"It's because we're short on staff," Brock explained helplessly. "So I volunteered to help watch the stall for a while."
He sighed and wiped his hands on his apron.
"Ash and Dawn went off earlier with a Trainer named Barry to have a battle. They haven't come back yet, and I have no idea what's keeping them."
Brock had only arrived in Twinleaf Town that day. Before he could even visit the Pokémon Center to rest, the organizers of the Twinleaf Festival had pulled him in to help with one of the stalls. It was already late afternoon, and despite the lively festival atmosphere, he hadn't made a single sale.
"That's unfortunate," Gary said thoughtfully.
He didn't remember the details of the Twinleaf Festival very clearly, but he did recall one key event from the original storyline.
Ash had participated in a special competition during the celebration. After winning the festival tournament, he earned the right to battle Palmer, the Tower Tycoon of the Battle Tower.
In that battle, Ash had used Grotle against Palmer's Rhyperior. At first, Palmer hadn't taken the battle seriously at all. He seemed relaxed and almost amused as he watched Grotle struggle. But once Rhyperior had taken enough damage, Palmer suddenly grew serious and ended the match with a single devastating move.
"Gary, why are you here?" Brock asked curiously.
"I came to challenge the Battle Tower," Gary replied. "But the staff told me Palmer is attending the Twinleaf Festival, so I came here to look for him."
"Oh, that makes sense," Brock said. "Barry's father is Palmer, so Barry probably knows where he is. If you wait here, he'll show up eventually."
Gary nodded. "Alright. I'll take a look around first and come back later."
Before he could leave, Brock suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Wait! Stay here and help me attract customers! I haven't made a single sale all day!"
Brock looked almost desperate.
The festival organizers had set up this stall as part of the celebration activities, and Brock had volunteered to help manage it. However, despite the massive crowd wandering through the festival, not a single person had stopped to play the game.
Gary glanced at the stall.
It featured a strange container shaped like Camerupt. The two humps on Camerupt's back had round openings where players could toss small balls.
The rules were simple: for 500 Poké Dollars, players would receive two balls. If they successfully threw the balls into the holes, they could choose a prize from the shelf beside the stall.
Gary studied the prizes for a moment and then sighed.
"At least display the prizes properly," he said. "They're all wrapped in gift boxes. Nobody can see what's inside. Are you trying to sell blind boxes?"
Brock scratched his head awkwardly.
"You're right… but these prizes were provided by the festival organizers. It wouldn't feel right for me to unwrap them."
Gary shrugged.
"Then there's nothing we can do."
He turned and began walking away.
"You watch the stall. I'll come back later."
"Ah… I shouldn't have agreed to help," Brock groaned miserably as he watched Gary leave.
Gary wasn't completely heartless, though.
After wandering around the festival for a while and sampling several delicious snacks from different stalls, he eventually returned and kept Brock company while watching the stand.
The festival atmosphere gradually grew even livelier as evening approached.
However, Ash, Dawn, and Barry still hadn't returned.
"Brock," Gary said after a while, "are you sure their battle would take this long? Nothing happened, right?"
"I doubt it," Brock replied. "They probably got distracted by something along the way."
Just then, a sudden commotion broke out nearby.
"Look! It's Mr. Palmer!"
"Really? Where?"
"He's at the entrance to the festival!"
The crowd immediately became restless.
People rushed toward the entrance as if a celebrity had just arrived.
"Palmer?" Gary said.
He exchanged a glance with Brock.
"Brock, I'm going to take a look."
"I'm coming too."
The two left the stall and followed the flow of people toward the festival entrance.
From a distance, they saw a crowd gathered around a tall blond man standing near the gate.
Beside him stood a powerful Dragonite, its wings folded neatly at its back.
At the same time, Brock spotted three familiar figures pushing through the crowd.
"Ash! Dawn! Barry!" he called out as he hurried toward them.
Gary, however, remained where he was, studying Palmer's Dragonite carefully.
[Dragonite – Level 73 | Champion Rank]
Just as Barry had bragged earlier, Palmer's Dragonite was indeed incredibly strong. If Gary's guess was correct, Palmer's other Pokémon were probably also around Champion level.
"Where have you two been?" Brock scolded lightly when he reached Ash and Dawn. "You disappeared for hours!"
"A lot happened!" Dawn said excitedly. "We met a Xatu in the forest and experienced some really strange things. Honestly, it almost felt like a dream!"
Suddenly, Ash's eyes widened.
"Gary!"
Everyone turned toward the direction Ash was staring.
Gary had just stepped out of the crowd and walked directly toward Palmer.
"Oh! It's him!" Barry exclaimed as soon as he recognized Gary.
Although they had only spent a few hours together earlier, Gary had already made a strong impression on him.
"Wait a second!" Barry suddenly gasped. "You know Gary?"
"Of course," Ash replied casually. "We've known each other since we were kids. We even traveled to the Sinnoh region on the same ship."
"What?! You know someone that amazing and never told me?!" Barry shouted dramatically.
Seeing Barry's exaggerated reaction, Ash quickly guessed what must have happened earlier.
Barry must have challenged Gary to a battle—and lost.
"Let's go see what Gary's doing," Ash suggested.
The four of them moved closer to the entrance.
By now, Palmer and Gary were surrounded by curious onlookers.
Palmer noticed Gary approaching and looked down at him with interest.
"Is there something you need, young man?"
Gary nodded politely.
"Hello, Mr. Palmer. My name is Gary. I was recommended by Mr. Scott to challenge the Battle Frontier. I came to the Battle Tower to battle you."
"When would you be available for a match?"
The crowd immediately erupted into chatter.
"So this kid wants to challenge Palmer?"
"Palmer is unbeatable!"
"You'd better give up!"
"Yeah! Palmer has been the strongest Trainer in Twinleaf Town for years!"
"Since he became the Tower Tycoon, hardly anyone has managed to defeat him!"
Ash and the others stared in surprise.
"Wait!" Barry suddenly shouted as he pushed forward. "I'm supposed to battle my dad first!"
"No, I should go first!" Ash argued.
"Hey! What about me?!" Dawn protested playfully.
The three of them began arguing loudly over who would get the chance to battle Palmer.
Gary stared at them in disbelief.
He raised a hand and interrupted them.
"Relax. I'm not competing for the festival tournament slot tomorrow," he said calmly.
"I'm here to challenge Mr. Palmer in an official Battle Frontier match."