After his win, Ash bounced back to the competitors' room and grinned right in Gary's face to rub it in.
But he soon noticed something off.
Why were the other competitors looking at him so strangely?
"Whoa... are they staring at me because I'm that strong now?"
Ash slammed his fist into his palm, eyes lighting up like he had cracked it. "Yeah! That's gotta be it!"
The third match began soon after. Both sides battled steadily, with no surprises and nothing unexpected.
Their Pokemon had real strength, but the Trainers showed nothing special in command, and Caster found it dull.
Opponents like that were the easiest to handle. They rarely blundered, but they never produced anything brilliant either. It all came down to strength.
If you were stronger, you would almost always win.
Tactical Trainers like Ritchie and Gary, or an unpredictable Trainer like Ash, demanded more caution.
One careless moment could lead to an upset loss.
The last morning match was Gary's. His opponent was a female Trainer, but she was no pushover.
In the opening round, Gary sent out Nidoking, while his opponent sent out Rhydon.
The ground shook as the two heavy Pokemon landed.
They soon locked into a brutal slugfest.
Defensively, Rhydon clearly had the edge. Its rocky armor could shrug off even molten heat.
Gary's Nidoking had a wider movepool, thanks to Gary's careful raising.
After trading heavy blows, Nidoking broke into a cold sweat, grimaced in pain, and staggered back.
Rhydon fared no better, panting hard from heavy energy use.
"Now, Water Pulse!"
Gary's voice rang out with excitement.
Nidoking formed a blue orb of water in its mouth. It burst into a surging wave that rushed at Rhydon like breakers striking shore.
Drained of energy, Rhydon could no longer hold up Protect, and the wave swept it away in one strike.
A fourfold weakness to Water hurt that much!
With the early lead, Gary battled better and better, while his opponent grew flustered and even miscalled commands.
Seizing his chance, Gary sent out his ace Blastoise and locked in the win.
"Well done!"
In the stands, Professor Oak said with feeling, "Gary has grown so much."
Calm command and a knack for seizing openings were marks of a strong Trainer.
When the morning matches ended, Caster accepted Delia's invitation and cadged another feast until his belly was round.
Honestly, her cooking was beyond reproach!
In the afternoon, Caster put on sunglasses and a cap, and for once returned Pikachu to its Poke Ball, then slipped quietly into a corner seat in the stands.
After all, his goal was the Indigo League Conference title, so he wanted a clear picture of the Trainers in the other bracket.
Amid huge cheers, the afternoon matches began.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone!"
"Now the fifth match of Round Five in the Round of 16, and the first afternoon match, is about to begin."
The announcer's energized voice rang over the speakers. "On Red, Assunta from Fuchsia City! Facing her on Green is..."
As he spoke, both Trainers walked onto the stage.
"Assunta?"
Caster's interest stirred. If he remembered right, the anime's Assunta had finished runner-up at the Indigo League Conference.
In the anime, Assunta faced Ritchie after Ritchie beat Ash, and the two fought a fierce quarterfinal.
Both Trainers were left with one Pokemon each, but Assunta's Ivysaur beat Ritchie's Sparky and carried her into the semifinals.
The anime never showed the later matches in detail.
But the three Trainers on the podium flashed on screen for a second, and second place was definitely a girl.
"She will be a worthy opponent!"
Caster rubbed his chin, watching quietly and jotting down thoughts.
Assunta lived up to her reputation as the runner-up. At full power she drove her opponent back again and again.
After two straight wins, perhaps not wanting to reveal too much, she eased off.
Still, she took the match.
The sixth and seventh matches looked ordinary to Caster.
But the Trainers were evenly matched, and the crowd loved the back and forth battles, cheering loudly until the arena buzzed.
"Next is the eighth match of Round Five in the Round of 16, and today's final match."
The announcer said, "On Red, Zeke from Lavender Town! Facing him on Green, Paige from Saffron City!"
The battle started quickly.
Zeke led with Gengar, while Paige led with the Psychic type Hypno, each very much a product of home.
In typing, Gengar and Hypno countered each other.
Psychic power could see through Gengar's invisibility, but it could hardly threaten Ghost type Gengar.
So from the start it was a contest of raw strength.
In speed, agility, and energy control, Gengar was more than a cut above Hypno.
Once Confuse Ray landed, Gengar finished Hypno with a single Shadow Ball.
After that the match became mop-up time.
Paige's ordinary Pokemon could not see through Gengar's concealment, and managed less than half their strength against it until they were toyed into defeat.
"This Gengar has something!"
Caster, lazy until now, sat up alert with narrowed eyes.
Ghost was undoubtedly one of the superior types in the Pokemon world, full of tricks like Psychic.
Take Gengar's concealment. Ordinary Pokemon could hardly find a trace of it.
If you could not even locate your opponent, how could you win?
"Zeke is a serious threat!"
Caster's eyes shifted, his gaze deep.
He had a feeling Zeke might be the biggest obstacle to the title.
Then he thought of Slowpoke, close to evolving, and felt calm again.
His gifted, unusual Slowpoke would become something formidable as Slowking. Beating this Gengar should be within reach.
With that, Caster stood and left the arena for his room in the competitors' village.
Inside, Slowpoke sat in meditation with eyes closed, faint psychic power drifting from its body.