Indigo Plateau Conference — Rock Field — First Round
"Now it's time for the second match of the Rock Field at the Indigo Plateau Conference! Both contestants in this match have extraordinary backgrounds!"
"Entering from the green-side contestant tunnel is contestant Aster from Pokémon Tech. Aster is an honor student who graduated from Pokémon Tech, specializing in theoretical Pokémon battle knowledge. He has participated in the Indigo Plateau Conference twice before and achieved excellent results both times."
"Kid, now you know how amazing I am, right? I suggest you hurry up and surrender, then wait for next year's Indigo Plateau Conference!"
Standing on the command platform, Aster arrogantly boasted toward Red ahead of him, mistakenly assuming Red was just some rookie trainer attending the Indigo Plateau Conference for the first time and completely unworthy of concern.
Strictly speaking, Red really was a "rookie" who had only recently started traveling and was participating in the Indigo Plateau Conference for the very first time.
Just as the announcer was about to introduce Red's background, several young men dressed like teachers suddenly rushed in from behind. Under the announcer's puzzled gaze, the leading man leaned over and whispered a few words into the announcer's ear.
Afterward, with an unwilling expression, the announcer slowly accepted a prepared speech manuscript from one of Pokémon Tech's instructors nearby. It looked like he was about to read some kind of advertisement.
"Pokémon Tech is an elite academy officially designated by the Kanto League. Honor students who graduate from the school can directly participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference without wasting time traveling around collecting eight League badges."
"The success rate is even more 'convenient and reliable' than the Pokémon League Admissions Exam, and the tuition is also extremely 'affordable and worthwhile.' There is 'absolutely no' bullying on campus. Everyone is welcome to enthusiastically enroll at Pokémon Tech!"
Clearly, this was a special advertisement inserted by Pokémon Tech, leaving many audience members completely stunned.
However, because Pokémon Tech paid enormous taxes to the Kanto League every year, the League officials tacitly approved the advertisement. After all, the more students enrolled at Pokémon Tech, the more tax revenue the Kanto Region would receive.
After finishing the advertisement for Pokémon Tech, the announcer's expression stiffened noticeably, clearly dissatisfied with this sudden arrangement.
Fortunately, one of the instructors quickly sensed something was wrong and discreetly offered some gifts, finally improving the announcer's mood a little.
Perhaps to suppress Aster's momentum, prevent the audience from losing enthusiasm for the match, and restore his own dignity, the announcer adjusted his tone and formally began introducing Red with great seriousness.
"He is a powerful trainer from Pallet Town who repeatedly destroyed Team Rocket's evil schemes through his own strength alone. He is a warrior recognized by Elite Four Lance, Elite Four Lorelei, and Elite Four Bruno alike. Not long after beginning his journey, he single-handedly stopped the giant Tentacruel invasion of Hutber Port!"
"He is the red-side contestant from Pallet Town — Red-sama! He is also the number two seeded contestant of this Indigo Plateau Conference! Let us welcome Red-sama with a thunderous round of applause!"
The moment those words fell, deafening cheers and applause erupted from the audience, instantly crushing the popularity Pokémon Tech had built up.
After all, Red had far too many famous accomplishments attached to his name. Whether it was repeatedly destroying Team Rocket's evil plans by himself, earning recognition from three Elite Four members, or becoming the hero of the giant Tentacruel incident...
These were all events the audience had heard about before, so naturally they admired Red's arrival immensely.
Some spectators who specialized in theoretical studies and loved reading research papers also recognized another one of Red's identities at this moment — one of the outstanding new-generation Pokémon research professors of the Kanto Region in recent years.
From that point on, the crowd overwhelmingly cheered for Red, while nobody paid attention to the awkward-faced Aster standing on the opposite platform.
Aster had never expected Red's background to be so extraordinary. Even his tiny fan club instantly turned against him and began cheering for Red instead, becoming Red's fans on the spot.
The funniest part was that even some audience members from Pokémon Tech were cheering loudly for Red. Leading them was none other than Giselle, another contestant from Pokémon Tech.
Dressed in a gorgeous uniform with glamorous makeup, Giselle raised a fan sign featuring Red's picture high in the air while cheering for Red together with her close friends.
Giselle's behavior completely stunned the upperclassmen and underclassmen around her. Was this really the elegant Lady Giselle they had secretly admired all this time?
Wasn't she basically just a fangirl chasing after her idol now?!
"Giselle, if you don't support Aster, then Pokémon Tech's reputation is going to..."
One of the more rational underclassmen beside her tried to persuade her, hoping Giselle would at least support Red a little less openly.
"What do you know? Do you seriously think that guy Aster can beat Red? At best, he only made it to the third round after participating in the Indigo Plateau Conference twice. There's no way he can defeat Red."
Giselle answered with obvious displeasure after being advised by the underclassman. Then she impatiently instructed her friends to chase away the underclassman who still wanted to argue so he wouldn't interfere with her cheering for Red.
"Tch, he's only a little more handsome than me... and just a tiny bit stronger..."
The underclassman muttered sourly as he looked jealously toward the calm-faced Red on the command platform. Clearly, Giselle was also the senpai he secretly admired.
Meanwhile, at Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town...
"I never imagined our Red would have so many fans. As his mother, I'm so happy."
Delia looked joyfully at the television in front of her, unable to believe the audience was cheering for Red in unison. She even pointed at Red on the screen while proudly introducing him to the townspeople behind her.
"Everyone, this is my precious son!"
...
At the same time, at the Rock Field...
"Each side may use three Pokémon. The second match of the Rock Field officially begins!"
After the announcer finished explaining the rules, the referee beside the Rock Field immediately rang the bell, signaling the start of the battle.
"Let's have a completely one-sided battle, Tauros!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Red threw out the Poké Ball in his hand and released a shiny Tauros with gray fur.
"Mooooo—"
The instant Tauros appeared, it let out a thunderous roar that echoed across the arena. Its thick legs stomped the ground repeatedly, instantly creating cracks in the battlefield and displaying overwhelming power.
At the same moment, Aster also threw out his own Poké Ball. As the white light faded, a well-developed Victreebel appeared on the Rock Field.
"Damn it! It's not even a Rock-type or Ground-type Pokémon!"
Aster cursed angrily, clenching his fists in regret.
He had assumed Red would send out a Pokémon suited for the Rock Field, so he deliberately chose Victreebel as his lead in hopes of using type advantage to suppress Red and crush his momentum.
Unexpectedly, Red completely ignored conventional logic and actually sent out a Normal-type Tauros as his opener, utterly destroying all of Aster's battle plans.