses, the boy turned and studied Xia You carefully. "I remember you. When you came to Professor Oak's Laboratory to deliver something to my grandfather, I saw you from a distance."

Naturally, this boy was Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's very first rival-Gary.

"You're Gary, right?" Xia You asked, despite already knowing the answer. "When I was chatting with Ash a few days ago, he mentioned you. He said you weren't just his childhood friend, but a rival he truly respected."

"Really?" Gary didn't seem particularly concerned. "That Ash can say something nice once in a while. Anyway, judging by the Pokémon beside you, you must be the one who told Samurai in Viridian Forest to teach trainers from Pallet Town a lesson, right?"

Remembering that encounter, Xia You smiled. "That was me. Why? Did he give you any trouble?"

"Thanks to you, he attacked me without a word the moment I entered the forest." Gary curled his lip. "He also said you were an incredibly strong trainer. I wonder if that's true."

"That depends on who you're comparing me to." Xia You didn't deny it. "At least, I haven't lost once since I started traveling."

"So what? I haven't lost either!" Gary couldn't tell whether Xia You really had the skills or was simply exaggerating and boasting. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "How many Badges do you have now?"

"Four." After answering, Xia You pointed down the road. "But I'm heading to the Celadon Gym to challenge its Gym Leader, so I'll have my fifth soon."

"What? Only four Badges? You're seriously slow. Looks like you're about the same level as Ash." Gary sounded rather smug. "I've already collected seven. Now I'm on my way to Viridian City for my next one."

So he judged strength by the number of Badges someone had...

This kid really did have quite an arrogant attitude!

Still, it made sense. Gary was just starting out, with sky-high ambitions. As Professor Oak's grandson, he believed his background gave him an advantage over everyone else. Having yet to suffer crushing defeats at two conferences, he naturally didn't think much of other trainers.

With that thought, Xia You took out a Poké Ball, enlarged it, and spun it between his fingers.

"In that case, how about it? Want to have a battle?"

"A battle?" Gary shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have time to waste here. If you really want to battle me, then good luck making it to the Indigo Conference and facing me there!"

With that, Gary waved a hand. The car started up again, accelerated, and drove away.

"Heh heh." Gastly floated up from Xia You's shadow, laughing ruefully. "Looks like we've been underestimated."

Watching Gary disappear into the distance, Xia You shook his head.

So young, yet he already had a sports car and so many girls to keep him company. It really was enough to make anyone envious.

Putting those thoughts aside, he set down his backpack and asked Kirlia to gather firewood for cooking. At the same time, he let out all his other Pokémon except Zapdos and Magikarp.

By now, these Pokémon had spent so much time with him that they knew what to do without being told.

Squirtle took the kettle to fetch water from the river, while Charmander lit the firewood. Ivysaur led the other Pokémon into the nearby forest to gather Berries.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

After everyone had polished off a hearty meal, Xia You took out Magikarp's Poké Ball. He considered it for a moment, then went to the riverbank and let him out.

With a flash of blue light, Magikarp appeared in the river and swam happily back and forth.

After observing him closely, Xia You realized that the man who had sold him Magikarp really had swindled him.

This Magikarp was male! How could he possibly lay eggs?!

Still, quite a long time had passed since Xia You had obtained this Pokémon. Given his condition, he should have evolved long ago, yet even now, he showed no sign of evolving.

Was he really unable to evolve because he was missing that final kick from James?

"Hey, Gastly." Xia You turned to Gastly and asked, "In a situation like this, is there any way to make him evolve quickly?"

"Evolve?" Gastly chuckled. "What? It's only evolution. Is that really such a difficult thing?"