Chapter 303: Senior Gary's Comedy Skills Are on Point!
Facing the oncoming Team Galactic grunts, Platinum remained remarkably calm.
"Piplup!"
Standing proudly in front of Platinum, Piplup puffed out its chest, lifted its head, and then opened its beak to unleash a flurry of bubbles.
The target? The ground right in front of Team Galactic.
"What the—?!"
The grunts charging toward Platinum, thinking she'd be an easy target, barely had time to react—
Boom!
The ground in front of them suddenly exploded, revealing a massive pit underneath.
Due to their momentum, the grunts had no time to stop and tumbled straight into the hole one after another.
"Ahhh…!"
"Ouch! That hurts!"
"Damn it, get off me!"
Amidst the chaos, Platinum, Pearl, and Diamond peered over the edge of the pit, observing the result of their ambush.
"This tactic worked even better than I expected!" Diamond mused.
"What should we do next?" Platinum casually pulled a shovel out of her backpack. "Should we bury them?"
"Wait, Missy—why do you even carry that around?! And more importantly, why is burying them your first thought?!" Pearl clutched his head, feeling like he was the only sane one in this group.
"You brats—!"
One of the Team Galactic grunts tried to bluster and threaten them.
But then he saw Platinum gripping the shovel tightly, eyes gleaming as if she was eager to start shoveling.
He swallowed his words.
Forget it. Not worth it.
Not because he was scared, of course. Definitely not.
Just then, he noticed that the three kids above had all turned their heads toward the same direction at once.
Wait—what?
Could it be that their reinforcements had arrived?
As the thought formed in the grunt's mind, he followed their gazes—
Only to see a young man standing at the edge of the pit, holding an Eevee in his arms, looking down at them.
Turning to the three kids, he nodded. "You passed."
...
Since this mission against Team Galactic was assigned as an after-school exercise for Platinum and the others, Asahi had refrained from interfering. Aside from lending them Gengar at Platinum's request and having Gardevoir relay enemy positions, he had simply observed.
He watched as the trio leveraged their superior vision to create a terrifying atmosphere, used Chatot's mimicry to sow chaos among Team Galactic, and ultimately outplayed their foes.
Asahi had to admit—it seemed they'd grasped the essence of his teachings.
"From now on, you're officially qualified International Police officers!" Asahi declared.
The Team Galactic grunts below were stunned. International Police?!
Hadn't their commanders already wiped them out?
Why were they here?!
But before they could process this revelation, Asahi waved a hand.
Gardevoir, standing beside him, immediately unleashed a Psychic, knocking out the entire group of grunts in an instant.
With Team Galactic neatly packaged and subdued, Asahi gestured to his students. "Let's go. Gary and Roark should be wrapping up as well."
Diamond and Pearl nodded.
Only Platinum, still gripping her shovel, looked regretful.
Pearl: "..."
Regretful about what, exactly?!
—
After eliminating three separate Team Galactic squads, the group regrouped at the passage leading to the upper levels.
Seeing the defeated grunts sprawled across the ground, Roark finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With these guys out of the way, Oreburgh Mine can finally operate normally again...
Gratitude shone in his eyes as he looked at Asahi and the others.
If not for their help, he had no idea how long it would have taken to deal with Team Galactic.
After a moment's thought, Roark reached into his backpack and pulled out two fossils.
"I don't have anything particularly valuable... Just these fossils I dug up. A small token of thanks." He handed them to Asahi.
Asahi glanced at them.
As a part-time Pokémon researcher, he identified them instantly.
"Cranidos and Shieldon?"
Roark was taken aback. He hadn't expected Asahi to recognize the fossils at a glance. Impressed, he gave him a thumbs-up.
"Oreburgh Museum offers fossil revival services. My Rampardos was revived there," Roark explained, patting the massive Pokémon beside him.
But Asahi wasn't particularly interested.
Sure, both Pokémon had "dragon" in their names…
But neither of them were Dragon-type.
And their appearances… Well, best not to comment.
Glancing at Gary, he saw the young man feign indifference, shaking his head coolly.
"Don't underestimate me. Do you think I, Gary Oak, would compete with juniors for handouts?"
Asahi shrugged and handed the fossils to Platinum and the others. "You guys can split them however you like."
...
After bidding farewell to Roark, the group left Oreburgh Mine.
Breathing in the fresh outdoor air, they all felt rejuvenated.
"So, what's next?" Gary stretched. "You didn't drag me all the way to Sinnoh just to deal with small fries like these, right? There's no challenge at all."
Striking a lone-wolf pose, he exuded an aura of untouchable prowess—causing Pearl and Diamond to exchange glances.
Huddling together, they muttered:
"This is it…"
"Yeah… the classic setup before the main event!"
Gary, whose thoughts usually ran in all directions, was momentarily stumped.
What were these two going on about?
Still confused, he turned to Asahi.
Asahi found their reaction amusing, but he maintained a straight face. "Next, we're heading to Eterna City."
No one seemed surprised—except Gary, who frowned. "Eterna City?"
Asahi pulled out his tablet and displayed a map. Gary took one look, his eyes lighting up. He cracked his knuckles excitedly.
"Cycling Road?!"
"Heh, I'm True New Island's Bicycle King—even Gary can't beat me!"
"Asahi! Let's have a bicycle race!"
"Bicycle race? Bicycle King?"
Pearl and Diamond's eyes widened.
Could it be? Was Senior Gary planning to turn a simple cycling competition into a comedic spectacle?
It made sense. A sudden burst of ridiculous antics during an intense race would create the perfect comedic contrast.
They exchanged a knowing look and nodded. "As expected of Senior Gary!"
Gary, completely misunderstanding their admiration, puffed out his chest with pride.
