The Indigo Plateau Conference preliminaries were divided into four groups from the very start, preventing the brackets from turning into complete chaos. The four pools wouldn't intersect until the round of thirty-two.
Ash and Gary were placed in opposite halves. That meant Gary no longer had to worry about running into Ash during the preliminaries. All he needed to do was thoroughly scout every Trainer in his own bracket, because if he capsized before ever meeting Ash, Ash would mock him about it for the rest of his life.
Mid level, eliminated in the top sixty-four?
That was downright humiliating.
Even if this year's Indigo Plateau Conference was anything but normal, that still wasn't an excuse to place sixty-fourth.
"Let's head back and slowly study the match-ups," Ash said, stretching so hard Pikachu nearly slid off his shoulder. "Our matches for today are done anyway."
Under normal circumstances, each competitor only fought once per day. Recovery time and overall fairness were factored into the schedule, so no one was assigned multiple battles in a single day. With such a massive number of entrants, the preliminary rounds alone could stretch across two full days before anyone saw a second match.
If their assigned slots were late, they might not battle again until the fourth day, leaving plenty of downtime.
That didn't mean Ash and Gary would return to Pallet Town, though. They planned to stay on the Indigo Plateau and observe other competitors. Few Trainers revealed their true strength during the qualifiers, neither Ash nor Gary had gone all-out.
Ash had used Pikachu, sure, but aside from a single Quick Attack, the electric mouse hadn't revealed anything else. Anyone trying to scout him would walk away with nothing but confusion.
Gary, meanwhile, hadn't even sent out his ace Pokémon, leaving analysts with even less to work with.
Still, while they hid their hands, not everyone was so cautious. Even a rough sense of who might pose a threat was valuable information, especially for Gary.
As for Ash, unless an Elite Four–level Trainer suddenly appeared, the odds of an upset were essentially nonexistent.
That said, pride comes before a fall was a lesson drilled into him by a certain version of himself from another world. Scouting was mandatory, even when victory seemed guaranteed.
They rented two cottages on the Indigo Plateau: one for Gary and his girlfriend, the other for Ash, Misty, and Brock. Delia and Professor Oak, seeing that neither boy had matches scheduled for the next few days, drove back to Pallet Town.
The drive took about two hours.
If Charizard or Pidgeot were willing to help, it would've been closer to twenty minutes.
That night, Gary snuck into Ash's cottage. The two of them ended up holed up in the computer nook, wide awake until dawn.
Early the next morning, Misty wandered into the living room sometime after seven to grab a glass of water, and froze when she heard frantic keyboard clacking.
She cracked open the door.
A familiar spiky head under a red-and-white cap was hunched over several monitors, fingers flying. Pikachu dozed on top of the computer tower, its chin bobbing with each shallow breath.
They had clearly pulled an all-nighter.
"What on earth are you two doing at this hour?" Misty pushed the door open, baffled. "And why does Pikachu look half-dead?"
"We've been combing through competitor data all night," Gary said seriously, eyes glued to the screen. "Most of them have two years of travel experience, but honestly? The talent this year is terrifying. Geniuses everywhere."
Misty stared, then slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Gary… what happened to your eyes?"
Dark purple circles ringed them so heavily he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
"My eyes?" Gary rubbed them. "They're fine."
"Pfft...hahaha!" Ash glanced over, burst out laughing, and startled Pikachu awake. "Look at those panda eyes! If you can't handle an all-nighter, don't drag me into it!"
The computer nook instantly filled with ridiculous laughter.
Fifteen minutes later, Gary pressed a warm towel to his face. The bruise-like circles faded as Ash discreetly infused him with a trace of Tokiwa Power.
Human bodies and Pokémon bodies weren't all that different.
Both were living organisms.
And anything alive could be healed by Tokiwa Power.
Gary had stared at screens for so long his eyes had rebelled. Luckily, he had no match scheduled today, otherwise, he'd be fighting at barely thirty percent.
A Trainer's condition determined everything. If the Trainer was off, even peak-condition Pokémon couldn't perform properly.
