A lightning snake flew up toward the airborne Slaking and struck it directly. Although the attack landed cleanly, it wasn't enough to stop Slaking's fall.
Bang!
The ice surface cracked as Slaking's Body Slam crushed Ampharos, smashing a small crater into the ice.
Tick.
Slaking felt numb all over—after all, he had been electrocuted twice. When he could no longer feel Ampharos struggling beneath him, he stood up. Ampharos lay in the small pit, eyes rolling.
"Ampharos is unable to battle! Slaking wins!" the referee announced.
Though Ampharos's level wasn't low, it still looked weak and powerless against Slaking, whose base stat total was 670. Worse, Ampharos's movement speed was slow, making it difficult to move on the ice. Once Slaking closed the distance, there was nothing it could do but wait.
Tyson silently recalled Ampharos and took the last Poké Ball from his belt. There was no need to guess what was inside—it was Tyson's trump card, Meowth.
But at this point, all of Gary's Pokémon remained on the field, and none had suffered any serious injuries. Meowth couldn't fight seven opponents alone. Still, this was the final. Even facing certain defeat, Tyson had to fight until the end.
"Meowth, get ready!" Tyson threw the Poké Ball.
"Meow!"
A Meowth wearing small boots appeared on the field.
It had to be said that Tyson's Meowth had become quite popular during this year's Conference. Pokémon like Meowth weren't typically as strong as something like Pikachu, so putting on such an impressive performance at the Ever Grande Conference was no small feat.
Gary genuinely wanted to see this Meowth's stats, but unfortunately, since it already belonged to a trainer and wasn't one he had captured himself, he had no way to view its detailed data.
Gary suspected this Meowth might have an EX-tier Technical Master Ability—otherwise, how else could it hold its own against Pikachu?
"Meowth, use Double Team," Tyson ordered first.
Knowing that Slaking fought recklessly, Tyson didn't dare let Meowth face it head-on.
"Meow~!"
"Meow!!"
"Meow...!!"
Meowth immediately split into more than ten clones, making it impossible to tell which one was real.
Gary didn't seem concerned at all. He calmly ordered, "Slaking, use Yawn."
"Aaaah~!!"
Slaking let out a yawn toward the Meowths. It didn't matter which one was real—as long as the genuine Meowth saw it, the attack would land.
Tyson froze, having forgotten Slaking could pull this off. He quickly ordered, "Meowth, Thunderbolt!"
"...!"
All the Meowths unleashed Thunderbolt together.
"Tch...!" Slaking had already been electrocuted multiple times by Ampharos earlier, and taking a Thunderbolt from an Elite-level Meowth on top of that was almost too much.
"Return."
Gary said nothing more and recalled Slaking into its Poké Ball.
"Meow~!"
Suddenly, Meowth felt drowsy and fell asleep. The moment it dozed off, all its clones vanished into thin air.
"Gardevoir, I'll leave the rest to you." Gary sent out Gardevoir and ordered, "Use Calm Mind, repeatedly."
"What?!"
After appearing, Gardevoir followed the command and closed her eyes, beginning to focus and use Calm Mind.
"Meowth! Wake up! Wake up now!!" Tyson shouted as loud as he could, hoping to rouse Meowth, but it remained fast asleep.
After so many consecutive days of battles, every Pokémon in the tournament was mentally exhausted. Once they fell asleep and weren't attacked, they wouldn't wake easily.
Gardevoir continued using Calm Mind. By the third use, Gary felt it was enough and immediately ordered, "Aura Sphere!"
"What?!"
Gardevoir condensed a blue orb of energy, and once released, it shot rapidly toward the sleeping Meowth.
"Aura Sphere after three uses of Calm Mind—if this lands, it's over!" the announcer exclaimed.
Tyson shouted desperately, "Meowth, wake up now!"
Boom!!
A cloud of smoke erupted, and Meowth's body flew out from within it, crashing hard onto the ground.
"Meow!"
A sharp cry rang out—Meowth had woken up, but it hadn't fainted yet.
"Huh, still standing." Gary was somewhat surprised, though Meowth's condition was clearly terrible. Even without fainting, the Aura Sphere had dealt heavy damage.
"Meowth, can you still fight?" Tyson asked.
"Meow!!"
Meowth cried out loudly, signaling that it could continue, but everyone present could tell it was mostly bravado.
Tyson didn't call out the bluff. Instead, he showed a relieved smile and ordered, "Alright, Meowth, use Thunderbolt!"
"Meow!"
Meowth mustered everything it had, releasing its strongest Thunderbolt. Electricity burst across its entire body, gathering into a lightning snake that shot toward Gardevoir.
"Use Psychic to counter it," Gary ordered.
"What?!"
Gardevoir responded with equal intensity, unleashing a wave of psychic energy. Invisible force spread outward from her body, intercepting the Thunderbolt in midair.
"Meow!!!"
Seeing its Thunderbolt blocked, Meowth refused to give up and poured out even more electricity. But even with its power boosted, it was still nowhere near Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
The overwhelming Psychic attack shattered through the Thunderbolt and surged toward Meowth.
Bang!!
Meowth's small body was sent flying backward, slamming into the arena wall. It didn't even manage a final cry before fainting on the spot.
The entire stadium fell silent in that instant.
"Meowth is unable to battle. Gardevoir wins!" the referee announced. "All of Tyson's Pokémon have been defeated. The winner of this match is Gary!"
The final match of the Ever Grande Conference had ended.
Gary had won the Ever Grande Conference with a perfect record—the first time in the tournament's history that every single match had ended in a flawless victory.
"Damn! Is Gary even human? He won every single match!"
"Incredible. I doubt anyone will match this record for a hundred years."
"This is amazing! This year's Ever Grande Conference was worth every penny. I made a fortune betting on this guy!"
The Hoenn Alliance's sports lottery had also made a huge profit from this Conference. Many people had placed bets on Gary's various records, but no one could have predicted that he would win the entire championship without losing a single Pokémon.
After the match, Gary and Tyson went to the Pokémon Center together, handing over the Pokémon that had fought in the battle to Nurse Joy for treatment.
"Gary! Tyson!"
Ash and the others also arrived at the Pokémon Center.
"Gary, congratulations on winning the championship. And Tyson, congratulations on taking second place," Max said.