"The next battle facility is the Battle Palace. When do you plan to challenge it?" asked Scott.
The Battle Palace was located on an island north of Route 20, known as Natural Island.
Natural Island hadn't been fully developed yet. Occasionally, its locals sold some timber, but most of the island remained untouched wilderness. The island's caretaker and Frontier Brain of the Battle Palace was an old man named Spencer.
"Tomorrow," Gary replied.
He calculated the time and figured he could reach Natural Island by afternoon and challenge the Palace the next morning.
"Gary, why are you in such a hurry to challenge? What's the rush?" Scott asked curiously.
This time, with two participants in the Battle Frontier challenge, Gary's pace was lightning-fast compared to Ash's.
In the time Ash would earn one Symbol, Gary had already obtained three or four. His progress was practically Extreme Speed.
"About the same," Gary said calmly. "I want to travel to the Sinnoh Region later and participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference along the way."
"The Lily of the Valley Conference just ended not long ago," Scott replied. "But with your strength, Gary, you could definitely catch up. Honestly, the League Conference level isn't really suitable for you anymore."
The League Conferences were, after all, meant for Rookie and Elite-level Trainers. Gary's strength was clearly beyond that standard.
"I don't really know which Pokémon to use as my main team anymore," Gary said thoughtfully.
"Main Pokémon?" Scott asked, tilting his head. "Gary, which Pokémon do you currently consider your main ones?"
"In addition to Blastoise and Charizard, there's also Tyranitar," Gary replied.
He didn't mention Zapdos or Latios, not wanting to startle Scott.
"Moltres doesn't count as one of your main Pokémon?" Scott asked in surprise.
He had seen Gary summon Moltres once at the Battle Factory's gate. Since then, Gary hadn't used it again, always relying on Charizard. Scott was curious about Moltres's experience and role.
"Moltres can battle in the Battle Frontier—it's definitely one of my main Pokémon—but it's not my strongest," Gary explained. "The ones I mentioned can all hold their own against a Champion."
Scott's eyes widened in disbelief. Gary was still so young, yet he already had three Pokémon capable of matching Champion-level opponents.
But Scott didn't doubt him. He had personally witnessed Gary's battle with Agatha—and that alone had convinced him completely.
At that moment, Scott could almost see it clearly: a future Champion rising before his eyes.
Kanto Region will soon have another true Champion.
"Well then," Scott said with a grin, "since you're heading to the Battle Palace, I'll take a boat there to make the arrangements. If possible, I'd love to see the strength of your other main Pokémon, Gary."
"I'll do my best," Gary replied.
He had originally planned to train his Pokémon in the Sinnoh Region, but the Battle Frontier Brains weren't ordinary opponents. Each possessed Pokémon of Elite-level power, making these challenges far more valuable than he'd expected.
Among the Pokémon Gary had stationed in the Sinnoh Region, only Rhyperior and Magnezone were strong enough for now; the rest weren't quite ready.
"Alright then, goodbye," said Scott. He turned and left, needing to catch a boat to Natural Island, which lay far out at sea.
After Scott departed, Gary headed to the Pokémon Transporter Area. He sent all his Pokémon except Rhyperior, Magnezone, and Charizard back to Professor Oak's Laboratory, then transferred ten other Pokémon to his side.
The next Battle Facility Leaders were bound to be much stronger—their Pokémon were likely between levels 65 and 70.
In total, there were seven Frontier Brains across the Kanto Region. Although each possessed Pokémon at the Elite level, their overall power still varied. They could generally be divided into a top three and bottom four.
The four Brains Gary had already defeated belonged to the lower half. The three remaining ones were the strongest among them all.
After lunch at the Pokémon Center and an hour's rest, Gary departed Fuchsia City, soaring through the skies on his Charizard.
The fiery dragon roared as it spread its wings, cutting through the coastal breeze.
South of Fuchsia City stretched the wide sea of the Kanto Region.
Natural Island lay north of Route 20—quite a distance away. It would take several hours by boat, but by flying, Gary could reach it within an hour.
The air grew warmer as they flew farther out. The area around Natural Island had a tropical climate, and the afternoon sun still burned fiercely.
After a smooth flight, Charizard descended toward the island, landing near the small port village that served as its only settlement. Calling it a "town" was generous—it was more like a quiet coastal village, with just one modest Pokémon Center. The rıghtful source is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Good work, Charizard. Char!" Gary said, patting its neck.
"Charrrr!" Charizard snorted proudly, flames flickering at the tip of its tail.
Gary recalled it to its Poké Ball and made his way into the Pokémon Center. After checking in and leaving a few of his Pokémon to be examined by Nurse Joy, he stretched and decided to explore.
"Let's go take a walk through the forest," he said to himself with a small grin.
After settling in, Gary left the Pokémon Center and headed toward the dense forest beyond the village. He wanted to see what kind of Pokémon lived on Natural Island.
It had been almost three years since the system announced that he could capture up to ten Shiny Pokémon, and so far, Gary had caught seven—a remarkable number.
After all, Ash had only ever caught one Shiny Noctowl. Seven was already exceptional by any standard.
Gary estimated that he had encountered nearly a thousand wild Pokémon recently. Maybe today, luck would favor him again.
The human activity zone on Natural Island was small; about ninety percent of the area remained untouched, still maintaining the pristine state of an uncharted forest.
The villagers had cleared only a narrow trail to collect wood and resources, leaving the rest wild and undisturbed.
Entering the forest, Gary scanned the surroundings carefully, not wanting to overlook any potential Shiny Pokémon.
A digital overlay appeared from his Pokédex scanner:
[Lv. 8 Metapod / Normal]
[Lv. 12 Rattata / Normal]
[Lv. 15 Ekans / Quasi-Gym]
The readings scrolled as he moved.
Since this was still part of the Kanto Region, all the Pokémon here were native Kanto species—common ones Gary had seen countless times before.
Because the island was isolated, no outside Pokémon had migrated here. The local Pokémon population had long established territories, resulting in minimal conflict.
With fewer battles, the wild Pokémon here were relatively peaceful—and weaker. Even after half an hour of searching, Gary hadn't seen a single Pokémon above level 20.
He sighed lightly. "Guess it's time to head back."
It was already close to 5 PM. No Shiny Pokémon in sight.
He turned around, retracing his path through the forest. But halfway back, Gary's sharp ears picked up a strange sound—the distinct clash of something hard colliding in the distance.
"Hmm? Wild Pokémon fighting?" he muttered.
He crouched slightly, moving silently through the trees. Pushing aside a patch of thick underbrush, he stepped into a small clearing hidden beyond.
There, he saw a group of wild Pokémon gathered on the grass—a mix of Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂.
The Pokédex automatically identified them:
[Lv. 10 Nidoran♀ / Quasi-Gym]
[Lv. 8 Nidoran♀ / Normal]
[Lv. 7 Nidoran♀ / Normal]
[Lv. 10 Nidoran♂ / Normal]
[Lv. 10 Nidoran♂ / Quasi-Gym]
[Lv. 12 Nidoran♂ / Gym]
There were six in total, seemingly engaged in a sort of territorial dispute—or perhaps a playful contest between the two species.