Chapter 187

Chapter 187

…Yeah, no.

Asahi quickly realized the truth — the Mareep hadn't sensed anything.

It was just mesmerized by the shiny GS Ball.

Of course.

Why had he even expected Mareep to pick up on time distortions? It wasn't Celebi, after all.

With a helpless sigh, Asahi pocketed the GS Ball.

Mareep blinked, visibly disappointed that the shiny object was gone.

Feeling a pang of guilt, Asahi wondered if he'd been neglecting Mareep lately.

Ever since catching it, Mareep had mostly been… well, "free-range."

After a moment of thought, Asahi rummaged through his bag and pulled out a Thunder Plate.

"Here — this is for you."

Mareep's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Reep?"

It nudged the plate with its nose.

Zap!

In an instant, Mareep's wool puffed up dramatically — transforming into a giant fluffy ball.

Its entire body was now an oversized fuzzball, with only the tips of its limbs and the glowing orb at the end of its tail peeking out.

"Uh…"

Asahi blinked in surprise.

He hadn't expected the Thunder Plate's energy to cause that.

Gardevoir, who had once touched the plate herself, hadn't reacted this strongly.

"Reeeeep!"

Mareep wriggled, trying to move — but its tiny legs couldn't touch the floor.

It could only roll slightly, looking like a larger, fluffier version of a Galarian Wooloo.

"Vee!"

Eevee, ever helpful, bounded forward to push Mareep upright.

Asahi's expression shifted. "Wait, don't—"

Too late.

Eevee's paw grazed Mareep's overcharged wool.

Zap!

Eevee's fur instantly frizzed out, and it flopped onto its back, little legs twitching, smoke rising from its mouth.

"..."

Asahi sighed.

[Why doesn't anyone ever let me finish my sentence?]

Mareep's charged wool wasn't something you could touch.

Thankfully, with Eevee acting as a conduit for the excess electricity, Mareep's fluffy wool finally shrank a little, returning to a more normal state so it could walk properly.

Though the light bulb on its tail was still glowing.

"Looks like it's still too early to give you the Thunder Plate... Let's wait until you level up a bit more." Asahi put the plate away.

He then pulled out his tablet and started drafting a training plan for Mareep.

As for the intensity... let's go with half of what Slowpoke does.

That should be a reasonable level for Mareep.

"This level should be fine for you, right, Mareep?" Asahi asked.

Mareep tilted its head. "Baa?"

The young Mareep clearly had no idea what half of Slowpoke's training regimen entailed.

After setting things up for Mareep, Asahi noticed Silver walking in, having just finished his daily training.

"I'm planning to visit the Viridian Gym later. Want to check out the place where your father used to be?" Asahi asked.

Silver hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

—

"Nidoking, Earthquake!"

With a deafening roar and a violent tremor, the opposing Wartortle was knocked out of the fight.

Watching the stunned expression of his opponent, Gary's face remained completely indifferent. "You're not strong enough yet. Come back when you've improved."

As the challenger left, the gym staff repaired the battlefield and ushered in the next contestant.

Gary returned to the lounge, collapsed onto the couch, and stared at the ceiling with a look of frustration.

"When is this going to end..."

Ever since Asahi had tricked him into being the interim Gym Leader for Viridian Gym, he had spent an entire week living like this.

And the number of challengers trying their luck at Viridian Gym hadn't decreased at all. In fact, it was only growing.

Though, to be fair, Asahi wasn't lying when he said Gary's battle skills had improved a lot.

Just then, there was a knock on the lounge door.

Gary immediately straightened his clothes and hair before responding, "Come in!"

A gym staff member walked in.

Gary looked puzzled. "The battlefield's repaired already? I'll head over—"

"No, Gym Leader, the field is still being worked on... Someone's here to see you."

The staff member stepped aside, revealing Asahi and an unfamiliar figure at the door.

"Well? I came to visit you. Feeling touched?" Asahi said.

"...More like startled." Gary deadpanned.

Asahi raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Gary shuddered and quickly corrected himself, "N-No, nothing! I'm really touched."

"Forget it... Let me introduce you—this is Silver." Once the staff member had left, Asahi turned to the confused Gary.

"Silver?"

Gary immediately recalled the new recruit who had joined their group a few days ago.

Seeing Silver, who was clearly younger than him, Gary had mixed feelings.

Finally... Finally, there was someone in the organization with less seniority than him!

Did this mean that from now on, he wouldn't be the only one—at the very least, not the only one—getting "special treatment" from Asahi?

Gary suddenly felt like crying and looked at Silver with deep gratitude.

Asahi, on the other hand, was baffled.

Gary shouldn't know Silver, so why was he acting so emotional? He even seemed more excited than Green, Silver's sister.

Silver also looked confused.

But Asahi didn't dwell on it. Assuming Gary was just stressed, he turned to Silver and said, "This is the gym your father used to run. I asked Lance about it—he didn't take any of the non-essential items with him. They're all still stored in the underground base. Let's go take a look."

Silver nodded.

Then, under Gary's dumbfounded gaze, Asahi walked to a corner of the room, tapped the wall a few times, and revealed a hidden keypad.

After entering a password, there was the sound of mechanical gears turning. The couch moved aside, revealing a passage leading downward.

"???"

Gary was utterly bewildered, staring at the scene in shock.

This was completely beyond his comprehension.

He had been acting as the Gym Leader for days, yet he had no idea there was a secret passage under the very couch he had been sitting on.

And... what did Asahi just say?

This is the gym your father used to run?

Could Silver be...

A terrifying thought flashed through Gary's mind.

No way...

—