After Eevee was sent to Professor Oak's Laboratory, the communication was interrupted.
About ten minutes later, Timmy's parents arrived at the Pokémon Center.
"Timmy, are you seriously hurt?" his mother asked with concern.
"Mom, I'm fine, just sprained. I'll be fine after a few days of rest," Timmy said.
"No, I'll take you to the hospital later." His mother was still worried.
"Uncle, let's go outside and talk about what happened," Gary said.
After all, Timmy was still a minor, and what happened today needed to be explained to his guardians.
"Honey, take Timmy to the hospital first. I'll talk to Gary," Timmy's father said.
"Alright, you two handle this."
After his mother finished speaking, she led Timmy away from the Pokémon Center.
Gary then told Timmy's father, Fujimoto, everything that had happened that evening.
"What?! Team Rocket...!" Hearing that Timmy had offended Team Rocket, Fujimoto was shocked. As someone from the Kanto Region, he knew that Team Rocket had become a notorious criminal organization in recent years.
"Mr. Fujimoto, please don't worry. I've already sent Eevee to Professor Oak. Team Rocket shouldn't cause trouble for you, but you should still be careful. Please contact the local police. My grandfather has already spoken to the League leadership on your behalf, and they'll provide protection as well," Gary said.
"I understand."
Fujimoto nodded. Although it was troubling to have offended Team Rocket, their target was clearly Eevee. As long as Eevee was no longer with Timmy, Team Rocket shouldn't bother their family.
And with the local police keeping watch, Fujimoto believed Team Rocket wouldn't act recklessly.
"Mr. Fujimoto, Timmy is a good kid. I hope you and your wife won't blame him too much," Gary said.
Fujimoto couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. In his eyes, Gary himself was still practically a child—only six or seven years older than Timmy.
"Don't worry, I won't blame Timmy."
"Then I won't take up any more of your time. Please go take care of him."
With everything explained, Gary didn't linger any longer with Fujimoto.
Fujimoto left the Pokémon Center and headed toward the hospital.
Watching him leave, Gary turned to his partner. "Eevee, you actually came out ahead this time!"
Eevee: "Vee? (O_O)??"
Eevee had no idea what Gary meant by "coming out ahead."
"You saw that electronic device on the other Eevee's ear—the one that lets it evolve and revert freely. That thing might help you complete your own evolution someday," Gary explained.
"Vee..."
Eevee looked a little worried. Although the device could force evolution, evolution through it clearly came with side effects.
"Don't worry about that. I believe Grandpa and Professor Blaine will be able to crack the secret behind that device and refine it properly," Gary reassured.
"Vee!"
Eevee nodded, choosing to place its hopes in Professor Oak and Professor Blaine.
"Come on, let's go eat."
It had been a busy day since the afternoon, and it was already past 8 PM. Neither of them had eaten dinner yet—it was well past time.
"Vee!"
Eevee nodded eagerly. It was hungry too. Ever since Gary had teleported over earlier, they'd been dealing with one thing after another for hours, and its stomach was growling.
The next day.
Gary woke up and had breakfast.
At 9 AM, Gary set off for the Battle Tower riding Charizard.
The Battle Tower was located in the wild outskirts south of Celadon City. As they approached, the towering structure came into view from a distance—visible even from the sky. Charizard simply flew straight toward it.
They landed at the entrance below the Battle Tower.
Gary walked up to the door, and it opened automatically.
"Gary, you're really right on time."
Inside was the reception hall. Scott was sitting in a chair nearby, and upon seeing Gary, he greeted him first.
"Mr. Scott, you're here so early?" Gary said as he walked in.
"Yes, you said you'd arrive at 9:30, but I got here at 8," Scott said.
Gary was skeptical of how truthful that statement actually was.
The old man clearly hoped Gary would lose a match today, which was probably why he'd arrived early to greet the Frontier Brain in advance.
"Hey! Is that an Eevee?!"
Scott was about to say something else, but then he suddenly noticed the Eevee perched on Gary's shoulder.
"This is my Eevee. I'm planning to use it in today's battle," Gary introduced.
"Is that so? I'm really looking forward to today's match now."
Scott was quite curious. Under normal circumstances, an Eevee clearly wouldn't be suited for a battle at this level. But after seeing Ash's Pikachu, Scott had learned not to judge a Pokémon by its appearance—especially after witnessing Gary's strength firsthand. Scott figured Gary's Eevee had to be something extraordinary.
"When can the match start?" Gary asked.
Just as he finished speaking, a girl with purple hair walked out from the corridor. Her appearance leaned somewhat androgynous, but based on the delicate texture of her skin, she was clearly a woman.
She looked at Gary and paused for a moment before walking over. "Mr. Scott, is this the challenger you mentioned yesterday?"
"Yes, this is the challenger. His name is Gary," Scott said.
Gary was at a loss for words. Scott had just claimed he'd arrived at 8 AM, but apparently he'd already been talking about Gary since yesterday. He really wasn't being honest.
"Hello, my name is Gary," Gary introduced himself as well.
"Hello, I'm Anabel, the Frontier Brain of Battle Tower," Anabel said with a nod.
"So, can we start the match?" Gary asked.
"Anytime. Please follow me."
Anabel led Scott and Gary into the interior of the Battle Tower.
The Battle Tower was a facility specifically designed for Trainers to battle, and people typically came here to test their strength through challenges.
The only difference was the challenge format. The standard rule at Battle Tower was that Trainers could enter and challenge randomly, with each round consisting of seven consecutive battles.
As long as a Trainer could clear the challenge, they would earn BP as a reward, which could then be exchanged for Pokémon items available at the facility.
However, the battle between Gary and Anabel was a Frontier Brain challenge, which followed different rules from the standard Battle Tower format.
Everyone took the elevator up to the battle arena on the top floor of the Battle Tower.
The arena was much larger than the standard public battlefields, with spectator seating surrounding it—though no one else was present.
Gary and Anabel were already standing in their respective command areas, while a young man stood in the referee's position.