Chapter 369 · Lavaridge Gym

After leaving the Torchic nursery, Gary and Zinnia returned to town and ate lunch at the Hot Springs Inn.

"Gary, battle me with your new Torchic," Zinnia insisted.

"You really never give up, do you?" Gary laughed. "The moment I catch something new, you want to fight it."

Although Gary coached her, Zinnia still lost every practice match. As a would-be Dragon Master, she refused to accept defeat and was determined to beat him at least once.

She had originally wanted to test herself against Gary's Slakoth, but its laziness put her off. Unfortunately for her, Slakoth soon evolved into Vigoroth, and when Zinnia challenged it with Tyrunt, she was soundly defeated—leaving her even more frustrated.

Now that Gary had caught a new Torchic, Zinnia decided to seize the opportunity, no matter how embarrassing it might be.

"I don't care if it's embarrassing—just battle me with Torchic once!"

"Torchic hasn't even started proper training yet," Gary said. "Give me two weeks—after that, I'll fight you."

"Deal!" Zinnia agreed, confident that her Tyrunt would still come out on top.

She had no idea Gary planned to evolve Torchic into Combusken by then, gaining the Fighting type—a perfect counter for her Rock/Dragon-type Tyrunt.

After the meal, they rested until two o'clock. Gary then set off for the Lavaridge Gym.

Zinnia, meanwhile, chose to stay behind at the air-conditioned hot spring inn.

"I'm not going—I'll get tanned!" she called after him.

Gary pedaled his mountain bike to the Gym.

The Gym's doors stood open, and inside a small group was repairing the battlefield.

Among them were Ash, May, Brock, and Max.

Since this was Flannery's first week as acting Gym Leader, the arena was still pockmarked—the previous challenger's Pokémon had used Dig repeatedly, and no one had filled the craters.

Ash's group had become Flannery's makeshift work crew.

Also helping was a middle-aged man in round spectacles.

Gary recognized him at once: Flannery's grandfather, former Elite Four member Mr. Moore, lingering incognito to quietly watch over his granddaughter.

"Hey, Gary!" Max spotted him first.

The boy, distracted as always, glanced around and noticed Gary standing at the door.

Ash and the others paused their work and looked up.

"Gary! Haven't you challenged the Lavaridge Gym yet?" Ash asked, a little surprised. Gary had come down the mountain before them, and Ash had assumed he'd already taken on the Gym.

"If I'd finished my battle, why would I still be standing here?" Gary replied dryly. "And what are you all doing?"

"We're helping Flannery fix the battlefield so we can challenge her," Ash explained.

"Isn't that the Gym's job?" Gary asked.

Flannery laughed sheepishly. "The last challenger's Pokémon kept spamming Dig, and I forgot to fix the damage…"

"You're the Gym Leader?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

"Temporarily," she explained. "Grandpa's traveling, so I'm running the Gym until I officially inherit it."

Gary glanced at the disguised Moore. The old man quickly turned back to his work, trying not to be noticed.

"If I help, can I take the first challenge slot?" Gary asked.

Flannery hesitated. While she wanted to agree, it was obvious Ash and the others had been working for a while—Ash clearly deserved to challenge first.

"First come, first served," Ash cut in. With a rare chance to beat Gary in the badge count, he wasn't about to give up his spot.

Gary saw through the ploy but didn't bother arguing. "Fine. Let's get this done quickly."

He released Eevee and his shiny Ralts.

"Eevee, Ralts—use Psychic and Confusion to move the sand back into the holes."

"Vee!"

"Raa!"

Under their telekinetic control, the loose earth floated back into the craters and settled smoothly.

"A Psychic-type Eevee?" Moore muttered, intrigued. He knew full well that an ordinary Eevee couldn't learn Psychic moves.

As a former Elite Four member, Moore's knowledge of Pokémon was extensive—he knew this Eevee was something special.

"Oh, what Pokémon is that?" Ash asked, noticing Ralts for the first time. He quickly pulled out his Pokédex and scanned her.

"Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. It uses the horns on its head to sense people's emotions. When it senses positive feelings, it will approach people," the Pokédex recited.

"Hey, it looks different from the picture on the Pokédex," Ash said, comparing the photo to the Pokémon in front of him. He realized the colors didn't match.

"That's because she's a shiny Ralts," Max explained excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

Brock and May leaned in, fascinated.

Startled by the sudden attention, Ralts abandoned her telekinetic task and quickly teleported to Gary's side.

"Don't stare," Gary reminded them gently. "She's still shy around strangers."

Although Ralts had been lively and outgoing around Wally, she still reverted to her timid nature around unfamiliar faces.