Gary was very calm. This move wasn't difficult for him.
According to the original plot, Ash had used a Magmar in the battle at the Silver Conference. Magmar combined its Fire Blast with Focus Punch to guarantee accuracy, ensuring the attack hit 100% of the time.
Although Tyranitar could pull off a similar technique, it also had to pay a price—withstanding the burn of its own flames. However, Tyranitar's armor could easily endure the heat.
"One last attack—use Heavy Slam!" Brandon also knew that Registeel was on its last legs. This would be the final blow.
"Regi!"
Registeel gathered steel energy around its body and charged forward. The two Pokémon—one red, one silver—collided once again.
Boom!!!
A storm of silver and red energy suddenly erupted. The two forces twisted together, clashing violently before finally exploding.
A mushroom cloud rose into the air, and thick smoke covered the field, making it impossible to see what had happened.
"Cough!"
"Cough, what's the result?"
"Cough, has the winner been decided?"
Ash and the others coughed from the smoke, but they were all desperate to know the outcome.
Everyone stared intently at the stadium.
As the smoke gradually cleared, the shapes of the two Pokémon came into view.
Registeel lay face-down on the ground, completely motionless, while Tyranitar stood tall with its head held high in a defiant pose—though its armor was covered in scars.
Having fought both Regirock and Registeel consecutively, Tyranitar had also used up a tremendous amount of energy. But being able to defeat two Legendary Pokémon in a row was already an incredible feat.
"Registeel has lost the ability to battle." Though it seemed hard to believe, Samuel still announced, "Therefore, the winner of this match is the challenger, Gary."
"Unbelievable... Tyranitar actually defeated both Regirock and Registeel," Max exclaimed.
"Tyranitar is truly terrifying. I underestimated it," Scott said. He had known Tyranitar was powerful, but he hadn't expected it to be strong enough to take down Brandon's two strongest Pokémon.
"Tyranitar really is strong," Professor Oak thought, recalling the Rock-type habitat he had built in his lab's backyard. Tyranitar was already the undisputed boss there. Who could possibly challenge its position now?
After the match, Brandon still maintained his composed expression, as if the outcome of the battle had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Gary, you're incredibly strong. You're the first challenger who has ever pushed me this far. This is the symbol of bravery. Take it," Brandon said, handing the emblem to Gary.
"Thank you."
Gary expressed his gratitude and accepted the symbol. The reward for this mission was very generous.
[Ding! Mission completed. The reward has been distributed to the space backpack.]
After the match, Gary followed the group outside the Battle Pyramid and watched as it rose into the sky.
"Ash, you've conquered the entire Battle Frontier. What do you want to do next?" May asked.
"I..." Ash hesitated, unsure of what to say.
"Ash, would you be interested in becoming a Frontier Brain? I really hope you'll consider it," Scott suddenly offered.
Although Ash's entire challenge had been full of thrilling moments, Scott had been deeply impressed by his ingenious battle tactics. Scott genuinely hoped there could be a Frontier Brain with a style as unique as Ash's.
"What?! Inviting Ash to become a Frontier Brain?!" Max exclaimed in surprise. It was hard to imagine Ash in that position. After all, in Max's view, Ash often made mistakes during battles, though his personal style was undeniably impressive.
"Mr. Scott, I'm sorry, but rather than becoming a Frontier Brain, I want to explore more unknown places, meet more people, and experience more battles with different kinds of Pokémon," Ash declined.
"That's probably what suits your personality best," Professor Oak said. Having watched Ash grow up since he was a child, he knew Ash was someone who could never sit still. Being a Frontier Brain would be torture for him.
"Really... that's unfortunate." Scott looked disappointed, then turned to Gary and asked, "Gary, are you interested in becoming a Frontier Brain?"
"Sorry, I only want to become the World's Strongest, and I also plan to research Pokémon in the future. I have no interest in being a fixed NPC," Gary declined.
"A fixed NPC...!"
Scott broke into a sweat, but thinking about it, it made sense. The leaders of battle facilities were essentially like NPCs, simply waiting for challengers to come and defeat them.
"Just as expected of my grandson—he wants to study Pokémon too," Professor Oak said, deeply relieved. It seemed he finally had a successor.
After that, everyone parted ways for the time being.
Because of the situation with Eevee, Professor Oak had to hurry back, and Ruby personally drove him home.
Ash and his group also planned to head back to their respective hometowns.
Since May and Max were from the Hoenn Region, they would take a boat to Slateport City and leave together for a while.
Gary didn't go with them. He rested for one night at the Pokémon Center in Fennel Valley, then took Charizard back to Professor Oak's Laboratory the next day.
The first thing Gary did upon returning to the lab was gather all of his Pokémon together and teach everyone the skills he had recently acquired, especially Protect—a move that every one of his Pokémon could learn.
In the days that followed, Gary began focusing his training on Gabite and Nidoran♂, since their current strength was the weakest among all of Gary's Pokémon.
Nidoran♂ wasn't a major concern—it likely wouldn't be used later in the Sinnoh League anyway. The priority was raising Gabite's level.
Three days later, Ash also returned to Pallet Town.
The moment Ash got back, he immediately ran to Professor Oak's Laboratory to find Gary.
"Gary! Let's battle!" Ash looked highly motivated, as if he had been preparing for this moment for a long time.
Gary froze for a few seconds before responding, "Sorry, I don't have any interest in battling right now."
"Huh? Why not?" Ash looked confused.
When Ash had traveled to the Hoenn Region, he had wanted to challenge Gary, but ended up eliminated by Tyson at the Ever Grande Conference instead.
After conquering the Battle Frontier, Ash had decided it was finally time to challenge Gary—only to be turned down.
It wasn't that Gary was deliberately refusing. Since the system hadn't issued any mission related to this battle, there was no real reason to fight. Besides, even if they did battle, Ash would lose anyway.
The Pokémon Gary needed to focus on right now was Gabite, and Nidoran♂'s level was still too low to be any match for Pikachu. Taking both factors into account, Gary decisively turned down the challenge.