Aside from cleaning, Xiaowen's daily duties included releasing the Pokémon stored in Poké Balls from the storage room into the backyard.
But when she opened the storage room door today, her eyes widened in shock.
The room, which should have neatly stored dozens of Poké Balls, looked like it had been robbed—completely empty.
"Gym Leader! All the Pokémon in our Gym are gone!"
Hearing Xiaowen's panicked, trembling voice, Red felt his head buzz.
His first thought was that they had been robbed.
But then he reconsidered—given the strength of the Pokémon in storage, any thief attempting to steal them would basically be walking into their own death.
There was only one possibility for all the Pokémon to vanish silently overnight.
His old man took them.
Red walked into the storage room and first calmed down Xiaowen, who was on the verge of tears.
Then, as expected, he found a letter left behind on the table—along with two Poké Balls.
[Son! Since I've handed the Gym over to you, I'll be taking my old partners with me.]
[But don't worry—I'm better than your grandfather. I've left you with two starter Pokémon.]
[Do your best, son. Our family's Gym, passed down for two hundred years, is now entirely in your hands!]
Sunlight streamed through the window, shining on the two brand-new Poké Balls—radiating a father's "thoughtfulness."
But looking at those two Poké Balls, Red felt his scalp tingle.
Under normal circumstances, he could've just closed the Gym for half a month and called it a day.
But today, he had just received a system mission—he had to defeat the first challenger who showed up.
Which meant he had to use these two starter Pokémon to win.
Otherwise, that Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Egg would slip away like a cooked duck flying off!
Red quickly turned to Xiaowen.
"Help me check who the first scheduled challenger is today."
Although she didn't understand why Red was more concerned about the challenger than the missing Pokémon, Xiaowen still opened the computer.
Soon, a boy with spiky hair and a green outfit appeared on the screen.
"Gym Leader, today's first challenger is Oak Shigeru."
Red froze for a moment upon hearing the name, then said:
"Oak Shigeru? Gary?"
Just as Red learned the challenger's identity—
The roar of a sports car suddenly echoed outside the Gym, accompanied by the screech of tires against the ground!
The Gym doors were flung open as a spiky-haired boy strode in confidently.
Wearing a dark green jacket and distressed jeans, he was followed by a squad of energetic cheerleaders.
He was today's challenger—the grandson of Professor Oak—Gary!
"So this is the Songzao Gym?" Gary looked around with clear disdain.
He casually took out a Poké Ball from his waist and spun it on his finger.
"To collect badges, I'll reluctantly check this place off."
The moment he finished speaking, the cheer squad behind him immediately surrounded him and shouted:
"Master Gary is the coolest!"
"Master Gary is number one in the world!"
Even Xiaowen, who considered herself well-traveled, felt secondhand embarrassment so intense her scalp tingled.
......
Only then did Red recall—in the early stages of the anime, Gary was less of a serious trainer and more like a flamboyant rich kid traveling around.
It wasn't until he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Mewtwo and later lost to Ash in the League that he finally woke up.
Unfortunately, in the end, Gary gave up being a trainer and chose to become a researcher.
Although the anime framed it as his own choice, Red felt it was more like he gave up after repeated setbacks rather than actively choosing that path.
But Red didn't care about that right now.
Compared to the mature and steady rival Gary would later become, the current Gary was just a showy, immature brat.
Thinking of the system's newbie mission—and looking at Gary with his cheer squad—Red felt confident.
This mission was in the bag.
Gary sized up Red, who looked about the same age, and said impatiently:
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and call your Gym Leader out. I still need to head to the next city."
Hearing this, Xiaowen glanced at Red with concern. With all the Gym's Pokémon gone, did he even have anything left to battle with?
But Red remained completely calm.
"I am the Gym Leader of Songzao Gym—Red."
Gary paused briefly in surprise, then shrugged indifferently.
"Fine, I don't care who the Gym Leader is. Let's start already. I've got plans this afternoon to go shopping at the beach with my girlfriends."
The girls behind him all smiled brightly at that.
Red didn't bother arguing. He simply walked ahead and said:
"The Songzao Gym uses a 3v3 battle format. Challengers may choose from five terrains: wetlands, mountains, ice fields, grasslands, or volcanoes."
Gary's eyes lit up with interest.
"A weather-based Gym, huh? Interesting."
Though he acted like a playboy, as Professor Oak's grandson, Gary had excellent knowledge and experience.
After thinking for a moment while looking at his six Poké Balls, he said:
"I choose the wetland battlefield."
Soon, a vibrant wetland battlefield appeared within the Gym. With sprinklers simulating rainfall, over 90% of a real wetland environment was recreated.
Gary nodded, intrigued.
"This battle format is pretty interesting."
As he stepped onto the battlefield, the girls behind him erupted into deafening cheers:
"Go, Master Gary!"
"Master Gary is unbeatable!"
Gary flashed a flirtatious smile and blew them a kiss. Amid their excited screams, he took out a Poké Ball.
He gently kissed it.
"Go, my darling!"
The Poké Ball opened, and a well-trained Wartortle appeared in the wetland.
Normally, the Gym Leader should send out a Pokémon first—but Gary clearly didn't care.
Sensing the moisture-rich environment, Wartortle narrowed its eyes comfortably, water droplets glistening on its shell.
"Choosing a battlefield that suits your Pokémon—not a bad strategy," Red commented.
Gary's expression grew slightly more serious.
"Of course. My Wartortle hasn't lost a single battle since I started my journey! Enough talk—send out your Pokémon!"
Watching the scene unfold, Xiaowen couldn't help but grow nervous.
After all, with the old Gym Leader gone and all the Pokémon taken, did Red really stand a chance?
This was his very first battle as the official Gym Leader. Losing here could be a major blow.
Under everyone's gaze, Red took out one of the brand-new Poké Balls.
"Sigh… are challengers really only at this level nowadays? In that case, I'll just use the Pokémon I just obtained."
"Go—Mudkip."
The Poké Ball opened, and a Mudkip—also a Water-type starter—appeared on the battlefield.
The moment Xiaowen saw Mudkip, the last bit of hope in her heart vanished.
Gary, after a brief pause, looked up and said bluntly:
"I thought a Gym this interesting—with such unique battle rules—would have a strong Gym Leader."
"But it looks like the rumors online are true."
"The Songzao Gym is completely hopeless!"
"Facing my Wartortle, and you send out such a low-level Mudkip?"
"After this battle, I'll make sure my grandfather reevaluates whether your Gym even deserves to exist!"
Facing Xiaowen's worried gaze and Gary's aggressive tone, Red simply smiled lightly.
"Win first—then talk."
"Or are you just some second-generation League brat who relies on family influence?"
The moment Gary heard that term, his expression twisted with anger.
"Wartortle! Water Pulse!"
In the damp air, a Water Pulse rapidly began to form…