Ash and a half-awake Brock threw together breakfast in ten minutes: a large pot of lean pork congee, boiled eggs, and soy milk for four.
When Ash placed a bowl in front of Gary, Gary eyed it suspiciously.
"Since when do you cook?" he asked warily. "Is this even edible?"
Ash rolled his eyes and yanked the bowl back. "Eat it or don't. Not everyone travels in a limo, I walked every step these past months."
Gary snorted, served himself anyway, took a sip, and blinked.
"This is actually good. What kind of cheat code did you use?"
Ash clenched his fist.
"Ahem, my bad, my bad!" Gary instantly surrendered. "Your cooking's amazing. That was on me."
Seeing Ash on the verge of exploding, Gary backed down without hesitation.
He couldn't take a punch from Ash. Even if Ash didn't mean it, one careless burst of strength would send his scrawny limbs straight to Giratina.
Ash lowered his raised fist, and went back to his breakfast.
At this point, his cooking rivaled, if not surpassed, Brock's. Ever since he started traveling, he'd put real effort into it. Brock wouldn't always be around, and if Ash wanted to properly care for his Pokémon, he needed to be able to take care of himself too.
The group's own chef had taught Ash without holding anything back, and Brock constantly let him cook on the spot, correcting even the smallest mistakes. With Ash's learning speed, reaching this level in six months wasn't surprising at all.
Still, to Gary, it felt surreal watching his childhood friend transform from a complete kitchen disaster into someone bordering on a culinary god.
Of course, the talk about adding "extra seasoning" had just been a joke. Ash would never mess with food like that.
While eating, Misty asked curiously, "You two stayed up all night researching, what did you actually find? Gary said some contestants are scary. Who are they?"
"It's not just one person," Gary said seriously after swallowing a mouthful of porridge. "There are several who could trip you up, Ash, if you're careless."
Even Brock looked intrigued.
Competitors who could make Ash stumble? That sounded absurd. With Ash's strength, he could probably sleepwalk through the Indigo Plateau Conference.
If Ash went all out, no one here should survive a single exchange.
Gary knew that better than anyone, yet he was still issuing warnings. That alone said everything.
"First is the Trainer we noticed earlier, Paul," Gary continued. "I checked his background. He's from Sinnoh, has been traveling for about a year and a half, and his Torterra has already reached Peak Level."
Misty and Brock both sucked in a sharp breath.
Peak Level was headline-worthy anywhere, let alone at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Even with Ash's help accelerating her growth, Misty's Starmie still hadn't broken through to that tier. And Brock, despite being a Gym Leader for nearly five years, had only managed to push his Pokémon from Low-High to Mid Level.
Ever since meeting Ash, both of them had improved at an absurd pace, almost like they were on stimulants. They worked hard, but they were painfully aware that raw talent had never been their strength.
If they truly had that kind of gift, their Pokémon would've reached higher level back when they were still running their own Gyms.
For Paul to raise a Pokémon to that level in just a year and a half, his talent was terrifying.
There was no guarantee he'd become Champion, but reaching the Elite Four was practically assured.
"No wonder Champion Lance's prize drew in monsters like this."
Out of everyone present, Gary looked the most troubled.
This year's conference was insane.
In any previous Indigo Plateau Conference, his strength would've easily secured a top-three finish.
Now? Top three was a pipe dream.
Fortunately, Paul wasn't in his bracket, otherwise Gary might not even make the top sixty-four.
"Peak Stage in a year and a half…" Misty said quietly, awe clear in her voice. "That's terrifying. Still nowhere near Ash, but terrifying."
The world held more prodigies than just Ash.
Some had started training long before him. Ash had only been traveling for six months.
In terms of raw potential, if Ash claimed second place, even Leon or Cynthia wouldn't dare claim first.
But Ash's weakness was time.
Only six months of travel.
Paul's overall lineup might genuinely surpass his, if not for Ash's Gengar and Aerodactyl.
"Paul is a real threat, Ash," Brock said solemnly. "If you face him, be careful. Without Aura Power, you won't have any advantage."
Paul had more experience, likely more Pokémon, and top-tier strength that could rival Ash's.