"What... no... this is impossible..."
Watching her Meowscarada lying on the ground, unable to get up again, Penny's eyes widened. Meowscarada had been a gift from her father—her most trusted Pokémon—yet it had been defeated in a single move. Could it be that the boy standing in front of her really had strength comparable to a Champion?
"No! No, this Blastoise definitely isn't his own Pokémon." Only by convincing herself of this could Penny bring herself to accept the loss.
"Who are you?" Penny asked.
"I already told you, my name is Gary Oak, a trainer from the Kanto region. I came here to see the school." After answering, Gary turned to Dendra and asked, "So... Teacher, I won. Can I go now?"
"No. Let's have a match too," Dendra said.
What?
They had agreed he could leave once he won—so why, after beating the younger student, was the teacher stepping in now?
"Let's just forget it, Teacher. You might not be a good match for me, and I wouldn't want you to lose face in front of your own students," Gary said.
"What did you say?"
Dendra's temper flared. How could she possibly lose to some teenager, being a teacher at Naranja Academy herself?
Gary knew Dendra specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon. Her strength wasn't bad, but it was roughly Gym Leader level—not Elite level. At most, she might have a couple of Pokémon close to that tier.
This was only Gary's own guess, but it was clear enough that, going by what he knew, Dendra wasn't especially strong—certainly not on the level of someone like Grusha.
"Don't get angry, I'm just being honest. If we fight, I'll use my full strength. If you're not at Elite Four level, it's probably best you don't challenge me," Gary said.
"You mean... you think your strength is comparable to the Elite Four?" Dendra asked, frowning.
"This kid really likes to talk big."
"He thinks he's got a strong Blastoise, so now he thinks he can take on the Elite Four."
"Ignorance really is fearless."
The students standing around all assumed Gary was bragging. After all, one of the teachers at Naranja Academy actually was a member of the Elite Four—Teacher Myron, who taught art and specialized in Dragon-types.
"Excuse me, what's going on here?" A calm voice cut through the commotion.
Everyone turned toward the doorway. Standing there was a tall woman with long hair and warm, sun-touched skin, dressed in a tailored suit.
"Ah, Chairwoman!" Dendra exclaimed the moment she saw her.
The woman was Geeta, chairwoman of Naranja Academy. She was also the president of the Paldea League, and the reigning Champion herself.
Gary was caught off guard. He hadn't expected to run into Geeta here.
"Dendra, what's going on?" Geeta asked.
She had simply been passing by, and noticing a commotion during class hours, had come to check. Walking in on Gary and Dendra arguing, she wanted to know what had happened.
"Chairwoman, well..."
Dendra hesitated. The whole situation between her and Gary had started as a misunderstanding, and while Gary bore some responsibility, she knew she bore more of it. If she hadn't mistaken him for a student, none of this would have happened.
"Just tell me plainly. What happened?" Geeta asked again. Her tone was gentle, but there was an unmistakable authority behind it that made it hard to refuse.
"Chairwoman, here's what happened..." Dendra explained the entire situation from the beginning.
Gary listened closely as well, careful not to let Dendra get ahead of him with her version of events. Once she finished, it was clear her account was accurate, though she did make sure to point out what Gary had done.
After hearing everything, Geeta turned to Gary and said, "First, allow me to apologize to you on Dendra's behalf. That said, you did agree to a battle you knew wasn't quite fair to begin with. That wasn't the wisest choice either."
Hearing this, Gary understood that Geeta intended to make something out of the situation—otherwise she could have simply let the matter go.
"It was my mistake too. What would you like me to do, Chairwoman?" Gary asked.
"How about this—would you consider joining the academy as a teacher?" Geeta suggested.
"What?!"
"He's going to be a teacher?"
"Why him? He's barely older than we are!"
Before Gary could respond, the students around them broke into murmurs of disbelief.
Geeta simply smiled at Gary, unbothered by the students' reactions.
"May I ask your name?" Gary said.
"I'm Geeta, chairwoman of Naranja Academy," she replied.
"Chairwoman Geeta, I actually have somewhere else to be. I need to head back to the Sinnoh region soon, so I don't have time to take on a teaching position," Gary said.
Gary could tell exactly what Geeta was thinking. If she was willing to bring in members of the Elite Four as teachers, then she clearly placed a lot of importance on training the next generation—any strong trainer was fair game for an invitation.
"Don't worry, it wouldn't be full-time. You'd only need to visit once every season, staying for a short while each time," Geeta said.
"But I've never taught before. I wouldn't know how to instruct students," Gary said.
"You wouldn't need to teach in the usual sense. All you'd need to do is battle with the students here. I'd pay you well for it," Geeta said.
"Money isn't something I'm short on," Gary replied.
"That's true, come to think of it. Your surname is Oak—what's your relationship to Professor Oak?" Geeta asked.
"He's my grandfather."
The moment he said it, Dendra, Penny, and the surrounding students all froze.
None of them had expected this. Hearing Gary confirm with his own mouth that he was Professor Oak's grandson left them stunned.
Professor Oak had been appearing on television quite often recently and had become something of a household name worldwide. If there was one Professor more famous than any other, it was undoubtedly him.
Granted, Professor Oak himself hadn't been especially active in recent years, mostly publishing occasional academic papers, with very little in the way of actual new research—largely because of how often he appeared on TV.
The most recent research to come out under his name was the Energy Cube formula, developed by Gary, along with the stable evolution method for Annihilape. Beyond that, there hadn't been much else.
"I never imagined Professor Oak was your grandfather. That would explain why money doesn't concern you. Is there anything you'd like in particular? I could offer it as compensation," Geeta said.
It seemed she was determined to bring Gary onto the faculty.
Gary considered it—it wasn't out of the question. All he'd need to do was visit Naranja Academy four times a year.
"Wait a moment. Why does it have to be me specifically? Doesn't the academy already have more suitable teachers for this kind of role?" Gary asked.