Pokemon: I am Gary

In the Hoenn region, in the city of Rustboro, the headquarters of Devon Corporation is located here.

The massive complex office building includes research institutes, business offices, and mechanical manufacturing.

The genius inventions of President Stone are all turned into mass-produced products here.

Dressed in a well-fitted suit, with silver hair and sapphire-like eyes, Steven has arrived.

The company employees exclaimed, "Steven actually came to the company today?!"

As everyone knows, Steven Stone is a super-rich second-generation heir, a mineral enthusiast, and a master at slacking off…

To slack off, he often encourages his friend Wallace to plot against the company…

Did this guy actually come to work today? I haven't heard any news about the chairman's sudden death...

"Look at this phone—" In the office, Steven is playing with a rectangular touchscreen phone before handing it to Chairman Stone.

"It truly is a masterpiece. With the Rotom-enhanced smart system, this thing is definitely an epoch-making product!" Chairman Stone's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"The Unova live broadcasting company has already been acquired by us; this is the latest product. Now we just need the patent holder's authorization before launching it." Steven shrugged.

Everyone thought he was just a slacker, but in reality, this young man's talent extends beyond Pokémon battles.

"Oh~ Who holds the patent?" Chairman Stone asked with great interest.

"Gary Oak~" Steven blurted out.

"Gary Oak~?" Chairman Stone was taken aback. "Could it be...?"

"It's that genius grandson of Professor Oak," Steven remarked. "I didn't expect that aside from academic research, he also has great talent in inventions."

"I have my eye on this Rotom phone project," Chairman Stone decided. "In that case, let's take a trip to Kanto. Bring gifts; we need to secure regional exclusive agency rights."

"I got it! In that case, I'll take that bracelet I just made with me~" Steven nodded and waved goodbye.

"I heard that person is also an astonishing Pokémon trainer; perhaps they will soon rise to prominence." Leaning back in his office chair, Chairman Stone chuckled with interest. In the deep mountains of the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City, which is an affiliated hospital of the Battle Factory, Gary and Reggie took a day to arrive here.

Currently, they are resting here to prepare for a development battle against Noland.

"What? Acquired? Alright... I understand." After hanging up the phone, Gary looked puzzled.

"What's wrong, Gary?" Reggie asked curiously as he wiped a Poké Ball.

"Oh, nothing much; a communications company I previously invested in was acquired by Devon Group." Gary shrugged.

"Is it that Devon Company from Hoenn?" Reggie was taken aback.

"That's right; it's that business giant." Gary raised his hands in exasperation. "Anyway, business can be so helpless; it's tough for small companies to grow. With Devon's investment, one of my previous ideas can finally go into production."

"Oh~ I don't quite understand... but it should be good news, right?" Reggie scratched his head.

"Well... it's a bit complicated; let me show you something." Gary took out a package he had just received.

With a rip, he opened the box to reveal a rectangular gift box containing six neatly arranged Rotom phones.

Gary picked a white one and handed the purple one to Reggie.

"Eh~!? This is a phone?" Reggie exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey, look! This is fingerprint unlock; this is touchscreen; this is video communication...

And this is flight mode... wait!!" Seeing Reggie lift the phone as if to throw it away, Gary quickly stopped him.

"Uh~ Isn't it flight mode? Let me try..." Reggie said awkwardly.

"That's not what I meant... Ah well, let's just use smart mode." Gary took out his own Rotom phone.

"Little Rotom!"

"Yes! Rotom~" The phone automatically lit up with a playful electric ghost avatar bouncing on the screen.

"Download my contact list~" Gary commanded.

"Understood~ Rotom~ Connecting to old phone; data download complete Rotom~"

Reggie looked starry-eyed; this thing is so convenient!

"In time, when everyone uses Rotom phones, we can create a communication group and chat casually!" Gary laughed.

"Real-time communication sounds great." Reggie nodded. "I'll buy one for my little brother too!"

"Yeah! This thing could very well change the current communication landscape!" Gary smiled.

Ding dong~

"A message came in Rotom!"

Gary curiously opened it—

"Operator information: Dear father of Rotom phones, Mr. Stone Steven has sent you a meeting invitation. For details, please add contact number 138...xxxx...xxxx."

"Oh wow~ The big boss sent me a message." Without hesitation, Gary opened the contact number.

Registered name: Professor Gary Oak!

Ding dong~ "Golden Miner" has accepted your friend request.

Gary twitched his mouth; Steven, are you serious with that name?

Hello! I'm Gary Oak.

"Ah~ Is this Professor Gary Oak? It's an honor. Our company is preparing to fully promote the production of Rotom smart phones; we now need your patent permission to launch immediately." Steven replied excitedly.

"No problem with the patent permission; it's just about the patent fee..." Gary hesitated and asked.

"You don't have to worry about that; Devon Corporation will establish a subsidiary specifically for producing communication phones called Devon Communication Group. You will hold fifteen percent of the shares as technical investment.

Also, for every Rotom phone sold, you will receive five percent profit share." Steven laid out his terms.

Wow—Gary raised his eyebrows; this is indeed the power of big companies!

I knew that once phones gain market acceptance, their annual sales would be an uncountable amount of money.

Five percent profit share seems small—if each phone costs two thousand Pokedolars (approximately $300), that's only ten Pokedolars ($1.50) per sale.

But with millions of units sold...

Just throw money at me already!

"No problem; looking forward to our cooperation." Gary readily agreed.

Please don't call me second-generation rich anymore; I'm now first-generation rich!

I've already created a sad gap between myself and you second-generation rich kids who just live off their parents...

Perhaps not expecting Gary to be so agreeable made Steven feel pleased as well. "Then let's set up a meeting place; I'll bring the contract and some small gifts."

Gary thought for a moment: "How about Indigo Plateau in half a month? I happen to have a match there."

"No problem! See you then." Steven readily agreed.

"Gary, what are you doing?" Reggie asked cheerfully while counting cash sent by his brother.

"Oh~ Just accidentally made a small goal," Gary shrugged nonchalantly.

Clatter… Reggie's wallet fell to the ground…