Although a Pokémon's potential ultimately determines how strong it can grow, Trainers like Gary still had to pay close attention to that potential when raising their teams. The first batch of Pokémon he had bred all had excellent potential—if raised to the present day, their levels would surely be very high.
If Gary really intended to use the Pokémon he had bred before, Brendan didn't think he'd stand a chance.
Seeing Brendan fall silent, Gary smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll only be using the Pokémon I caught in the Hoenn Region for this tournament."
"Give me three years," Brendan said, "and I'll definitely be able to compete with your main Pokémon."
"Alright then, I'll see you at the World Championships in the future. I'll be waiting. For now, I need to prepare for tomorrow's battle. Goodbye," Gary said, then turned and left.
Brendan headed to the front desk to check which arena he'd be competing at the next day.
After leaving the Pokémon Center, Gary went to the restaurant in the Players' Village to eat.
He ordered a portion of the standard fast food provided for participants and made his way to a seat by the window. Just as he was about to sit down, he noticed a familiar group of people at the table opposite.
It was, of course, Ash and his companions.
At that moment, Ash was desperately stuffing food into his mouth, competing with Morrison to see who could eat more.
"Still the same," Gary said, rubbing his forehead.
It had been almost three years since he became a Trainer, but Ash's personality hadn't changed at all. Once he got into any kind of contest, he just had to win.
"Mmff—Gary!" Ash called out, though his mouth was so full of food that his words were barely understandable.
"What are you saying?" Gary asked, not catching a word.
Morrison, noticing Ash looking behind him, turned around and spotted Gary. He didn't recognize him, but it was obvious from Ash's reaction that they knew each other.
"Gary!"
"Hey! It really is Gary!"
May and Max spotted him too.
"Hey, long time no see," Gary said, raising a hand in greeting.
Brock, May, and Max all responded politely.
"Gary, I'm definitely going to beat you at this Ever Grande Conference," Ash declared with fierce determination.
"That's the third time you've said that," Gary complained. "I'm getting a little tired of it."
Since the Indigo Plateau Conference, every time Ash met Gary at a tournament village he would say this—and every time, he ended up eating his words.
"…Just wait," Ash muttered, realizing that talk alone meant nothing. He decided to say nothing more until he'd actually beaten Gary.
"Hey! You two know each other?" Morrison suddenly interrupted.
Morrison was a Trainer Ash had met in the Hoenn Region, and he didn't know the history between Ash and Gary.
"Morrison, Gary's been my friend since Pallet Town, and he's also my rival," Ash said.
"Ohh! Rival!"
Morrison, ever the loyal type, immediately walked right up to Gary once he heard Gary was Ash's rival.
Gary was a little taken aback, unsure what Morrison was about to do. Still, he didn't react hastily. Aside from his loud voice, Morrison wasn't a bad person by nature—if anything, he was a bit softhearted.
At the Ever Grande Conference, Morrison would face Ash in the second round. Because he considered Ash a friend, he ended up holding back in every exchange and lost the match. Even if he hadn't held back, Morrison might not have beaten Ash anyway—but by throwing the match, he made himself a nobody in the tournament.
"Hello, my name is Morrison, and I'm Ash's friend. Since you're Ash's rival, you're also my rival, and I'll defeat you in the match," Morrison said.
"Alright, do your best. I'm just afraid you and Ash will both lose to me," Gary said.
"That'll never happen. I'll beat both you and Ash," Morrison said smugly.
"What are you talking about, Morrison? I'm the one who's going to defeat both of you," Ash retorted.
Gary shook his head helplessly, picked up his tray, and moved to a table farther away to eat in peace, away from the two of them.
The next day.
The preliminaries of the Ever Grande Conference officially began, with matches starting at 9:00 a.m.
Gary arrived at Arena 7 a little before nine.
Because the preliminaries didn't tell competitors who their opponents would be—matchups were completely random—Trainers had to arrive early. Otherwise, their names might be called, and if they didn't show within five minutes, they'd be disqualified on the spot, counted as a loss.
When Gary arrived at Arena 7, all the Trainers scheduled to compete there had already gathered, seated in the designated players' area, and the spectators had filled the stands, waiting for the matches to begin.
Sitting in the players' area, Gary looked around for any familiar Trainers, but there was no one he recognized.
The moment the clock struck nine, the announcer called out, "Thank you all for coming to Arena 7 to watch the matches. Without further ado, let's begin today's competition. Will Trainers Drake and Yamamoto please step forward for the first match!"
The two named Trainers entered the battlefield.
Drake sent out Golduck, and Yamamoto released Golbat. The two Pokémon fought back and forth, and in the end Golduck defeated Golbat and advanced in the preliminary tournament.
Since it was just a one-on-one match, plus the time needed to repair the field, each battle lasted about six or seven minutes—sometimes as little as five.
"Average," Gary muttered.
Watching the Pokémon the earlier Trainers had sent out, Gary felt he had overestimated the level of the Ever Grande Conference. The Pokémon so far were all between levels 40 and 45—gym-tier at best. Not a single one above level 45 had shown up, which just went to show how weak these competitors were.
But it couldn't be helped. Among all the regions, Hoenn was the most enthusiastic about Pokémon battles, so naturally there were plenty of participants.
"Will Trainers Gary and Amamiya please step forward for the next match," the announcer suddenly called.
"Finally, my turn."
Gary was relieved it was his turn at last—otherwise he didn't know how long he'd have to wait. The matches weren't boring, but he'd much rather be in an air-conditioned room watching on TV. The Hoenn Region had a tropical climate, and the long walkway to the arena was open-air with no shade at all. Without sunscreen, you'd get sunburned for sure.
Gary and Amamiya walked briskly down the aisle, followed the referee's instructions to stand in their command areas, and waited for the match to be announced.
"Now, a one-on-one match between Gary and Amamiya. Please release your Pokémon at the same time," the referee said.
"Go, Exploud!"
"Slaking, the first match is up to you!"
Both Gary and Amamiya threw out their Pokémon.
[LV45 Exploud – Quasi-Elite]
[LV50 Slaking – Champion]
Both Pokémon were high-level, and Gary had finally seen a level 45 Pokémon at Arena 7, which showed Amamiya had some skill—though not much.