Unown was a very special Pokémon. It only knew Hidden Power and couldn't learn any other move at all. A single Unown also couldn't trigger anything on its own, giving it almost no practical value in battle. If you caught one, you could really only keep it as a pet.
However, Unown as a species was extremely mysterious. They had remarkably strong survivability—not only surviving in all kinds of harsh natural environments, but also in the void and even in outer space.
Gary had always felt that Unown were somehow connected to Arceus. He sometimes thought of them as cosmic script—a living alphabet of the universe. If you arranged them in the right sequence, you could theoretically tap into the energy of the universe itself.
The ancients had discovered this secret from Unown. Those who cracked Unown's mysteries were called wizards or magicians by the people of their time.
Some Pokémon had been created through these means. The more well-known examples were Baltoy and Golett—Pokémon brought into existence by ancient people using what they called magic.
Gary decided that when he had the time in the future, he would study Unown properly.
For now, Gary found an empty area, released all the Pokémon he had with him, and taught each of them Hidden Power. He explained that the move's main purpose was to counter Hunter J's petrification gun.
Seeing all of his Pokémon successfully learn Hidden Power, Gary finally felt at ease.
No need to worry about the Hunter anymore.
"Time to challenge the remaining battle facilities."
There was still a long time before Hunter J's attack on the Lake Guardians would occur. Gary decided to take advantage of the gap to challenge the four remaining battle facilities.
Besides the Battle Factory, there was also the Battle Tower. But the Battle Tower was the strongest facility in the Sinnoh Frontier, so Gary planned to save it for last. He decided to head to Veilstone City first.
The Battle Arcade was located near Veilstone City, and its Frontier Brain was a woman named Dahlia.
Two and a half hours later, Gary arrived at Veilstone City.
He checked the time—it was past ten o'clock. If he went to the Battle Arcade now, the Frontier Brain was probably on a lunch break.
Gary had lunch in Veilstone City instead, rested until 2 PM, and then headed for the Battle Arcade.
The Battle Arcade was located on the outskirts of Veilstone City.
Its appearance was quite eye-catching. From above, the Battle Arcade was a circular building decorated with various cute Pokémon-themed ornaments arranged in a roulette pattern. It didn't look like a battle facility at all—more like an indoor amusement park.
Gary found the main entrance to the Battle Arcade.
The front door was made of glass. As Gary approached, it slid open automatically to both sides.
Automatic doors. Dahlia apparently had a taste for modern technology.
Gary stepped inside and entered the Battle Arcade's main hall.
The moment he walked in, he saw plenty of young Trainers already there.
When the Trainers inside noticed someone new, they glanced up. Seeing another Trainer roughly their age, they quickly lost interest, though a few girls kept sneaking looks at Gary from time to time.
Gary walked over to the counter. Before he could say anything, the receptionist spoke up first. "Would you like to participate in a roulette battle?"
Gary paused. "What's a roulette battle?"
"It's a special competition format designed for Trainers visiting the Arcade. You only need to pay 500 PokéDollars to enter. If you win, you earn 1 point. Points can be exchanged for Pokémon items prepared by our battle facility," the receptionist explained.
Dahlia really knew how to run a business.
Having challenged so many battle facilities, only Dahlia had actually turned her facility into a profitable enterprise.
"Sir, the prizes we offer here are quite generous. Feel free to take a look."
The receptionist pointed to a screen mounted on the guardrail overhead, which displayed the prize exchange list provided by the Battle Arcade.
Gary looked it over and noticed that aside from ordinary potions, the facility also offered TMs as prizes. The cheapest TM cost 50 points.
Winning one match only earned 1 point, so you'd need 50 victories. Converting that into money, it came out to 25,000 PokéDollars.
The more powerful TMs required over 60 points. Viewed that way, a strong Trainer could obtain a TM for just a few tens of thousands—which was a massive discount.
After all, if you went to a Gym or a move tutor to have a TM taught, the cost started at tens of thousands. Stronger moves began at well over a hundred thousand, and the rarest techniques started in the millions.
"If the format works like this, wouldn't a stronger Trainer just win every match without any risk?" Gary asked.
"Of course not. Our roulette battles have a small twist that sets them apart from regular Pokémon battles."
"What kind of twist?"
"The rules themselves are standard, but at the start of each round, the roulette wheel is spun."
"The options on the wheel include status conditions, Pokémon exchange, weather effects, and more. If the wheel lands on 'exchange Pokémon,' both sides have to swap their Pokémon before the battle—so no matter how strong you are, you could still lose."
"There's even a 'no battle' option on the wheel. If it lands on that, the match ends right away with an automatic win for one side."
The receptionist explained that they had put a lot of thought into the roulette's design. Even if an Elite Four member or a Champion walked in, they wouldn't be able to rack up consecutive wins indefinitely.
Sooner or later the wheel would hit 'exchange Pokémon' or hand the opponent a free win, and their streak would end.
Looking at it that way, reaching 50 victories would require someone at the Elite Four or Champion level, and it would still take at least over a month. If a single person managed to redeem a TM, the entry fees paid by all the people they'd defeated along the way would more than cover the cost. Calculating carefully, the Battle Arcade came out ahead no matter what.
Even if there were some behind-the-scenes manipulation, this business model was guaranteed profit.
Then again, this was Veilstone City. The city's Game Corner and casino were the most famous in the region—so naturally even the battle facility here was built around gambling.
"Sir, would you like to enter?" the receptionist asked.
"No, I'm here to challenge the Frontier Brain," Gary said.
"Ah..." The receptionist was caught off guard. "To challenge the leader, you need to be qualified. Do you have clearance?"
"My name is Gary, and I was recommended by Mr. Scott, so I should be qualified," Gary said.
The receptionist immediately checked the computer, and then looked a bit sheepish.
He clearly wasn't here for the roulette battles, yet she'd gone and asked him all those questions. She really had been wasting his time.
"Please wait a moment. I'll notify the leader."
After confirming that Gary was qualified to challenge, the receptionist called Dahlia by phone.
"She's been notified. Leader Dahlia will be here shortly. Please have a seat while you wait."
"Alright."