"It's just the Alliance Conference trophy—nothing special," Gary said indifferently.
The Alliance Conference was only of this level. Occasionally, there might be a strong Trainer, but most of the participants were only Gym Leader level. At best, a few had one or two quasi-Elite Pokémon.
Ash silently ate his food and didn't say a word. Since he had already been eliminated, he had no room to speak. He could only sit and watch as Gary showed off in front of everyone.
"Oh? Then Gary, are you planning to take on the Champion League challenge?" Professor Oak asked.
Professor Oak was very optimistic about Gary's potential. Maybe, one day, he could become the Champion of the Kanto region.
"Three years from now. My current strength isn't enough," Gary replied.
"You're not confident?" Professor Oak was surprised. In his opinion, Gary's current Pokémon team should be qualified to attempt the Champion League challenge.
"I once battled Lance at the Indigo Plateau Conference. The gap between us was still massive. Even though my Pokémon have grown stronger this past year, the difference is still significant. Now's not the time," Gary said.
"What! You battled Lance?!" Professor Oak was shocked.
"It was just a one-on-one match. No need to make a big deal out of it," Gary replied calmly.
"Yeah, I also battled a member of the Elite Four," Ash chimed in.
"Ash, that doesn't count. It was so embarrassing," Misty interjected bluntly.
"No way! Lorelei agreed to battle me!" Ash protested.
"She did, but can you really call that a battle?" Misty questioned.
"Uh…!" Ash looked aggrieved, unable to argue.
At that time, he had indeed intended to battle, but his Charizard didn't listen and just flew around. If Lorelei hadn't helped him, he wouldn't have been able to recall Charizard at all.
"By the way, what's the Champion League challenge exactly?" Ash asked, changing the subject.
"You don't even know that?" Gary shook his head in disbelief. "The Champion League challenge is a tournament to determine the Elite Four and the Champion of a region. To become the regional Champion, you must defeat the current Elite Four and Champion."
"I see… Then I want to join the Champion League too!" Ash declared.
"You... can only participate in the standard League Conference for now," Gary said.
"Why?"
Ash looked confused. Why could Gary join the Champion League, but not him?
"Because the requirement to enter the Champion League is winning a regional League Conference at least once," Gary explained.
"Ah... so there's a condition like that!" Ash groaned.
"What are you complaining about? Even I can't defeat the Elite Four yet. You've never even won a League Conference. How could you beat the Elite Four without that?" Gary snapped.
Ash realized he was being too ambitious. He couldn't even defeat Gary yet—let alone the Elite Four or the Champion.
"That's true," Brock added. "Gym Leaders are also eligible to participate in the Champion League, by the way."
"Alright, I'll just have to win the next League Conference!" Ash clenched his fists with determination.
Gary had long become numb to Ash's constant declarations about winning a League Conference. So far, he had never pulled it off.
As for Gary, he was currently in need of high-level Rare Candies, which was one of the reasons he was participating in this League Conference.
More importantly, Gary planned to catch a lot of Pokémon, and he needed to train them to level 70. With that goal, he estimated he'd need to participate in at least four or five League Conferences.
After all, when rewards were doubled, the number of Rare Candies given also increased. Otherwise, he'd have to find another method to acquire them.
One Day Later – The Silver Conference Finals
Gary vs. Dobo!
Dobo was a 14-year-old boy from Kasado City, native to the Johto region.
The final match venue was a Rock-type battlefield. Dobo would be attacking first.
Both players stood in the designated command areas.
"Alright, let's find out who will be the Champion of the Silver Conference!"
"Let's see who Dobo sends out first…!"
Dobo threw a Poké Ball.
"Go, Rhydon!"
[Lv. 47 Rhydon / Quasi-Elite]
Rhydon had good potential, but at that level, it posed no real threat to Gary.
"Charizard, you're up!" Gary threw a Poké Ball and sent out his strongest Pokémon in this tournament.
"Char!"
Charizard roared, glaring at Rhydon.
"Oh my! Gary sent out Charizard? But Charizard is weak to Rock-types," the announcer said, confused.
The audience wasn't surprised. Gary had used this strategy before.
"Rhydon, use Stone Edge!" Dobo commanded.
Rhydon raised its arms. Dozens of sharp rock shards formed around it and launched toward Charizard.
"Fly up and use Solar Beam," Gary commanded.
Charizard spread its wings, soared high, and began absorbing sunlight. Rhydon hurled stones into the air, trying to hit Charizard.
"Roar!!"
Charizard finished charging. A blinding white beam burst from its mouth. Every rock that touched the beam was instantly vaporized.
BOOM!
The Solar Beam hit dead-on. A huge mushroom cloud of dust rose into the air.
Charizard gracefully flapped its wings, blowing away the smoke. The battlefield where Rhydon once stood was now a crater—with Rhydon unconscious in the center.
"Rhydon is unable to battle. Charizard wins!" the referee announced.
"Hiss~ That Solar Beam charged up fast!"
"Of course—it's high altitude. More sunlight up there."
"This is the finals? Why does it feel like the opponents are getting weaker?"
"Yeah, I agree."
"In terms of strength, Ash and Harrison, who were eliminated by Gary earlier, probably had semifinal-level power—but they just had the misfortune of facing Gary too soon."
"Looks like it's going to be another first-half sweep for Gary…"
Seeing Rhydon go down so easily, the audience was convinced—Gary was going to dominate the first half once again.