Pokemon: I am Gary

At the Indigo Stadium, Gary and Raven, both champion seeds, began the second half of their match.

"It feels like Gary is about to pull out something strange in the second half," Bruno said with anticipation from the VIP box, his eyes fixed on the arena below.

Lance couldn't help but roll his eyes. What kind of behavior is that? After getting wet, you want to tear someone else's umbrella?

"That's true; this pace of competition doesn't seem to suit Gary," Janine nodded in agreement.

In the front row of the audience, Hiro adjusted his black-framed glasses, frowning. From the current situation, Gary was proving to be much more troublesome than expected.

"However—the championship is definitely mine." He smirked, exuding confidence as if everything was under control.

Two meters away from Hiro, Tyson, who was munching on a shrimp cracker larger than his face, raised an eyebrow. Hiro's lofty demeanor made him want to slap him a couple of times.

As halftime ended, Gary and Raven stepped back onto the stage.

"Let's go; the intensity from here on out will be completely different," Raven said seriously.

"Looking forward to it~" Gary shrugged nonchalantly.

The referee returned to the judging table and waved his hands. "The second half begins!"

"Arcanine, come out!" Raven wasted no time and threw his Poké Ball.

"Awuu~!!" Arcanine howled as it appeared in a flash of light!

"Isn't it Intimidate ability?" Gary took out his Poké Ball and gently tossed it. "Squirtle, I'm counting on you again!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle struck a pose, cautiously swallowing as it faced Arcanine.

"The match starts now!" The referee announced immediately.

"Extreme Speed!" Raven initiated a fast assault!

Bang! In just one second of reaction time and without any preparation, Arcanine transformed into a gust of wind and slammed directly into Squirtle!

Squirtle instinctively withdrew into its shell and was sent flying!

"No wonder he comes from a special reaction unit; Raven's Arcanine certainly lives up to the Jenny family name," Principal Monnet remarked with a furrowed brow from the audience.

"No, it's not over yet!" Professor Oak's gaze sharpened.

"Thunder Fang!" Arcanine shadowed Squirtle as it flew through the air.

Golden lightning flickered in mid-air as its thunderous fangs formed suddenly. If it bit down, it would either be fatal or severely injure Squirtle!

"Squirtle, use Water Gun to accelerate!" Gary frowned.

"Squirtle! Puh!" Squirtle quickly extended its little head and blasted a high-pressure water column forward!

Using the water pressure, Squirtle propelled itself backward with two backflips before landing at the edge of the arena.

Thunder Fang missed its target as Arcanine stood still, fixated on its opponent's movements.

"Let's do it again! Extreme Speed followed by Wild Charge!" Raven wasted no time and attacked again!

"Aura Sphere!" Gary's eyes narrowed.

"Squirtle~ Kamehameha~" Squirtle pulled its right fist back to its waist while pressing its left hand against its right fist to charge up.

Buzz~ The blue aura glowed brightly as vibrating energy enveloped Squirtle's tiny fist.

Facing Arcanine accompanied by thunderous flames, Squirtle bravely threw its punch!

Boom!

The blue and red forces collided violently, two beams shooting up into the sky!!

Bang! Squirtle was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground.

Arcanine also skidded several meters back but managed to stabilize itself clumsily.

"Squirtle~ losing…" The referee prepared to raise his hand but suddenly froze.

He saw Squirtle struggling to extend both little hands, tremblingly pushing itself up—it actually stood back up again!

"Squirtle, that's enough~" Gary said with concern as he furrowed his brow.

"Squirtle…!" With its body overloaded with electricity and covered in wounds sparking with electricity, Squirtle swayed precariously but still managed to rise again.

"Can you keep fighting?" Raven asked with a conflicted expression.

Squirtle's eyes were unfocused, and sweat dripped down its forehead as it extended its hand once more before returning it to its waist.

A faint blue aura began to gather in the air but quickly dissipated—it was too weak even to form a proper Aura Sphere!

"Aw~" Arcanine bared its teeth, ready to pounce for a finishing blow.

Raven shook his head. "Arcanine, stop!"

Arcanine immediately obediently nodded and sat down in place.

With round eyes shimmering with tears, Squirtle desperately pushed itself using all its remaining strength.

It had finally gained family, friends, and partners—

Was it really going to lose again...?

Yes... this useless Squirtle would surely be abandoned...

But even if it was just for one day, one hour, or one minute—

I want to stay by everyone's side!

"Squirtle!!" A brilliant white light erupted from Squirtle's body. In everyone's astonished gaze, Squirtle's ears transformed into wing-like shapes while its tail split into three parts.

"Kame!" As the white light faded away, a much larger Wartortle appeared in the arena.

"Kame!… Ka…" The newly evolved Wartortle hadn't even had time to feel excited before taking a step forward; its vision went dark as it collapsed again.

Smack! The anticipated pain didn't come. Wartortle weakly opened its eyes.

