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The preliminary rounds of the Indigo Plateau Conference were initially divided into four groups to avoid chaotic cross-matches. These four groups would not be matched against each other until they reached the top 32.
Gary and Ash were in two different halves of the bracket, so Gary didn't need to worry about meeting Ash in the preliminaries. What he needed to do was thoroughly study the people in his own group. If he really stumbled before meeting Ash, wouldn't Ash laugh at him for it for the rest of his life!
Professional Level, knocked out in the top 64 of the Indigo Plateau Conference... That would be truly humiliating!
Even if this year's Indigo Plateau Conference was extraordinary, it wasn't a reason for him to be a top 64 participant.
"Let's go, we can research our opponents slowly back at home. Anyway, today's matches are over," Ash stretched, almost shaking Pikachu off his shoulder.
Generally speaking, a Trainer only has one match per day. Considering various factors such as the Trainer's recovery after battle, two matches are not arranged in one day. In fact, due to the large number of participants in the preliminary rounds, it might take two days before their second match.
If their matches were scheduled later, it would be the fourth day before their second round, providing ample rest time in between.
However, this doesn't mean Ash and Gary would return to Pallet Town. During this time, they would spend more time at the Indigo Plateau Conference observing the battle situations of various Trainers. Very few people expose their true strength in the preliminaries. Neither Ash nor Gary used their full power.
Although Ash used Pikachu, in reality, besides Quick Attack, Pikachu didn't use any other moves. It would be impossible to analyze anything from that, and one might even get confused by Pikachu's superficial information.
As for Gary, he didn't even bring out his main Pokémon, let alone allow for any analysis.
However, while this was true for them, it wasn't true for everyone. And even if they couldn't get all the detailed information, understanding the general situation and knowing who the more difficult opponents were was still valuable information for them, or rather, very valuable information for Gary.
As for Ash... as long as there were no Elite Four-level Trainers in this competition, Ash probably wouldn't have any chance of stumbling.
But as the saying goes, caution is key, and arrogant people don't go far. This was the most important lesson the Ashes in the group had learned. So, even if Ash's strength was practically invincible in the Indigo Plateau Conference, the necessary intelligence gathering still had to be done... The group rented two rooms on the Indigo Plateau. One was naturally for Gary and his girlfriend, and the other for Ash and his two companions. Delia and Professor Oak, seeing that there were no matches for the two in the next few days, simply returned to Pallet Town.
They came by car, and it wouldn't even take two hours to go back; it was very fast. If worst came to worst, Charizard and Pidgeot could take them, which wouldn't take more than twenty minutes.
That night, Gary came to Ash's room, and the two grown men stayed up all night in the rented room's computer area...
The next morning, Misty got up and went to the living room, only to hear the sound of typing from the computer room. She checked the time; it was only a little past seven in the morning. She had only gotten up for a drink of water. No one would be up so early typing on the computer, would they?
Misty opened a crack in the computer room door, only to see a spiky-haired boy and a red-and-white-hatted boy constantly fiddling with something in front of the computer. Pikachu was sitting on the computer desk, drowsily nodding its head, looking as if it hadn't slept all night.
"I say, what are you two doing so early in the morning? Why is Pikachu so sleepy?" Misty pushed the door fully open, a hint of confusion on her face.
"We spent all last night researching Trainer profiles. And I have to say, even though they are all Trainers with less than two years of travel experience, there's always someone better. There are quite a few geniuses in the world," Gary turned his head and said to Misty with a serious expression.
Misty looked at Gary's face, her delicate hand covering her red lips, a look of inexplicable shock on her face.
"Gary, what happened to your eyes?" At this moment, Gary's eyes were surrounded by thick dark circles, making him look as if he hadn't slept for several days and nights.
"Eyes? My eyes are fine..." Gary rubbed his somewhat tired eyes, not feeling anything unusual. Apart from being quite tired, everything else was fine. His eyes shouldn't have any problems, right?
