"Both Trainers have sent out their Pokémon—and they're both Normal types!
Trainer Amemiya has chosen Exploud, a Pokémon known for its explosive voice and aggression!"
"The Pokémon sent out by Trainer Gary is Slaking.
While Slaking has incredible raw power, it's notorious for its laziness.
I wonder if Gary can manage to command it effectively!"
The announcer explained the basic details of the two Pokémon. The audience murmured in concern and doubt.
"Slaking? It's huge, but all it does is lie around. Can it even battle properly?"
"Yeah, doesn't seem like a good choice. I think Gary's going to lose this one."
"Who could Slaking even beat, lying around like that?"
Gary heard the commentary around him but paid no attention. He knew Slaking's laziness was infamous across the Hoenn Region, so the audience's doubts weren't surprising. But he had his reasons.
"What do you guys even know? That Trainer is Gary Oak—Gary Oak, you hear me?"
An indignant voice from the stands spoke up. It was a casually dressed middle-aged man.
"Isn't he just a kid? Calling him Gary Oak like he's someone big sounds like an exaggeration."
"You clearly have no clue. Gary Oak is a two-time Pokémon League Champion. His Pokémon are no joke. If Hoenn wasn't so far from Kanto, you'd already know how terrifying his fanbase is!"
That passionate man was Koji, a Kanto native. Once, he had hit rock bottom after a failed business, drowning in high-interest debt. Desperate and nearly broke, he used what little money he had left to bet on a Pokémon match—on Gary Oak. Gary won, and Koji's life flipped overnight. He paid off his debts and bought himself a luxury Panamera. Since then, Koji became a die-hard Gary supporter.
Every time Gary participated in a tournament, Koji was there, betting all-in on Gary's win. And Gary had never disappointed him.
Most of the surrounding audience were locals and hadn't followed League Conferences outside Hoenn. They were skeptical of Koji's enthusiastic praise.
Down on the battlefield, even Koji had his doubts. As a Hoenn native, he had seen his fair share of Slakoth and Vigoroth, and he couldn't understand why Gary would use Slaking in such an important match.
Even though it was just the preliminary round, one loss meant elimination.
The referee raised his hand and called out: "Battle, begin!"
Amemiya acted first. "Exploud, use Uproar! Now!"
"EXPLOOOOOOOUUUD!!"
Exploud let out a thunderous scream, releasing powerful sound waves that reverberated across the battlefield.
Slaking braced itself, crossing its arms defensively to withstand the sonic blast.
"Dynamic Punch!" Gary commanded instantly.
"Slaking!"
With a sudden burst of energy, Slaking sprang forward with astonishing speed, its massive fist glowing as it lunged at Exploud.
"Thunder Punch!" Amemiya shouted in response. Exploud reacted quickly, charging electricity into its fist.
BAM!
Their punches collided mid-air in a violent clash. Sparks flew as Exploud's Thunder Punch was overpowered by Slaking's brute force. Exploud's arm was knocked aside, and Slaking's Dynamic Punch landed cleanly on its jaw, sending Exploud tumbling backward across the battlefield.
"Exploud! Are you okay?!" Amemiya called out.
Exploud groaned and struggled to rise, visibly shaken. Still, Amemiya looked calm.
He knew Slaking's signature ability—Truant. After every attack, Slaking had to rest the following turn. This was Exploud's chance to recover.
But something was wrong.
Amemiya glanced up—and froze.
Slaking wasn't lying down. It wasn't yawning. It wasn't even showing signs of fatigue.
It was standing tall, glaring at Exploud, fists clenched.
"What?! Why isn't it resting?" Amemiya was stunned.
Gary raised his hand. "Dynamic Punch, again!"
"Slaking!!"
With another explosive leap, Slaking crashed down in front of Exploud and drove a second Dynamic Punch directly into its opponent's chest.
BOOM!!
The shockwave cracked the ground beneath them. Exploud's eyes rolled as its body twitched from the impact—it had lost all ability to continue the fight.
THUD!
Exploud collapsed in a heap.
"Exploud is unable to battle! Slaking wins! The victor is Gary Oak!" the referee announced.
The entire stadium went silent for a moment.
Then gasps and exclamations echoed across the stands.
"Oh my Arceus! Slaking actually ignored its Truant Ability and attacked two turns in a row!"
"How's that even possible?! That breaks the basic laws of how it should work!"
"This defies logic! What's going on here?!"
"I've heard Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader, had a way to make Slaking attack consecutively. Is this something similar?"
"Told you!" Koji shouted, grinning ear to ear. "Mr. Oak isn't your average Trainer. I knew he'd make it into the main tournament!"
Koji had placed another hefty bet—this time on Gary advancing to the qualifying tournament. The Pokémon Sports Lottery had odds on which of the 600+ Trainers would make it through to the next round. Koji went all-in on Gary.
The odds weren't huge—anyone who did their homework would know Gary was a two-time League Champion—but it was still a solid payout. Koji was ecstatic.
As discussions buzzed through the stadium, Gary calmly left Arena No. 7, returned to the Trainer Village, handed Slaking over to Nurse Joy for treatment, and retreated to his room to watch the remaining matches.
Only one match was required to progress past the preliminary round. Now Gary just had to wait for the full round to end, which would take another day.
Gary had used Slaking here for a reason—he wanted it fully rested by the time the real battle began. With today's match done, Slaking would have three full days of rest before the qualifying tournament. Gary planned to use it once more in the qualifiers and twice in the finals.
Later, Gary tuned in to watch other matches. One of them featured Ash Ketchum.
Ash was facing an opponent who had sent out Hitmonlee. Playing it safe, Ash chose Pikachu.
"Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pika-Pika!"
Ash didn't want any surprises, and Pikachu made quick work of the match, securing Ash's advancement.
Gary smirked to himself. According to what he remembered, Ash had planned to use only Pokémon caught in the Hoenn Region for the Ever Grande Conference—along with Pikachu, of course.
But if Gary and Ash were to face each other, Gary was certain Ash would bring out his old, battle-hardened Pokémon.
If Gary advanced to the final tournament, he'd use the opportunity to test Ash's resolve.
Two days later, the preliminary rounds officially ended.
Today marked the beginning of the Hoenn League's qualifying tournament at the Ever Grande Conference.
All 256 advancing Trainers gathered at the Pokémon Center inside the Trainer Village.
Gary arrived early and quickly spotted Ash and his friends—traveling together as always, making them easy to identify.
He also noticed Brendan Birch in the crowd. Evidently, he'd made it through as well.
At exactly 8:00 a.m., Nurse Joy took the stage and began the announcements.
She explained the structure of the qualifying rounds and then revealed the division of Trainers into contest categories.
A massive digital bracket appeared on the big screen, listing all Trainers and their respective groupings.
Gary glanced up.
"Group B," he muttered, locking eyes with his bracket—and his next opponent.