"….."
Asahi twitched.
Should he tell Gary the truth?
Meanwhile, outside the conversation, Platinum's expression tensed.
What should I do? If I admit I can't ride a bike, won't I seem out of place?
Maybe she should give it a try…?
She'd never ridden one before, but it looked simple enough on TV… right?
Lost in her dilemma, she didn't notice Mew had woken up on Asahi's shoulder. The mythical Pokémon blinked, curiously observing her inner turmoil.
"Mew~?"
...
After a long day, the group didn't leave for Eterna City right away.
The late hour was one reason. But more importantly, they needed to rest up before dealing with Hunter J.
At a luxurious hotel in Oreburgh City
Platinum lay in bed, tossing and turning in her pajamas.
All she could think about was tomorrow's bicycle race.
Unable to sleep, she shook Piplup awake. "Piplup, do you know how to ride a bike?"
Piplup blinked in confusion. "Pip… lup?"
"Right… You're just a Piplup." She sighed.
Piplup had no idea what was going on, but seeing its Trainer so troubled, it puffed out its chest.
"Piplup!"
"You'll help me?" Platinum asked.
"Piplup!"
Piplup nodded firmly.
Platinum immediately felt reassured.
"Thank you, Piplup!"
Hugging it tightly, she finally drifted off to sleep.
"Mew..."
As she slept, Mew hovered beside her, sighing at the familiar signs of an impending nightmare.
Stretching out a tiny paw, it released a soft blue glow over her.
A few minutes later, yawning, Mew floated back to Asahi's room and flopped onto his chest.
Asahi, mid-game of Ludo with Gardevoir and Eevee: "?"
He picked up Mew and gave it a shake. The tiny Pokémon swayed dizzily, but its little paws clung to his shirt, refusing to wake up.
Asahi sighed, handing his game piece to Gengar before resigning himself to babysitting duty.
...
Because of Mew's overnight weight, Asahi barely got any sleep.
In his dreams, he led the Kanto branch of the International Police to Spear Pillar, defeated Cyrus, Dialga, Palkia, and even the surprise appearance of Giratina—
Only for Arceus to suddenly show up, scream "Thief!", and blast him with Judgment.
"Gasp..."
Asahi jolted awake.
Only to find Mew sprawled on his chest, its drool soaking his shirt—the "Judgment" he had felt in his dream.
"….."
His expression darkened.
Peeling Mew off him, he tossed it toward Eevee and looked at Gardevoir, who had just finished meditating and was stifling a laugh.
His gaze said it all: You couldn't have moved it for me?
Gardevoir didn't answer. She just chuckled.
With no other choice, Asahi got up to wash up and change his Mew-soaked clothes.
Then, scooping up a yawning Eevee and draping the still-asleep Mew over his shoulder, he headed to the hotel's restaurant.
The place was empty—because Platinum had rented out the entire hotel.
Not that "rented" was the right word.
She owned it.
"Morning!" Asahi greeted Pearl and Diamond, who were already practicing their comedy routines.
"Morning…"
"Mm—morning!"
Diamond hastily stuffed a sandwich into his mouth and almost choked. Thankfully, Pearl handed him a glass of water in time.
Asahi silently watched the scene unfold.
Then—
The restaurant doors swung open.
Gary strode in, wearing a cycling helmet and full professional gear, pushing a bicycle beside him.
He shot Asahi a challenging look.
"Well? What do you think, Asahi? Doesn't this look pro?"
Asahi: "The helmet's nice."
Gary beamed, waiting for more praise.
…None came.
Gary turned to Asahi and asked, "And then?"
Asahi looked at him with a confused expression. "And then what?"
"My entire cycling gear, and all you praised was my helmet?" Gary asked, clearly disgruntled.
He had spent a long time saving up his salary to buy this set, especially the bike. Even with his current income as an International Police officer, purchasing this high-end bicycle had made his heart ache.
Asahi took a sip of his juice. "Oh, you bought your own bike? I forgot to tell you last night—our department has a partnership with Silph Co. I gave the president a call, and they're sponsoring us with their latest racing bikes."
"Wait, what?"
Gary was completely stunned.
Pearl and Diamond, on the other hand, nearly applauded. That expression—Gary-senpai truly understood the art of comedy!
...
When Platinum arrived at the hotel's restaurant, she was greeted by a bizarre scene.
Pearl and Diamond were whispering to each other, sneaking glances at Gary with admiration.
Gary himself looked utterly dejected, as if he had suffered some great misfortune.
Only Asahi seemed relatively normal…
Well, "relatively" normal.
At the moment, he was holding a small cake, teasing the drowsy Mew on his shoulder.
He waved the cake under Mew's nose, letting the sweet scent drift toward it. Just as Mew stirred and was about to wake up, Asahi quickly stuffed the cake into his own mouth.
Then he laughed wickedly as he watched the baffled Mew.
What followed was Mew furiously chasing and smacking him.
"…Should I just leave?"
Platinum took a deep breath to compose herself before stepping into the restaurant. Today, she was full of confidence.
Last night, she had dreamt about riding a bicycle over and over.
In those dreams, she had completely mastered the art of cycling.
Breakfast passed quickly.
The group soon arrived at the Cycling Road leading to Hearthome City.
Standing before the long path, Platinum gulped nervously.
Would her dream training really work in reality?
As the others got on their bikes effortlessly, Platinum steeled herself and pushed off...
Thud.
She fell.
Lying on the ground, she stared at the sky.
"...Platinum, you don't know how to ride a bike, do you?"
"No, I do."
"But you just—"
"I said I do!"
Determined, Platinum picked up the bike, took a deep breath, recalled her dream training, and pedaled again.
Thud.
"...You definitely don't know how to ride."