"You don't understand the kind of pressure there is when facing Gary at full power." Ash crossed his arms and spoke with the air of a veteran who had lived through the experience — the tone of someone recalling a hard-learned lesson.
"Ash, it's not like you haven't battled Gary before. I don't think you'd feel any pressure at all," Max replied skeptically.
"Yeah," May chimed in, "you two even battled last time in Petalburg Woods — and you lost."
Ash's face instantly turned red, especially with Morrison and Tyson standing right there. "That was just a friendly match," he blurted defensively. "Winning or losing didn't matter."
Max tilted his head and smirked. "Then what about the Indigo Plateau Conference and the Silver Conference? You lost to Gary in both of those — and those were official battles. You must have been taking those seriously."
Hearing that, Morrison and Tyson exchanged looks of surprise. They hadn't seen either of those conferences, but learning that Ash had lost to the same rival twice in a row was enough to make them realize Gary was far from ordinary.
"Alright, that's enough talk. Let's just go get some lunch," Ash said quickly.
Inwardly, though, he wanted to strangle Max. The kid always had a knack for digging up his most embarrassing moments and throwing them right into the spotlight.
Two Days Later – The Tournament Begins
The final tournament of the Ever Grande Conference was about to start. The main stadium — a massive, state-of-the-art arena capable of holding over 50,000 spectators — buzzed with energy.
Each competitor had their own designated lounge, complete with rest areas and preparation rooms. The air was thick with anticipation.
The first round would feature sixteen matches: eight in the morning session and eight in the afternoon.
Gary's match was scheduled for the very first slot in the afternoon session. That meant his morning was free to watch the other trainers battle — and, more importantly, to study their Pokémon and strategies.
Ash, however, was up in the morning session. His opponent was a woman named Xiao Feng. Not much was known about her, but from the way she carried herself, it was clear she wasn't an amateur.
Gary didn't bother watching Ash's match. He already had a solid grasp of Ash's capabilities and preferred to save his focus for other potential threats. The match he most wanted to see was Tyson's.
While Tyson's talking Meowth got plenty of attention, Gary was far more interested in the Metagross Tyson was rumored to have — a Pokémon that could very well be at the Elite level.
Morning Matches
Twenty minutes later, Ash's match ended. As expected, he won.
Just like in the original league matches, Ash avoided relying solely on his most famous Pokémon.
He rotated through all six of his current team members. In the final bout, his Grovyle's blistering speed overwhelmed Walrein, securing victory.
An hour after that, it was Tyson's turn. His battle was intense, a hard-fought clash that ended in Tyson's victory. More importantly for Gary, it confirmed his suspicions.
[Lv. 55 Metagross – Elite]
Tyson's Metagross was indeed Elite-level, and his Swampert, while powerful, was only in the high quasi-Elite range. The rest of Tyson's team was a mix of Gym-level Pokémon, with two of them sitting at Level 49 — the peak of the Gym tier.
In short, Tyson was formidable, but not unbeatable.
With the data he needed, Gary left the stadium and returned to his room in the Player Village.
Planning His Next Move
"Which Pokémon should I upgrade?" Gary mused, rubbing his chin. He was considering which Hoenn Pokémon to raise to Level 60 before the later rounds.
From a cost-efficiency perspective, upgrading a Pokémon that could Mega Evolve would normally be the obvious choice.
However, the Ever Grande Conference rules strictly forbade the use of Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, or Dynamax/Gigantamax. That meant he had to think strategically about countering specific threats instead.
Ash's ace was Pikachu. Tyson's was Meowth — an unusual ace, but still dangerous. To counter both, Swampert was an ideal choice; its Ground typing made it immune to Electric attacks. The problem? Tyson also had a Sceptile, and Swampert lacked Rain Dance, leaving it vulnerable to Grass-type assaults.
Targeting Meowth directly could be done with Blaziken, but both Ash and Tyson had ways to counter Fire/Fighting-types. That made it risky.
Gary finally decided. "Forget it — let's upgrade Gardevoir. She's versatile, hard to pin down, and neither Ash nor Tyson has a natural counter to her."
Powering Up
Gary released Gardevoir from her Poké Ball in his room. The Psychic/Fairy-type appeared in a shimmer of light.
"Garde~voir?" she said softly, glancing around. Her eyes narrowed slightly, sensing Gary's intentions.
"Come here," Gary said with a faint smile, curling a finger to beckon her over.
She floated forward, gracefully kneeling so he could reach her head. Gary placed a hand gently on her.
High-level Rare Candy – minus 10.
In an instant, her power surged.
[Lv. 50 → Lv. 60]
"Garde~voir! (Whoa…!)" she gasped, eyes wide. She could feel the dramatic increase in her strength. Even though Gary had boosted her before during the Conference, the leap this time was massive — especially considering that at higher levels, each gain usually came slowly.
Gary pulled up her updated stats:
Species: Gardevoir ♀ (Shiny)Type: Psychic/FairyLevel: 60Potential: EliteAbility: EX Telepathy – Can read an opponent's attack intent, increasing evasion by 40%.Moves: Growl, Teleport, Disarming Voice, Confusion, Hypnosis, Psybeam, Life Dew, Wish, Dazzling Gleam, Heal Pulse, Double Team, Psychic, Mystical Fire, Calm Mind, Moonblast.Taught Moves: Thunderbolt, Rest, Dream Eater, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Body Slam, Aura Sphere, Gravity.Friendship: 255 (Max)
Two new moves had awakened with the level boost — Calm Mind and Moonblast. Calm Mind would allow her to strengthen her special stats mid-battle, and Moonblast was a high-powered Fairy-type attack, perfect for delivering decisive blows.
"Let's go test Moonblast," Gary said.
They stepped outside to a quiet practice area. Gardevoir gathered shimmering Fairy energy into a glowing sphere and released it in a dazzling burst of pink light, scattering dust across the training ground.
Gary let her practice for about half an hour, refining her aim and timing. Any longer would risk wearing her out before the afternoon match.
The Afternoon Session
After a quick lunch, the second half of the day's matches began.
At exactly 2:00 p.m., the stadium roared to life. The first match on the schedule: Gary Oak vs. Brendan Birch.
The two trainers stood in their respective command zones, the bright lights of the battlefield illuminating their determined expressions.
Brendan's gaze was steady, his fists clenched. Gary, I will definitely beat you, he vowed silently.