Once the list of Trainers receiving direct entry into the Ultra Ball Tier was announced, the entire world erupted with excitement.
A world-class competition involving powerful Pokémon Trainers from every region was about to begin.
Over the next month, the Great Ball Tier tournament would be held first.
Its participants would consist of Gym Leaders from the various regional Leagues, along with Trainers whose strength had reached at least the elite level.
The number of eligible competitors alone was likely to reach several hundred.
After all, Trainers who placed within the top eight—or even the top sixteen—of a regional League Conference generally possessed strength approaching the Elite Four level.
If all of them chose to participate, they would naturally qualify for the Great Ball Tier.
There were currently thirty-eight Trainers with direct entry into the Ultra Ball Tier.
Since a standard tournament bracket required sixty-four competitors, twenty-six Trainers from the Great Ball Tier would be promoted.
At the same time, the eight principal Gym Leaders of every major region would all participate.
That alone accounted for fifty-six Trainers.
Once the many Gym Leaders who had never appeared in the original story were included, the total number of Gym Leaders exceeded one hundred.
Combined with renowned Trainers from every region, registration remained open for half a month.
By the time it closed, the Great Ball Tier had gathered a total of 1,024 competitors.
Every one of them possessed strength at or above the near-Elite Four level.
There were even quite a few genuine Elite Four-level Trainers among them.
Ash, Gary, Harrison, Tyson, Paul, and others capable of contending for regional Conference championships were all included.
These 1,024 Trainers would compete through a series of three-on-three battles.
Ultimately, twenty-six would earn promotion into the Ultra Ball Tier.
Once the first Ultra Ball Tier roster had been established, the top eight Trainers in each future Great Ball Tier season would automatically advance.
Furthermore, the number-one ranked Trainer in each tier would gain the right to challenge someone from the tier above.
If the challenger won, the two would exchange rankings and tiers.
For example, once the first Masters Eight had been decided, only fifty-six Trainers would remain in the Ultra Ball Tier.
The top eight Great Ball Tier competitors would then be promoted to restore the Ultra Ball Tier roster to sixty-four.
In other words, every future world tournament would maintain the following structure:
The Master Ball Tier would contain eight Trainers.
The Ultra Ball Tier would contain sixty-four Trainers.
The Great Ball Tier would contain 1,024 Trainers.
As for the Poké Ball Tier and Beginner Tier, neither would have fixed rankings.
...
"The battle to determine the world's strongest Trainer... I think Champion Lance has a real chance!"
"This tournament is incredible! I can't wait to find out who the true world number one is!"
"I think it'll be Aiden. He has Legendary Pokémon. How could he possibly lose?"
"Didn't you read the rules? He can only use one primary Legendary per battle."
"Aiden is strong, but who can guarantee he'll win?"
"Go, Cynthia!"
"Leon is the strongest! I believe in him!"
"Please. Leon already lost to our Champion Aiden."
"My uncle's younger cousin works inside the Pokémon League. According to him, Leon was the one who proposed restricting Legendary Pokémon at the Champions' Conference."
"Looks like Aiden scared him senseless!"
"You're making that up!"
Discussions about the world tournament spread everywhere.
Even people who were not Pokémon Trainers found themselves fascinated by the event.
The Great Ball Tier matches would be broadcast separately by each regional League.
Once the tournament reached the Ultra Ball Tier, however, every match would be broadcast worldwide.
Powerful Trainers across the globe began preparing themselves for a new challenge.
Meanwhile, Aiden chose to enter Mt. Silver.
His goal was to find and capture pseudo-Legendary Pokémon such as Larvitar, Pupitar, and Tyranitar.
He intended to fulfill his wish of collecting every Pokémon he had ever truly liked.
...
Cynthia and Lorelei had originally wanted to accompany him.
However, with the world tournament approaching, both of them needed time to train their Pokémon.
Thus, Aiden entered Mt. Silver alone.
As the largest wild Pokémon preserve under the Kanto League's protection, Mt. Silver was naturally home to countless rare Pokémon.
Not long after entering its deeper regions, Aiden encountered many fully evolved Pokémon.
Each possessed at least elite-level strength, and even near-Elite Four Pokémon were not uncommon.
However, Aiden had little interest in them.
Activating his psychic power, he began searching the surrounding area for rare and powerful Pokémon.
Yet no truly exceptional Pokémon appeared within his senses.
To save both time and effort, Aiden released his two Deoxys, Mewtwo, and the three Lake Guardians.
"Search Mt. Silver for exceptional Pokémon."
"The moment you find a suitable target, contact me immediately."
"I'll head over at once."
Deoxys, Mewtwo, and the three Lake Guardians all accepted the task.
At the same time, the two Gardevoir sisters appeared and began searching for the Tyranitar Aiden wanted.
Perhaps Aiden's luck had not been particularly good lately.
After an entire day and night, neither the Legendary Pokémon nor his other partners had discovered anything.
Aiden could only sigh helplessly.
However, fortune often arrived when one least expected it.
Although he had failed to find Tyranitar, a Venusaur with Elite Four-level strength suddenly entered the range of his psychic senses.
It belonged to an entire Venusaur colony.
A powerful Venusaur served as the group's leader.
There were more than a dozen Venusaur, over fifty Ivysaur, and several hundred Bulbasaur.
These were Kanto's Grass-type starter Pokémon.
Encountering such a massive colony naturally delighted Aiden.
There was nothing more to consider.
He would capture them.
Having made his decision, Aiden first inspected the attributes of the dominant Venusaur.
Ding! Venusaur's current attributes are as follows:
Pokémon: Venusaur
Divine Authority: None
Level: 69
Ability: Overgrow
Type: Grass, Poison
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Mega Venusaur
Gigantamax: Gigantamax Venusaur
Moves: Sunny Day, Vine Whip, Petal Dance, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Synthesis, Ingrain, Solar Beam, Frenzy Plant, Power Whip...
Affinity: 0
Profile: The dominant leader of Mt. Silver's Venusaur colony. It possesses extraordinary strength and is the strongest Pokémon within dozens of miles. It has lived for more than a century.
Likes: Sleeping and protecting its colony.
After reading Venusaur's status panel, Aiden grinned.
"The peak of the Elite Four tier?"
"Not bad at all."
"It seems Mt. Silver is home to quite a few powerful Pokémon I'd like to have."
With that, Aiden released one of his own Pokémon.
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