I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 684 - 684: Champion! Four Consecutive Titles

"Hmm? What's going on?"Tobias frowned as he looked at Raikou. Its condition was clearly worse than it should have been.

Even though Raikou had appeared in battle earlier, it had not been on the field long. After being hit by Darkrai's Dark Void, Tobias had recalled it almost immediately. It should not have been drained this badly.

Gary looked at Raikou and understood the reason at a glance.

Even though Raikou had been recalled into its Poké Ball, Darkrai's EX Nightmare ability had continued to take effect. Darkrai did not need to attack directly. As long as its ability was active, any creature near it that was asleep would have its life energy worn down by nightmares.

Most Darkrai could not affect a Pokémon inside a Poké Ball. But Gary's Darkrai had a strengthened version of the ability, meaning even Raikou inside its capsule had not been safe. The nightmare had continued to drain it the entire time it was in stasis.

Luckily, Raikou had managed to wake up. If it had not, Tobias would have released a completely unconscious Pokémon onto the field.

"Electivire, Dynamic Punch!" Gary ordered.

"Vire!"

Electivire charged straight at Raikou.

Thanks to its Motor Drive ability, Electivire had nothing to fear from Raikou. Raikou was a pure Electric-type, and most of its moveset was Electric-based — completely useless against an opponent like Electivire that absorbed those attacks.

"Raikou, use Extrasensory!" Tobias ordered.

Raikou's eyes glowed blue, and a Psychic-type pulse spread outward.

Electivire was prepared. It immediately set up Light Screen, which blocked Extrasensory cleanly, and continued charging forward without slowing down. White energy gathered around its right fist.

"Use Extreme Speed," Tobias commanded, his voice tight.

Raikou's moveset did not include any Ground-type attacks, which made dealing with Electivire incredibly difficult.

Whoosh!

Raikou darted forward in a blur. Even with that kind of speed, Electivire was ready. It swung its fist down toward Raikou's head, but an invisible barrier of energy flared up around Raikou and absorbed part of the blow.

Bang!

The two Pokémon collided with massive force and were both knocked backward. Raikou ended up much farther away, which made it clear that Electivire was physically stronger.

"Electivire, Earthquake!" Gary ordered.

"Vire!"

Electivire raised both fists high and slammed them down into the ground. A violent shockwave spread outward across the field.

"Jump up and use Extrasensory!" Tobias countered.

Raikou launched itself twenty or thirty meters into the air, avoiding the Earthquake completely. It gathered psychic energy mid-air and fired it down toward Electivire.

"Dig!"

The moment Gary gave the order, Electivire burrowed into the ground. Extrasensory lost its target and harmlessly hit the empty crater where Electivire had been.

Tobias's expression tightened.

Why is this guy's Pokémon moveset so wide?

Over the course of the match, Tobias had noticed something off. Gary's Pokémon all had unusually large movepools. They could use moves from across multiple types with ease. An Electivire knowing Earthquake was already unusual. An Electivire that could also use Dig? That was almost ridiculous.

"Raikou, use Reflect!" Tobias called out.

Since Raikou had no real way to attack underground, defense was the only choice. Tobias was worried, though. Reflect would only cut the damage in half. Raikou's condition was already poor, and a clean hit from underground could end the match.

Raikou landed and immediately set up Reflect.

The barrier had barely formed when the ground beneath Raikou cracked open. A golden figure shot up from below and rammed into Raikou with brutal force, throwing it across the field.

Raikou skidded to a stop, its face twisted in pain. It was clearly close to its limit.

"Raikou, Extreme Speed!" Tobias ordered, refusing to give up. He wasn't about to sit and wait for defeat.

"Roar!"

Raikou pushed through the pain and rushed at Electivire again.

Gary saw the charge and immediately gave his next order.

"Ion Deluge."

Electivire stayed perfectly still. Electricity poured out from its body, but instead of forming an attack, the current converted into a wide field of charged ions across the battlefield.

The moment Raikou entered the field, the cyclone of energy wrapped around its body was transformed into raw electricity. By the time Raikou reached Electivire, its attack had been completely converted into an Electric-type move.

"Vire!"

Motor Drive activated. The entire wave of electricity surrounding Raikou was absorbed straight into Electivire's body, fueling it.

"Such a trick…!" Tobias's eyes widened, and he immediately regretted using Extreme Speed. He had basically handed Electivire a free speed boost.

"Dynamic Punch!" Gary ordered.

"Vire!"

Electivire blurred forward at its new speed and reached Raikou in an instant, fist raised. Just before the blow connected, Reflect flashed in front of Raikou — only to shatter under the punch like glass. Electivire's fist crashed straight onto Raikou's head.

Bang!

Raikou hit the ground hard. Its body twitched a few times, then went still.

"Raikou is unable to battle! Electivire wins!" the referee announced. "All of Tobias's Pokémon have lost the ability to battle. The winner of this match is Gary!"

The final match of the Lily of the Valley Conference was over.

The stadium exploded into cheers.

"Yes!! Daddy Gary did it!"

"Daddy Gary! YYDS!"

"I knew it! Gary swept the whole thing from start to finish!"

The crowd was deafening.

In the stands, Barry threw his hands up in disbelief.

"This is so unfair! He didn't lose a single Pokémon! I'd fine him for cheating if I could!"

He had honestly thought Gary would lose at least two or three Pokémon to Tobias. Instead, he had not lost any.

"It looks like Gary's other Pokémon are also incredibly strong," Brock said.

"Yeah," Ash agreed quietly. "There's still a huge gap between me and him."

Ash knew Gary's team well enough. Aside from the Legendary Pokémon, the others Gary had used in this Conference were all part of his original team — the very first Pokémon he had caught when he became a Trainer.

Magnezone, Electivire, Rhyperior — they were all Pokémon Gary had raised since the very beginning of his journey. They were not Gary's strongest Pokémon, but together they formed a complete team.

After the match, both finalists left the field and headed to the Pokémon Center for treatment.

Gary and Tobias both arrived at roughly the same time. After handing their Pokémon over to Nurse Joy, they sat down in the rest area. Neither of them spoke at first.

Gary, however, was genuinely curious about Tobias. All of Tobias's Legendary Pokémon were Elite-tier in level. To capture and command that many Legendaries, Tobias should have at least a few powerful normal Pokémon on his team as well. That was how things normally worked.

But throughout the entire Conference, every single one of Tobias's six Pokémon had been a Legendary. Not a single ordinary Pokémon had appeared. That was strange.

"Mind if I ask something?" Gary said.

Tobias, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, opened them and replied calmly.

"What do you want to talk about?"