"Pfft ha ha ha, I didn't even notice, Gary, why are your dark circles so heavy! If you can't stay up late, don't drag me along to pull an all-nighter looking at Trainer profiles!" Ash turned his head and saw the dark circles on Gary's face. He tried his best to suppress his laughter but couldn't, and soon burst out laughing.
Gary's appearance right now was simply too comical.
Pikachu was also startled awake by Ash's laughter. With sleepy eyes, it looked at its Trainer's demonically laughing face and instantly sobered up.
For a moment, the entire data room was filled with an inexplicably cheerful atmosphere...
Fifteen minutes later, Gary was wiping his face with a towel. The dark circles under his eyes had lessened considerably because Ash had sent some Aura over to help Gary recover.
To put it simply, the human body and a Pokémon's body are almost the same; they are both living organisms.
As long as it's a living organism, it can be treated with Aura.
Gary was too engrossed last night, overusing his eyes, which led to the thick dark circles this morning. Fortunately, there was no match today, otherwise Gary might not even be able to exert 30% of his strength right now.
A Pokémon's condition is very dependent on the Trainer's condition. If the Trainer is not in good shape, then even if the Pokémon is in excellent condition, it will not be able to display its true strength.
Ash and Brock, who had been woken up, prepared breakfast for four in just ten minutes. Breakfast was simple: a large pot of lean meat porridge, plus a few eggs and soy milk.
When Ash brought the porridge to Gary, a hint of suspicion flashed across Gary's face: "Ash, when did you learn to cook? Is this stuff edible?"
Ash rolled his eyes and, annoyed, moved the porridge in front of Gary to his own side: "Eat it or don't. Do you think I'm as pampered as you, traveling the whole way in a sports car? These past few months, I've been walking step by step, with my feet on the ground!"
Gary sniffed the aroma in the air, then stopped arguing with Ash and served himself a bowl of porridge. He took a small sip, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Hmm? This is so delicious! Ash, you didn't put any tech in it, did you?"
Ash: ... "Cough cough, my bad, my bad. Your cooking skills are exquisite, it's my problem. I spoke too loudly just now." Seeing Ash almost ready to strike in anger, Gary quickly admitted defeat.
He couldn't withstand Ash's punch. Even if Ash was unlikely to be serious with him, if Ash really accidentally used a little too much force, with his thin arms and legs, he would go straight to meet Giratina!
Ash lowered the fist he had raised, rolled his eyes again, and continued eating his breakfast.
His cooking skills were now even better than Brock's. Cooking was also something he had been very dedicated to since he started traveling. After all, Brock couldn't travel with him forever; he also needed the ability to take care of his Pokémon himself.
The chef Ash in the group also shared all his secrets, and Brock had been teaching him hands-on. Any mistakes or misunderstandings could be corrected on the spot. With his learning ability, it wasn't strange for him to reach this level in half a year.
However, for Gary, his childhood friend, who went from not knowing how to cook at all to suddenly becoming a cooking god, it was naturally a bit strange.
Of course, he was just joking about adding ingredients. No matter what, Ash wouldn't add anything to the food.
While eating breakfast, Misty curiously asked the two: "You two researched all night yesterday, what exactly did you find out? Gary even said this morning that there are some very powerful people among the participants. Who are they?"
"Slurp... It's not just one person, but several people worth paying attention to. Even if Ash is a little careless, he might stumble against them!" Gary slurped some porridge and said solemnly.
This made Brock somewhat curious. There were Trainers in this year's competition who could make Ash stumble? That seemed unlikely. With Ash's strength, even if he closed his eyes and let his Pokémon battle the people at the Indigo Plateau Conference, there was almost no chance of losing!
As long as Ash used his full power, no one at the Indigo Plateau Conference should be able to withstand a single blow. Gary also knew Ash's strength very well, but he still said such words, indicating that this time's opponents were indeed extraordinary.
