"Yes."
Lacey admitted it with a nod.
"No wonder the students your academy turns out aren't up to much," Gary complained.
"…!"
"Lacey, don't mind him. This guy also claims he's half a teacher at Naranja Academy. I don't buy it either," Benga said.
Hearing Benga say that, Lacey looked surprised. She couldn't believe that someone as young as Gary could be a teacher at Naranja Academy.
"The students at my academy aren't that bad. Besides, I've been to Naranja Academy, and I know all the teachers there. There's no way someone your age could be one of them."
Although Lacey usually had a good temper, Gary had insulted the students taught at her academy, which effectively included her, so of course she was upset.
"I was hired to give the students there battle training in the past, so I only count as half a teacher. This year I'll be going back to Naranja Academy to battle its top-twenty students again," Gary said.
"You're… Gary!" Lacey suddenly realized something.
"What is it?"
Gary didn't understand why she was suddenly calling his name. She'd learned it yesterday when she watched him challenge Driftveil Gym, so there was no need to shout it out now.
"Lacey, what are you trying to say?" Benga asked, confused. He didn't understand why she'd suddenly said Gary's name — she was clearly thinking of something.
"When I was an exchange student last year, I exchanged contact info with Nemona, the student council president at Naranja Academy. We chatted a while ago and she told me their academy invited a League Conference Champion Trainer to run practical battle lessons, and only the top-twenty students at the academy would get the chance to battle that Champion Trainer. His name was Gary," Lacey explained.
"What?! This guy actually won a League Conference?!" Benga said, stunned.
Benga had always figured Gary was just a Trainer somewhat stronger than himself. He'd never imagined Gary was a Trainer who had won a League Conference championship.
"It's perfectly normal for me to win. You don't have to look so surprised," Gary said.
"What a load of bragging! Do you think League Conference championships are cabbages you can just grab whenever you feel like it?" Benga said, unimpressed.
"Benga," Lacey called out to him, and told him calmly, "He's the Trainer who won four League Conference championships in a row. He even has a Legendary Pokémon on his team."
Benga: (QAQ)
Benga, who a moment ago had been full of complaints, was completely thrown after hearing that Gary owned a Legendary Pokémon. He had no idea what to say.
Gary gave Benga a small gesture, as if to say it was really no big deal.
"So what? I'll win a League Conference championship too," Benga said.
"With your current strength, definitely not. Even if you manage to collect all the Badges and enter the Vertress Conference, reaching the full-battle rounds would be your absolute limit — and even that's a stretch. You'd probably get knocked out during the three-on-three matches," Gary said.
"What did you say?! I'm going to win the championship!" Benga shot back.
"All three of your Pokémon are late bloomers. There's only half a year left before the Vertress Conference. Can you get all three of your current Pokémon to their final evolutions in half a year?" Gary asked.
"That…!"
Benga couldn't argue with that. He'd been raising his current Pokémon for about a year now, and Larvesta had been with him nearly two. Aside from Gible, the other two showed no sign of evolving.
"Let me put it this way. The Trainers who participate in the League Conference have all raised their Pokémon for one to three years. If their Pokémon's potential weren't holding them back, they'd be even stronger.
"The only edge you have over them is that all three of your Pokémon have excellent potential. If you train seriously for another two or three years and rely on outleveling everyone, you could still win a championship."
Benga had a good background, his Pokémon had great potential, and the only thing he was short on was time. Given time, he could easily become an Elite Four–level Trainer at most.
"I don't want to win by outleveling anyone. You can wait and see — I'll prove it to you at the Vertress Conference." Benga wasn't the type to argue with words, so he decided to answer with action.
"Then collect all your Badges first."
Leaving him with that, Gary went off to let his Pokémon rest, and after a brief break, he started their move training.
Benga and Lacey also released their Pokémon and started training — performance training as well.
Gary took a moment to look over Lacey's team. She also had three Pokémon: Snubbull, Whimsicott, and an Excadrill.
As Clay's daughter, it wasn't surprising for Lacey to own an Excadrill — after all, Excadrill was Clay's signature Pokémon. What was noteworthy was that Lacey's Excadrill had actually reached Champion-level potential, even higher than Clay's.
It really showed just how much of a doting father Clay was, giving all his best Pokémon to his daughter to raise.
After training for about an hour, a stir suddenly broke out nearby.
"Look at that — who is that?!"
"It's Mr. Grimsley!"
"Really?!"
"Let's go take a look."
The Trainers and passersby around them were getting restless.
"Elite Four!"
The moment he heard the name "Grimsley," Gary immediately thought of the Elite Four.
One of the members of the Unova Region's Elite Four was named Grimsley.
But why was Grimsley showing up here? There didn't seem to be a casino in Driftveil City, and Grimsley, being the gambler he was, usually only turned up at entertainment venues.
"Come back."
Gary recalled his three Pokémon and said to Eevee, "Let's go take a look too."
"Vee."
Eevee nodded and followed Gary out of the training ground.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw people gathering, all their eyes fixed on the road to the right.
Because Grimsley was walking down that road.
Gary studied him. He looked exactly like the image Gary remembered — hair styled like a Staraptor's crest, dressed in a dark navy suit, with a beige scarf around his neck. He looked very sharp.
"So handsome!"
"He's gorgeous!"
"I can't take it!"
Several of the women nearby were completely captivated by Grimsley.
Though Grimsley was a gambling addict, he was very handsome — the kind of good-looking that had real appeal. A handsome bad boy was especially attractive; girls who weren't worldly-wise were always easy to sweep off their feet by someone like that. It was the same reason a delinquent could be so popular — if a rough type had good looks, he became irresistible to those kinds of girls.
"Who is that guy?"
"You don't recognize him?"
"Maybe he's a fan?"
The passersby were still watching Grimsley when they suddenly saw a teenager step out and block his path.