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The reason individuals with special honors could challenge the Battle Frontier early was precisely because such privileges were awarded to those who had given their all to place highly in the conference.
Achieving the rank of Champion—or even runner-up, or making the Top 4 or Top 8—at the Indigo Plateau Conference meant far more than just a title and prize money. Otherwise, it wouldn't do justice to the grueling effort required to collect eight badges or the sheer determination needed to secure those rankings.
The newly launched Battle Frontier app had taken these honors and rankings into account. If one holds the title of "Elite Champion," one can even skip the entire queue and move straight to the top spot for a battle.
Although Ash was merely the champion of the Indigo Plateau Conference, as long as there was no one else ahead of him with an equivalent tournament ranking, he could still secure a very high position in the queue.
Under Paul's guidance, Ash entered his details into the app and tapped the button to join the queue.
Ash watched in astonishment as his ranking shot up from the five-hundreds all the way to fifth place!
His eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight: "No way—I'm ranked fifth already?! Being the Indigo Plateau Champion really pays off!"
Paul raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw Ash's ranking, because his own was—fourth!
That meant Ash would be facing Brandon right after him.
"It's my turn." Paul glanced at the notification on his phone, said this casually to Ash, and turned to leave.
"Hey, wait! Your turn? Does that mean you're about to battle Mr. Brandon?" Ash hurriedly chased after Paul, with Misty and the others close behind.
Paul didn't reply; he simply nodded with his hands in his pockets.
"What rank are you?"
"Fourth."
"Huh! That means you're right ahead of me? So, I'm next after you finish your battle?" Ash was momentarily taken aback when he heard the number "four," but the next second, it clicked: four was the number right before his own.
That meant his turn would come immediately after Paul finished his battle against Brandon.
"Can I go in and watch the match?"
"Suit yourself."
"It's not really about whether I want to; the main thing is, will Mr. Brandon's Battle Pyramid actually let us inside?"
Hearing this, Paul paused for a moment before saying, without looking back, "As long as you say you're going in to watch with me, the guards won't stop you."
"Really? That's awesome!" Ash's face lit up with excitement; he had been prepared to wait in line for three or four days.
The information he'd received since arriving had been a whirlwind: first, the in-person queue was cancelled; then, the online queue required a month-long wait; but then, he learned that being the Indigo League Champion could shorten that waiting time.
It all balanced out in the end—he could actually go in for his challenge that very day.
And that wasn't all; the person challenging right before him turned out to be Paul—it was an incredibly coincidental turn of events.
Now, he could even go inside the Battle Pyramid with Paul to watch the match without wasting a single moment. It was the perfect arrangement!
"Ash, do you feel like Paul has changed a lot?" Misty whispered, gently poking Ash in the side.
"Huh? Has he? I don't really notice it," Ash said, scratching his head with a puzzled look.
Had Paul changed? He still seemed just as cold and aloof as ever.
"He has changed a lot," Brock chimed in. "The old Paul would never have suggested going in together, let alone offered to show you how to handle the queuing process."
Paul's transformation was plain for all to see; anyone who knew him would likely wonder, "Is this really Paul?"
Only someone as oblivious as Ash would fail to notice the change in him.
Yet, as far as Ash was concerned, he really couldn't see any change at all—Paul still seemed just as cold and unapproachable as ever.
In reality, the significant shift in Paul's attitude toward Ash stemmed from two factors: Ash's impressive strength and the subtle influence of Ash's personality on him.
He was no longer the person he had been when he first met Ash—someone who viewed Pokémon merely as tools.
Yet, his obsession remained unchanged: to defeat Brandon and banish the shadow that haunted his heart.
Brandon played a pivotal role in shaping the person Paul had become prior to meeting Ash.
His older brother, Reggie, had once been a formidable Trainer but switched to becoming a Pokémon Breeder after battling Brandon; it was this change in his brother that had transformed Paul.
Brandon had become the object of Paul's obsession.