Gary had jumped down from the command platform at some point and was now beside Wartortle with one hand supporting it.

"Kame!" Wartortle struggled to rise again; Gary's warm hand rested gently on Wartortle's head.

"It's okay; you've done enough today. You just evolved; go back and rest well. Next up, let your other partners have their chance…" Gary rubbed Wartortle's head affectionately as he spoke gently.

"Kame~?﹏?~" Wartortle nodded gratefully; so Master won't abandon me? That's so wonderful!

"Return for now; rest well." Recalling Wartortle, Gary looked at the referee. "We concede this round."

The referee nodded. "Wartortle has lost fighting capability."

On the big screen, one of Gary's six Poké Ball symbols extinguished once more.

"Thank you~" Gary returned to his command seat and bowed respectfully toward Raven.

"Oh, it's nothing major; I can't take advantage of someone else's misfortune," Raven said awkwardly while waving his hand dismissively.

In the VIP box, Chairman Goodshow smiled approvingly. "They're all good kids—hope for the future of the league—oh ho ho! It really warms my heart!"

Although competitive matches are all about results, both Gary and Raven exhibit qualities of sportsmanship that are truly commendable.

Taking out another Poké Ball, Gary said solemnly: "To show my respect, I will give it my all to defeat you!"

Raven grinned widely. "That suits me just fine!"

"Charizard! It's your turn!" Gary tossed his Poké Ball with a flourish.

"Awuu!" Charizard spread its wings as it entered the arena with flair.

"Arcanine! Use Flamethrower!" Raven waved his right hand decisively for an aggressive attack!

Arcanine stood firm in place and unleashed a torrent of deep red scorching flames toward Charizard!

"Charizard! Accept the challenge!" Gary commanded as he also shot flames in response!

"Aw!" Charizard opened its mouth wide as an orange fire column entwined with spiraling energy surged forth in retaliation.

The two torrents of fire clashed fiercely in the arena before erupting in an explosion!

Boom!! Amidst the billowing black smoke from the explosion, Charizard emerged powerfully flapping its wings!

"Dragon Claw!" Gary shouted loudly as he clenched his right fist tightly.

"Awuu!" With green dragon scales covering its arms, Charizard charged forward with massive claws raised high!

"Outrage!" Raven stood firm; Arcanine bared its fangs menacingly while extending its front paws for an attack!

Puff! As they clashed together in close combat, Arcanine's claws left deep scratches on Charizard's chest while Charizard's claws dug into Arcanine's belly!

Neither Pokémon retreated an inch—each claw strike met with a tail swipe—every attack sent shockwaves through their bodies creating explosive winds around them!

"Awuu!!" The dazzling close-quarters battle culminated with Charizard locking onto Arcanine's neck!

"Hah~" Panting heavily, Charizard bore marks of deep scratches and bites across its belly while firmly gripping Arcanine by the neck with both claws.

Arcanine exited Outrage mode and fell into confusion from being restrained tightly by Charizard!

"Seismic Toss!" Gary commanded confidently!

Raven intended to recall Arcanine but found Charizard rising too quickly—the capture beam shot towards Charizard's wings but missed at that critical moment!

"Aw!" With rapid rotation downward, Charizard executed a powerful slam onto Arcanine who fell like a meteor toward the ground!

Boom!! The ground cracked beneath them! Charizard landed majestically while Arcanine lay dazed on the ground with blank eyes—its fighting capability lost!

Puffing out two plumes of white smoke from its nostrils triumphantly raised its head high in victory!

"Return Arcanine; Magneton! I need you to stabilize our formation," Raven frowned tightly as he prepared for his next move.

Originally hoping to regain control using Arcanine, he hadn't anticipated how ferocious Gary's Charizard would be.

Now he could only stabilize his position before considering future battles ahead.

"It makes sense that you want to stabilize your position—but your opponent is Gary after all," Lance remarked as he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window shaking his head helplessly.

"Professor Oak's grandson certainly has some skills; Raven has already lost his chance for a comeback," Clair confirmed with a nod.

Sure enough—next up Magneton was tricked into revealing itself due to Charizard's Flamethrower before being swept away by Flare Blitz in one go.

Finally facing off against Machamp proved disastrous when Venusaur bombarded it with various powders leaving Machamp tied up almost broken...

The referee waved Gary's blue flag signaling victory: "Machamp has lost fighting capability; victorious is Gary from Pallet Town!"

The audience erupted into deafening cheers honoring both competitors for their efforts.

"They're both amazing!"

"I cried when Raven waited there for Squirtle's evolution!"

"Gary is awesome!"

"Go Gary!!"

Gary patted Venusaur's massive head affectionately saying: "Well done; you did great."

"Bana~" Venusaur smiled modestly feeling proud for securing victory for Master!

Raven and Gary shook hands amicably concluding this match on a high note.

A reporter captured this moment along with words:

A passionate battle followed by heartfelt handshakes—a shining testament to eternal sportsmanship.