Gary took the initiative to walk over to Tobias and sat down behind him.
Tobias noticed the movement behind him. When he looked back and saw Gary, he was surprised.
During the qualifiers, Tobias had also noticed Gary. Although Gary had not appeared again afterward, Tobias had already remembered his face. Now that Gary had shown up again, even Tobias could tell that Gary was taking an interest in him.
Before Gary had even settled into his seat, Tobias asked, "Do you need something?"
"It's nothing. I just saw that there were plenty of empty seats here, so I sat down. What? Am I bothering you?" Gary said.
"No. You can sit."
Tobias did not know what else to say. He could not simply say that he felt Gary was interested in him. They were both men, and saying something like that could easily cause a misunderstanding.
Gary had deliberately approached Tobias because he was curious about him. After all, this guy had captured two Legendary Pokémon. Gary naturally wanted to know more about his identity.
Gary had also checked Tobias's information in the League's contestant database. Tobias was a native of the Sinnoh region, and his hometown was Canalave City.
There was a legend about Darkrai in Canalave City. Gary wondered whether Tobias had encountered his Darkrai near Canalave City as well.
Ten minutes later.
The clock struck nine, and the competition officially began.
The two Trainers in the first match entered the field.
Gary watched the match with interest. Although the overall level of the League Conference was too low for him, most of the competitors were evenly matched and could trade attacks back and forth. He could also observe each Trainer's personal battling style, so the matches were still fairly entertaining.
More than half an hour later, the first two matches ended, and it was time for the third match.
"Next, please welcome Trainer Gary and Trainer Jensen to the field!"
Following the host's announcement, the two Trainers left the contestant area and entered the arena through separate passages, each making their way to the command area at opposite ends of the field.
"Master Gary! Haha, he's really competing!"
"I just want to watch Master Gary battle!"
"Master Gary, you have to sweep all three!"
"That's right! Master Gary is going for a one-on-three sweep!"
Excited voices rang out from the stands.
"The audience is really enthusiastic! It seems everyone has high expectations for these two Trainers. Now, let me introduce them."
"On the Red side is Trainer Gary, from Pallet Town in the Kanto region. He has extensive experience in League Competitions and has won three League Conferences. He is one of the favorites to win this championship!"
"On the Blue side is Trainer Jensen, from Rustboro City in the Hoenn region. He has also participated in League Conferences before, but he has never achieved a notable ranking."
The host introduced the two Trainers' records. Judging from their past achievements, Gary's record was far more impressive. Jensen, on the other hand, seemed fairly ordinary. Although he had participated in League Conferences before, he had never earned a good result.
The two Trainers took their places, and the referee announced, "The three-on-three match between Trainers Gary and Jensen will now begin! The battle will end when all Pokémon on one side have lost the ability to battle. Both Trainers, please send out your Pokémon at the same time!"
As soon as the referee finished speaking, both Trainers threw their Poké Balls.
"Hippowdon, you're up first!"
"Weavile, I choose you!"
A flash of light appeared on the field.
[Lv. 45 Hippowdon ♂ — Elite-tier]
"Hippowdon!"
Sand poured from the holes on Hippowdon's back, immediately forming a sandstorm across the field.
"Weavile, use Ice Punch!" Gary ordered.
"Wea!"
Weavile burst forward at astonishing speed and reached Hippowdon in an instant. Before Jensen could issue an order, Weavile's fist, coated in icy energy, slammed down onto Hippowdon's head.
Bang!
Hippowdon was struck by the Ice Punch but was not knocked away. Instead, its entire body froze, turning it into a solid block of ice.
"Oh! What a powerful Ice Punch! It froze Hippowdon solid!" the host exclaimed.
"What?!"
Jensen felt a headache coming on. He had never expected this to happen.
However, being frozen did not mean that Hippowdon had lost.
"Hippowdon, pull yourself together and break the ice on your body!" Jensen shouted.
However, Hippowdon did not respond at all and remained motionless.
"Weavile, thaw it out," Gary said.
Hippowdon had long since been knocked out. The ice was merely concealing the result.
"Wea."
Weavile lightly tapped the ice with its claws. The ice encasing Hippowdon immediately turned into energy and dispersed. Without the ice holding it up, Hippowdon collapsed to the ground, its eyes spinning in circles.
"Hippowdon has lost the ability to battle! Weavile wins!" the referee announced.
"My God, Hippowdon was taken out in one hit!"
"That's nothing. Look who Master Gary is."
"He's the Trainer who swept the Ever Grande Conference!"
"Hahaha! I was worried Weavile wouldn't be able to sweep three, but now it looks like it's going for a one-on-three sweep!"
The Trainers at the League Conference could no longer pose any threat to Gary. Weavile, which Gary had captured during his travels through the Johto region, was one of his veteran Pokémon.
Jensen silently recalled Hippowdon before sending out his second Pokémon.
"Sudowoodo, go deal with Weavile!"
"Sudo!"
[Lv. 44 Sudowoodo ♂ — Gym-tier]
Sudowoodo was a Rock-type Pokémon, giving it a type advantage over Weavile. However, its level was far too low, and it was no match for Weavile at all.
"Sudowoodo, use Stone Edge!" Jensen knew that Weavile was fast, so he immediately launched an attack.
Sharp, jagged stones appeared around Sudowoodo. With a wave of its hands, the stones shot toward Weavile.
"Charge through them with Metal Claw," Gary ordered.
"Wea!"
Weavile held its right claw in front of its body. A silver light flashed over its claws, which suddenly extended outward. It then charged forward at high speed. As the flying stones approached, Weavile shattered them one after another with its claws, slashing rapidly until no stone could break through its defense.
Clang! Clang!
Weavile closed in on Sudowoodo. Its Metal Claw struck Sudowoodo's hard body and knocked it to the ground. However, thanks to its Sturdy Ability, Sudowoodo was not knocked out immediately and managed to endure the attack.
But it was only putting up a futile resistance.
"Ice Shard!"
At Gary's command, Weavile condensed an Ice Shard and fired it at Sudowoodo, knocking it out.
"Sudowoodo has lost the ability to battle! Weavile wins!"
In just five minutes, two of Jensen's Pokémon had been defeated. Only his final Pokémon remained.