I hear Grass hits you four times as hard?
After giving Mudkip its upgrades, Caster rode Dragonair back to Indigo Plateau and looked through the information his Rotom Phone had gathered on his opponent.
"Zeke, 30 years old, from Lavender Town. Has traveled through Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Has entered regional tournaments on numerous occasions..."
According to the profile, Zeke had been a Trainer for 12 years.
He wasn't some exceptionally gifted prodigy. In his first year, he'd been so inexperienced and careless that he hadn't even collected eight Badges, let alone entered the Indigo League Conference.
He'd managed to enter in the following years, but he usually went out in the first round. If he was lucky, he lasted until the second. He had never made it through the preliminary rounds.
But Zeke knew how to persevere.
When others his age grew discouraged by their poor results and gave up being Trainers to find other work, Zeke kept at it. He improved little by little, and over the years, all that effort had finally paid off.
"So I'm up against a combined force of Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh?"
Caster gave a strained smile as he scrolled through the many Pokémon Zeke had caught and raised.
There were just too many!
From Kanto alone, he could see Charizard, Gengar, Alakazam, Pidgeot, Poliwrath, Magnezone, Lapras, Snorlax, and more.
There were plenty of Pokémon from the other regions, too. Just looking at the list made his head spin.
With nothing but these records to go on, he had no way of predicting which Pokémon Zeke would use.
"Tactics? Screw tactics!"
Caster shook his head with a helpless smile and gave up trying.
The only thing he could tell from this information was that Zeke must come from a fairly wealthy family. Otherwise, he couldn't have afforded to travel for so many years while raising so many powerful Pokémon.
That had to cost a fortune!
Beyond that, there wasn't much to go on.
The publicly available information was incomplete. It didn't even list all the Pokémon Zeke had caught, and the move lists only included the few he'd already revealed. There simply wasn't enough to build a detailed strategy around.
"Too bad Gary's busy with his own stuff."
Caster leaned back with a mischievous grin. "Otherwise, I could get him to sort through all this for me."
Gary came from a family of scholars. Research was something he was good at.
Reading academic papers was child's play for him. Digging up information on an opponent would be easy!
Caster could just picture Gary as his own personal strategist.
He took out his Key Stone pendant and rubbed it a few times, then snorted. "Worst comes to worst, I'll just Mega Evolve Gyarados. No way I'm losing then!"
Mega Gyarados was his greatest trump card!
If tomorrow's match went badly, he wouldn't hesitate to use it.
Besides, he had Lugia's Silver Wing. That would ensure Gyarados kept a clear head after Mega Evolving.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, the Indigo League Conference finals began as scheduled.
Indigo Stadium could hold tens of thousands of people. Today, every seat was filled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Indigo League Conference finals!"
The commentator's voice rang out over the speakers, drawing the crowd's attention away from their conversations.
"Before we begin, please allow me to introduce our distinguished guests for today's finals."
Once the crowd had settled down a little, the commentator began the introductions.
"First, the chairman of the League competition committee, which oversees the sacred flame, and the man in charge of this year's Indigo League Conference. Mr. Charles Goodshow!"
Cheers filled the stadium.
Goodshow wasn't a regional Champion, but he was known as the greatest man in the Pokémon League. He was a legend in his own right.
"Next, a beauty who brings ice and water together, Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four!"
The crowd erupted again when Lorelei appeared on the screen.
"And our final guest is the strongest member of the Kanto Elite Four, who also holds the title of Champion in both Kanto and Johto!"
The commentator's voice rose with excitement as he introduced the last guest.
"The Dragon Master himself, Lance!"
A deafening roar swept through the stadium.
A young man with red hair and a cape appeared on the screen, raising both hands to greet the crowd.
The audience went wild.
Red was the World Champion, so his strength was beyond question. But since winning the title, he had devoted himself to training and rarely appeared in public.
Lance, on the other hand, had steadily improved over the years, rising from the Elite Four to become Champion. He had taken on responsibility for both the Kanto League and the Johto League.
To the people of those two regions, Lance was unquestionably a great man.
He was a symbol of Kanto and Johto!
In the waiting room, Assunta and Zeke watched Lance on the screen, their eyes filled with admiration or envy.
Caster was no exception. "Now that's what I want to be," he murmured.
Of course, if the opportunity came someday, he could always take Lance's place.
After all, being Champion of two regions at once was an awfully heavy burden.
Sharing responsibility for those two regions and their 16 cities with someone else would surely make life easier for Lance.
Gary was the exception. His older brother was already a Champion-level Trainer, and Lance had lost to Blue before.
So Gary didn't feel the slightest awe. As far as he was concerned, Lance was just all right.
"Coming up next is the battle for third place in the Indigo League Conference!"
At the commentator's announcement, Gary and Assunta stood and headed for the entrance tunnel.
Only Caster and Zeke remained in the waiting room.
Neither said a word.
Out in the stadium, Gary and Assunta took their places. The battle soon began.
In terms of their Pokémon's strength, Assunta had a slight edge.
The problem was that she didn't have many battle-ready Pokémon to choose from, and several hadn't reached their final Evolution. Her earlier matches had also revealed too much. Gary had figured out most of her tactics and fighting style.
Assunta found herself at a disadvantage in both type matchups and strategy. With her options so restricted, she couldn't bring out her full strength.
But she was still a formidable opponent, and Gary had a hard time winning. The match became a drawn-out struggle, with each side repeatedly catching up to the other.
The battle for third place lasted a full hour. At last, Blastoise's Hydro Pump brought down Venomoth.
"We have a winner!"
The commentator's excited voice rang out over the speakers.
"All six of Assunta's Pokémon are unable to battle! Taking third place in this year's Indigo League Conference is Gary from Pallet Town!"
At his command position, Gary's hair was soaked with sweat. He was panting harder than his Pokémon.
It had tested both his mind and his stamina.
But he'd done it!
Now it was Caster's turn. His match would be the real main event.
After a short break, the commentator spoke again.
"Now, let's give a huge round of applause to the two Trainers battling for the championship! Zeke from Lavender Town, and Caster from Cerulean City!"
Thunderous applause filled the stadium.
Caster and Zeke stepped out onto the field.
"Go get 'em, Caster!"
"Today's your day! Bring home that title!"
"Caster, sweetheart! Mommy loves you!"
Caster's livestream chat was buzzing, too.
The match hadn't even started, and a big spender had already sent a Rayquaza Draco Meteor gift along with wishes for his victory.
"Each Trainer may use six Pokémon! There will be an intermission when three Pokémon on either side are unable to battle!"
Once both Trainers reached their command positions, the referee stepped forward.
"Trainers, take your places!"
Caster and Zeke exchanged a look across the field, then each took out a Poké Ball and threw it.
Red light flashed. Two very different Pokémon appeared on the field.
Caster's lead was once again his weather setter, Dragonair.
Zeke's was a Pokémon that resembled a slug, though it was quite large.
"That's... the Gastrodon from last time!"
Caster raised his eyebrows in surprise.
What were the odds?
"If I remember right, that Gastrodon has Storm Drain. Using it to counter my rain strategy is a pretty good idea. It can shut down my weather advantage and boost its Special Attack by one stage in the process."
Caster narrowed his eyes at Zeke and grinned.
"But Grass-type moves hit Gastrodon four times as hard, don't they?"