Gary spent one last night in Mistralton City.
The next day.
After breakfast, he took Latios and headed back to Castelia City.
With Latios's speed, the trip took less than half an hour.
Gary went straight to the Gym.
He'd planned to look for the old man who had been watching the Gym last time, but the moment he stepped inside, he spotted a man sitting on a tree trunk, feeding a leaf to a Sewaddle.
"Burgh!"
Gary said in surprise.
Hearing someone call his name, Burgh looked over. Seeing it was Gary, he asked, "This is the Castelia Gym. Is there something you need?"
"My name is Gary. I'm from the Kanto Region, and I'm here to challenge the Gym," Gary said.
"Then you may have to wait until the afternoon. I've already arranged a battle with a Trainer this morning — that Trainer seems to be like you, also from the Kanto Region."
"Kanto?"
Gary was taken aback.
Both from the Kanto Region — it had to be Ash.
Ash had only been in the Unova Region a handful of days, and he'd already reached Castelia Gym.
Going by the usual Gym challenge order, Castelia should be Ash's third Gym, with the first two being the Striaton Gym and the Nacrene Gym.
Gary had only been in the Unova Region for ten days himself — Ash was collecting Badges pretty quickly this time around.
"I got here a week ago. Can't I cut in line?" Gary asked.
"That's not up to me. Even if you arrived earlier, you didn't book an appointment, so you'll still have to wait until the afternoon," Burgh said.
"The afternoon is fine, but I'd like you to use your World Coronation Series Pokémon against me, Mr. Burgh," Gary said.
Burgh frowned slightly and looked Gary over carefully. He could tell the young man had at least two or three years of Trainer experience, but the Eevee at Gary's side left him a little puzzled.
Eevee wasn't a powerful Pokémon — it was one best suited for beginners to raise.
Gary carrying an Eevee around naturally made Burgh doubt his strength.
"How many Badges have you collected?" Burgh asked.
"Four."
Gary held up four fingers.
"With only four Badges, I can't go against the Gym's rules," Burgh said.
"Mr. Burgh, I'm very strong. Collecting all eight Badges is only a matter of time. If you're willing to use your main Pokémon, I'll gather the remaining four Badges first," Gary said.
Seeing Gary's determination, Burgh thought for a moment. "Then I'll make an exception and use my main team against you. But you'll still have to wait — the Trainer with the appointment should be arriving soon."
"No problem. I can wait," Gary said.
"Then once I've finished with the Trainer I'm scheduled with, I'll battle you. No need to wait until the afternoon," Burgh said.
"Good."
Gary nodded.
"Mr. Burgh!"
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind Gary.
"You're right on time," Burgh said.
Gary turned around and saw Ash, Iris, and Cilan.
"Gary?!" Ash exclaimed.
Ash had noticed Gary when he entered the Gym, but he'd only seen him from behind and couldn't be sure until Gary turned around and he got a clear look.
Iris and Cilan exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled. Neither of them knew Gary at all.
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you here, Ash." Gary waved.
"Gary, why'd you come to the Unova Region?" Ash asked.
"To travel, and to see if there are any Pokémon worth raising here," Gary replied.
"Then are you going to enter the Unova League Conference?" Ash pressed.
"That depends."
"Sounds like you're entering. This time I definitely won't lose to you," Ash said.
The two had known each other so long that Ash understood Gary well. He knew that with Gary's occasionally arrogant streak, saying "it depends" meant he was definitely going to enter.
"Ash, I think you've misunderstood something. Your goal at this stage isn't beating me," Gary reminded him.
"Not beating you?" Ash was confused. "Then what is it?"
"Think about it. Starting from the Ever Grande Conference, you've been knocked out by other Trainers every time. You never even got the chance to face me. What you should be worrying about is not getting eliminated, and making it to the finals," Gary said.
"I— you— fine, I'll make it to the finals!" Ash sputtered for a good while before finally going along with it.
Ever since the Silver Conference, Ash hadn't once crossed paths with Gary at a League Conference.
"I admire your ambition, but if you want to enter the Unova League Conference, you'll have to get through me first," Burgh said, hopping down from the tree to remind them.
"Mr. Burgh, when does our Gym battle start?" Ash asked immediately.
"Right now!"
Bang! Bang!
Burgh clapped his hands twice, and the floor of the hall slid open to both sides as a complete battlefield rose from below.
"What a great venue!"
Ash had been around, and fields like this were usually only seen at League Conferences.
Gary stepped back of his own accord to watch the coming match with Iris and Cilan.
"Hi, I'm Iris. I'm traveling with Ash."
"Hello, my name is Cilan, also traveling with Ash. My dream is to become an outstanding Pokémon Sommelier."
Iris and Cilan introduced themselves one after the other.
"Hello, my name is Gary. Like Ash, I'm from Pallet Town. We've known each other since we were little," Gary replied.
"Axew!"
Just then, an Axew popped out of Iris's voluminous hair and waved at Gary.
[LV40 Axew♂ / Quasi-Legendary]
"Hello."
Gary responded with a smile, but inside he was very surprised by Axew's potential. Aside from Togepi, here was another ordinary Pokémon with quasi-legendary potential.
No wonder Iris eventually made it all the way to the Masters Eight.
Still, this Axew hadn't evolved at Level 40, when a normal Axew could evolve into Fraxure at Level 38.
What's more, in the anime's plot, Iris's Axew never evolved even by the end of Ash's journey. With harder training, it could definitely reach Elite-level strength within a year.
After looking at Axew, Gary immediately turned his gaze to the battlefield — to the Pikachu at Ash's feet.
[LV66 Pikachu♂ / Legend]
Gary: (⊙_⊙;)
What?!
Not Champion?
When did it become Legend-tier…?!