Pokemon: I am Gary

In the Grass Arena, this was the last match of the day. It was also the final spot for the top sixteen.

Gary brought Professor Oak and Aunt Delia to sit in the front row of the audience.

"Wow, the view here is amazing! Gary, thanks to you for getting front-row tickets," Aunt Delia said, holding her camera and covering her mouth with a smile.

"Ahem… It's nothing; I have a few friends who are scalpers…" Gary looked up at the sky.

At the entrance of the venue, James wore sunglasses and a leather jacket, shaking his legs. "Tickets~ Front-row seats for today's last match! Friends~ Need tickets? Oh come on, I'll give you a discount…"

Jessie and Meowth each held a cup of juice, squatting at the street corner on lookout...

"Thanks to our boss, these internal tickets sold for a good price, meow~" Meowth waved his hand greedily. "Meow! Give me coins!"

Jessie munched on snacks from James's stall while nodding. "Let him hurry up; we need to get inside to sell snacks soon…"

...

Brock and Misty were not acting as coaches today; instead, they sat in the third and fourth rows.

Because Ash had declared that he wanted to be an independent Pokémon trainer!

With cheers and excitement, Ash's final preliminary match officially began.

Gary sat calmly next to Professor Oak, crossing his legs and wearing sunglasses to shield his face.

There was no choice; as fans began to increase, Gary had to be a bit more low-key. Otherwise, if surrounded by fans, he'd have to escape on Charizard or Braviary.

"Alright! The last match in the Grass Arena! The contestants are Ash from Pallet Town and on the other side—" The announcer deliberately elongated his voice.

Whoosh! A red carpet flew out from the trainer's passageway. Accompanied by attendants scattering flowers, a girl in a bright red traditional outfit with a cute bow elegantly stepped forward with small strides.

"Oh my gosh! This woman is completely unrestrained," Gary said speechlessly.

After being thoroughly educated by him, she still acted as if she owned the place; in some ways, that showed real inner strength.

Brock jumped from row four to row one like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. "Wow~ What a super beauty!"

Gary and Professor Oak turned their heads to see Brock; they nodded calmly—it was indeed something Brock would do.

Perhaps due to his long history of caring for kids and lacking maternal love, Brock preferred that kind of classic older woman.

"Go! Go! Jeanette!" A wave of cheers erupted from the opposite stands with drums and gongs ringing out.

Professor Oak chuckled. "Wow! The number of fans here can rival Gary's."

Gary awkwardly smiled. "Grandpa~ I'm going for a strength-based approach now."

Professor Oak waved dismissively. "Being popular doesn't hinder your strength! Let me tell you; being too popular is something you can't control. It's a curse upon the Oak family…"

Gary pouted; he was just bragging—so he chose to keep quiet...

"What a shame—Ash won't go easy just because she's cute," Gary said with an odd laugh.

This straightforwardness really is adorable!

"Gary, what Pokémon do you think Ash will use?" Misty asked curiously as she leaned in.

Since there were still empty seats in the front row, Brock and Misty ran over to sit with Professor Oak and Gary.

"I think Ash will probably use Bulbasaur or something like that," Gary shrugged.

The next second, Ash threw out his Poké Ball. "I choose you—Bulbasaur!"

Misty immediately fell over in disbelief. "He's way too easy to read!"

On the other side, Jeanette glanced at Gary on stage and silently encouraged herself. "I must win! This way I can follow in Gary's footsteps!"

"Flowers bloom; butterflies come! Go, Beedrill! Let's showcase our charm!" Jeanette sent out her Beedrill according to her own rhythm.

If facing an opponent like Gary, Jeanette definitely wouldn't dare use Beedrill as her early-game hero.

After all, it developed quickly but struggled in late-game scenarios.

However, against Ash's Pokémon, Beedrill could easily show off...

With a series of Twin Needle attacks, Beedrill forced Ash's Bulbasaur into evasive maneuvers left and right.

Gary shook his head disapprovingly. "Seed Bomb—then protect yourself!"

Brock and Misty exchanged glances at Gary—come on!

Ash didn't have this thought process either; however, he could still adapt quickly!

Cornered, Ash finally remembered Seed Bomb. "Seed Bomb? Impact!" He unleashed it directly at Beedrill!

"Oh no! This kid is way too fast; I didn't even catch it!" Aunt Delia sighed in disappointment as she shook her head.

"Ahem! After all, Ash is all about speed-based combat; slowing down could lead him to lose," Gary explained.