"First is the Trainer we initially focused on, named Paul. I've checked; he's from the Sinnoh region, and his travel time is about a year and a half. His Torterra already has Gym Leader Level strength."
At these words, Misty and Brock were both surprised. Gym Leader Level, let alone at the Indigo Plateau Conference, was a formidable force even on a global scale.
For example, Misty's Starmie still hadn't broken through to Gym Leader Level, and this was after rapid progress with Ash's help during this period. Looking at Brock, who had been a Gym Leader Trainer for nearly five years, his Pokémon had been trained from Superior to Professional Level step by step, but he still hadn't produced a Gym Leader Level Pokémon.
After they met Ash, whether it was training Pokémon or other aspects, they improved by leaps and bounds as if they were on a stimulant. To have reached this point, they had indeed put in a lot of effort, but to talk about talent... they felt it didn't have much to do with them.
If they had talent, their Pokémon would have been trained to Professional and Gym Leader Levels back when they were at their respective Gyms.
Professional Level is a threshold, Gym Leader Level is also a threshold, and Elite Four level is a leap of faith.
Therefore, for the Trainer named Paul to successfully train a Gym Leader Level Pokémon in a year and a half, such talent was already exceptionally terrifying.
It's not to say he would definitely become a Champion in the future, but becoming an Elite Four member should be a certainty.
"Gym Leader Level in a year and a half... It seems the rewards offered by Lance for this year's Indigo Plateau Conference are indeed attractive enough! Even Trainers of this level have come to participate. Even if it's just early Gym Leader Level, this is a very strong opponent," Brock said with emotion, stroking his chin.
"Early Gym Leader Level? You're thinking too much. It was already proven in one of Paul's Gym battles several months ago that his Torterra is at least late Gym Leader Level. Its current level is unknown now," Gary shook his head and sighed.
He was arguably the most troubled person present. Damn it, this year's Indigo Plateau Conference was truly messed up. With his strength, in previous Indigo Plateau Conferences, if not Champion, he would definitely easily get into the top three.
But now, let alone the top three, he was lucky that Paul wasn't in his group. Otherwise, if he matched with Paul, he would be eliminated before the top 64!
"Late Gym Leader Level... a year and a half... It seems there are still many geniuses in the world. Although he can't compare to Ash, reaching late Gym Leader Level in a year and a half is already terrifying. And this was several months ago; now, I don't know if he's reached peak Gym Leader Level," Misty also said with a look of awe.
Indeed, Ash isn't the only genius in the world. Some people are not only geniuses, but they have also been training Pokémon and traveling longer than Ash. No matter how much of a genius Ash is, he has only been traveling for half a year, to put it plainly.
Training a late Gym Leader Level Pokémon in a year and a half is already considered a super genius, while Ash trained a peak Gym Leader Level Pokémon in only half a year. That should be considered — an unparalleled genius.
In terms of talent, if Ash said he was second, it's likely even Leon and Cynthia wouldn't dare say they were first.
However, Ash's weakness was still time. He only had half a year, while the person named Paul had already traveled for a year and a half. So, in terms of overall Pokémon configuration, he might even have a higher configuration than Ash.
The premise is not to count Ash's Gengar and Aerodactyl.
With these two Elite Four Class Pokémon, who the hell can compare?! Having Elite Four Class Pokémon in two years, probably only Cynthia and Leon could achieve that.
Cynthia became Champion in three years. In two years, she definitely had a team of Elite Four Class Pokémon, otherwise, no matter how heaven-defying her talent, she wouldn't have been able to become Champion in the third year.
Even if Cynthia had been training Pokémon before she started traveling, it doesn't negate her terrifying talent.
"This person named Paul is indeed a formidable opponent. Ash, if you face him, you must be careful. If you don't use Aura, you really don't have much of an advantage," Brock analyzed with a serious expression.
The opponent has more experience than Ash, and likely more types of Pokémon than Ash. Their top-tier fighting strength is about even with Ash's. Gary's comment about stumbling in a ditch is not impossible.