Although Paul had changed, he had never forgotten Brandon's name. Upon learning that Brandon was in Goldenrod City, he had rushed over without delay, determined to battle him and redeem his brother's past defeat.
Before long, Ash and the others arrived at the Battle Pyramid. It was a colossal structure—vastly larger than a standard Gym—and it was hard to imagine that such a massive object could actually fly.
The guard at the entrance verified the information on Paul's app and let them pass; Ash and his companions were admitted along with him.
The interior of the pyramid felt even more spacious than the exterior; the lighting was somewhat dim, yet the layout was incredibly open.
After following their guide through a series of twists and turns, the group finally reached the battle arena.
The arena was more than twice the size of a typical Gym. Rows of bright white overhead lights suddenly illuminated the entire space.
Spectator seats lined the perimeter—likely intended for public challenges—and a rough count suggested the venue could easily accommodate hundreds of people.
"So, the new challenger has arrived." A deep, resonant voice echoed through the arena, drawing everyone's attention.
Standing before them was a middle-aged man dressed in mountaineering gear. With his stern features and composed demeanor, he looked every bit the seasoned, battle-hardened Trainer. In all likelihood, this man was the master of the Battle Pyramid—Brandon!
"Hello, Mr. Brandon. I am Paul, from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region." Paul bowed respectfully; he was always polite toward powerful Trainers—courtesy first, battle later.
"Veilstone City... Paul... What is your relationship to Reggie?" Brandon paused upon hearing "Veilstone City," immediately recalling the young man who had left an impression on him.
"He is my older brother." Paul hadn't expected Brandon to remember his brother's name; it seemed Reggie had made quite an impression on him.
"An older brother, I see. No wonder there's a resemblance." Brandon nodded in understanding, then asked, "How is your brother doing now?"
"He has become a Pokémon Breeder—thanks to you, Mr. Brandon." There was a hint of subtle resentment in Paul's words, yet Brandon picked up on it immediately.
"Do you feel your brother shouldn't have become a Breeder?"
"He was a strong Trainer, yet he gave up that path after a single defeat to become a Breeder instead." Paul didn't answer Brandon directly, but his words implied that his brother shouldn't have settled for being merely a Breeder.
"Trainer, Breeder—neither profession is superior to the other. Your brother chose the path of a Breeder simply because he felt it suited him better; it wasn't because of the blow dealt by that defeat." Brandon understood exactly what Paul was thinking.
Paul believed that the battle between himself and Reggie was the reason Reggie had given up being a Trainer to become a Breeder.
To put it bluntly, he felt the blow he had dealt Reggie was so severe that it destroyed his confidence to ever be a Trainer again—that was what Paul believed deep down.
But the reality was different. Brandon still remembered Reggie well; though young, the boy had possessed a resilient spirit.
A single defeat would never have made him abandon the life of a Trainer. He had simply taken Brandon's advice to heart, realized that being a Trainer wasn't the right fit for him, and switched careers to become a Breeder.
Although the dominant profession in this world is that of a Trainer, Breeders are by no means inferior; in fact, due to their scarcity, they are highly esteemed by the public.
However, the barrier to entry for the Breeder profession is quite high; without natural talent, becoming one is an incredibly difficult undertaking.
The fact that Reggie was able to become a Breeder—and continue to advance along that path—is ample proof of his innate talent in the field.
Therefore, Brandon did not view Reggie's decision to leave the life of a Trainer behind in favor of becoming a Breeder as an act of cowardice; he had not squandered his talent.
It was simply that his younger brother seemed to be viewing him through a distorted lens, preventing him from seeing this clearly.
"You may be right, but that is no excuse for failing once and never getting back up. Even if he intended to become a Breeder, he should have finished what he started as a Trainer first. Fundamentally, his choice was an act of running away," Paul retorted, his expression cold.
No matter what reasons his older brother had, they did not justify switching careers to become a Breeder before completing his journey as a Trainer.
It was precisely because of this that Paul believed victory was everything—that losing meant having nothing at all.
