"There will be plenty of chances to fly in the future. I'm not stopping you from flying—why are you so impatient?" Gary said with a helpless smile.
Salamence growled softly, looking eager and obedient, clearly excited about flying freely.
Gary decided he'd wait until the Ever Grande Conference ended and then let Salamence carry him back to the Kanto region. That way, Salamence could enjoy flying as much as she wanted.
He reached out and placed his hand on her neck, stroking the dragon scales along her body. The scales were sleek, thin, and shimmered under the light, with a delicate yet slippery texture that felt almost metallic.
"Salamence…"
Salamence scrunched her snout, clearly thinking Gary was just messing around by touching her like that.
Chuckling, Gary took out an Ability Enhancement Stone and pressed it gently against Salamence.
[Ding! Ability enhancement successful.]
Gary's eyes gleamed with anticipation as he opened her data profile.
He was especially curious about what the Intimidate ability would become after the enhancement.
[Pokémon: Salamence ♀]
[Type: Dragon/Flying]
[Level: 50]
[Potential: Elite]
[Ability: EX Intimidate – Upon entering battle, sharply lowers the opposing Pokémon's Attack, Special Attack, Defense, and Special Defense by one stage each.]
[Moves: Leer, Ember, Headbutt, Scary Face, Protect, Crunch, Dragon Claw, Zen Headbutt, Fly, Flamethrower]
[Taught Moves: Shadow Claw, Body Slam, Rest, Rock Slide, Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast, Outrage]
[Friendship: 255 (Maxed out)]
Gary blinked.
"Σ(っ °Д °;)っ… Are you serious?!"
He was stunned.
EX Intimidate was on a completely different level. It didn't just lower the enemy's physical attack like the normal ability—it reduced all offensive and defensive stats by one stage upon entering battle. No matter what kind of opponent showed up, they would be weakened instantly. It was overwhelming.
"Rooaar?"
Salamence tilted her head in confusion. She didn't really feel stronger—just a slight boost in her dragon energy. But she didn't understand what had changed.
After all, Intimidate was a passive, external effect. Pokémon with that ability wouldn't directly sense the impact they had on others.
"Let's go. Time to fly."
Gary recalled all his Pokémon except Salamence, who stayed outside her Poké Ball.
Man and dragon stepped outside together. Gary climbed onto her back, settling into position.
"Let's practice your flight. The Ever Grande Conference begins in half a month. You need to fully master your flying skills in your evolved form by then."
"Salamennnce!"
With a proud roar, Salamence spread her mighty wings and launched into the air, flapping them with power and precision.
They soared high above the Ever Grande island, with Gary on her back as she practiced turning, diving, and hovering.
"Salamence!"
The blue dragon roared again, her voice full of joy. Though she had flown through the skies before while riding on Latios' back, this was her first time flying with her own wings.
The feeling was completely different—and exhilarating.
Gary observed her performance carefully. For her first solo flight, Salamence's control and stability were surprisingly refined. She navigated the skies with confidence and balance.
This wasn't surprising to Gary. Back when she was still a Shelgon, Gary had often asked Latios to take her flying, letting her experience the sky even if she couldn't yet spread her own wings. That time had paid off—Salamence already had a subconscious understanding of flight.
They flew until dusk. Salamence had boundless stamina and would've kept going, but Gary eventually forced her to land before she pushed herself too far.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
More than 600 Trainers had arrived in Ever Grande City to compete in the regional conference. The turnout was massive—more than both the Indigo Plateau and Johto League Conferences combined.
It wasn't that the Gym Leaders of Hoenn weren't doing their job—it was that the Hoenn region had an active battle culture. With the popularity of Contest Spectaculars and other Trainer activities, many aspiring Trainers came here for adventure and ended up qualifying for the Conference.
Interestingly, one didn't need all eight Gym Badges to enter the Ever Grande Conference. The Pokémon League offered an alternate entry path—those who passed the official Trainer Assessment at a League Center could also participate.
In fact, estimates suggested that over 80% of the 600+ Trainers had entered through the assessment route.
The competition format was split into three main stages:
Preliminary Round 1: A single 1-on-1 knockout round among all competitors. 256 winners would move on.Preliminary Round 2: This stage was double battles. Each Trainer had to win three doubles matches. A single loss meant elimination. Only 32 Trainers would survive to reach the finals.Final Tournament: These would be full battles (6 vs. 6), held on four types of fields—Grass, Rock, Water, and Ice. The field was chosen randomly using a roulette system.
Once a Trainer lost three Pokémon, the match paused for a field change. The battle then resumed under new terrain conditions.
To become Champion of the Ever Grande Conference, a Trainer had to win five full battles in a row.
This made the Hoenn League's final rounds far tougher than previous Indigo or Silver Conferences, which only began full battles from the Top 16. Here, full battles started right from the Top 32.
After the opening ceremony concluded, Gary made his way to the Trainer Village to draw lots and find out his assigned venue for tomorrow.
The Ever Grande Stadium was built across a massive lake, with all competition platforms floating above the water's surface. The central platform was reserved for official battles, while qualifying and preliminary rounds were held on outer platforms.
Due to the high number of participants, there were 19 different preliminary venues.
Gary stepped up to the registration counter, where Nurse Joy was handling the Trainer check-ins.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked warmly.
"I'm a contestant. I wanted to know which stadium I'll be assigned to tomorrow," Gary replied.
"What's your name?"
"Gary."
Joy tapped quickly on her keyboard and pulled up his file.
"Found it. Gary, you'll be battling at Field 12 tomorrow."
"Thanks."
Gary nodded politely and turned to leave, but as he stepped aside, someone behind him called out:
"Gary!"
Gary paused, blinking as he turned around.
Standing there was a familiar figure—short white hair, a confident grin, and determined eyes.
"Brendan," Gary said, surprised.
It was Brendan Birch, the Professor's son and Gary's old rival. He hadn't seen him since their battle in Verdanturf City, when Gary had come out on top.
"Of course it's me!" Brendan said enthusiastically. "I told you back then—I was going to compete in the Ever Grande Conference! This time, I won't lose to you again!"
Gary smirked.
"This is the League Conference. Are you sure you can beat me if I use my old team?"
Brendan went quiet.
The silence said it all.
He wasn't the same rookie anymore—he understood full well the difference between experience and raw ambition.