Besides Torterra, Paul also has various other Pokemon. Last night, Gary and Ash spent the entire evening looking through data, with Paul being their main focus. In addition to Paul, there were other powerful Trainers, such as a person from Sinnoh named Conway, who also possesses strong Pokemon.
What makes the person named Conway most formidable is not his Pokemon but his mind. It's said he excels at collecting information and can devise a comprehensive strategy based on existing data. Combined with his capable Pokemon, he's a favorite to win this Quartz Conference.
By early morning, Gary had listed down all the key profiles they researched last night, and there were quite a few of them.
Moreover, Ash spotted an unexpected entrant on the list.
"Giselle from Poke Academy? That girl? She's participating in the Quartz Conference too?!" Misty thought for a long time before finally recalling this person's name when she heard it.
They actually only had a brief encounter with Giselle, but the girl left a strong impression on them. On one hand, she was quite beautiful; on the other hand, her arrogant and domineering personality made them remember her deeply.
"I remember Giselle did mention that she wanted to participate in the Quartz Conference back then. Didn't expect she'd actually come... but her strength seemed quite average, right?" Brock said with a slightly strange expression.
Honestly, he couldn't quite recall what level Giselle's Pokemon was from back then, he just remembered that Giselle was easily defeated by Ash.
And at that time, Ash had only been on his journey for a few days, not even having collected his third Gym Badge yet.
Giselle's strength was probably just slightly better than a Newbie Trainer's. Her coming to the Quartz Conference now seems like she'll be easily defeated. This iteration of the Quartz Conference isn't the same as before!
Unless Giselle can achieve the kind of rapid growth Ash did in just a few months, she's only here to walk through the motions in the Quartz Conference.
"She probably didn't join the Quartz Conference by collecting Gym Badges, did she?" Misty thought of the special entry slots from the Poke Academy and asked Ash.
Ash nodded: "The data says she got here through the Academy's special slot, but she also cleared the first match of the preliminary round, and it seems she has Elite Level Pokemon too."
Elite Level is actually pretty impressive. Having Elite Level Pokemon in half a year is enough to prove that Giselle's talent isn't weak. If she seriously pursues being a Trainer, there's potential for success in the future.
But if she continues to while away her time at that Academy, it would truly be a waste of her talent.
"Which group is Giselle in?"
"She's in my group."
Misty & Brock: ...
This unlucky girl, getting taught a lesson by Ash at the Academy was one thing, but now she even ended up in the same group as Ash.
While it's not guaranteed that members in the same group will face each other, there's still a possibility, and the deeper the tournament goes, the higher the chances. So, Giselle's luck is a bit unfortunate.
"Seems like the competition has started already. There's a match with Paul and Conway today; shall we go watch?" Ash glanced at the wall clock—it was already past 9:30 after breakfast, and the matches had already begun.
However, the time for the two contestants they were interested in hadn't arrived yet; Paul's match was at eleven in the morning, and Conway's was around one in the afternoon.
Going over now would be just about right.
"Alright, let's do the dishes, and then we'll head out," Brock nodded, then began tidying up the plates and utensils, while Gary and Misty quickly joined in.
Since they didn't help with making breakfast, they couldn't possibly let Ash and Brock do all the cleaning too, right?
Brock's dish-cleaning was quickly intercepted by Gary. Brock and Ash exchanged a glance and just smiled helplessly.
Though Master Gary was coddled at home, when it came to friends, he really didn't hesitate to give back in kind. Whatever kindness he received, he would return in other ways, thanks to Professor Oak's upbringing.
As for Gary's parents… those two spent all day in the research lab. Over ten years, Ash had seen them less than three times. Gary might've seen them more often but still rarely, so all of Gary's education rested on Professor Oak.
To manage his research as a Professor while raising Gary to adulthood, ensuring that apart from a slightly arrogant personality, he had no major flaws, Professor Oak could be said to be a figure of remarkable capabilities.
After washing the dishes, the group headed to the preliminary competition venues beside the Quartz Arena.
The four preliminary venues surrounded the Quartz Arena, and each venue's audience seating had special designated sections for distinguished guests, such as the Elite Four, League Presidents, etc.
Yesterday, the arrival of Cynthia and Leon caused quite a stir. Besides Ash's match, everyone's attention was focused on Cynthia and Leon.
In terms of fame, those two were equivalent to the top global celebrities, the kind that could cause crowds to cheer and scream just by making an appearance.