Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 92: Gary and Ash

"Gary? What are you doing here!?"

Ash stared in shock at Gary, who was hanging out with a group of girls.

Gary turned at the familiar voice and was surprised to see Ash.

But after hearing Ash's words, he frowned. "What do you mean, 'What am I doing here'? I've been staying here for a whole week! I should be the one asking you that!"

"And what's with your outfit? Did you quit being a Pokémon Trainer and switch to being a waiter?"

Ash wanted to argue back, but the thought of working three jobs drained all his energy.

"Think whatever you want…" He turned away and continued moving chairs with Pikachu.

Gary, however, found Ash's lack of reaction intriguing.

He usually enjoyed mocking Ash and watching him get flustered. But now, Ash wasn't reacting at all, which felt… weird.

"What's up with you?" Gary walked up to him.

He was really curious—what had happened to make Ash like this?

Just then, Grandpa Yagi, the owner of the Beach House, called out, "Hey, spiky-haired kid over there! If you're not buying anything, don't bother my employees while they work!"

"Hmm?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

He extended a hand toward the girls behind him, and one of them, who was carrying his bag, quickly pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to him. Gary slapped the cash onto the counter.

"I'm reserving this place for the day!"

Then, turning to Ash, he said, "Now, can you tell me what the hell happened?"

Ash was stunned that Gary had booked the entire Beach House just for this.

But with Misty and Brock both gone, he needed someone to talk to about his confusion.

So, he explained everything—how he had accidentally damaged Grandpa Yagi's boat, was forced to work to pay off his debt, how Misty got a call and left, mentioning that Cerulean Gym was undergoing renovations due to failing the gym assessment, and how Brock also left right after.

In the end, Ash even asked a question that had been bothering him.

"Hey, Gary… what exactly is a Gym Trainer Assessment?"

Ash had never heard of gym trainers needing to go through assessments.

Gary: "….."

---

Cerulean City

After finishing lunch, Asahi and Green returned to their hotel.

As Asahi was about to focus on training Mudkip for its evolution, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID.

"Brock…?"

Asahi was a little surprised. Since exchanging numbers back on Mt. Moon with Officer Jenny and Brock, this was the first time Brock had ever called him.

Could it be that Brock had found out he was a gym assessment official and was calling to plead for help?

Various possibilities ran through Asahi's mind as he answered.

"Hello? This is Asahi."

"Asahi, sorry to bother you, but I have an urgent favor to ask!" Brock's voice sounded anxious.

"Go ahead."

Brock quickly continued, "Do you know anything about this gym assessment? I just heard about it from a friend and tried asking Officer Jenny, but she said she had no information."

"So, I can only ask you. Since you're connected to the International Police, you probably have more inside information. Do you know what exactly is being assessed and who the officials in charge are?"

At first, Asahi thought Brock had found out about his role as an assessment official and was calling for a favor.

But it turned out he was just seeking information.

A smirk appeared on Asahi's face. "You're asking the right person."

"As far as I know, this assessment is mainly to check if any remaining Kanto gym trainers are secretly affiliated with Team Rocket, like Lt. Surge was."

"The criteria are standard—evaluating gym operations and the trainers' battle capabilities."

"As for the officials in charge… I can't disclose that."

He wasn't about to tell Brock outright that he himself was an assessment official.

That would raise concerns about bias.

On the other end of the call, Brock sighed in relief. A normal assessment was fine—as long as he got back in time, everything should be manageable.

Misty had been too rushed earlier and didn't explain things properly.

He had been worried that the League was introducing some bizarre new assessment rules.

"Asahi, thanks a lot." Brock sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Without Asahi's explanation, he would have been extremely anxious right now.

After all, with Cerulean Gym already shut down for renovations, it was hard not to worry.

Now, at least, things seemed under control.

After a bit more small talk, Asahi ended the call and turned to Green, who was playing rock-paper-scissors with Happiny.

Green noticed Asahi looking at her and quickly said, "Asahi, I'll go get us some juice! You watch Happiny for a bit!"

"Sure!"

As Green left the room, Asahi turned to Happiny, who was eyeing him warily.

Then, he suddenly remembered something.

Patting his head, he reached into his bag, pulled out a small box, and handed it to Happiny.

"Here, this is the gift I promised you," Asahi said, looking at the little Pokémon, who was still giving him a suspicious glare. "I told you, there's no need to be so defensive around me."

"Happy…?"

Happiny was skeptical. Would this guy, who once tried to steal its stone, really be this nice?

But after some hesitation, it unwrapped the box.

Inside was a smooth, round Oval Stone—shaped just like an egg. It immediately caught Happiny's interest.

"Happy?"

Happiny compared its old rock to the new one and had to admit… the new stone was way better.

After failing to fit both stones into its pouch, it thought for a moment before carefully wrapping up its old rock and placing the new one in its pouch.

It looked delighted.

"Happy!"

Happiny completely forgot about its past grudges and snuggled up to Asahi.

Asahi patted Happiny's head.

"Juice is here—" Green entered the room, holding two cups of juice.

Then she froze.

Because Happiny was glowing with the white light of evolution!

She had only gone to get juice, and now Happiny was evolving!?

***

To read an advance 90+ chapters before public release

And

Support me at [email protected]/NahinS77