When Tony saw Gary, he only glanced at him once.
Gary glanced back briefly, and that was the end of it. Neither said a word.
There was no hostility between them. Tony was simply already in despair.
He wasn't a child who didn't understand what a name meant. Gary had won the League Conference championship three times in a row, and that wasn't something you could hide. Tony had naturally watched Gary's past battles as well. After just a few matches, he could tell clearly that he was not Gary's Rival.
When Tony saw the matchup yesterday and found his opponent was Gary, he had already known that his chance of advancing to the main tournament was gone.
At nine o'clock sharp, the third round of the preliminaries officially began.
"The third round of the preliminary stage is finally here! Now, let's invite the contestants of the first match to take the field!"
"Contestant Gary and contestant Tony, please enter the arena!"
With the host's announcement, the two walked down from the spectator area and took their positions in the command zones at opposite ends of the field.
"Contestant Gary's performance in the previous two rounds was terrifying. In both matches, he defeated all three of his opponent's Pokémon using only a single Pokémon."
"Although contestant Tony performed well in his first two rounds, now facing Gary, it's hard to say whether he can repeat that same level of performance. Let's leave it in the hands of the referee."
The host briefly introduced both contestants. His tone made it obvious he wasn't optimistic about Tony's chances. Gary was simply too dominant.
"Hahaha! Tony's strength is just average. Master Gary will sweep all three with one Pokémon again, easy!"
"Tony, fight with some dignity! Don't pull cheap tricks like Destiny Bond!"
"If you dare send out a Pokémon with Roar, I will curse you for the rest of my life!"
Although Gary's victory seemed certain, the audience was anything but calm.
Because Gary was so overwhelmingly strong, the odds in both official sports betting and underground gambling were laughably low. In many cases, markets on Gary winning simply weren't opened at all—the outcome was treated as too certain.
The only real betting option that remained was whether Gary could achieve a one-Pokémon sweep across all three of his preliminary round matches. That meant using only one Pokémon to defeat all three of an opponent's Pokémon without switching at any point.
If Tony used a move like Roar to force Gary to switch out, even if Gary still won effortlessly, it would no longer count as a sweep. Because of that, the gamblers in the audience were extremely anxious that Tony might do something disruptive—use Destiny Bond tactics, Roar strategies, or anything else that could ruin their bets.
Seeing both Trainers ready with Poké Balls in hand, the referee announced, "This is a three-on-three battle. The match ends when all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle. The battlefield for this match is Grass terrain. Now, both contestants, please send out your Pokémon simultaneously!"
"Go, Yanmega!" Tony threw his Poké Ball.
Flash!
[Lv.47 Yanmega / Gym-tier]
Tony's first Pokémon was Yanmega.
This Yanmega had the Ability Speed Boost. If the battle dragged on and it was allowed to keep stacking Speed, it would become increasingly troublesome.
"Electivire!" Gary threw his Poké Ball casually.
Flash!
Electivire appeared on the field.
Tony was surprised. He hadn't expected Gary to send out a Pokémon that hadn't appeared in his earlier matches. More importantly, Electivire had a type advantage against Yanmega. This was going to be hard to deal with.
"The battle begins!"
The moment the referee signaled the start, Tony moved immediately.
"Yanmega, use Double Team!"
Yanmega used Double Team at once, deliberately stalling to give Speed Boost more time to activate.
"Use Rain Dance, then Thunder!" Gary saw through the plan instantly and had no intention of giving Yanmega any more time.
Electivire raised its arms and called down Rain Dance. Dark clouds immediately gathered over the entire field, and rain began falling.
The rain soaked through every one of Yanmega's illusions, revealing only the real one.
"Vire!"
Electivire immediately summoned a bolt of Thunder, calling it down from the storm clouds above.
"Quick, U-turn!" Tony shouted desperately.
Yanmega turned itself into a streak of green light and shot toward Electivire. It closed to within just one meter—
Then the lightning fell.
The thunder struck the green light mid-flight.
Yanmega's U-turn was stopped cold. Its body crashed to the ground scorched black, unable to get up again.
Although U-turn was fast, even it couldn't outrun the speed of falling lightning.
"Yanmega has lost the ability to battle! Electivire wins!" the referee announced.
"That's incredible! Another instant knockout! Electivire's level must be very high!" the host exclaimed.
When everyone saw Gary send out Electivire, some had assumed it might not be as overwhelming as his other Pokémon. They hadn't expected it to be just as sharp—one move, finished.
Tony was shaken, but the battle still had to go on. He sent out his second Pokémon.
"Go, Ferrothorn!"
Flash!
[Lv.50 Ferrothorn / Elite-tier]
Tony's second Pokémon was quite solid, but still not enough. Ferrothorn was dominant in game-based PVP, but in real battles it had significant limitations.
"Electivire, Dynamic Punch," Gary ordered without hesitation.
"Vire!"
Electivire rushed forward quickly.
Seeing it approaching, Tony immediately countered.
"Don't let Electivire get close! Use Power Whip!"
Ferrothorn manipulated three vines, twisting them together, covering them in plant energy as they lashed out toward Electivire.
Electivire thrust its fist forward and met Power Whip head-on. The sheer force crushed through the vines completely, and Ferrothorn itself was sent flying along with them.
"Chase it!"
Electivire immediately followed up with a Dynamic Punch.
Clang!
Ferrothorn flew backward and slammed into the energy barrier at the edge of the field. It bounced off and hit the ground, eyes spinning, unable to rise.
"Ferrothorn has lost the ability to battle! Electivire wins!" the referee announced, sounding almost numb.
Hosting Gary's matches had become routine. The opposing Pokémon simply couldn't take his hits. It was the same with Tobias—his opponents couldn't survive even a single move from Darkrai.
"Another one-hit knockout! Contestant Tony is now down to his final Pokémon. It seems like a comeback is no longer possible," the host said.
As the host of Arena D, he found himself growing bored during matches involving Gary or Tobias. Both were simply too strong, making the battles short and difficult to commentate on in any interesting way.
"I won't give up."
Tony recalled Ferrothorn. Despite everything, he had no intention of quitting and resolutely sent out his final Pokémon.
Flash!
A large, humanoid Pokémon with a heavyset frame appeared, blue flames flickering brightly around its neck.
[Lv.49 Emboar / Gym-tier]
Tony's last Pokémon was something of a surprise—an Emboar, and not just any Emboar. It was a Shiny Emboar.