Gary had been talking non-stop for a while before he finally noticed August looking at him with an odd expression.

  He suddenly realized… he might have said too much.

  "Ahem, I was just—" Gary started, trying to expin.

  August patted him on the shoulder and interrupted, "No need to say more. I get it!"

  Gary: "?"

  What exactly do you get?

  But he quickly realized that the more he talked, the deeper he’d dig himself into a hole. So, he swiftly changed the subject.

  "August, are you heading back to Cedon University next? Let me know when your csses start—I want to sit in on them."

  August was a temporary lecturer at Cedon University.

  Now that Gary had seen his strength firsthand, he was eager to learn from his lectures.

  "I'm not heading back just yet. Haven't you been following the news from Cedon City?"

  With Team Rocket's base just recently taken down, going back now was too risky.

  "Oh, you mean the thing about the Cedon Game Corner? I saw the news! I can't believe that casino was actually run by Team Rocket, with a whole base underneath it. Good thing I just cashed in my tokens for a Porygon and left."

  Gary flicked his hair smugly.

  "...So that spiky-haired kid who won a Porygon was you?"

  August and Blue exchanged gnces.

  "You've been to the Cedon Game Corner? Pretty impressive, huh? I bet they're still talking about my legendary streak!"

  Gary, completely unaware of the danger he had narrowly avoided, released his Porygon and proudly showed it off to August.

  Seeing his smug expression, August chuckled.

  "Yeah, that’s pretty impressive. You know who else would love to hear about it? Professor Oak. I bet he’d be thrilled to know his grandson is so talented at slot machines."

  "....."

  Gary instantly froze.

  If his grandfather found out about this, that meant his dad would find out. And if his dad found out…

  There goes my allowance.

  He didn't even want to think about it.

  Looking up at August, he silently cursed, Are you a demon?!

  Meanwhile, Blue covered her mouth, giggling.

  Gary begged August multiple times not to tell Professor Oak about his slot machine escapades.

  August gave him a vague "depends on my mood," which was hardly reassuring.

  With a heavy heart, Gary left the beach, ciming that losing to Eevee had motivated him to go into serious training.

  Whether he was actually going to train or just fleeing before August could dig up more of his secrets was anyone’s guess.

  Since Gary had brought along a whole group of girlfriends, August hadn’t prepared enough food to feed them all, so he didn’t invite him to stay for dinner.

  With Gary and his entourage gone, the private VIP beach at the luxury resort was peaceful once more.

  After getting August to help her apply sunscreen, Blue took Dragonair out for some surfing. The elegant Pokémon glided across the waves, spshing water droplets onto her fair skin, creating a breathtaking scene.

  After watching for a while, August turned his attention back to the system to check out his rewards.

  Among the three rewards for defeating Gary, one was a [Master-Css Fishing Rod]—which had also been an option before.

  Back then, he had to choose between the [Mimic Mask], the [Master-Css Fishing Rod], and the [Rotom Bike]. He had picked the [Mimic Mask] that time.

  And even now, he had no pns to choose the fishing rod.

  For one, he already had plenty of Pokémon. His Water-type lineup consisted of Magikarp and Mudkip, and he wasn’t looking to catch anything new just yet.

  Besides, since the fishing rod reward had appeared twice now, it was likely to come up again in the future. No rush.

  That left two options. The picnic set was something he could easily buy anywhere, so there was no way he’d waste his reward on that.

  So…

  Let's choose the [Herba Mystica]

  In the Scarlet & Violet storyline, these [Herba Mystica] were rare pnts guarded by the massive Titan Pokémon, and they even had the power to heal legendary Pokémon like Koraidon and Miraidon.

  In terms of rarity, they were far more valuable than the other two rewards—hence August’s choice.

  He retrieved the reward from the system, and a small box appeared on the table.

  Opening it, he found fifteen herbs neatly arranged in rows, categorized by taste—three each of Spicy, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, and Salty.

  Unlike the copy-paste texture from the games, these [Herba Mystica] all had unique shapes and were glowing!

  He picked up a [Sweet Herba Mystica] and immediately sensed the energy radiating from it.

  Sniff sniff…

  Eevee twitched its nose and turned its gaze toward the herb in August’s hand.

  Gardevoir also gave him a curious look.

