Pawniard: "Oh go!! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Feeling the awakening of several new moves at once, Pawniard's brain practically crashed. It couldn't think for a while and could only silently absorb the new techniques that had suddenly appeared in its body.
Under Gary's teaching, Pawniard had mastered seven moves all at once. And later, when Pawniard evolved into Bisharp, it would be able to learn even more.
"Don't be too surprised," Gary said gently. "You'll learn even more powerful moves in the future. For now, these are all I can teach you."
Pawniard nodded firmly. It had decided—from now on, it would follow Gary.
Pawniard originally lived in the Unova Region. However, because the color of its body was different from normal Pawniard, it had always been rejected by its peers.
Later, it was caught by Pokémon hunters and sold to the Sinnoh Region, where it was bought by a wealthy businessman.
The rich man simply treated Pawniard as a rare collectible. He usually fed it well, but that was it.
However, Pawniard was naturally aggressive. It constantly trained itself, often using the walls of the mansion to sharpen the blades on its body. Over time, Pawniard left marks everywhere and was increasingly disliked by the rich man.
But because the man had paid good money for it, he was reluctant to simply throw it away.
Eventually, he came up with a solution. He hired Pokémon hunters to capture new Pokémon and offered Pawniard as a trade bargaining chip. That way, the rich man wouldn't lose money, and the troublesome "demolition team" Pawniard could be sent away.
Pawniard itself had never submitted to anyone. It didn't particularly care who it followed, as long as they didn't interfere with its training.
But just now, Gary had only revealed a small part of his ability, and it had completely convinced Pawniard. From this point forward, Pawniard decided it would follow Gary's lead.
For the next stretch of time, Gary stayed temporarily in Floaroma Town.
Because Pawniard had just joined the team, Gary briefly explained a fighting style suited to Pawniard's strengths, then handed it over to his other Pokémon for training. With so many Elite-level Pokémon guiding it, Pawniard would make rapid progress.
Meanwhile, Gary took Gardevoir and searched for Shaymin in the gardens and flower fields outside Floaroma Town. Pokémon like Shaymin tended to move through areas with lots of flowers during migration. If Gary wanted to find one, he needed to search near wild gardens.
Unfortunately, after three consecutive days of searching, Gary didn't see even a single hair of Shaymin. He only encountered Grass-type Pokémon like Oddish, Budew, and Bellsprout.
"Did that group of Shaymin actually pass through Floaroma Town?"
Gary thought about it carefully. The group of Shaymin from the movie probably didn't move from south to north. They most likely migrated from the southeast toward the northwest.
When Ash and the others encountered Shaymin, Ash had already caught Chimchar. Ash obtained Chimchar after earning two Gym Badges, so the timeline was still relatively early.
Ash first earned his Badge at the Oreburgh Gym, then went to Floaroma Town for Dawn's Pokémon Contest, then traveled to Eterna City for his next Gym challenge, and afterward headed east toward Veilstone City, capturing Chimchar along the way.
Around that same time, Ash's Gligar had also evolved into Gliscor, which meant the encounter with Shaymin happened in the eastern part of the Sinnoh Region—likely near Pastoria City.
The specific location was in the southeast area. Meeting Shaymin in Floaroma Town was difficult, but not impossible.
Gary had also asked the locals about it over the past few days. Everyone said the same thing: whenever the Gracidea Flowers bloomed, Shaymin would occasionally pass through Floaroma Town. But whether you could meet one depended entirely on luck.
"I should go challenge the Gym first."
Gary felt that staying any longer in Floaroma Town was a waste of time. He decided to collect all the remaining Badges first, then think about catching Legendary Pokémon afterward.
After making his decision, Gary left Floaroma Town the next day and headed toward Hearthome City on Garchomp.
Gary didn't plan to follow Ash's exact route to collect Badges. Instead, he chose to challenge whichever Gym was closest.
The Gyms in the Sinnoh Region didn't have challenge restrictions. Any Trainer could walk in and request a battle.
However, it was precisely because of this rule that Volkner, the strongest Gym Leader in the Sinnoh Region, had become decadent.
Because there were no restrictions, the strength of challengers varied wildly. Even local Rookie Trainers in Sunyshore City dared to challenge Volkner. As a Gym Leader, he couldn't refuse.
Over time, Volkner completely lost his enthusiasm for Pokémon battles and started slacking off. Any Trainer who came to Sunyshore Gym could receive the Beacon Badge right at the entrance without even fighting.
About an hour later, Gary arrived at Hearthome City on Garchomp.
After handing Garchomp over to Nurse Joy, Gary went to the Hearthome Gym alone.
The Hearthome Gym looked like a large villa, and a huge Drifblim decoration sat on the roof.
The Gym Leader of the Hearthome Gym was a woman named Fantina—a mature and attractive woman. She wasn't originally from the Sinnoh Region, but from the Unova Region.
Gary walked to the Gym's entrance and pulled the Drifblim-style doorbell. A melodious chime rang out immediately. The sound was strange and slightly eerie—probably because Fantina was a Ghost-type specialist, even her doorbell had to match the theme.
After a while, a young man in a suit and polished shoes came out.
Seeing Gary, he asked politely, "Hello, I am the Gym assistant. What can I do for you?"
"My name is Gary. I'm from the Kanto Region, and I've come to challenge your Gym," Gary said.
"The Gym Leader is here. Please follow me."
The young man led Gary inside, then went to notify Fantina.
While waiting, Gary looked around the Gym.
The battlefield was fairly ordinary. Nothing particularly special stood out, though the atmosphere felt a little like a mine or underground cavern.
"Is there a challenger?"
A voice came from inside, interrupting Gary's thoughts.
Gary looked in the direction of the voice and saw a mature woman in a purple evening dress walking out.
"Doesn't she find that inconvenient to battle in?" Gary wondered silently.
He really couldn't figure out why Fantina insisted on wearing an evening dress even for regular Gym battles. Didn't it make moving around difficult?
When Fantina saw Gary, her eyes lit up.
"Well... handsome boy, are you the challenger?" she asked in a gentle, almost teasing tone.
Looking at Fantina's soft demeanor, Gary was momentarily stunned. He remembered that Fantina in the original story was a very capable, confident, and dramatic woman. Why was she suddenly so gentle?
Could it be...?
Gary glanced at the young male assistant standing behind Fantina and immediately understood.
The Fantina standing before him was probably the kind of mature woman who was fond of handsome younger men—and likely enjoyed being called "big sister."