"Oh! The Emboar sent by Tony is a Shiny Pokémon—it looks amazing!" the host said, genuine surprise in his voice.
A ripple of interest passed through the crowd. Shiny Pokémon were always rare enough to draw attention, even in a League environment filled with powerful Trainers. The deep crimson of Emboar's body, strikingly different from the usual coloration, made it stand out brilliantly under the stadium lights.
"Lucky us, there's a Shiny Pokémon in this match."
"It's not bad—consider it a bonus. But unfortunately, it won't change the ending."
"Hurry up already, I can't wait to collect my money."
Although Shiny Pokémon were rare, the audience was far more interested in the outcome of this battle. For many of them, the result of this match directly concerned the quality of their future lifestyle.
Tony heard the shouts but didn't react. He couldn't afford to. His fingers tightened around the Poké Ball in his hand.
Don't think about them. Just fight.
"Emboar, use Heat Crash!" Tony didn't drag it out—he attacked with everything he had.
"BOAAR—!!"
Emboar let out a deep roar as flames erupted around its massive body. Gary had half-expected blue flames, but the fire was a fierce, heavy red blaze. It wrapped around Emboar's frame like burning armor, intensifying its already imposing presence.
Then it moved.
The ground cracked beneath each step as Emboar charged forward, momentum building like a rolling furnace. Heat distortion rippled in the air, warping the space between it and Electivire.
Gary didn't flinch.
"Since you want a quick battle," he said calmly, "I'll satisfy you."
His voice was quiet. But absolute.
"Attack—Thunder Punch."
"VIRE!!"
Electivire's body erupted instantly with golden electricity. The air itself seemed to scream as lightning wrapped around its limbs, crackling violently outward like a storm compressed into a single body.
Then it moved forward. No hesitation, no buildup—just raw acceleration.
Two figures rushed toward each other. One burning red. One blazing gold.
They collided in the center of the field.
BOOM!!
The impact wasn't just sound—it was pressure.
The ground beneath them fractured outward in a circular pattern, dust exploding upward in a violent shockwave. The collision held for only a fraction of a second, but in that moment the difference in power became brutally clear.
Emboar's charge stopped cold.
Electivire's fist pushed through.
Golden lightning surged through Emboar's body, overwhelming the fire coating it and breaking its momentum completely.
Emboar was launched backward. Its massive body skidded across the battlefield before crashing into the ground with a heavy thud.
Silence followed.
Emboar did not move.
The referee raised a flag.
"Emboar has lost its combat ability. Electivire wins!"
A second flag dropped almost immediately after.
"All three of Contestant Tony's Pokémon have lost their combat ability. The winner of this match is Gary!"
The stadium erupted—but it wasn't just cheers. It was chaotic, emotional noise.
"Master Gary is invincible!"
"He swept them all again—instant kills across the board!"
"Master Gary, you really don't belong in this bracket anymore!"
"I should've known better than to be greedy. I should have just bet on Gary clearing the preliminary round in third place…"
"Bro, you don't believe in Master Gary that much? What are you even betting on?"
"Me? I'm betting that Master Gary wins the entire Conference Championship without losing a single Pokémon."
"…You're insane. That's way too greedy."
"I believe in my gut, brother."
The crowd's chatter was a chaotic blend of celebration and gambling anxiety. Because although Gary was overwhelmingly strong, there was no guarantee that an even more powerful Trainer wouldn't appear—and that was exactly what Tobias represented.
Although Gary had performed dominantly in the preliminary round, some argued he still wasn't quite as impressive as Tobias. After all, Tobias had passed every match using only Darkrai—a single Legendary Pokémon. Gary had used different Pokémon each time.
In terms of sheer style and spectacle, Tobias had the edge.
But the two had never faced each other, and the actual outcome remained uncertain.
As Tobias's performances grew more dominant, new betting options had appeared on the outside markets—all centered on who would win the championship. Originally, there hadn't even been a betting line for "Gary loses the championship." But after Tobias appeared, bookmakers had added Gary vs. Tobias as an option with odds of roughly 1 to 1.5.
Many people were hesitating. Gary had three consecutive League Championship victories. Tobias had Legendary Pokémon. The crowd couldn't decide who to bet on, and the uncertainty was driving them mad.
The host recovered quickly, forcing enthusiasm back into his tone.
"Congratulations to Gary! He has completed the third preliminary round with yet another dominant victory and successfully advanced to the finals!"
The crowd roared again, but beneath the excitement was a growing unease—because it was becoming less like a competition, and more like a procession.
