"Yeah, that's what you get for being so overconfident. You're definitely going to use only the Pokémon you caught in the Sinnoh Region—aren't you worried you'll get upset again?" Ash said.
Ash had never forgotten the upset at the Ever Grande Conference, which was why this time, for the Sinnoh League, he'd had the Pokémon he caught in previous regions transferred over to compete. Most of the ones he'd brought were from the Johto Region, with just one from Kanto—Snorlax.
"Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself—try not to have a repeat of the Ever Grande Conference," Gary said.
Ash: "…!"
Dawn watched Ash go suddenly silent and couldn't help wondering what had happened to him at the Ever Grande Conference. Why did Ash clam up with that same frustrated look every time Gary brought it up?
"I'm off."
Gary waved a hand and left the Pokémon Center.
After dinner at the restaurant in the athletes' village, Gary went back to his room to rest and used the computer there to look up information on Maya.
Maya was a Sinnoh Region native, fifteen years old, competing in the League Conference for the first time.
So far she had revealed three Pokémon—Breloom, Lopunny, and Infernape—all of which she'd used in the qualifiers. Whether she'd bring out anything new was anyone's guess.
The next day.
The second round of the Sinnoh League Lily of the Valley Conference preliminaries began.
Gary's match against Maya was the second of the day.
After breakfast, Gary headed to Arena D early in the morning.
Maya was naturally already there. Gary looked her over—a graceful young girl. She wasn't very old, but she'd already started to fill out, and with her round cheeks she looked cute in an innocent sort of way.
Maya seemed to sense someone watching her and turned around, spotting Gary. When she realized he was looking at her, she got flustered, not daring to meet his eyes, and quickly turned back around.
Shy?
Gary was surprised.
It took a certain thickness of skin to compete in something as public as a League Conference; otherwise, having that many people watching you would be hard to bear.
Gary didn't dwell on Maya—it was just a preliminary match, after all. He found a seat, sat down, and waited for the matches to begin.
But while Gary wasn't paying attention to Maya, Maya suddenly stood up and walked over to him of her own accord, arriving at his side under his gaze.
"Can I help you?" Gary asked.
"H-hello, my name is Maya. I'm a fan of yours. Could you please give me your autograph? Please!"
Maya held out a Jigglypuff-themed notebook with a signing pen clipped to it.
"You're not messing with me, are you?" Gary said.
"No! I really am your fan. Three years ago I went to the Indigo Plateau Conference to watch your matches, and I was completely won over. I've watched every one of your matches since," Maya said, her face flushing red as she spoke.
Seeing how worked up she was, Gary could tell Maya really was a fan. He just hadn't expected that one day he'd end up battling one of his own fans.
"Let's talk autographs after the battle is over," Gary said.
He was being careful. He couldn't sign anything—not during the competition, at least. If she wanted an autograph, it would have to wait until the matches were done.
"Thank you! Then I'll come find you after the match!" Maya put her notebook away and returned to her seat.
Just as Gary was about to turn his attention back to the matches, he noticed the other competitors around him staring.
"Damn it, a girl like Maya is a fan of that guy?"
"Seriously, why Gary? What good is a pretty face? Can you eat it?"
"It's over! Maya's probably going to end up as one of Gary's groupies."
Listening to the other competitors' comments, Gary was genuinely speechless. Sure, Maya was cute, but she was only fifteen. Whatever anyone else might think, that was a line Gary wasn't going to cross.
The matches officially began at nine o'clock.
Every competitor present had already been through one round and was in proper battle condition. The first match of the morning was quite good, taking nearly twenty minutes to finish.
Once the field was restored, the second match began.
"The second match of the morning will now begin. Competitors Gary and Maya, please enter the arena."
At the announcer's call, the two entered the stadium and took their places in the command boxes.
Maya looked as cute and innocent as ever, gazing across at Gary with eyes full of admiration and anticipation.
Up in the stands, the other competitors kept running their mouths.
"That Maya's a real beauty. Too bad she's about to get flattened today."
"Don't go soft just because she's a girl! You'd better keep the 3-0 streak going—I put money on a clean sweep!"
"You've got guts, brother. Betting on a 3-0 in the preliminaries when you haven't even seen Darkrai's Trainer yet."
"So what if there's a Darkrai? You think our guy doesn't have a Legendary Pokémon of his own?"
After the competitors entered the field, the referee checked that both were ready. Confirming there were no issues, he announced: "This will be a 3-on-3 battle between Maya and Gary. The match ends when all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle."
"The field for this match is Rock. Both competitors, send out your Pokémon now."
At the referee's announcement, Maya and Gary threw out their Poké Balls at the same time.
Flash!!
[LV48 Breloom — Gym]
Maya's first Pokémon was Breloom, at level 48—just one level shy of its peak. Clearly, she'd been raising it for a long time.
The Pokémon Gary sent out was Rhyperior.
[LV64 Rhyperior — Champion]
That's the Rhyperior—the one he used at the Indigo Plateau Conference, Maya thought.
As Gary's fan, she had memorized every Pokémon he'd ever used in official competition.
Knowing this was one of the first Pokémon Gary had ever raised, Maya felt both thrilled and nervous—thrilled that Gary was taking this match seriously, and nervous because of the sheer pressure he brought with it.
The moment the battle began, Maya struck first: "Mach Punch!"
Whoosh!!
Breloom accelerated with the move's boost, closing on Rhyperior in an instant and driving a fist into it—but even with the punch landing clean, Rhyperior didn't retreat half a step.
"Ice Punch!" Gary ordered, and almost simultaneously Maya called out, "Use Sleep Powder!"
Rhyperior swung its fist, icy energy coating it as the punch came crashing down toward Breloom's head.
Breloom didn't dodge—it deliberately took the Ice Punch, using the moment of contact to release its Sleep Powder.
Bang!!
The Ice Punch sent Breloom flying.
But Rhyperior was left shrouded in a layer of green, glowing powder.