"I just want to see if I can win the Sinnoh League by training only the Pokémon I caught here," Ash said seriously.
Gary looked at him for a moment before replying, "Why are you so obsessed with that? Winning the League Championship isn't easy. It's already difficult enough to do it once."
Ash scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"It is hard… but you did it, Gary. And not just once. You've done it three times."
Since childhood, Ash had always regarded Gary as his strongest rival.
According to how things originally went, their relationship had been one of fierce competition before the Silver Conference. After Gary lost to Ash in Johto and chose to become a Pokémon researcher, Ash had slowly stopped viewing him as his primary rival.
But now, everything was different.
Gary had never lost to Ash.
He defeated Ash at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
He defeated him again at the Silver Conference.
And he had even taken the Hoenn League Championship right in front of him.
To Ash, Gary had become the ultimate benchmark.
No matter how strong the rivals he met in other regions were, in Ash's heart, none of them stood above Gary.
"If you really want to win this Lily of the Valley Conference," Gary said calmly, "I suggest you use your Pokémon from Kanto."
Ash blinked.
"Why? Are you planning to use your main team too?"
Ash wasn't inexperienced anymore. He knew exactly how strong League Trainers were. If Gary used his core team, then most Trainers in the Sinnoh League wouldn't even be qualified to face him.
"I won't use my main team," Gary replied. "But this time, there will be a Trainer in the Lily of the Valley Conference who is extremely dangerous. I doubt anyone except me can stand against him."
Ash and Brock both froze.
"Who?"
"Is he really that strong?"
They found it hard to imagine anyone earning such a serious evaluation from Gary.
"I don't know his name," Gary said. "But I saw his Gym Battle. He used a Darkrai. The Gym Leader's Pokémon couldn't even withstand ten moves."
"What?! Darkrai?!"
"That's the Legendary Pokémon Darkrai!"
Ash and Dawn exclaimed at the same time.
They had already encountered Darkrai before, during the incident in Alamos Town. They knew exactly what kind of existence it was.
"Isn't there only one Darkrai?" Ash asked.
"Of course not," Gary replied. "Darkrai is a Legendary Pokémon, but it's not unique. There are several known individuals. Even in Sinnoh, there have been sightings."
"Which Gym did he challenge?" Ash asked.
"Sunyshore Gym."
Dawn gasped.
"Sunyshore Gym is the strongest Gym in Sinnoh! I saw it on TV! If that Trainer's Darkrai defeated Volkner's Pokémon easily, then how strong is he…?"
Ash fell silent.
If someone like that entered the League, then winning with only newly caught Pokémon would be nearly impossible.
"I understand," Ash finally said. "I'll be careful."
Gary revealed Tobias's existence on purpose.
Not because he believed Ash could beat him—Ash probably couldn't, even with his Kanto Pokémon. But at least Ash wouldn't walk into the League completely blind.
If not for Ash, Tobias would have swept the Lily of the Valley Conference with Darkrai alone.
Everyone else had been crushed without resistance.
After that, the conversation drifted to other topics.
From Ash's group, Gary learned that they had encountered Maylene near Reggie's Pokémon Breeding House earlier that morning.
Paul had mocked her harshly, causing her to doubt herself as a Gym Leader.
To help Maylene regain her confidence, Dawn had agreed to challenge her first.
So tomorrow's Gym Battle would be Dawn versus Maylene, while Ash's Gym Battle would be postponed to the following day.
"Gary, will you come watch Dawn's Gym Battle tomorrow?" Ash asked.
Gary shook his head.
"No. I still need to train my Pokémon."
Ash was stunned.
"Didn't you say you're traveling now? Wouldn't it be fun to watch battles to pass the time?"
"That depends on the battle," Gary replied. "I'm not interested in a beginner-level Gym match."
With that, he stood up.
"I'll head back first. Take your time eating."
He left without hesitation.
Dawn frowned deeply.
"What's with him? He was so reasonable just now, and suddenly he's acting cold again."
Tomorrow would be her first Gym Battle. She had hoped Gary would watch.
Ash scratched his cheek.
"Don't be mad. Gary's always like that. If something doesn't interest him, he won't pretend otherwise."
Brock chuckled.
"Still, he's honest."
"Hmph! Stubborn Gary!" Dawn puffed up her cheeks.
"Ash, you must defeat him at the Lily of the Valley Conference!"
"I'll do my best," Ash said.
But deep down, he had little confidence.
The Next Day
Ash, Dawn, and Brock headed to Veilstone Gym early in the morning.
Gary, meanwhile, stopped real combat training and let his Pokémon focus only on performance drills. He was quietly waiting for nightfall.
This was part of Ash's group's plan.
Dawn would challenge Maylene in the morning.
Ash would challenge her in the afternoon.
And tonight…
Team Galactic would act.
The operation would be led by one of Team Galactic's commanders—Mars.
Mars was fiercely loyal to Cyrus. Even after Team Galactic had supposedly disbanded, she sought him out again and continued their plans.
She had already captured Heatran and used the Flame Plate to strengthen it, attempting to force open a gateway to space and time. It nearly caused a catastrophe across Sinnoh.
Gary stood by the training field, arms crossed.
"If Mars can capture Heatran," he muttered, "then so can I."
He remembered clearly—Heatran was captured at Stark Mountain.
Even Mars had succeeded.
That meant the Heatran living there wasn't overwhelmingly strong.
"When everything here is settled," Gary decided, "I'll go to Stark Mountain."
If he could obtain Heatran, it would significantly increase his combat potential.