"Oh—so that's how it is," Aunt Delia nodded seriously as she continued watching intently.

"This kid Ash has such a distinct personal style; I wonder if that's a blessing or a curse," Professor Oak sighed worriedly.

After all, relying on improvisation and passionate fighting styles could lead to issues if faced against opponents of higher skill levels.

As someone who had been through it all before, Professor Oak likely understood what level Ash would reach in this tournament.

"Everyone grows; this isn't his last league competition," Gary said confidently as he crossed his arms. "I'm still waiting for him to meet me in the finals."

However—not this time around—Gary thought silently.

As Jeanette's Pokémon had decent levels due to being Erika's disciple, it was impressive enough that she could reach round four after all.

However, her command skills were somewhat painful to watch. It could be said they were quite rough around the edges—making Gary roll his eyes repeatedly.

Erika had mentioned that this girl was particularly proud and never listened to others' advice; Gary understood now.

It seemed this girl belonged to the type who wouldn't admit mistakes or change her ways. After following Erika for over a year now, she hadn't learned anything at all!

Facing an opponent with Grass-type main Pokémon like Ash's Bulbasaur would be challenging for her; using Bug-type Pokémon twice in succession against it showed perfect type disadvantage but her choice of moves made Gary roll his eyes again.

Fury Cutter, Double Team, Impact…

"Can't you even use cut?" Gary muttered under his breath as he watched. On stage things suddenly changed as Ash lit up with an idea!

Bulbasaur suddenly changed tactics and whipped out its Vine Whip, breaking through Beedrill's Double Team!

Not only that but its real body was also sent flying away losing its combat ability!

The clean KO excited spectators who cheered passionately for Ash's victory!

Gary felt his forehead twitching; Beedrill was indeed strong offensively but even weak Pokémon should have some limits!

One Vine Whip took it down! Is it just acting?

Fortunately next up was Jeanette's ace—Bellsprout.

Although the process had been thrilling and intense, Ash still achieved complete victory in this preliminary match.

As an unexpected trump card entry Muk perfectly demonstrated what it meant to arrive when called upon and win effortlessly!

"Hmph! I'm not bragging; this Muk's pressure is something I taught personally!" Professor Oak crossed his arms proudly while lifting his head high.

"Impressive!" Gary complimented. "Muk has a better relationship with you than with Ash…"

"That's right~ I've been eaten by Muk many times!" Professor Oak reminisced fondly.

"Ahem! Thank you for your hard work, Professor…" Brock and Misty nervously chimed in while sweating...

Watching Ash receive cheers from everyone in attendance made Delia wipe her eyes feeling emotional. "How wonderful! This kid Ash is so handsome; he truly is my son! This trip has been worth it!"

"Well~ At least he made it into the finals now. I hope he continues working hard," Gary stood up. "Let's all gather for lunch later. I've reserved seats at the restaurant."

"Let's feast!" Misty and Brock's eyes sparkled immediately at the mention of food.

"Oh my goodness! That sounds wonderful; thank you so much, Gary." Aunt Delia expressed her gratitude warmly.

"Hahaha! Alright then; Brock and Misty go find Ash while Aunt Delia and I will take the car over to the restaurant first. You two can catch up later." Professor Oak stood up with a smile instructing them accordingly.

"Sure thing!" Misty and Brock hurried off to find Ash while Gary stood up with Grandpa and Aunt Delia as they exited...

At their corner snack stall Team Rocket prepared themselves for their transition into selling merchandise inside while spectators were still present after matches concluded.

With quick steps they moved harmoniously down the corridor together.

"Wow… we really made quite a bit today~" Jessie exclaimed happily as she leaped into action.

"I think we should just stick to doing business since we're quite good at this~" James chuckled as he agreed with her sentiment.

"Don't be foolish—you two! Thanks to our boss's consideration we can focus on running this stall properly!" Meowth chimed in energetically.

"We must earn enough funds so we can capture that brat's Pikachu!"

"Right—right~" James nodded nonchalantly saying that every day they could eat well while also making some extra cash sounded appealing enough...

"That's right! After work let's go back to that Western restaurant?" Jessie smiled brightly,

"Meow~ Pudding, steak, pizza~" Meowth immediately drooled at just thinking about it before starting to fantasize about their post-work feast!

Thinking about their dinner plans after work made Team Rocket unable to contain their excitement as they lifted their heads high together saying: "Hehehe~ What an amazing feeling!"