Chapter 112. Gary Oak
Following the driver's directions, the group walked onward.
Before long, a huge "plaza" came into view.
On the plaza stood many cranes and trucks, and people in work clothes and caps were coming and going.
"There are even vendors here, and an open-air canteen!" Brock said in surprise.
"It looks like this is where the workers take their breaks." Ash looked around, searching for the "person in charge" the driver had mentioned.
"Make way, make way!"
Shouts came from afar, and everyone looked over.
It was a team of rescue workers carrying yokes on their shoulders, charging ahead with a fat man in a suit at the front.
His suit buttons were bulging in an arc, and the jiggling boss sprinted with a gold tie whipping behind him.
The tie was lifted by the wind, just like a hamster clamping a gold bar as it ran on a wheel.
"Wow, the driver's description was spot-on—that's definitely their boss." Ash pointed at the suited fat man at the lead.
"I think they already heard the commotion here and have started the rescue." Brock glanced over and felt there wasn't much for them to do.
"It's getting late, so why don't we rest here for today?" Brock suggested.
"Okay, I want to eat that." Misty pointed at the open-air canteen on the site, where light smoke was already rising.
"By the way, where's Natsume?" Ash looked left and right but didn't see him.
"No idea, but he'll show up sooner or later." Misty took him by the hand and headed straight for the canteen.
Elsewhere, at the parking area.
Natsume wandered among all kinds of construction vehicles.
"The small delivery truck's performance isn't great."
"Heavy rig… no, too big—one person can't modify that."
"Crane… no experience."
"An excavator? Hm… is there anything smaller?"
Natsume looked over the various vehicles parked here from top to bottom.
Without exception, they were all large vehicles, and none were suitable.
The Motorbike Rotom was an intermediate plan—Natsume's way to verify whether a Rotom chassis could handle complex transformations.
If it could, then the success rate of his six-in-one mecha Rotom would skyrocket.
For a proof of concept, using the same principle was enough, so he would naturally keep it as simple as possible.
"Tch, the only usable one is probably this little delivery truck that brought in vegetables."
Natsume came to the small truck and shook his head slightly.
He wanted to talk with the boss here about buying a used vehicle.
But as things stood, the only small truck that fit the bill was something the boss probably wouldn't sell.
"Huh?"
Natsume glanced into the distance, and a look of delight crossed his face.
There, hidden among the hulking giants, sat a small sedan that was easy to overlook.
Coming closer, Natsume realized it was a sports car in a rose-red finish that looked outrageously flashy.
"Hiss—so familiar…?"
Natsume narrowed his eyes, and after a moment he pulled out his Rotom Phone and checked the map.
A profile icon of a teal-haired boy with a cocky look was displayed right nearby.
"So it's you—now that makes things easy."
Putting away the Rotom Phone, Natsume deftly hopped into the sports car, took out a key, and started it up.
Meanwhile, at the construction site's open-air canteen.
"Wow, the portions here are huge, and it's so cheap." Misty puffed out her cheeks, her mouth stuffed full.
"Yeah, I heard the workers eat for free here." Honora added.
"Right, and the boss seems decent, too—these cooks offer low-priced meals to passing Trainers."
Brock took a bite; the flavor wasn't amazing, but it was absolutely worth the price—great value.
"Hahahaha!"
Boisterous laughter came from afar.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a group of pretty girls laughing so hard they swayed.
Surrounded by them, a spiky-haired boy with a cocky look strode out.
"Yo? Isn't that Ash?"
The boy locked eyes on Ash.
"Gary!" Ash blurted when he saw him.
"Gary?" Misty, Brock, and Honora spoke in unison.
"That's right, I'm Professor Oak's grandson—Gary Oak!" Gary pointed at himself and introduced himself grandly.
"You're Professor Oak's grandson?" Honora's eyes lit up.
"That's right, I—hey, let go!"
Honora had placed her hand on Gary's head.
