Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

While the Team Rocket trio continued selling DVDs, Luo Yuan returned to his hotel room after leaving the arena.

The room was quiet, occupied only by Luo Yuan.

Sabrina had gone to help maintain security at the Indigo Conference, and Misty, who had initially planned to cheer for Luo Yuan during his match, had been dragged along by Sabrina to assist.

They had promised to meet for dinner later.

"So much for cheering me on... in the end, I'm left all alone," Luo Yuan muttered, shaking his head.

He patted the head of the Eevee nestled in his arms.

"Vui~!"

Eevee stuck out its tiny pink tongue and licked Luo Yuan's palm as if to console him.

A soft cackle echoed from the shadows. "Heh heh~"

Even Gengar seemed amused.

Seeing Eevee's efforts to comfort him, Luo Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright, I was just joking. I'm not so fragile that I need comforting over something this trivial. Let's go grab some lunch."

---

Luo Yuan, carrying Eevee, headed toward the hotel's restaurant.

As he stepped out of his room, he spotted Gary Oak, who was holding a DVD and wearing a smug grin.

"Gary?"

Luo Yuan hadn't expected to bump into him here.

"Ah... Luo Yuan!"

Startled, Gary reflexively hid the DVD behind his back.

The suspicious gesture only piqued Luo Yuan's curiosity.

"What's that in your hand?"

"This... uh..."

Gary coughed awkwardly.

The DVD was something he'd bought from another trainer for a hefty price—a highly sought-after recording of that morning's matches.

While buying such a thing wasn't inherently embarrassing, Gary's motives were less than pure.

Due to the butterfly effect of Luo Yuan's actions, Gary's own match had been rescheduled to the morning, meaning he'd missed Luo Yuan's battle.

His intention now was to analyze the footage and find potential weaknesses in Luo Yuan's strategy.

Under Luo Yuan's questioning gaze, Gary reluctantly explained how he had purchased the second-hand DVD.

Hearing Gary's explanation, Luo Yuan immediately understood his rival's intentions.

He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

Gary's relentless determination to view him as a rival was both amusing and admirable.

Despite losing multiple times, Gary's perseverance was unyielding, rivaling the Team Rocket trio's obsession with Pikachu.

Speaking of Team Rocket...

The idea of recording matches for resale struck Luo Yuan as very familiar.

Glancing at the DVD in Gary's hand, Luo Yuan recalled spotting the trio at the arena earlier.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the recording business was somehow connected to those three.

"Did I accidentally create a profitable venture for them?" Luo Yuan mused, finding the situation oddly amusing.

Of course, Luo Yuan didn't mind at all.

As he had previously stated, he wasn't concerned about his match footage being studied.

After all, his victories relied primarily on Dragonite's raw power and speed. His actual strategies remained largely concealed.

Anyone attempting to analyze his battles would come away with only one conclusion: Dragonite was enormous and overwhelmingly strong.

"Let's grab some lunch together," Luo Yuan offered. "Afterward, let's go find Ash. Doesn't he have a match this afternoon? We can watch it."

Gary, who had been considering the same thing, nodded eagerly.

During their last battle at Professor Oak's lab, Gary had defeated Ash with relative ease.

However, Ash's rapid growth had left Gary both impressed and slightly pressured.

He wasn't about to miss the chance to watch Ash in action.

---

Ash's battle took place at the Water Field.

The arena consisted of a massive pool with five small platforms serving as footholds.

This setup heavily favored Water-type Pokémon while restricting the use of larger Pokémon that couldn't fit on the two-meter-wide circular platforms.

At the moment, Ash was just wrapping up a bizarre battle with his Krabby.

"Can battles even be fought like this?"

Gary was dumbfounded as he watched Krabby defeat an Exeggutor using a combination of Harden, Endure, Leer, and Stomp.

As a trainer with his own Exeggutor, Gary couldn't fathom how one could lose to such a strategy.

Has Ash's Krabby become that powerful?

Luo Yuan, having scanned Exeggutor with his psychic abilities, shook his head.

"It's not that Ash's Krabby is strong—it's that the opponent is too weak."

"Huh? What do you mean? The other trainer doesn't look like a pushover," Gary replied, glancing at Ash's opponent, a trainer named Dewey.

Though Dewey's demeanor was obnoxious, he appeared to have some degree of skill.

"Purely for show. The fact that Exeggutor panicked after its leaves were grabbed and couldn't counter is all the proof you need of Dewey's incompetence."

With his extensive battle experience, Luo Yuan wasn't easily fooled by appearances.

Gary nodded thoughtfully, feeling as though he'd learned something new.

As they spoke, Krabby suddenly evolved mid-battle into a fearsome Kingler.

Standing firmly on Newton's grave, it executed a Bubble Beam that sent Dewey's second Pokémon, Seadra, sliding across the water in a bizarre maneuver before Kingler finished it off with a powerful Crabhammer.

"Luo Yuan, was that because the opponent was weak too?" Gary asked, his tone skeptical.

Luo Yuan shook his head. "No, that's the power of plot armor."

If Luo Yuan had been in Ash's place, he could have won as well, but never in such an absurd manner.

In fact, no other trainer—Luo Yuan included—could replicate the peculiar combination of moves and luck that Ash seemed to summon so effortlessly.

Ash's luck in Kanto was downright extraordinary.

If he'd had similar fortune in later leagues, he wouldn't have needed so many years to finally become the Alola Champion.

Gary fell silent, deep in thought. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He had initially hoped to face Ash in the Indigo Conference and defeat him decisively.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

---

"Ash's Kingler has defeated Dewey's second Pokémon! Dewey is down to his final Pokémon. Will he be able to turn things around?"

The announcer's enthusiastic commentary only seemed to agitate Dewey further.

Unable to vent his frustrations at the referee, Dewey directed his anger toward Ash instead.