Three days later.
Gary had traveled through various towns and cities and finally arrived in Canalave City.
Along the way, Gary carefully observed the expressions of the passersby. They were all energetic, showing no signs of dark circles or poor sleep.
"Everyone looks lively. It seems Team Rocket hasn't arrived yet."
"I wonder when Ash and the others will get here."
A Darkrai would eventually appear in Canalave City, lured in by Team Rocket. Gary planned to catch this Darkrai. Judging by its strength, this Darkrai wasn't at a high level. It couldn't even control its own Ability, so its strength shouldn't exceed the Champion level. It was probably only at the Elite level.
"Call Scott."
Gary estimated that it would take Ash and his group at least a week to arrive in Canalave City, maybe even half a month.
The Sinnoh Region had also established its own Battle Frontier. Although it didn't have as many facilities as the Kanto Region, there were still five of them. The key was that challenging the Frontier Brains came with generous mission rewards, especially the Ability Enhancement Stones, which Gary badly needed.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
The call connected shortly after.
"Hey! Hey! Is that Gary?"
"Mr. Scott, it's me."
"Gary! Why are you calling me out of the blue? Do you want to become a Frontier Brain?"
"No, I'm in the Sinnoh Region. I heard there's a Battle Frontier here, and I want to challenge it."
"Really?!"
Scott was shocked. He hadn't expected Gary to call about challenging the Sinnoh Battle Frontier.
"Of course it's true. Is there a problem?" Gary asked.
"The Frontier Brains in Sinnoh are very strong. None of them are inferior to the Elite Four," Scott warned.
"I know. That's what makes it interesting," Gary said.
The Sinnoh Frontier Brains were indeed very strong, truly possessing strength comparable to the Elite Four. For example, Palmer, the Tower Tycoon of the Battle Tower, was genuinely on par with the Elite Four and could even compete with Cynthia. The stronger the Trainer, the more interesting the challenge, and the mission rewards were naturally more generous.
"Alright, where are you right now?" Scott asked.
"I'm currently in Canalave City," Gary said.
"Canalave City... The Battle Factory and Battle Tower are nearby. I'll send you the coordinates so you can challenge them directly," Scott said.
"Mr. Scott, aren't you coming?"
In the past, when Gary challenged the Battle Frontier, Scott would watch every battle.
"I'd love to watch, but I'm in the Kanto Region right now. It's too far away, so I won't be coming. You can challenge it yourself," Scott said.
Scott truly loved watching Pokémon battles, but there was a prerequisite: the Trainer challenging the Battle Frontier had to be a rookie—someone challenging for the first time. Every Trainer who conquered the Battle Frontier, Scott would invite to become a Frontier Brain. Since Gary had already conquered a Battle Frontier, he was naturally qualified, so there was no need for Scott to keep watching him. Plus, the Sinnoh Region was just too far from Kanto. It would take Scott more than a day to travel there.
"Okay, Mr. Scott. Send me the locations of all the Sinnoh Region's battle facilities," Gary said.
"Will do."
The call ended.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, Scott sent the coordinates of all the Sinnoh Region's battle facilities to Gary's Cruiser.
There were only five battle facilities in the Sinnoh Region: the Battle Tower, Battle Factory, Battle Arcade, Battle Castle, and Battle Hall. The two facilities closest to Canalave City were the Battle Factory and the Battle Tower.
"Challenge the Battle Factory first."
Gary decided to try the Battle Factory first. Palmer of the Battle Tower was likely the strongest of all the Frontier Brains, so he could save that challenge for later.
Gary didn't rush into the challenge right away. He transferred three teams of Pokémon from Professor Oak and rested for the night.
The next day.
Gary rode Garchomp toward the land north of Canalave City. Following the Cruiser's coordinates, he found the Battle Factory.
The Battle Factory in the Sinnoh Region was similar to the one in Kanto. The facility looked exactly like a factory. Aside from being used for battles, it also functioned as a normal working factory and even appeared on television programs.
In the games, the Sinnoh Battle Factory was very unique. Challengers weren't allowed to use their own Pokémon. The Battle Factory would randomly provide six Pokémon each round, and the challenger had to select three of them to battle. Winning seven consecutive rounds meant a successful challenge.
If the Battle Factory really restricted challengers by those rules, Gary figured it would be the most difficult facility to challenge. After all, using someone else's Pokémon meant being completely unfamiliar with them, not even knowing what moves they specialized in. That would naturally put him at a disadvantage in battle.
Thud!
Garchomp landed at the Battle Factory's entrance, deliberately reminding Gary that they had arrived.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Recalling Garchomp into its Poké Ball, Gary walked into the factory.
There was no one at the factory gate, so Gary didn't wander around and walked straight into the main hall. When he opened the door, the female receptionist at the lobby counter saw him and asked, "Hey kid, is there something you need at the Battle Factory?"
Gary walked up to the counter and replied, "Hello, my name is Gary. Mr. Scott introduced me."
"Mr. Scott?!"
The receptionist was shocked and immediately searched the computer, quickly finding Gary's information.
"Mr. Gary, are you here to challenge the Battle Factory?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes."
"Please wait a moment. I'll inform the Frontier Brain."
The receptionist picked up a walkie-talkie and called out, "Mr. Thorton, there's a Trainer recommended by Mr. Scott here to challenge. Please come out."
"Understood. I'll be right there."
After the call ended, the receptionist asked Gary to wait.
A few minutes later, Thorton walked out. He was wearing green bell-bottom pants and a black vest. Thorton was the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory, and looked like a young man of about twenty-five.
Gary didn't know much about Thorton, only that he was a genius with a high IQ, proficient in all sorts of machinery, and a massive tech enthusiast.
"Hello, I'm Thorton, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory. Are you the challenger introduced by Mr. Scott?" Thorton asked.
"Yes, my name is Gary. Nice to meet you," Gary said.
Thorton looked Gary up and down. To him, Gary looked like a Trainer with only two or three years of experience, and he couldn't see anything particularly amazing about him.