Argenta looked at Blastoise and felt a growing headache.
She knew almost nothing about Gary's Blastoise. After seeing Dragonite repeatedly pushed back by it, she no longer dared to attack recklessly.
After a mont of hesitation, she decided on a riskier but more direct approach.
"Dragonite, use Thunder!"
Gary responded imdiately.
"Blastoise, Ice Beam!"
If Argenta wanted to trade damage, Gary certainly wasn't going to refuse.
Dragonite's body crackled with golden lightning as electricity surged upward toward the sky.
At the sa mont, Blastoise fired two streams of freezing energy from its cannons. The beams converged midair, rging into a single, thicker Ice Beam that shot straight toward Dragonite.
BOOM!!
Thunder roared across the battlefield.
At the sa instant, the Ice Beam struck Dragonite directly.
The freezing energy rapidly encased Dragonite in ice.
"Draa…!"
Blastoise endured the Thunder strike once again. Sparks crackled across its shell as the powerful electricity coursed through its body.
The attack drained a large portion of its stamina, and sweat began to bead on Blastoise's forehead.
Gary narrowed his eyes.
"Did it go down?"
He looked toward Dragonite, which was completely frozen in a block of ice. It was difficult to tell whether it had already lost the ability to fight.
Although Dragonite possessed the Multiscale Ability, that advantage had already been broken by Blastoise's earlier attacks. After taking such a powerful Ice Beam, the damage should have been severe.
"Dragonite—use Steel Wing!" Argenta commanded urgently.
The frozen Dragonite didn't respond.
"Draa…!"
Argenta's expression stiffened.
She had believed Dragonite could withstand at least two Ice Beams, but now it seed she had overestimated her partner's endurance.
"Blastoise—Flash Cannon!" Gary ordered suddenly.
"Blastoise!"
Twin silver beams erupted from Blastoise's cannons. The attack shattered the ice surrounding Dragonite and struck it directly.
The impact sent Dragonite flying several ters across the stage before it crashed to the ground, completely motionless.
"Dragonite is unable to battle!"
"The winner of this match is the challenger, Gary!"
The referee announced the result imdiately.
Argenta sighed and shook her head with a wry smile.
"I truly didn't expect the challenger to be this strong."
Scott had told her over the phone to give the battle her full effort, but when she saw Gary was only a teenager, she hadn't taken the warning entirely seriously.
Now, thinking about it carefully—
Even if she had fought with everything she had, her Dragonite likely still wouldn't have defeated Blastoise.
After the match, Argenta stepped forward and handed Gary the Stage Symbol.
"Congratulations. This is the Stage Symbol. It's yours now."
"Thank you," Gary replied.
He accepted the symbol politely.
[Ding! Mission completed. Rewards have been distributed to the system storage space.]
Now Gary had obtained the Stage Symbol.
Only one facility remained in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier—
The Battle Tower.
Gary planned to collect the final symbol first before heading to Lake Valor. The timing should work perfectly.
"Ms. Argenta, thank you for the battle," Gary said with a slight nod.
After saying goodbye, he turned and left the Battle Hall.
Watching Gary's departing figure, Argenta let out another sigh.
"That boy… I wonder if Palr will be able to stop him."
Twinleaf Town
A while later, Gary landed near the Pokémon Center in Twinleaf Town.
The final Frontier facility of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier—the Battle Tower—was located here.
Gary climbed down from Garchomp's back and looked around.
"Hm?"
He noticed colorful banners hanging along both sides of the street.
Large signs surrounded the town square with the words:
"Celebrate the Twinleaf Festival!"
"The Twinleaf Festival…" Gary murmured.
This festival was a special tradition unique to Twinleaf Town. It lasted for three days and three nights.
Judging by the decorations and crowds, today seed to be the first day of the celebration.
Gary thought for a mont.
"Ash challenged Palr during the festival before…"
That ant Ash Ketchum was probably sowhere in Twinleaf Town right now.
Gary shrugged slightly.
"Never mind. I'll go to the Battle Tower first."
He recalled Garchomp and released Cyclizar, riding it toward the Battle Tower.
The tower wasn't far from town. It would only take about twenty minutes to reach.
Battle Tower
The Sinnoh Battle Tower was open to the public.
Trainers from all over could co here to participate in battle challenges.
Winning battles earned Battle Points, which could be exchanged for Technical Machines (TMs) and other rare items.
In addition, if a Trainer achieved twenty consecutive victories, they would earn the right to challenge the Frontier Brain—
Palr, the Tower Tycoon.
If soone managed to defeat Palr, they could choose one special reward without spending any Battle Points.
However, when Gary arrived at the tower today, the place seed unusually quiet.
The entrance hall had very few people nearby.
Most likely, everyone had gone to enjoy the festivities in town.
Gary returned Cyclizar and walked inside.
"…No one?"
He stepped into the lobby.
The large hall was almost completely empty.
"Hello?" Gary called out.
No answer.
"Is anyone here?"
Still nothing.
"Hello?"
Gary frowned slightly.
"Is this place completely unattended…?"
He waited a mont before raising his voice again.
"Is anyone here?!"
After shouting several tis, footsteps finally echoed from the corridor.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
A young woman hurried out from the end of the hallway and quickly approached the lobby.
When she saw Gary standing there, she blinked in confusion.
"…Do you need sothing?"
Gary sighed internally.
Normally, only trainers who had already completed the required winning streak could challenge Palr. So when soone arrived, the receptionist wouldn't imdiately assu they were there to challenge the Frontier Brain.
"My na is Gary," he said calmly. "I was recomnded by Mr. Scott to challenge the Battle Frontier. Is Mr. Palr here?"
The young woman froze.
"You're… here to challenge the Frontier Brain?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No, no," she said quickly, shaking her head. "It's just that Mr. Palr has been invited to attend the Twinleaf Festival celebration. If you want to challenge him, you'll have to wait until the festival ends."
Gary frowned slightly.
"When does the festival end?"
"The festival lasts three days," she explained. "However, there will be a special tournant held during the celebration. The winner will get the chance to battle Mr. Palr."
"If you want to challenge him normally, you'll probably have to wait until the day after tomorrow."
"I see," Gary said.
Then he nodded slightly.
"In that case, I'll head to the festival."
Gary decided it would be better to find Palr first and schedule the battle directly so he wouldn't waste ti later.
Besides, Ash and his friends were probably in Twinleaf Town as well.
Once Ash headed toward Sunyshore City and passed by Lake Valor, Team Galactic would soon begin their next move.
"Alright," the receptionist said. "Enjoy the festival."
Gary left the Battle Tower and rode Cyclizar back toward the town square where the celebration was taking place.
The streets were packed with people.
Colorful stalls lined both sides of the road, selling snacks, souvenirs, and festival gas. Young trainers and townspeople filled the streets with laughter and excitent.
Gary walked around casually, buying a few snacks as he explored the area.
As he approached one particular stall, he suddenly stopped.
The stall itself was empty—
But Gary imdiately recognized the person standing behind it.
The stall owner was Brock.
"Custor!" Brock said automatically when he saw soone approaching.
But when he looked up, his eyes widened.
"Gary?!"
"What are you doing here?!"
He looked completely stunned.
Gary raised an eyebrow.
"I'm here to find soone. But why are you selling things here?"
Then he glanced around.
"Where are Ash and Dawn?"
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