If it weren't for security intercepting them, the moment they arrived at the Quartz Conference site, the conference wouldn't have even needed to be held, and everything would have been thrown into chaos.
The purpose of setting up special audience seats is not to discriminate but to allow the distinguished guests to watch the matches in peace without being troubled by the surrounding noise.
If they were to watch from the normal audience seats, the tournament wouldn't need to be held; everyone would just revolve around Leon and Cynthia.
Even so, the day Cynthia and Leon arrived attracted the attention of most of the audience. The stands of the venue they went to were packed, with even standing room unavailable.
And the venue they went to was the one where Ash's match was taking place. Had it not been for Misty and the others having reserved seats as relatives of the contestants, even they wouldn't have had a place to sit, given that the ticket stubs in the front could be used across four venues, meaning the audience could roam among them as long as they had a preliminary ticket.
This was so that the audience could freely watch the matches of their favorite Trainers. If you had to stay fixed at one venue, tickets probably wouldn't sell out until the day of the competition, since who knows which match they'll be watching?
Many people are fans of the contestants, coming specifically for them, like Ash's fans.
In Ash's venue, during only Ash's matches, 90% of the attention was on him; at other times, everyone went to see Cynthia's stunning beauty and Leon's... advertising cape.
Today, neither Cynthia nor Leon appeared, and with Ash not competing either, the excitement of the Quartz Conference was not like the previous day, although there were still popular contestants competing today, specifically Paul from the Sinnoh Region and Conway.
The organizers aren't foolish; they wouldn't put all the popular contestants to compete on one day, or else the attendance rate in the following days would be worrisome.
The Quartz Conference only lasts so long, and during its run, the surrounding areas, Pokemon food, drinks, and items, all constitute a significant revenue, so the matches of popular contestants are naturally staggered by the organizers.
Among the more well-known matches today were those of Paul in the morning and Conway at noon, although compared to Ash, they are still less known.
They are indeed strong Trainers, but they can't compete with Ash's prowess to arm-wrestle with the Elite in just half a year, while they merely reach the level of beating an average gym leader.
In terms of strength, they can't beat Ash; in terms of age, they are older than Ash. Overall, their level is quite distant from Ash's, but they are also the ones most likely to defeat Ash in this Quartz Conference. After all, except for a few contestants, anyone facing Ash, even encountering Ash's second-string Pokemon, is a walkover.
Ash and his companions arrived at the rocky venue, and the number of spectators compared to Ash's previous matches was more than halved, but everyone was focused on the ongoing match, hence didn't notice Ash and his group arriving.
Currently, it was a battle between two Elite Junior-level Pokemon, a typical display of weaker trainers pecking at each other, which Ash wasn't particularly impressed by.
As time slowly passed, it was finally Paul's turn to enter the stage.
Paul slowly walked out from the contestant area, wearing the same long-sleeved blue jacket with a small backpack, his face devoid of expression, giving off a particularly aloof aura.
His opponent was a resolute-looking, pretty girl, seemingly about sixteen or seventeen years old. Her name was Ashow, a Trainer who had traveled for nearly two years, one of the oldest in this batch of contestants, just meeting the eligibility criteria to compete.
Due to her age, Ash and Gary also paid extra attention to her information, but they found out that she was only a little older...
After almost two years of traveling, the most advanced of her Pokemon were at the Professional Level. The exact ranking wasn't clear, but it certainly wasn't beyond the Professional Senior Level, unless she was hiding her true strength.
For a Trainer traveling for two years, this is considered below average. It's unclear whether it's because the girl lacked training talent, or her Pokemon lacked potential.
If this were in the past, she might have stood a chance at reaching the top three in the Quartz Conference, but as of now... she might as well wash up for bed.
Especially considering her first match was against Paul, which was quite unfortunate for her.
The match began, and Paul's first Pokemon was Chimchar!
Being one of the Sinnoh Region's Three Starter Pokemon, it's surprising to see that this Pokemon hadn't even evolved. Bringing such a Pokemon to a League Conference seems questionable, even illogical.
"What's with this guy? Isn't he supposed to be an elite from the Sinnoh Region? Is Sinnoh Region's Elite a joke?"
"Chimchar... Goodness, he's not taking his opponent seriously, is he? How is this different from someone from Kanto using Charmander in the league competition?"
"Although one can't tell Chimchar's level, if its level is above Elite, I'll eat!"
"..."
Paul's choice to use Chimchar sparked enthusiastic discussion and debate among spectators. Using a Pokemon that hadn't undergone any evolution in the league, unless it was specifically trained with an Everstone, showed no desire to win.
The first evolution level for the Three Starter is typically at the Advanced Level, so if it hadn't even reached first-stage evolution, then even with a high level, it wouldn't exceed the Advanced Level, meaning Chimchar was, at most, at its Advanced Peak.
Sending out a Pokemon of such a level to battle was like serving themselves on a platter!
However, these examples don't apply to all Pokemon. For instance, Ash's Bulbasaur achieved Elite Intermediate level even without evolving.
But cases like Bulbasaur's are exceedingly rare; this Chimchar is different.
[Species: Chimchar]
[Gender: Male]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Advanced Junior]
[Ability: Super Blaze]
[Skills: Ember, Flamethrower, Flame Wheel, Fire Spin...]
[Six-dimensional Abilities: Physical Attack C—A (S) Special Attack C (A) Defense B (B) Special Defense B (B) Physical Strength A (S) Speed A (S)]
Chimchar's data appeared in Ash's view, and even with Ash's broad experience, he couldn't help but show shock upon seeing it.
Triple S-level... This was the first time he'd seen a Triple S-level Pokemon other than his own, excluding Legendary Beasts.
Even Lance's Dragonite was only Double S-level. A Triple S-level Pokemon is even rarer than a Legendary Beast. Though Ash has many Pokemon with powerful potential, it's partly due to his incredible luck.
Additionally, many of his Pokemon were raised from lower potentials; inherently, only Charmander, Riolu, and Ralts were born with Triple S. Now, there was also Venusaur, while the rest were mostly single or Double S potential.
Potential doesn't determine everything, but a strong potential not only offers higher limits for Pokemon but reduces the bottlenecks encountered when leveling up.
Ash had discovered the latter through time and exploration; for Charizard and Gardevoir, their levels should theoretically progress slower due to reaching the max ability values for their current level, yet their levels kept pulling away from other Pokemon...
People often say, even if a Pokemon has average talent, it can achieve miracles through the bond with its Trainer. However, they never consider that exceptionally gifted Pokemon can likewise achieve even more spectacular miracles through Trainer bonds. As the saying goes, if a genius works harder than you, why can't he be stronger?