"Harrison has only one Pokémon left."
"Yeah," Ash nodded. "That Pokémon must be Blaziken. I don't know if it can beat Charizard."
"By the way, Professor Oak, do you know much about Blaziken?" Ash asked.
Ash had been curious about Harrison's Blaziken ever since he saw it near the Ho-Oh Shrine, but the Pokédex provided by Professor Oak only contained limited data. While he knew Blaziken's name, he didn't know its detailed capabilities.
"Blaziken is a Pokémon native to the Hoenn region," Professor Oak explained. "It's a dual-type Fire/Fighting Pokémon. Flames can erupt from its wrists and ankles, and it has powerful jumping ability—it's said to leap over 30-story buildings with ease."
Although Blaziken's entry wasn't in Ash's Pokédex, Professor Oak himself was a walking encyclopedia of Pokémon knowledge.
"It can jump that high?!" Ash's eyes widened. It was hard for him to imagine a Pokémon soaring to the height of a skyscraper.
"These stats were studied and published by researchers in the Hoenn region," Professor Oak said with a nod. "They should be reliable."
On the battlefield.
Harrison retrieved the defeated Zangoose, took a Poké Ball from his belt, and said solemnly, "Blaziken, you're up. I'm counting on you."
"Go! Blaziken!"
The Poké Ball opened, releasing a beam of white light. Blaziken emerged, cloaked in white feathers with flames burning subtly on its limbs.
"The Pokémon sent out by Harrison is... Blaziken! A rare Pokémon from the Hoenn region!" the announcer exclaimed.
At the Johto Silver Conference, Trainers from other regions were still uncommon, so Pokémon like Blaziken rarely appeared.
[Lv. 58 Blaziken – Quasi-Elite Rank]
"What? It's only Quasi-Elite?" Gary's eyes narrowed.
He had assumed Harrison's Blaziken had Elite or even Champion potential. The fact that it was only classified as Quasi-Elite surprised him.
From this, it was clear Harrison had been training for years. A Quasi-Elite Pokémon couldn't have reached this level without serious effort and time.
Gary, too, had Pokémon with Elite potential. If he hadn't used Rare Candies, his own Quasi-Elite Pokémon wouldn't have reached such levels either. Still, he believed that this Blaziken was no match for his Charizard.
"Blaziken may be good," Gary said, "but it's not strong enough to take down my Charizard."
"Charizard, use Air Slash!"
Charizard flapped both wings, generating a crescent-shaped wind blade nearly a meter long, hurling it at Blaziken.
"Blaziken, use Blaze Kick to counter it!" Harrison responded.
"Zaaah!"
Flames erupted around Blaziken's legs as it launched into a high kick. A fiery arc wrapped around its heel, aiming straight at the flying blade.
But instead of shattering it, the Air Slash struck Blaziken squarely, knocking it backward.
The wind blade sent Blaziken flying, and several more blades followed in rapid succession, hitting it one after another.
"...!"
Blaziken dropped to one knee. Though not knocked out, it was badly wounded.
"How… how could the gap be this wide…" Harrison murmured. His strongest trump card was nearly crippled by a single move. How was he supposed to turn the battle around now?
"Hurricane!" Gary commanded.
Charizard flapped its wings again. This time, a raging whirlwind engulfed the entire arena. Blaziken had no defense against the storm. It was lifted off its feet, tossed violently through the air, and slammed to the ground.
"Blaziken is unable to battle. Charizard wins!" the referee declared. "All of Harrison's Pokémon have fainted. The winner is Gary!"
The match was over. Gary had advanced to the semifinals.
"Oh my god, he defeated three Pokémon with just one!"
"Unbelievable! Harrison didn't even get to use his full team in the last match."
"Gary is insanely strong!"
"Not only strong — he's handsome and the grandson of Professor Oak! Is the Kanto region finally about to crown a Champion?"
Among all the regions, only Kanto and Alola lacked official Champions.
Alola didn't have a Champion because its Pokémon League was only recently formed. But Kanto had been part of the League for years. Its last Champion retired long ago, and no successor had emerged.
It wasn't that the Kanto Alliance didn't want a Champion — but to earn that title, one had to defeat the Kanto Elite Four, including their strongest member: Lance.
Lance wasn't just an Elite Four member in Kanto — he was also the reigning Champion of the Johto Region.
In other words, to become Champion of Kanto, a Trainer had to defeat the Johto Champion. It was an incredibly difficult challenge.
In most other regions, defeating the Elite Four and the Champion earned you the title. But in Kanto's case, defeating Lance meant facing both in one.
"Thanks for your hard work." Gary returned Charizard to its Poké Ball and walked off the field.
"So this is what the Silver Conference is like," he thought.
Gary had expected the Trainers here to be stronger than those at the Indigo Plateau Conference, and while they were, none had proven to be true rivals.
After defeating Harrison, Gary only needed to win two more rounds to become the Silver Conference Champion.
His next opponent: Jon Dickson
Gary had already done his homework on Jon.
Jon was a native of the Johto Region, from Sento Cherry Town, a town near the border with Kanto. He had access to Pokémon from both regions.
He was around the same age as Harrison and had been a Trainer for several years, but he was a late bloomer and had never participated in an official League tournament before. His strength was about average compared to Trainers like Harrison or even Ash.
After a day of rest, the Silver Conference semifinals began. The match between Gary and Jon was held in the morning.
By then, both Trainers had arrived at the battlefield and stood at their command stations, waiting for the referee to start the match.
"Let's see what Pokémon Gary leads with!" the announcer called out.
Gary threw a Poké Ball.
Flash!
A red-armored Scizor appeared on the field.
"Ugh! Not Scizor again?!"
"This Scizor couldn't even beat Pikachu. Is Gary playing a prank?!"
"Damn it, Gary! I just paid off my mortgage — and now I'm going to lose the bet!"
Because Scizor had previously lost to Pikachu in Gary's match against Ash, many in the audience were disappointed to see him using it again. Some had wagered serious money, and now their confidence was shaken.