"Be good and call me 'Master's Wife,' will you?" Honora looked at him with a smiling gaze.
"'Master's Wife'?"
Gary straightened himself, a bit confused, and the next second Ash scooped him up in a hug.
"Gary, you must become a great ecological researcher in the future!" Ash looked at him teary-eyed.
"???"
Gary was completely baffled, and the snark he'd planned to throw at Ash stuck in his throat.
"Let go, let go—everyone let go of me!"
After sorting out the relationships, Gary pointed at Honora with a look of horror.
"'Master's Wife'? Is Natsume—Natsume here, too?"
He looked left and right, then ducked into the cheerleaders' crowd.
"Natsume isn't here for the moment, and we don't know where he went." Ash said earnestly.
"He's not here? Good, good."
Gary shot them a look, dragged over a chair like he owned the place, and sat down.
"Ash, you've got no taste at all, still eating a kids' omelet—haha—and shaped like Pikachu!"
Gary stared at the dinner in front of Ash, and after a moment couldn't help shaking his head.
"And what taste do you have?" Ash shot back, unconvinced.
"Pika—" Pikachu slapped the table as well.
"I'll have some little sausages, cut into octopus shapes!" Gary called to the cooks.
"…"
"Why do I feel like his personality is kind of similar to Ash's?" Misty whispered to Brock.
"You're not wrong." Brock nodded.
Ash's gaze kept shifting between Gary and his own dinner.
Mm… he felt his taste wasn't much worse than Gary's.
Everyone was enjoying dinner when the fat boss from before came running over.
"Are you all Trainers?"
The fat boss was covered in dust, his suit filthy, and his gold tie was gone; he looked a complete mess.
He looked like he had just finished a rescue.
"Yeah, sir, do you need help with something?" Ash looked up at him and nodded.
Natsume had said that a boss who ran ahead of the workers was a good boss.
"Ah, you're absolutely right!" The fat boss clapped his hands.
"Let me introduce myself—I'm the boss of the dam project here, and you can call me Mr. Wister."
With that, Mr. Wister pulled out a poster and handed one to each of them.
"'Diglett disaster delaying construction progress—recruiting Trainers to drive away the Diglett'?"
Ash read the text out loud, word by word.
In an instant, everyone's heads came together.
"Sigh, you don't know—today all the vehicles coming and going overturned because of the Diglett burrow holes."
Mr. Wister began pouring out his troubles.
"I'm from Gringey City, and the environment there is bad, and my old man was a worker who passed away early…"
"I figured that since I've made some money now, I'd build a dam here and bring the family over, so Gringey City could at least have clean drinking water, instead of going to the trouble of hauling it from Fuchsia City…"
After hearing Mr. Wister's story, Ash was moved to tears—he really felt it.
He remembered exactly what Gringey City was like.
"Okay, Mr. Wister, I'll take this job!" Ash carefully rolled up the poster.
"Hmph, I already have seven Badges, so I'll definitely solve the problem before you do!"
Gary said, tugging open his collar to reveal seven Badges pinned inside.
"What—you already have seven Badges!" Ash exclaimed.
"Wow, looks like you're way ahead of Ash." Misty leaned in for a look and found they were all from official Gyms.
"Hahaha, no time like the present—I'm heading out now!"
Surrounded by a crowd of pretty girls, Gary laughed heartily.
Finally—finally he got to show off.
In a wonderful mood, Gary pulled a car key from his pocket and pressed it.
"Hm?"
No response.
Gary pressed it a few more times.
Still no response.
"What are you doing?" Ash asked curiously.
"Ahem, you wouldn't get it—before you're fourteen you can't drive a gas car, but—"
"My supercar is something Natsume practically begged to convert to electric for me, and it's smart—press the button and it'll come over on its own."
Gary said this, face reddening, and pressed it several more times.
At last, after his strenuous efforts, a rolling sound came from not far away.
They turned to look.
Out of the darkness, a single car wheel slowly rolled over.
"?"
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