In the end, Mega Garchomp and Mega Tyranitar also took turns exchanging battles with Regirock.
The process went very smoothly.
Although the final result was Regirock's victory, Mega Garchomp and Mega Tyranitar still caused it enormous trouble.
Especially Mega Garchomp. That terrifying speed, combined with Fighting-type slashes, nearly defeated Regirock.
And Mega Tyranitar, in terms of control over the sandstorm, was completely capable of competing with it, also displaying very powerful combat strength.
Through those battles, Regirock also managed to recognize its own shortcomings.
Had it, a dignified Legendary Pokémon, now fallen to this position within the team?
"Regirock, you've just awakened and still haven't fully recovered your strength. Over the next period of time, I'll create a special plan for you, so that you can fully recover your peak condition."
Ethan looked at Regirock, who seemed somewhat dazed, and spoke with a smile.
In this way, it could be considered that Regirock had completely acknowledged Ethan as its Trainer and joined the training.
...
Just like that, time passed quickly.
That day, Ethan received Rachel's notification.
The Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament was about to begin!
That same night, Ethan headed to Ironvale City and met Rachel at the Pokémon Nightstar Club.
"Is this the list of Gym Leaders from each region for this occasion?"
After chatting for a while, Ethan and Rachel got to the main topic and began discussing the Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament.
Ethan was not very familiar with the Gym Leaders from other regions, but he was very familiar with the Gym Leaders of the Solaris region.
Back then, his evaluation task to compete for a spot in the World Championship had been to carry out gym evaluations.
"Leader Victoria, Leader Andrea, Leader Caleb, and also... Leader Brandon!"
Upon seeing Leader Brandon's name, Ethan's eyes narrowed.
He had not expected that Leader Brandon would also participate in this Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament.
According to what he knew, Leader Brandon's strength was much greater than that of other Gym Leaders, completely on another level.
When he challenged Leader Brandon, he had been suppressed head-on. Even when Charizard used the Sunny Day Dragon, it had no advantage.
Now that he thought about it, Leader Brandon obviously had not used his full strength. Just like Ethan evaluated other challengers, that man had also been evaluating him.
"Will we face each other again?"
"The battle that didn't end last time, this time we'll decide who is superior."
Ethan thought with full confidence. His current strength could no longer be compared to before!
...
The next day, the other Gym Leaders of the Ironvale region arrived one after another.
Among them, Ethan even discovered an old acquaintance: Ryan Grant, from the Pokémon Island Adventure Club.
Seeing him again, that green hair of his was still just as eye-catching.
"Ethan?"
"I didn't expect we'd meet again."
Ryan also discovered Ethan at that moment, with a smile on his face.
"It really has been a long time."
Ethan also greeted him.
This Ryan was somewhat arrogant, but at least he had principles.
"So he's Ethan. He really is young."
"That's true, too young. But I heard his strength is very great."
Ryan's words drew the attention of the others, who began looking at Ethan.
Seeing this, Rachel also introduced Ethan to the others.
But when Rachel said that Ethan would be the team captain next, everyone's expressions changed again.
In the upcoming competition, Rachel would not even be the captain. The final captain would be Ethan, this ridiculously young new Gym Leader!
Although everyone knew that Ethan's strength was very great, most of them were Trainers from the older generation.
Now that Ethan, a youngster, was going to be their captain, most of them truly felt that it was difficult to accept.
"I'll be captain?"
Hearing that, Ethan was also stunned.
Rachel had never mentioned that matter to him before.
"Of course Ethan will be the captain. Among everyone here, only Ethan has the greatest strength. Moreover, Ethan is the champion of the youth division of the Pokémon World Championship."
"In this Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament, besides strength, arranging the lineup will also be necessary. For Ethan, who has participated in 6-on-6 battles, that shouldn't be very difficult."
Faced with the others' doubts, Rachel explained her reasons, making everyone fall silent for a moment.
This time, the Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament would be held in a team format. Each team would choose five people to battle, carrying out one-on-one battles. In the end, the team that won three out of five battles would obtain victory.
Therefore, individual strength within the team could not directly decide the result. In a team battle, the most important thing was to arrange the lineup well and make each member face the appropriate opponent.
"If we're talking about 6-on-6 battles, I'm actually very skilled too. After all, my Pokémon Club is famous for open-field exploration."
"As for arranging the lineup, I don't think I'm worse than Ethan."
At that moment, Ryan suddenly spoke, and his words were filled with tension.
"Besides, in terms of strength, I also don't think I'm worse than Ethan. That's why I think it would be best to compete fairly for the captain's position. Only that way will everyone be able to accept it."
Seeing the others looking at him, Ryan continued speaking.
"Competing fairly, that would be best."
Seeing this, the others also nodded, considering Ryan's method to be the most suitable.
To tell the truth, letting a young man be captain was something that was truly difficult for them to accept.
"This..."
Rachel hesitated for a moment and looked at Ethan.
"Yes, I think that's quite good."
"Besides, if we're talking about arranging lineups, it's also necessary to understand one's own teammates well enough."
"I think organizing an internal exchange competition is a good choice."
Ethan smiled and nodded. In truth, whether he was captain or not made no difference to him.
But if Ryan ended up commanding him, that would also be somewhat difficult for him to accept.
After Ethan nodded, an internal exchange competition was confirmed.
And in order to reflect both strength and the ability to arrange lineups, the first part was set as one-on-one battles.
In this stage, each person only needed to send out their strongest Pokémon. After all, in the Regional Gym Leader Exchange Tournament, the battles were also divided into small one-on-one rounds.
The finals, on the other hand, were set as a 6-on-6 battle. Naturally, this part served to show the ability to arrange lineups.
Very soon, the battles began.
The place where they were now was precisely the Ironvale City Gym. All the battle facilities were ready, so they could begin right there.
(End of chapter)