Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [92]

"Gary?! What are you doing here?"

Ash stared in shock at Gary, who was standing not far away with his group of girlfriends.

Hearing the familiar voice, Gary turned his head and was just as surprised to see Ash.

But after processing Ash's words, Gary immediately frowned. "What do you mean what am I doing here? I've been in this place for a whole week! I should be the one asking you that question!"

He took a closer look at Ash and smirked. "And what's with that outfit? Did you quit being a Pokémon Trainer and switch careers to waitering?"

Ash wanted to argue back.

But then he thought about the fact that he had to work three jobs… and all the fight drained out of him.

"Say whatever you want…" He turned away and continued carrying chairs with Pikachu.

His reaction, however, only made Gary more curious.

Usually, he took great pleasure in mocking Ash and watching him get all riled up and flustered.

But now, Ash wasn’t reacting at all. It was… unsettling.

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

He really wanted to know what could’ve put Ash in this kind of state.

At that moment, Old Man Ryu, the owner of the Beach House, glanced over and called out, "Hey, spiky-haired kid! If you’re not buying anything, don’t get in the way of my employees."

"Hm?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

He casually stretched out a hand toward the girls behind him, and one of them—who had been carrying his bag—immediately pulled out a thick stack of cash and handed it to him.

Gary slapped the bills down on the table.

"I'm buying out this place for the day."

Then, he turned back to Ash. "Now, will you tell me what the heck is going on?"

Ash was stunned that Gary had actually paid to clear out the Beach House—just to talk to him.

But with Misty and Brock both gone, he really needed someone to vent to.

So, he told Gary everything.

How he wrecked Old Man Ryu’s boat and had to work to pay it off.

How Misty got a phone call, left in a hurry, and mentioned something about the Cerulean Gym failing a League assessment and being temporarily shut down.

How Brock had also taken off right after that.

And at the end of it all, Ash even asked his own burning question.

"By the way, Gary… what exactly is a Gym Leader assessment?"

Ash had never even heard of Gym Leaders needing to take tests.

Gary: "…"

---

After finishing lunch, August and Blue returned to their hotel.

Just as August was about to focus on getting Mudkip to evolve, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID.

Brock…?

August was a little surprised.

Ever since he, Officer Jenny, and Brock exchanged contact info back on Mt. Moon, Brock had never actually called him before.

Was Brock calling because he found out August was one of the Gym examiners and wanted to plead his case?

As he considered the possibilities, August answered the call.

"Hello, August speaking."

"August, sorry to bother you, but I really need your help with something!" Brock's voice sounded urgent.

"Go ahead."

Brock got straight to the point. "Do you know anything about this League Gym assessment? I just found out about it from a friend, and when I asked Officer Jenny, she said she didn’t have any details."

"So, I had no choice but to call you. Since you’re with the International Police, you probably have more connections. Do you know what this assessment is evaluating? And who the examiners are?"

At first, August thought Brock already knew about his role as an examiner and was calling to ask for leniency.

But it turned out Brock was just trying to gather information.

August smirked.

"Well, you’re asking the right person," he said.

"From what I know, this round of Gym assessments is mainly about checking if there are any other Team Rocket infiltrators hiding among the Kanto’s Gym Leaders—like Lt. Surge was."

"As for the content of the evaluation, it’s the usual stuff. One part is about the Gym’s overall management, and the other is about the Gym Leader’s personal strength."

"As for who the examiners are… I can’t disclose that."

He couldn’t exactly tell Brock outright that he was the examiner.

That would make it seem like he was playing favorites.

On the other end, Brock let out a sigh of relief.

A normal assessment was fine.

As long as he could get back in time, he wasn’t worried.

Misty had been too rushed earlier and hadn’t explained things clearly, so he was afraid the League had come up with some bizarre new set of rules.

"Thanks, August," Brock said sincerely.

If it weren’t for August’s explanation, he would’ve been anxious the entire trip back.

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

But now, at least, things still seemed manageable.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, August hung up and turned his gaze toward Blue—who was busy playing a rock-paper-scissors guessing game with Happiny.

Blue noticed him looking and immediately said, "August, I’m gonna go get us some juice! You keep Happiny entertained!"

"No problem!"

As Blue stepped out of the room, August turned to Happiny, who was staring at him warily.

That reminded him of something.

He patted his head, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a small box, handing it to Happiny.

"Here, this is the gift I promised you," he said to the Pokémon, who was eyeing him like he was some kind of villain. "Told you—there’s no need to be so suspicious of me."

"Happy…?"

Happiny didn’t quite believe that this guy—who once tried to steal its rock—was suddenly being so generous.

But after a moment’s hesitation, it opened the box anyway.

Inside was a perfectly smooth, egg-shaped stone.

It looked exactly like an egg.

Happiny was immediately fascinated.

"Happy?"

It held up its own stone and compared the two side by side.

There was no denying it—August’s gift was way shinier and way prettier than the one it had been carrying.

After several failed attempts to fit both stones into the pouch on its belly, Happiny finally made a decision.

Reluctantly, it wrapped up its old stone and tucked it away, replacing it with the new one.

Then, beaming with joy, it hugged the smooth egg-shaped stone tightly.

"Happy!"

Happiny had completely forgotten that it had ever been mad at August and was now happily snuggling up to him.

August patted its head.

Just then, Blue walked back into the room, carrying two glasses of juice.

But the moment she stepped inside—

She saw Happiny glowing.

A bright, white light—the unmistakable sign of evolution—was radiating from its body!

She had only stepped out to get juice…

How in the world had Happiny evolved while she was gone?!

---

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!