Gary had captured Shaymin mainly to trigger the system mission and claim the reward. He wasn't particularly greedy when it came to Legendary Pokémon.
He wasn't all that interested in Shaymin either. After all, he had system items to work with, and a Pokémon like Shaymin, which only had a single Ability, offered poor value for the investment.
Of course, the main reason was that Shaymin simply wasn't strong. Its real power could only be brought out in Sky Forme. In Land Forme, it could only use healing moves, and the only attacking move it had was Seed Flare.
That said, Seed Flare was a very special move. It didn't have a fixed power of 120 like in the games. Instead, its power was determined by the type of energy Shaymin had absorbed.
There was a precedent in the movie.
The Shaymin that met Ash and his group had absorbed the ripples of time in the Reverse World, and the Seed Flare it released carried energy capable of affecting space and time. That was what opened the passage between the Reverse World and the real world.
Even the haze of the Reverse World could be absorbed by Shaymin, and the Seed Flare released afterward would carry the power of space and time—because that haze was a substance produced by the collision of temporal and spatial energy within the Reverse World.
Over the following days, Gary stayed at a hotel near the Pokémon Center.
Although Trainers could stay at a Pokémon Center, it wasn't meant for long-term lodging. It was only a temporary rest stop. A traveling Trainer could stay for a week at most, and no longer than that.
Paying extra didn't help either, since there were quite a lot of traveling Trainers and the Pokémon Center didn't have many rooms. Long-term stays were prohibited unless there were special circumstances.
After settling into the hotel, Gary spent the following days in Veilstone City. He trained his Pokémon in the suburbs every day, but he always ate lunch and dinner at the Pokémon Center.
That way, he wouldn't miss Ash and his group.
After all, knowing Ash's personality, he would never pass up free food and lodging.
A week later...
Gary was in the public area of the Pokémon Center, watching his Pokémon go through their training routines.
He focused mainly on Cetitan, Gholdengo, and Pawniard. The others were disciplined enough that they didn't need him watching over them constantly, and their levels rose very slowly at this point anyway.
Cetitan: LV10 → LV20
Pawniard: LV30 → LV32
Gholdengo: LV30 → LV32
Weavile: LV57 → LV58
Garchomp: LV50 → LV51
By the time the Lily of the Valley Conference began, Gary's Sinnoh Pokémon wouldn't improve much—one or two levels at most.
But the three newly captured Pokémon had made significant progress after just a week of training.
"Hello, Gary."
Gary was observing the training when a cold voice reached his ears.
He turned around and saw Paul standing there with his usual expressionless face.
Gary was rather surprised. He'd been waiting for Ash, but Paul had shown up instead. Still, if Paul was here, it wouldn't be long before Ash and his group arrived in Veilstone City too.
"Paul. What a coincidence, running into you here," Gary said.
"Are you here to challenge the Veilstone Gym?" Paul asked.
"Already did," Gary replied.
"Of course. Even an average Trainer could clear a gym at that level," Paul said dismissively.
Paul was as sarcastic as ever. According to his brother, Paul had turned out this way because of Reggie's own words and actions, but thinking about it, that was probably just an excuse Reggie made for his younger brother.
Paul had traveled to Kanto with Reggie since he was young. Even back then, he'd worn the same expressionless face. He only started holding back after being defeated by Ash.
"So you've already beaten the Veilstone Gym too," Gary said.
"Naturally. But that gym battle was boring. How about we have a Pokémon battle?" Paul said.
Gary was caught off guard. Last time in Eterna City, he had invited Paul to battle and been refused. He hadn't expected Paul to be the one asking this time.
"No problem. What format?" Gary asked.
"This afternoon. Three-on-three," Paul said.
"Fine by me."
The two agreed on a time, with the battle to be held at the field near the Pokémon Center.
"Two o'clock. See you then." Having settled the arrangements, Paul left.
What Pokémon will Paul use?
Paul wasn't a rookie Trainer. He and Gary had started around the same time. Paul had simply chosen not to travel in his home region first, going to Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto instead.
Back when Gary served as a temporary Gym Leader, he had battled Paul once and knew that Paul still had Pokémon at the Elite level.
Clearly, Paul would be bringing out the Pokémon he'd raised before.
Gary looked at his own Pokémon and asked, "Who wants to battle this afternoon?"
"Ceti!"
"Gold!"
"Paw!"
Before any of the others could speak up, Gary's three newly captured Pokémon eagerly volunteered.
"Not you three." Gary waved his hand and refused.
Cetitan: (?_?)!
Gholdengo: (⌐■_■)
Pawniard: o(≧口≦)o
The three little ones were clearly unhappy. They had been training for a full week, so they figured it was about time they battled another Trainer.
"Paul isn't an ordinary Trainer. He'll be using his main team. If any of you three can beat one of them, you can come along this afternoon," Gary said, pointing toward his stronger Pokémon.
The three of them looked at Electivire and shook their heads. Then they looked at Weavile and Rhyperior. They couldn't beat any of them—even if all three went at once, they'd still lose.
So the three little ones backed off, faces full of resignation.
"Chomp."
"Wea."
"Meta."
Garchomp, Weavile, and Metagross stepped forward.
Garchomp and Weavile were expected, but Gary hadn't anticipated Metagross volunteering.
Since capturing Metagross, Gary had never actually used it in a real battle—he'd only arranged basic daily training for it.
"Alright, I'll use you three this afternoon." Gary felt these three would be more than enough to handle Paul.
"That's enough training for this morning. Come back and rest." Since the battle was already arranged, Gary didn't want to waste his Pokémon's energy. He recalled them, headed to the Pokémon Center, and let them rest.
Meanwhile, at the Veilstone Breeding House.
"Reggie, I'm taking these Pokémon with me," Paul said.
"Paul, those three are all your main Pokémon," Reggie said, puzzled. "Don't tell me you failed the Veilstone Gym challenge?"