Today marked Gary's fourth day in Viridian Forest. By tomorrow morning, he would have completely cleared the woods. After that, his chances of finding the Pidgey he wanted would be effectively zero.
"Looks like I'll just have to spend my way out of this one."
Although Gary hadn't found the Pidgey he was looking for, he wasn't particularly upset about it.
There were many ways to obtain a Pokémon: capturing through battle, building friendships in the wild, completing trades, and—most commonly—simply buying one.
While the League strictly prohibited the sale of wild Pokémon, breeding houses were a legal exception. Pokémon raised in licensed breeding houses were considered the breeder's own property, and selling them was perfectly legitimate.
Many breeding houses specialized in producing specific species and offered them on the market for Trainers to choose from. Wealthy families often purchased high-quality Pokémon directly from breeders for their children.
Pidgey was a common species, and quite a few breeding houses focused on raising them. The price wouldn't be exorbitant.
Gary didn't waste any more time in the forest. He pedaled hard for the rest of the morning and arrived at the Pewter City Pokémon Center by noon.
"Nurse Joy, please take care of these for me."
He handed over his Poké Balls for examination.
His Pokémon weren't injured, but routine check-ups were essential. Pokémon Centers offered far more than emergency treatment—they provided ongoing health and condition monitoring as well.
"Don't worry, Mr. Gary," Nurse Joy said warmly. "If it weren't for you, the Viridian Pokémon Center would have suffered a serious incident. Your Pokémon will receive the very best care."
"Thank you."
Gary wasn't surprised that she already knew. The Pokémon Centers across the region were all run by the Joy family, and they were tightly networked.
The Team Rocket attack on the Viridian Pokémon Center hadn't been a small affair. It was likely that every Pokémon Center in Kanto had held an emergency safety meeting in response.
After leaving his Pokémon in Nurse Joy's care, Gary walked over to the public communication terminals and dialed Professor Oak's lab.
Professor Oak spent most of his days in the laboratory, fully absorbed in his Pokémon research.
"Oh! Gary, where are you? Why are you only calling me now?"
The screen lit up with Professor Oak's face. There was a hint of reproach in his voice. It had been nearly a week since Gary had left Pallet Town, and this was his first call home.
"Hey, just checking in to let you know I'm safe," Gary said quickly, then deflected before his grandfather could lecture further. "By the way, Grandpa—do you have any contacts in the police force?"
"The police?" Professor Oak's expression instantly turned grave. "Is Team Rocket targeting you?"
Gary blinked.
The fact that Professor Oak immediately mentioned Team Rocket meant he was already fully aware of the Viridian City incident.
"No, no!" Gary waved his hands. "Nothing like that."
Professor Oak relaxed visibly, exhaling. Gary was the only child in his immediate family. The thought of him being targeted by Team Rocket was genuinely terrifying.
"Then why do you need a contact in the police?"
"I want to raise an Arcanine," Gary explained. "But you know how it is—wild Arcanine and Growlithe are nearly impossible to find. The Interpol division basically monopolizes the species. The only way to get one legally is through their adoption program."
"Ah, so you want an Arcanine…" Professor Oak nodded thoughtfully. "I do know someone in the police force. Wait a moment, I'll make a call."
The screen went dark.
Gary leaned against the terminal and waited patiently.
About fifteen minutes later, the public phone rang again. Gary picked up immediately.
"Grandpa, what's the situation?"
This was directly tied to whether his system mission could be completed.
In the original timeline, Gary had eventually obtained an Arcanine—but it had been embarrassingly weak. During the Silver Conference, Ash's Snorlax had instantly knocked it out with a single Hyper Beam. The defeat had been humiliating. Gary suspected that any Growlithe he could obtain through normal means would have similarly low potential.
Which is why this connection mattered so much.
"I asked around," Professor Oak said. "A litter of Growlithe was recently born at the Cerulean City police station. I've already submitted an application on your behalf. When you arrive in Cerulean City, just visit the police station and adopt one."
"Thanks, Grandpa!"
As expected of his grandfather. Even Interpol gave the famous Professor Oak considerable face.
"By the way, Gary—where are you currently?" Professor Oak shifted to small talk.
"I just arrived in Pewter City. I'm planning to challenge the Pewter Gym tomorrow."
"That's quick. The Pewter Gym Leader is no pushover. Even with Squirtle's type advantage, don't underestimate him."
Brock? Strong?
Brock was a competent Gym Leader, sure—but his roster was just a Geodude and an Onix at relatively low levels. Hardly a threat to a Champion-tier Squirtle.
But Gary didn't know the full picture.
The Gym Leader Professor Oak was referring to wasn't actually Brock—it was Brock's father, Flint.
In truth, every Gym Leader in the Kanto Region was originally formidable. The current generation of "acting" Gym Leaders had simply lowered the standards considerably.
Whether it was the Pewter Gym or the Cerulean Gym, the original Gym Leaders had been seriously powerful Trainers—generally at Quasi-Elite tier, with some reaching Elite tier.
Koga of Fuchsia City, for example, was Elite-level. The League's higher-ups were planning to formally appoint him to the Johto Region's Elite Four in the near future.
In the original anime, Koga had appeared deceptively weak, but that was just for show. Gym Leaders existed to test challengers. If every Gym Leader fought at full strength, almost no Trainer would ever earn enough Badges to qualify for the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Even the so-called "weakest" Cerulean Gym wasn't really weak. Misty's father had been an exceptionally powerful Water-type specialist. He had left behind several extraordinarily strong Water-types for his four daughters to inherit.
The problem was that none of his daughters had been motivated enough to truly bond with those Pokémon. Without the trust and recognition of those powerful Water-types, the daughters couldn't actually use them in serious battles. Over time, the once-prestigious Cerulean Gym had degenerated into a third-rate Gym, more famous for its synchronized swimming shows than its battles.
But running a Gym at maximum strength was its own problem. If a Gym was too strong, no one would challenge it.
Cinnabar Gym was the perfect cautionary tale.
Blaine had once fought every Trainer at full power, and as a result, no challenger ever managed to beat him. Over the years, Cinnabar Gym had practically become a legend. Eventually, even the residents of Cinnabar Island assumed it had closed down entirely.
Running a Gym was harder than it looked. The Gym Leader needed both real strength and operational savvy. Too weak, and the Gym lost prestige. Too strong, and it lost relevance.
"I'll be careful, Grandpa," Gary said, knowing full well that Professor Oak was just being protective.
"Good, good. Oh, by the way—Gary, how many Pokémon have you caught so far?"