A short pause followed after Gary's comment and he seemed to be lost in thought. My heart was flipping in my chest just looking at the attractive man relaxing in the chair across from me and I closed my eyes for a minute to calm myself down.

Seriously. Am I going to let Jaxon ruin my chance at happiness or should I actually try doing something for once? I don't know if this is just puppy love or something real, but do I really want to just let him leave like this?

Licking my lips nervously, I peek out of my slightly closed lids to see that Gary was still lost in thought, staring up at the ceiling. Deciding to throw caution to the wind for once, I leaned forward slightly and cleared my throat. Gary lowered his chin and looked at me with an inquisitive expression, but his eyes still seemed far away.

"If you are going to join the gym challenge, would you want to travel around with me?" I could hardly even believe that I had said it when the words fell from my mouth. I did my best to seem nonchalant, but when Gary smiled with amusement in his expression and shook his head I could feel my heart plummet into my stomach.

"Nice of you to offer, but you've already got two gym badges and heading for your third. I've still got to get back to Professor Magnolia to give her the data I collected before I can think about starting the gym challenge," Gary said with an easy smile.

I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't mind going back with him, but even though his expression remained casual, his eyes became much sharper. It was almost like he was telling me to drop the subject. So I slowly closed my mouth and nodded, forcing myself to smile.

"That makes sense. I'm sure Professor Magnolia is waiting for you anxiously," I said with a light tone and Gary grinned.

"Any and all new data is a researcher's bread and butter," he said with a jovial wink. I smiled briefly but I only lasted another few minutes before I excused myself and went back to my room that I had rented. When I closed the door I shuffled over and flopped onto the single bed, letting out a horrendous sigh.

That's what I get for stepping out of my comfort zone, I thought pessimistically before rolling onto my back. Guess this just means that I am meant to focus on the gym challenge and just leave romance in the past.

Sayuri throws herself into her training and goes on a pokemon catching spree. By the time she made it to the gym challenge she had three full teams of Galar region pokemon for any and all situations and she takes on the league challenge with gusto. She noticed Gary once, sitting on the front row of the stadium and holding a machine with antennas. She wanted to ask him if he decided to stick with researching but felt too embarrassed. The next time she looked over he was gone and Sayuri never saw him again.

Gary Route Bad Ending