"Then Celebi, you can go into the Heal Ball for treatment."
Ash gently handed Celebi over to Gary.
Gary took the Heal Ball, lightly tapped it against Celebi's head, and drew the small Pokémon inside.
The Heal Ball shook three times in his hand before coming to a stop.
[Ding! Mission triggered: Capture the Time Travel Pokémon Celebi. Reward: Master Rare Candy ×3, Gold Bottle Cap ×1, Ability Enhancement Stone ×1, Ability Expansion Stone ×1.]
[Ding! Celebi successfully captured. Rewards have been distributed to System Storage.]
The moment he captured Celebi, the system prompted that the mission was completed.
Gary was very satisfied.
His planning hadn't been in vain. Catching three Legendary or Mythical Pokémon in one go was a massive haul.
Pleased, Gary activated the healing function on the Heal Ball. After the treatment was complete, he released Celebi.
"Labi!"
Once healed, Celebi immediately flew toward the Time Ripple. The Time Ripple, which originally emitted dark purple energy, shifted to a vibrant green.
The energy spread outward like ripples on water. Everywhere it passed, vegetation instantly bloomed, flowers opened in full array, and the air became fresh and clean. With every breath, one could smell a refreshing floral fragrance.
"Labi!"
Celebi's body emitted the sound of a forest as glowing halos spread out around it.
"Celebi is getting ready to travel through time," Rowena murmured.
"Celebi! We'll always be friends!" Ash shouted.
"Us too!"
Ash, Dawn, and Brock all waved goodbye to the small Pokémon.
"Celebi, you're too weak right now. Train your strength properly," Gary said flatly. "Don't run into bad people in the future if you can't deal with them yourself."
Celebi froze mid-air. "(o)...!"
Ash and the others: "…"
Everyone was sharing a heartfelt goodbye, and Gary had suddenly said something like this. It really ruined the mood.
However, Gary wasn't wrong. If Celebi had been stronger, it wouldn't have let a villain like Kodai succeed, and the disaster in Crown City twenty years ago never would have happened.
After Celebi vanished into the Time Ripple and traveled away, everyone still had to deal with Kodai.
Although Kodai had been caught, they needed to provide evidence to ensure he would actually be sentenced.
Fortunately, Karl had recorded the entire process of Kodai manipulating the Time Ripple. Even more damning, Kodai had confessed to what he did twenty years ago on camera.
Karl immediately broadcast the video to all the television networks in the city using the local systems, ensuring it was broadcast across the entire Sinnoh Region.
All of Grings Kodai's actions were made public. There was no chance of him turning things around now.
After watching the video, Officer Jenny and her squad arrived at the TV station and personally took Kodai away in handcuffs.
As for Zoroark and Zorua, Karl and Rowena volunteered to escort the mother and child back to their homeland in the Unova Region.
Gary, Ash, and the group naturally had to give their statements to Officer Jenny to explain what happened in Crown City.
All things considered, it wasn't a huge deal. Aside from their battle with the three Legendary Beasts causing a bit of damage to the coastline, there were no major losses.
And anyway, all responsibilities and financial damages would be placed firmly on Kodai. Kodai Network was still a very wealthy corporation.
Three days later.
After fully explaining everything to the authorities, Gary, Ash, and the others gathered at the harbor to bid farewell to Zoroark and Zorua.
Watching the cruise ship sail away, Ash took a deep breath, pumped his fists, and grinned.
"Alright! Next is the Lily of the Valley Conference! Gary, are you going to participate?"
Ash still hadn't forgotten that Gary had previously mentioned he might not attend the Lily of the Valley Conference.
"Probably," Gary said simply.
"What does 'probably' mean? Can't you give a straight answer?" Ash looked dissatisfied. He had always wanted to defeat Gary in an official match. How could Gary skip the League Conference?
"We'll see when the time comes. I'm leaving first."
Without waiting for more arguments, Gary threw out his Poké Ball, released Garchomp, and vaulted onto its back to head for Sunyshore City.
"Hey! Don't leave!"
Ash yelled from the ground below, but Garchomp was too fast. It had already flown far away, and Gary couldn't hear him at all.
It wasn't that Gary didn't want to agree. The system was just acting strange this time. It hadn't released any missions related to the Lily of the Valley Conference.
In the past, whenever Gary collected eight Badges, the system would immediately issue tasks related to the regional League. This time, there was nothing.
That was why Gary was in no rush to commit. If there were no rewards for participating in the Conference, he simply had no interest in joining.
After all, he had already won three regional League championships in a row. Entering another competition without any benefits felt a bit obnoxious.
The last time he participated in the Ever Grande Conference, Charles Goodshow had quietly hinted that Gary shouldn't go too far—he had already won three titles, so he should leave some opportunities for others.
Since only the Champion of a regional Conference was eligible to enter the Champion League and World Coronation Series, winning it over and over meant denying others that qualification. Gary winning three times meant three fewer people got to participate in the higher-level tournaments.
I'll challenge Sunyshore Gym first, then go to the Lily of the Valley island to register. If registering doesn't trigger a system mission, then I won't participate.
Gary made his decision quickly.
There was no point in fighting in the Conference without a reward. He would be better off challenging Gyms or capturing Legendary-tier Pokémon to earn system rewards instead.
In less than twenty minutes, Gary arrived at Sunyshore City.
Because Crown City and Sunyshore City weren't far apart, riding Garchomp made the trip incredibly short.
Garchomp flew directly to the entrance of Sunyshore Gym and landed.
Gary looked up at the familiar doors. This was his third visit to Sunyshore Gym.
Since Ash had already collected eight Badges, Volkner must have recovered his motivation by now and should be accepting challenges normally.
Gary walked up to the Gym entrance.
"Hello, what is your purpose?"
A mechanical voice rang out.
"I'm here to challenge Sunyshore Gym," Gary said.
"Challenge acknowledged. Sunyshore Gym currently has restrictions. Trainers must have five or more Sinnoh Region Gym Badges to be eligible. Please present your Badges."
Gary was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the Gym to have upgraded its artificial intelligence at the door to set challenge requirements.
He took out his Badge case and opened it. Inside were nine Badges.
"Guest, you have already collected eight or more Gym Badges. Are you sure you still wish to challenge Sunyshore Gym?"
"Of course. Is that not allowed?"
Collecting eight Badges only gave a Trainer the qualification to enter the League Conference. It didn't mean they were forbidden from collecting more. A Trainer could challenge as many Gyms as a region had to offer if they wanted to.
"Confirmed."
"Please wait. Notifying the Gym Leader."
A few minutes later, the voice spoke again.
"The Gym Leader has been notified. Please enter the Gym and rest while preparations are made."
The heavy automatic doors slid open.
Gary stepped inside.