I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 699 - 699: Gary Vs. Artazon Gym — Brassius Surrenders

Artazon Gym."Brassius Art Gallery..."

Gary stared at the Gym, which had been built to look like an art exhibition hall, and couldn't help but admire the Gym Leaders of the Paldea region. They were all far too laid-back, turning their Gyms into whatever they pleased.

Katy had turned her Gym into a pastry shop.

Grusha had built his Gym into a ski resort.

And Brassius had made his Gym into an art gallery.

Gary didn't dwell on it. He walked up to the entrance and found the door already open. Leaning inside, he spotted a middle-aged man with green hair and bangs standing in front of a stone sculpture, studying it carefully.

That man was Brassius. He was examining one of his own carved sculptures, checking whether there were any parts that needed more careful refinement.

"Um... sorry to bother you," Gary said.

Brassius, who had been absorbed in his observation, turned his head. His face wore a rather dull, lifeless expression, giving the impression of someone whose whole presence radiated weariness.

"Is something the matter?" Brassius asked.

"Hello. My name is Gary. I'm from the Kanto region, and I've come to challenge the Artazon Gym. Are you the Gym Leader here?" Gary explained his purpose.

"A Trainer from another region!" Brassius was slightly taken aback, then responded in a calm, even tone, "As a Gym Leader, I have no right to refuse a Trainer's challenge. Tell me, Gary, how many years have you been a Trainer?"

"Three years!"

Gary answered honestly. He understood the reason behind the question — the Gym Leader needed to gauge his level so he could send out a suitable Pokémon.

"Three years. Then you should have a decent level of strength. Let's head to the battlefield outside," Brassius said.

The two of them stepped out of the art gallery, and Brassius also called a referee over. Since this was an official Gym battle, a referee was required to oversee it.

The battlefield for Artazon Gym was set up separately, just outside the gallery itself. It was less than ten meters from the entrance and looked something like a boxing ring.

When passersby noticed Brassius stepping onto the battlefield, they grew curious and gathered around to watch. Towns like this didn't have many forms of entertainment, so the chance to see a Gym battle was a treat people didn't want to miss.

"Are both sides ready?" the referee asked.

"No problem."

"Yes. You may begin."

Seeing this, the referee announced loudly, "The following is a Gym battle between the Artazon Gym Leader, Brassius, and the challenger, Gary. Each side may use three Pokémon, and the battle will continue until all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle. Additionally, only the challenger has the right to switch Pokémon."

[Ding! Mission released: 1. Obtain the Gym Badge. Reward: Intermediate Rare Candy x6, Grass-type Permanent Move Tutor, Premium Miracle Seed x1.]

[2. Use a Paldea region Pokémon to obtain the Gym Badge. Reward: Intermediate Rare Candy x6, Grass-type Self-Select Permanent Move Tutor, Random Pokémon Item x1, Permanent Grass-type Tera Shard x1.]

Six Intermediate Rare Candies meant that the three Pokémon Brassius was preparing to send out were all above level 40. Although he was strictly following the rules of the Gym battle, the Annihilape currently in Gary's hands was a name known far and wide — the level gap between them was simply too vast.

"Gym Leader Brassius, please send out your first Pokémon."

Brassius drew a Poké Ball from his pocket.

"Come out, Lilligant."

"Lilligant!"

[Lv. 41 Lilligant ♀ / Gym Tier]

"Annihilape, let's go." Gary sent out Annihilape. Realistically, Annihilape was his only option here.

The battle began.

"Lilligant, use Sleep Powder. Suppress Annihilape's momentum first," Brassius ordered.

Lilligant's flower crown sprayed out a large puff of green Sleep Powder, which spread rapidly across the venue and began drifting downward.

Seeing this, Gary didn't bother defending at all. He gave his order directly, "Use Shadow Punch."

"Anni!"

Annihilape threw a punch into the air, and a dense black Shadow Punch shot forward like a storm, tearing through the Sleep Powder as it raced across the field.

Bang!!

Lilligant had no chance to defend itself. The Shadow Punch slammed into it head-on, knocking it to the ground. It didn't get back up.

The referee paused for a moment, carefully observing Lilligant. After confirming Lilligant had truly lost consciousness, he announced, "Lilligant is unable to battle! Annihilape wins!"

Brassius's usual dull expression finally showed a hint of shock. He hadn't expected his Pokémon to be taken out in a single move.

"It seems Annihilape is your ace Pokémon," Brassius said.

"Yes. I caught it very early on, just after I became a Trainer," Gary admitted.

"Anni!"

Annihilape nodded in agreement.

Brassius was silent for a moment. Then he said something that caught everyone off guard.

"This Gym battle no longer holds any meaning. I admit defeat."

Both Gary and the referee looked confused. Neither of them had expected Brassius to simply give up.

"Brassius? Are you sure about admitting defeat?" the referee asked in surprise.

"Yes," Brassius nodded firmly. "I concede. The strength of this Annihilape has already exceeded the level of a Gym match. Continuing to fight will only cause unnecessary harm to my Pokémon."

Hearing Brassius say this, the referee had no choice but to announce, "Gym Leader Brassius has admitted defeat. The winner of this match is the challenger, Gary."

Gary could accept this result.

It was understandable for Brassius to concede on his own initiative. When a Gym-level Pokémon faces an Elite-level Pokémon, there's no real chance of winning. Continuing the fight would only add unnecessary damage to his team.

"This is the Artazon Gym Badge. Take it." After the match, Brassius also handed his Gym's Badge over to Gary.

The Gym Badges in the Paldea region were quite well-made. Whatever type the Gym was, the corresponding type symbol was engraved on the Badge. In this case, the Grass-type emblem was clearly visible on the front. The other Gyms followed the same pattern.

"Thanks."

Gary took the Badge.

[Ding! Task completed. The reward has been sent to System Storage.]

"Then I'll be taking my leave."

After receiving the Badge, Gary said goodbye and left.

Halfway down the road, Gary opened his System Storage to see what item he had received from the mission's random reward.

[Basic Wise Glasses: When a Pokémon holding this item uses Special Attack moves, the power of those moves is increased by 20%.]

"A 20% boost. Not bad."

Although it wasn't as strong as a type-specific power-boosting item, Wise Glasses raised the power of all Special Attack moves across the board, making it an all-purpose choice.

[Intermediate Rare Candy x13]

"That's a lot of Intermediate Candies."

Since the Gym Leaders' Pokémon were all at the Gym tier, the Rare Candies Gary had received were all Intermediate Rare Candies — currently the most useful kind for him.

Gary himself genuinely wanted to experience the feeling of slowly training a Pokémon by hand, but having all these Intermediate Rare Candies pile up unused felt like a waste.

"Whatever. I'll use them more freely from now on."

Gary figured he probably wouldn't be catching many more Pokémon in the future, so he might as well put these Candies to good use.