Even Reggie's attempts to counsel him had been to no avail.
Brandon sighed; it seemed that mere words were not enough to pull this young man out of his obsession.
In that case, he would have to let a battle do the talking.
Just as Brandon was about to signal a staff member to step in and act as the referee, he caught a glimpse of Ash and the others in the spectator stands out of the corner of his eye.
His gaze was instantly drawn to them.
"You are... Ash, aren't you?"
Ash was momentarily taken aback to hear Brandon call him by name, but he quickly nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Brandon. I'm your opponent for the next match, though right now I'm just here to watch as Paul's friend—and so are they."
Worried that Brandon might kick them out upon realizing he was the next opponent, Ash hurriedly offered a justification to secure his place there.
"Your opponent for the next match? I see—so you used your privileges as the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion to jump to the front of the line. No wonder I didn't see your name when I checked the list of the top fifteen challengers this morning."
Brandon made a habit of glancing at the master list of challengers every morning; occasionally, he would spot a familiar face or someone who had challenged him before.
Generally, fifteen matches a day was the absolute limit.
Consequently, he usually only looked at the top fifteen names on the list.
Unless there was an unusual influx of filler challengers—which rarely pushed the total past fifteen—he didn't bother looking any further.
Ash's name hadn't been on today's list, yet he claimed to be the next challenger; that meant he had used his Champion's privilege to cut the line.
Brandon didn't mind people cutting the line—in fact, he welcomed it.
To put it politely, the trainers who showed up daily were there to gain experience and feel the atmosphere of battling against powerful Pokémon; to put it bluntly, they were nothing but small-time chumps.
Even if you took all dozen or so challengers from a single day and pitted them against him at once, they still wouldn't stand a chance.
He had been here for nearly a month and had finally encountered challengers who could cut the line.
The first was Paul, who had used his privilege as the Indigo Plateau runner-up to secure the fourth spot; since his information had been registered early, Brandon had known he was coming.
What Brandon hadn't known, however, was that Paul was Reggie's younger brother.
Ash's appearance, on the other hand, was a completely unexpected bonus.
It looked like he would get to fight two interesting battles today.
"Let's begin, young man. Show me how you stack up against your brother," Brandon said, signaling the staff member with his eyes.
The staff member who had escorted Ash and his friends inside took the referee's position and announced the rules: "This is a three-on-three match. The Frontier Brain is not permitted to switch Pokémon, while the challenger may switch freely. The first side to have all three Pokémon rendered unable to battle loses."
"My first Pokémon is this one. Go, Dusknoir!" Brandon tossed his Poké Ball; with a flash of light, a massive, black-and-brown Pokémon appeared on the field. This Pokémon lacked legs, possessing instead a ghostly tail; it had a single eye, massive fists, and a broad, sturdy build.
This was the final evolution of Dusclops—Dusknoir!
It was also the very same Pokémon that had caused Ash quite a bit of trouble back at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Ash glanced at Dusknoir's stats—Intermediate Elite Four level, with impressive attributes across the board.
In terms of Gym challenge difficulty, a Pokémon of this level would undoubtedly rank among the absolute best found in any Gym.
However, when facing the strongest Frontier Brain of the Battle Frontier, it didn't quite measure up.
After all, Brandon held a reputation rivaling that of a Champion-level Trainer.
This Pokémon certainly wasn't one of Brandon's aces, though it likely ranked among his secondary team.
Unlike Ash, Paul didn't possess the ability to instantly gauge stats; he could only make a rough assessment based on the opponent's aura. After a moment of thought, Paul took out a Poké Ball and tossed it.
"Electivire!" Electivire entered the fray!
By leading with Electivire—one of his two aces—Paul was determined to secure the first victory and seize the momentum right from the start.
Compared to the Indigo Plateau Conference, Electivire's level had risen, reaching the Intermediate Elite Four tier.
Its level was comparable to Dusknoir's, and there was no type advantage for either side; the outcome would depend entirely on the skill of the Trainers.