After the match, Gary left the field without delay. He didn't linger for interviews and didn't acknowledge the noise. He headed straight to the Pokémon Center in the player village.
But in the afternoon, he changed his routine.
He went to watch Ash's match.
Ash was the last person who needed to advance before the finals bracket could be revealed. Gary normally wouldn't have participated in the Lily of the Valley Conference at all—but because of his presence in the bracket, there was a chance the final matchup schedule could shift from the original timeline. He needed to confirm it with his own eyes.
Ash's third-round opponent was Conway—a Trainer who had appeared multiple times throughout Ash's journey. Conway was tactical, precise, the kind of person who studied battle mechanics like mathematical equations. He even used advanced techniques like Trick Room during his battle with Ash—one of the first times Gary had seen such a strategy deployed in actual League combat.
The match started. And quickly turned messy.
Conway used structure. Ash used instinct.
Gary watched from the viewing area with a blank expression.
At one point, Gible's completely unpredictable movement disrupted Conway's carefully constructed Trick Room setup, leading to a reversal that defied any logical explanation.
Gary exhaled softly.
"…This is painful to watch."
Ash won. Barely. He came close to losing multiple times, and the way he used Gible to defeat Conway's Dusknoir was so absurd that Gary genuinely couldn't bear to keep watching.
It wasn't elegance. It wasn't control.
It was survival.
But it worked.
The moment Ash's match ended, the bracket system updated automatically across all screens in the stadium.
The final eight were confirmed.
Gary scanned the list.
Ash vs Paul.
Gary vs Zoe.
Tobias vs another opponent.
According to the bracket structure, the winner of Ash vs Paul would face Tobias in the next round.
The structure matched the original flow of the League. Nothing had changed.
Gary narrowed his eyes slightly.
Good. No disruptions.
He confirmed what he needed and left immediately.
Back in his room at the contestant village, Gary released two Pokémon.
Heatran and Darkrai.
[Heatran — Level 66 — Legendary-tier]
[Darkrai (Shiny) — Level 52 — Pseudo-Legendary-tier]
After a period of natural training, both Pokémon had grown—but only by a single level each.
"Dak?"
"Hey?"
Darkrai and Heatran looked at Gary with puzzled expressions, unsure why he had released them now.
Gary smiled slightly.
"I'm going to improve your strength."
He reached out and placed his hands on both Pokémon simultaneously. He consumed 22 Advanced Rare Candies at once, raising both of their levels to 70.
Combined with the Level 70 Togekiss, he now had three Champion-level Pokémon—more than enough to deal with Tobias.
After reaching Level 70, both Darkrai and Heatran awakened their exclusive signature moves.
To help them adjust, Gary rented a private training facility that evening and let both Pokémon practice their newly mastered techniques until they were comfortable.
The Next Day
The day of the finals had arrived.
Gary's first-round opponent was a girl named Zoe. She was a capable Trainer—strong enough to earn her place in the top eight.
The day's schedule consisted of four matches: two in the morning, two in the afternoon.
Match 1: Gary vs Zoe.
Match 2: Tobias vs Ava.
The Lily of the Valley Conference finals venue was packed.
Gary and Zoe were already standing in their command areas when the crowd began buzzing.
In the audience—
"We can see Gary's match again," Dawn said, watching the screen with folded arms. "But honestly, I think Zoe's chances are very low."
After witnessing Gary's battle against Palmer, Dawn understood exactly how terrifying Gary's real strength was. In this entire Conference, only Tobias could genuinely challenge him.
"I feel bad for her already," she added quietly.
Beside her, Barry gritted his teeth.
"Damn it! I don't even have the chance to fight Gary!" He had been eliminated by Paul in the preliminaries and was now stuck in the audience. All he could do was watch.
"Barry, even if you met Gary, you'd definitely lose," Ash reminded him calmly.
"What?! I've become way stronger! It's different from before!" Barry retorted.
Ash didn't hesitate.
"Paul and I both lost to Gary. You lost to Paul. Are you sure you can beat Gary?"
Barry froze.
Then shouted—
"What?! Paul lost to Gary?!"
It was the first time Barry had heard this. He immediately stood up and shouted across several rows of seats to where Paul sat.
"Hey! Paul! Did you lose to Gary?!"
Paul frowned immediately and didn't even look at him. He sat in silence, expression cold.
"Hey! Talk to me! Why are you ignoring me?! You'll be fined if you act like this!" Barry shouted.
Paul still didn't respond.
Ash sighed.
"Stop embarrassing yourself. The match is about to start."
Barry looked like he might explode, but Dawn and Brock quickly restrained him before things escalated further.