I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

"Only Marshtomp is left now."

Gary glanced toward Marshtomp, who was quietly training not far away.

He estimated that within another two weeks, Marshtomp would reach Level 35.

After all, Mudkip had higher potential than both Sceptile and Blaziken, so its level-up rate was also noticeably faster.

By now, Gary had come to understand Marshtomp's personality—it was honest, steady, and reliable.

Even though Marshtomp sometimes looked a little dopey, it always completed the training tasks Gary set with quiet diligence.

"Should I get involved in the Kyogre and Groudon situation?"

Gary gazed out at the sea, deep in thought.

According to the anime timeline, Team Magma and Team Aqua had already captured Groudon and Kyogre—ironically, with reversed targets: Team Magma had captured Kyogre, and Team Aqua had Groudon.

Both Maxie and Archie had also obtained the Blue Orb and Red Orb respectively.

In the anime, these orbs were introduced as devices capable of controlling Groudon and Kyogre.

The Blue Orb supposedly controlled Groudon.

The Red Orb supposedly controlled Kyogre.

But that was just what Maxie and Archie believed. In truth, neither orb could actually control the ancient Pokémon.

Kyogre only pretended to be controlled so it could get closer to the Blue Orb. Once it had it, Kyogre activated Primal Reversion.

Even though it's unclear how Groudon and Kyogre can sense each other's orbs, it's obvious that both Pokémon draw from the same ancient primal energy. It's logical they'd resonate with each other's artifacts—but absorbing the other's orb into themselves? That's impossible.

In fact, Groudon was even able to control Pikachu through the Blue Orb. Kyogre could do the same with the Red Orb.

Maxie and Archie thought they were pulling the strings—but in reality, they were just puppets in Groudon and Kyogre's game.

These are Pokémon that no human can currently control.

If Gary's assumptions were incorrect, then maybe the orbs were created long ago by the People of the Land and People of the Sea, in an effort to control the ancient titans. But when they realized it was impossible, they sealed the orbs deep in ancient ruins.

"Nah, I won't intervene. Let Lance and Ash deal with it."

Gary shook his head. He knew he had nothing to gain from getting involved in the primal crisis.

After all, the only way for him to complete his system-assigned task would be to actually capture Groudon or Kyogre.

But this wasn't the anime—this was real. And in the real world, standard Poké Balls wouldn't work on either of them.

While it's technically possible to catch mythical Pokémon with normal Poké Balls, for top-tier legendaries like Groudon and Kyogre, it's a different story. Unless they willingly choose to be caught, it's not happening.

Even Master Balls might fail—unless crafted from an Origin Stone.

So, since there was no reward for interfering, Gary decided to stay out of it. Let the storyline play out as it should.

After all, this whole scenario was just a staged battle between two ancient Pokémon trying to regain their Primal Forms.

"Now that I think of it, what about Lance's Gyarados?"

Gary remembered that, in the original storyline, Lance used a shiny Gyarados to save Brock and the others.

But that same shiny Gyarados had already been captured by him long ago—it was now living comfortably at Professor Oak's lab.

Lance didn't even have a shiny Dragonite, so at most, he'd be using a regular Gyarados now.

"Eh, why overthink it? If things get serious, we'll just have Zinnia call in Rayquaza. We could turn Groudon and Kyogre into lapdogs in under a minute."

The Next Day

After stocking up on supplies and resting in Lilycove City, Gary and Zinnia boarded a speedboat bound for Mossdeep City.

The journey was quick. They departed in the morning and arrived by the afternoon.

"We're here! Let's go to the Mossdeep Space Center!" Zinnia cheered the moment they stepped off the boat.

"You're rushing too much," Gary said calmly. "You can't just expect to see Rayquaza on demand."

Even though Rayquaza lived in the ozone layer, it was constantly roaming. Its most active zone was the skies over Hoenn—but Rayquaza still needed rest.

It wasn't flying 24/7.

Compared to Rayquaza, Groudon and Kyogre had it easy.

Groudon just had to find a volcano and nap.

Kyogre could sleep peacefully in a deep ocean trench.

And both continued to absorb the natural energy of the land and sea even while asleep.

Unless something drastic—like a colored meteorite—struck Earth, they would usually remain dormant.

Rayquaza, meanwhile, had to work hard every day, drawing energy from cosmic meteorites to maintain balance between land and sea.

"Then I'll stay a few extra days!" Zinnia declared. Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

Back in her village, she'd only ever heard stories of Rayquaza. She had never seen it in person—only murals and old tales from the elders.

Gary shrugged. "Fine. Stay as long as you want. I've already collected nearly all my badges."

After this, their plan was to:

Head to Sootopolis City and earn the final badge.Escort Zinnia to the Sky Pillar.Deliver the Meteorite to Rayquaza.Complete the escort mission.

A few days in Mossdeep wouldn't hurt.

"Let's go to the Space Center right now!" Zinnia beamed, already ready to run off.

"Hold up!" Gary grabbed the back of her hood before she could bolt.

Zinnia had a strange fashion habit—she always wore cloaked or hooded outfits. Was this a common Dragon Trainer thing?

Gary wasn't sure—Iris, Drayden, and Drasna didn't dress like this.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Zinnia protested, flailing her arms.

But it was no use—Gary had the advantage in both strength and experience.

"Calm down. You can't just waltz into the Mossdeep Space Center," he said seriously. "They deal with critical scientific research there. You need authorization to enter."

"But didn't we get invited by Professor Cozmo?" Zinnia argued.

"Yeah, but we should contact him first. If he's not at the Space Center, you'll have made a wasted trip," Gary pointed out.

"Ugh, fine… I'll call him."

Zinnia sighed and took out her PokéGear.

Despite owning a phone, she rarely used it—mostly because she wasn't used to modern tech. She even forgot she had Professor Cozmo's number saved.

Give it a few more PokéGear generations, and Zinnia will probably become a full-fledged screen addict like everyone else.