"The first match of the finals is about to begin. Both contestants fought fiercely to make it all the way here. Let's leave the rest to the referee."
As the host finished speaking, the referee raised the red and blue flags in his hands and announced, "This will be a full battle between Gary and Zoe. There will be no rest time in this battle until all Pokémon on one side are defeated. Now, please send out your Pokémon."
The Lily of the Valley Conference finals had canceled the halftime break, and even the venue was ordinary flat ground. This was meant to closely restore the natural battle environment between Trainers.
"Go, Vileplume!"
"Magnezone, I'll leave this to you."
Both sides immediately threw their Poké Balls.
Flash!
[Lv.47 Vileplume / Gym-tier]
[Lv.60 Magnezone / Champion-tier]
Gary hadn't expected his lead Pokémon to be at a type disadvantage. His luck today really wasn't great.
"Vileplume, use Sleep Powder!"
Zoe knew exactly how strong Gary was. Even though Magnezone was a Pokémon he hadn't used before, she couldn't afford to slack off. From the very start, she was clearly going for a control strategy.
The huge petals on Vileplume's head released a large cloud of glowing powder, which drifted through the air toward Magnezone.
"Gravity," Gary ordered calmly.
Magnezone pulsed, altering the magnetic field across the battlefield. The gravity in the area shifted, and the Sleep Powder that had been floating through the air immediately dropped to the ground, unable to stay suspended.
"What?!"
Zoe was stunned. She had never seen Gravity used to counter Sleep Powder like that.
"Flash Cannon," Gary ordered.
Biu!!
A silver beam of light shot forward, closing the distance to Vileplume in an instant.
Boom!!
Vileplume was blasted backward and crashed into the ground.
"Vileplume has lost the ability to battle! Magnezone wins!"
One move. The winner was already decided.
Zoe's Vileplume had no chance to resist at all.
Zoe gritted her teeth and recalled Vileplume, then sent out her second Pokémon.
"Quagsire, you're up!"
Flash!
[Lv.47 Quagsire / Gym-tier]
Zoe had sent out Quagsire because it had type resistance against Magnezone.
However, although Quagsire's typing gave it good resistance, its level was simply too low. Even with a type advantage, it wasn't Magnezone's Rival.
"Quagsire, use Mud Bomb!" Zoe attacked first.
Quagsire opened its mouth and spat out several mud bullets in rapid succession.
Gary said flatly, "Lock On, then Hyper Beam."
"Zone!"
Magnezone used Lock On to target Quagsire and made no attempt to dodge. Even though Mud Bomb dealt four times effective damage, Magnezone stood firm.
"What?! How is it that strong—"
Zoe couldn't believe it. A Pokémon she had painstakingly raised was being treated like a toddler in front of Gary's team.
Biu!
Magnezone fired an orange-red beam.
Boom!!
A mushroom cloud rose. Quagsire went down without any resistance, losing consciousness on the spot.
"Quagsire has lost the ability to battle! Magnezone wins!"
"Return."
Zoe immediately recalled Quagsire and, taking advantage of Magnezone being locked in its Hyper Beam recharge state, quickly sent out her third Pokémon.
Flash!
[Lv.52 Magmortar / Elite-tier]
Magmortar was Zoe's strongest Pokémon at the Quasi-Elite level. She was clearly seizing the opportunity to get in as much damage as possible.
"Magmortar, use Will-O-Wisp!" Zoe ordered.
Magmortar raised one of its cannon arms.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several purple fireballs shot out one after another, curving through the air before landing on Magnezone. The burn condition immediately took effect.
"You've done well. Come back and rest," Gary said, taking out a Poké Ball and recalling Magnezone.
"Oh! Gary has recalled Magnezone. It looks like he judged that the burn would have a significant impact on it," the host said in surprise.
"Wait, why did Master Gary switch out?"
"Yeah, what about the promised one-Pokémon sweep?"
"It's fine to chase a perfect victory, but you're also demanding a six-for-one sweep? I really don't know if you're delusional or if you just think Gary isn't allowed to recall a Pokémon. This is a battle between top Trainers—there are countless variables!"
"Master Gary still isn't as impressive as Tobias. Look at Tobias. He used one Darkrai the whole time."
"Just because it's Darkrai? You think Master Gary doesn't have Legendary Pokémon too?"
"So what if he does? Master Gary probably wouldn't even know how to use one."
"...!"
Although Gary was a popular favorite for the championship, his lineup carried a lot of variables. Looking back at the three League Conferences Gary had participated in, the Pokémon he used were almost never repeated.
This was also a headache for Gary's fans. Gary was strong, but very unpredictable. He would often send out newly raised Pokémon in official matches.
Since the Lily of the Valley Conference began, aside from Rhyperior, every Pokémon Gary had used had never appeared in his previous League runs. People who didn't know better assumed these were all fresh Pokémon Gary had recently raised.
"Garchomp, get ready to fight!" Gary threw his Poké Ball.
Flash!
[Lv.60 Garchomp / Champion-tier]
"Hey! Gary actually has a Garchomp!" Barry said in shock.
"What? You didn't know?" Dawn said, surprised.
Barry asked curiously, "I didn't. This is the first time I've seen it. Is this Garchomp any good?"
"This..." Dawn hesitated. "I'm not entirely sure, but it's definitely not weak. When Gary was dealing with Team Galactic, this Garchomp performed incredibly well. Only a little weaker than Cynthia's Garchomp."
"That's so unfair. A Trainer like Gary participating in the Conference should be fined," Barry complained bitterly.
"You actually have a point," Brock said. "Gary's level completely exceeds the standard of Trainers at the League Conference, but since his age meets the requirements, he's allowed to participate."
"What a headache!"
Barry stopped complaining and turned his attention back to the field, because Garchomp had already started moving.
"Garchomp, use Stone Edge," Gary said, waving his hand.
"Chomp!"
A large number of rock blade fragments condensed around Garchomp. As Garchomp swung its arms forward, the sharp rock blades launched rapidly toward Magmortar.
Zoe faced the incoming attack and ordered, "Fire Blast!"
Magmortar raised its cannons. Flames burned inside the barrels, and with a loud bang, a huge burst of flame shot out. The fire spread wide, forming a large character-shaped inferno meant to block all the incoming rock blades.
Unfortunately, it couldn't hold them all.
Most of the rock blade fragments broke through Fire Blast and slammed into Magmortar. Though small, each blade carried tremendous force. As they struck Magmortar's body one after another, Magmortar grimaced in pain and staggered backward.
Boom!!
Fire Blast couldn't withstand the impact of the rock blades and exploded outward. The shockwave followed through and knocked Magmortar to the ground.