In the current World Championship, excluding the Elite Four and the regional champions, only League Conference champions and Gym Leaders were eligible to participate, keeping the total number of competitors under one hundred.
The organizers felt that was too few participants. They wanted to expand the pool and create a new ranking system, but the main challenge was figuring out how to rank everyone accurately. To solve this, they came up with mechanical referees to oversee the matches. These robotic referees had recently been developed and were currently being tested in official events.
However, once researchers discovered that Rotom could integrate into electronic devices, the ground-based mechanical referees were quickly replaced by flying Rotom drones.
"Now... the Frontier Battle between the challenger, Gary, and the Palace Maven, Spenser, will begin. Each trainer may use three Pokémon. The match will end when all three of one trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle," the Rotom referee announced.
[Ding! Mission Activated: Earn the Spirit Symbol. Rewards: Advanced Rare Candy x6, Ability Enhancement Stone x1, Silver Bottle Cap x1, Permanent TM Learning Device x1!]
The system had issued a new mission. Gary noticed that it had been growing smarter lately, now waiting until the official battle rules were confirmed before generating tasks.
"Then the first Pokémon I'll use is... Come out, Venusaur!" Spenser threw a Poké Ball.
With a flash of light, a massive, four-legged Pokémon resembling a green bullfrog appeared.
[Lv. 65 Venusaur / Elite]
Spenser had sent out Venusaur right away. Given its high level, it was clearly one of his main Pokémon. In his previous battle with Ash, Ash had barely managed to defeat it using a Bug-type move.
"A Venusaur... Then I'll leave it to you. Go, Scizor!" Gary threw his own Poké Ball.
A Scizor covered in red, metallic armor appeared on the field.
[Lv. 65 Scizor / Pseudo-Legendary]
"Gary actually has a Scizor. That gives him a huge type advantage," Scott thought from the sidelines.
As a Steel-type, Scizor was completely immune to Poison-type moves and highly resistant to Grass-type attacks, making it an excellent counter to Venusaur.
Once both Pokémon were on the field, the Rotom referee announced, "Ready... Go!"
"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!"
"Scizor, charge in!"
Both trainers issued their commands at the same time. Spenser was playing it safe by opening with Razor Leaf, clearly looking to test Scizor's strength first.
Venusaur shook its body, and a flurry of sharp leaves shot out from its sides, rushing toward Scizor.
Scizor lunged forward, turning into a red blur as it sprinted across the sandy beach, completely ignoring the Razor Leaf attack, which couldn't scratch its metallic shell at all.
Thud!
"Venu..."
Scizor slammed head-on into Venusaur's forehead. The sheer force of the tackle drove Venusaur's massive body backward—it was a Superpower-enhanced strike.
"What?!" Spenser was shocked. He hadn't expected Scizor's physical strength to be so terrifying that it could shove Venusaur back with such ease.
Scott was equally stunned.
"Bullet Punch!" Gary immediately followed up.
Swoosh!
Using the priority move to close the gap in an instant, Scizor flashed in front of Venusaur. Its pincers glowed with silver energy as it unleashed a rapid barrage of strikes, countless afterimages of Bullet Punch pummeling Venusaur's forehead.
Venusaur was beaten so badly it couldn't even keep its eyes open. Scizor's hits were incredibly heavy, each one landing like an eighty-kilogram sledgehammer. Venusaur tried to move, but its body felt numb and unresponsive.
"Venusaur, use Stun Spore!" Spenser ordered hurriedly.
Venusaur's flower immediately released a cloud of paralyzing powder that drifted through the air. Scizor didn't dodge, simply continuing to swing its Bullet Punch.
Seeing the Stun Spore falling around them, Gary quickly changed his command. "Aerial Ace!"
Scizor broke off its Bullet Punch, cloaked its body in wind energy, and rammed straight into Venusaur.
"Venu!"
Venusaur was knocked several meters away and crashed to the ground, its eyes spinning in circles.
"Venusaur is unable to battle. Scizor wins!" the Rotom referee announced.
Spenser and Scott looked at the defeated Venusaur, deeply impressed.
Scizor had been utterly relentless, its unbroken chain of attacks giving Venusaur no room to fight back. If it hadn't managed to land that Stun Spore, Venusaur would have been knocked out without contributing anything to the match at all.
Scizor was now paralyzed as well, but having taken down Venusaur in exchange, the trade was more than worth it.
"That was an unexpected matchup. It seems I can't afford to be careless against Gary," Spenser thought to himself.
He recalled the defeated Venusaur and sent out his second Pokémon.
"Come out, Arcanine!"
With a flash of light, Spenser sent out the same Arcanine he had used for transportation earlier. Even though it had just been ridden, the exertion meant nothing to a Pokémon like Arcanine.
"Awoo!"
Arcanine appeared and immediately unleashed its Intimidate ability, fixing Scizor with an unfriendly stare.
Scizor flinched. It already knew it was at a severe type disadvantage against Arcanine, and paralyzed as it was now, there was no way it could win this matchup.
"Come back."
Gary didn't hesitate at all. The moment he saw Arcanine, he pulled out a Poké Ball and recalled Scizor.
"As expected..." Scott felt a little disappointed to see Gary withdraw Scizor, though he wasn't entirely surprised.
Scott had secretly wanted to see if Gary would push through and fight Arcanine with a paralyzed Scizor anyway. Even if Scizor lost, it would have made for a more exciting match.
Gary had no idea Scott was thinking such things. If he did, he probably would have punched him. What kind of trainer thinks like that?
"Haven't used you in a while. Show them what you've got... Come out, Tyranitar!" Gary said calmly, casually tossing the Poké Ball.
A massive Tyranitar covered in thick, green armor appeared on the field.
[Lv. 71 Tyranitar / Pseudo-Legendary]
"Roar!"
Tyranitar glared at Arcanine and let out a low rumble. The environment shifted instantly—sand kicked up into the air, and soon the entire battlefield was engulfed in a Sandstorm.
This was only because Tyranitar wasn't using its full power. If it had gone all out, the Sandstorm would have swallowed the entire coastline.
Arcanine's mane was blown wildly to one side. If not for its thick fur, the sharp sand whipping through the wind would already have started dealing damage.
"Such a powerful Sandstorm!" Spenser was taken aback. He had never lived in a desert, but he could tell this Sandstorm was far from ordinary.
"That's Gary's Tyranitar. It's truly extraordinary," Scott exclaimed. It was his first time seeing a Sandstorm this intense as well.
Even the Rotom referee was struggling, its camera lenses completely obscured by the thick, swirling sand.