  Eevee’s love for sweets wasn’t surprising, but seeing even Gardevoir take interest piqued August’s curiosity.

  "Gardevoir, can you analyze the energy inside this?"

  Gardevoir attempted to use its psychic powers to examine the herb but quickly shook its head. It telepathically conveyed its findings:

  "I can't analyze it… but it smells delicious."

  Well, that was expected.

  Psychic abilities were versatile, but they weren’t all-powerful.

  "But how am I supposed to eat this? Make a sandwich?"

  Setting aside the fact that he didn’t have the ingredients, he wasn’t particurly interested in sandwiches anyway.

  After thinking for a moment, he decided to go with the method he was most familiar with.

  He pulled out his Pokéblock Blender.

  Washing a Pecha Berry clean, he added some supplementary ingredients, adjusted the rotation speed, and at the perfect moment, dropped in the [Sweet Herba Mystica].

  He closed the lid and waited a few seconds.

  When he opened it again, a rich, enticing aroma filled the air.

  "It’s done!"

  He took out a Pokéblock and immediately noticed the difference—this one was glowing with a faint pink light!

  He hadn’t expected to create a luminescent Pokéblock.

  "...Is this even safe to eat?"

  Glowing things usually meant radioactivity, didn’t they?

  Even though this was the Pokémon world, and such concerns were less pressing, the idea of eating a glowing object still made him hesitate.

  Just to be safe, he let Gardevoir examine it again. Once she confirmed it wasn’t harmful, August decided to test it out on a Pokémon.

  Scanning his surroundings, he saw Shelgon eagerly watching—but it had no mouth.

  Mudkip was pying around with a Pidgey.

  After some thought, he decided to summon Magikarp.

  As soon as Magikarp appeared, the sea breeze ruffled its golden scales, and the sound of the waves seemed to put it in high spirits.

  But it also looked a bit confused—Why am I out here?

  "I've got something good for you." August held out the glowing Pokéblock.

  "Try it and tell me how it tastes!"

  Magikarp instinctively felt that whenever August called it out, it was never for something good.

  But the Pokéblock smelled amazing…

  After hesitating for a moment, it gulped it down.

  The moment it entered its mouth—

  A wave of sweet fvor spread through its entire body.

  Magikarp felt as if it were soaking in a warm hot spring...

  August, observing closely, took out his notebook. "Hmm… that expression… enhanced fvor?"

  Magikarp had eaten Sweet Pokéblocks before, but it had never looked this blissful.

  But as he continued watching, August realized something was off.

  Magikarp’s body was rapidly expanding.

  In mere moments, it had grown noticeably rger—and it was still growing.

  "Wait… is this gonna turn into a Titan-sized Pokémon?!"

  At the same time, Magikarp’s golden scales began emitting a dazzling light.

  "This is…!"

  August locked his gaze on the glowing Magikarp.

  In his vision, the light around Magikarp swelled rapidly, elongating its form.

  Seconds ter, the light dissipated.

  ROOOAAARR!

  A massive, crimson-scaled Gyarados emerged before him, exuding an overwhelming presence.

  The moment it appeared, it let out a deafening roar.

  August stared at his newly evolved Shiny Gyarados.

  He hadn’t expected a single Pokéblock to trigger its evolution.

  But…

  "WHY ARE YOU ROARING SO LOUD?!"

  Fortunately, this was a private beach at a luxury resort. Aside from wealthy guests like Gary, no one else was around, so he wasn’t worried about disturbing people.

  Hearing August’s reprimand, and then gncing at Gardevoir standing nearby, Gyarados immediately lowered its head, looking obedient.

  No choice—evolution or not, Gardevoir’s psychic power was still terrifying.

  And with an absurdly strong Eevee joining the team, Gyarados felt like it had zero chance of being the boss here.

  As Gyarados brooded over its fate, August scrutinized it.

  Compared to Lance’s Gyarados, his was still lower level, making it feel significantly weaker.

  But in terms of color vibrancy and scale smoothness, his was clearly superior.

  In short—his Gyarados had better aesthetics!

  All thanks to his careful (Pokéblock-fueled) training.

  As he examined it, August muttered, "I think I just created something incredible…"

  At first, he had considered trying the Pokéblock himself.

  But now?

  Better have Professor Cerise analyze this thing first…