Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Dewey, fired up by the referee's commentary, couldn't vent his frustrations there, so he directed all his anger toward Ash instead.

"Even though I'm down to my last Pokémon, you can't declare the outcome until the final moment!"

With an exaggerated flourish, he summoned his last Pokémon.

"Go, Golbat!"

The sight of Golbat nearly made Gary sprain his back from laughing.

He had assumed, based on Dewey's theatrics, that his final Pokémon would be something extraordinary. But no—it was just a Golbat.

"Seriously? That's it?"

In terms of rarity, Golbat didn't even come close to the Exeggutor that had been stomped by Kingler.

Still, after hearing so many of Luo Yuan's "lessons," Gary knew better than to underestimate an opponent outright.

He scrutinized the Golbat carefully and found that it did appear stronger than Dewey's previous Pokémon.

"Surely, this one will end Kingler's streak," Gary thought optimistically.

Ten minutes later...

Gary: "..."

Someone, please explain why Kingler suddenly knows Hyper Beam.

Did Ash seriously buy a TM for Kingler? That seemed entirely out of character for him.

And if Kingler knew Hyper Beam, why hadn't it used it earlier?

Turning to Luo Yuan for answers, Gary asked, "What's going on here?"

Luo Yuan shrugged. "Don't ask me. Just accept that it's one of those inexplicable things that happen."

He paused before adding, "Let's just say Kingler's a prodigy and learned Hyper Beam upon evolving."

Of course, there was another possibility.

Perhaps Professor Oak had used a TM on Kingler while taking care of it.

But that raised a new question: Why would Professor Oak train Kingler for Ash?

---

The arena fell into brief silence after Kingler's Hyper Beam.

Even the announcer paused for two seconds before recovering and exclaiming, "Ash Ketchum's Kingler has defeated Dewey's three Pokémon without switching out, securing victory in this match!"

The referee officially announced the result.

Ash froze for a moment before erupting into cheers, running around the battlefield in excitement, and flailing his arms when reporters tried to photograph him.

Gary quickly turned away, hoping Ash wouldn't notice him.

"This is so embarrassing!"

But the more he wanted to avoid being seen, the more likely it was to happen.

Ash, as if guided by some uncanny sense, spotted Gary in the stands.

"Gary! I'm over here! What do you think? Pretty strong, huh?" he shouted, waving enthusiastically.

Gary immediately covered his face, wishing he could disappear.

Peeking through his fingers, he glanced at Luo Yuan, baffled.

"How come Ash didn't call your name when you're sitting right here too?"

Luo Yuan smirked and snapped his fingers.

An invisible barrier of psychic energy shimmered briefly around him.

"This psychic barrier bends light. In simpler terms, Ash can't see me from down there."

Gary's face contorted with envy as Luo Yuan, entirely unbothered, grabbed some popcorn and soda to enjoy the next match.

---

The first round of preliminaries spanned two full days.

Of the 256 participating trainers, half were eliminated after intense battles.

Many strong contenders emerged, proving their mettle.

Having tasted the profits from selling match recordings, the Team Rocket trio decided to take their operations to the next level.

Using the footage they'd gathered and their extensive Pokémon knowledge, they created a guidebook.

The guide highlighted this year's certified "seeded players."

Unsurprisingly, Luo Yuan topped the list, thanks to his unstoppable Dragonite.

Ash, meanwhile, ranked ninth, primarily due to his Kingler's one-Pokémon sweep of Dewey. The trio had intentionally boosted his rank for amusement, eager to see him targeted by others.

"I don't buy this!" Gary slammed the guide onto the table.

"How is Ash in the top ten, and I'm not even on the list?"

The guide only included the top 20 trainers.

Because Gary's first match had been overly cautious and drawn-out, he failed to attract attention despite his superior skill compared to Ash.

Luo Yuan chuckled at Gary's frustration.

Privately, though, he admired the trio's ingenuity.

The guide was a stroke of genius.

A single sheet of paper, with minimal production costs, sold for 500 PokéDollars—a massive profit margin.

Moreover, by controlling the content of the guide, the trio had inadvertently gained influence.

If they wanted to target a specific trainer, they could easily release insider information about them under the guise of analysis.

"Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't rank Ash as number one to make him a bigger target," Luo Yuan mused.

The truth was, the trio had shifted their focus entirely to making money since receiving their task from "Officer K."

Ash and his Pikachu were no longer even on their radar.

---

"My next match is on the Grass Field, the afternoon after tomorrow. What about you, Luo Yuan?" Gary asked.

Now that the first round had ended, the matchups for the second round were posted.

"I'm on the Water Field, morning of the same day," Luo Yuan replied.

This time, his opponent wasn't one of the trainers competing for an Elite Four spot, so he wasn't too concerned.

Hearing that their matches didn't overlap, Gary brightened.

This meant he could watch Luo Yuan's battle live.

Recordings were one thing, but nothing compared to seeing a match in person.

Just as Gary was about to say something, Ash and Brock approached from a distance.

"Hey, Gary! Luo Yuan!" Ash called out, waving energetically.

Gary, recalling the earlier incident, immediately considered pretending not to know Ash.

Unfortunately, Ash and Brock reached them before he could act.

"What're you guys talking about?" Ash asked cheerfully.

His eyes landed on the guidebook on the table.

"Oh! The Indigo Conference Seeded Player List!"

To Gary's dismay, Ash began reading aloud.

"Wow! Luo Yuan is ranked first, and I'm ninth!"

Then, he frowned in mock confusion.

"But... Gary, where are you?"