Silver Conference
The Johto League Silver Conference (Japanese: ジョウトリーグ・シロガネ大会 Johto League Shirogane Conference), better known as simply the Silver Conference, is the Johto League general championship competition. All Pokémon Trainers who have earned eight Gym Badges from the Johto region are eligible to enter.
The competition is held annually in Silver Town, which is located at the base of Mt. Silver. Competing Trainers are housed in a giant Pokémon Center in the Athlete's Village. All Trainers have a page set up online with a list of their Pokémon. It took place from A Claim to Flame! to Johto Photo Finish.
Competition
Opening ceremony
The Silver Conference begins with the passing of the ceremonial torch lit with Ho-Oh's sacred flame. The opening ceremony is so important to the conference that the competition could not be held without it. According to legend, the site of the Silver Conference was once the setting for a great war. People fought hard and left the area a war-ravaged place. Both the land and the Pokémon in the area suffered from the humans' hostility and carelessness. Ho-Oh appeared and used its sacred flame to burn life back into the place. Ho-Oh subsequently returned things to normal, but one tree continued to burn, serving as a reminder of the event. The fire from that tree was taken and placed in a shrine on Mt. Silver.
Rounds
The Silver Conference has over 200 participants. The competition is divided into three parts: pre-screening qualifying rounds, semi-finals, and the finals.
Before every match, a digital spinner randomly decides which Trainer will go first. The Pokémon used in the semi-finals and finals must be decided before the match and entered into the computer system.
Screening
The competition begins with the Athlete's Greeting. Registered Trainers are screened at assigned courts. The pool of contestants is reduced in three rounds of one-on-one battles. Trainers are judged based on their battling ability, so a Trainer may still be able to advance to the semi-finals even if they have one loss. The Top 48 Trainers move on to the preliminaries.
Semi-finals
A point system is employed in the semi-finals. The 48 Trainers are split into 16 groups of three, and each group, known as a block, participates in a round-robin tournament in a series of three-on-three matches. Three points are awarded for every win, one point for every draw, and no points for a loss. The 16 Trainers with the most points out of the Trainers in their blocks will move on to the finals. In the event of a tie, another round-robin is held.
Final rounds
After a day of rest, the final battles are held as part of the Victory Tournament in Silver Stadium with rotating rock, grass, water, or ice fields for each battle.
Each Trainer fights a sudden death Full Battle. After a Trainer's first three Pokémon are defeated, there is a short intermission. Losing Trainers are eliminated and remaining Trainers continue on until a winner is determined.
Battlefields
One of the screening round battlefields
Preliminary round battlefield
Main stadium
Main stadium battlefield before field change
Rock battlefield
Grass battlefield
Ice battlefield
Known contestants
| Trainer | Place |
|---|---|
| Jon | Winner |
| Harrison | Top 4 |
| Ash | Top 8 |
| Gary | Top 16 |
| Macy | Top 48 |
| Jackson | Top 48 |
| Salvador | Unknown |
| Darren | Unknown |
Other participants
Trainers here participated in the conference either before or after the conference Ash participated in.
- Jimmy of New Bark Town
- Marina of New Bark Town
- Paul of Veilstone City
In the manga
Ash & Pikachu
The Silver Conference was featured in One Half Of A Poké Ball, adapting the finale of Ash's battle against Gary. Unlike in the anime, the climax of the battle involved Ash facing Gary's Blastoise with Pikachu instead of Charizard.
The scoreboard in Ash & Pikachu
Trivia
- The competition was broadcast in regions other than Johto. Max stated that he watched the competition in There's no Place Like Hoenn, which was how he first saw Ash prior to them meeting.
- If Pokémon are caught battling during the Conference outside of official battles, their Trainers may be disqualified. Sparring, however, is allowed.
- On the eve of the Conference in which Ash participated, Gary noticed that it was a full moon. After Harrison lost, a quarter moon was present. The time between the two is usually either eight days (third quarter) or twenty-two days (first quarter), but only about twelve days were represented onscreen.
- This is the only known League Conference with battles where losing doesn't always mean immediate elimination from the tournament.
- This is the only League Conference participated by Ash that was won by a character of the day.
In other languages
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The Pokémon League | 
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| Participation Trainer • Battle • Gym Leaders Gyms • Badges • Referee Championship matches Elite Four • Orange League Champion League Pokémon League Conferences Indigo • Silver • Ever Grande • Lily of the Valley Vertress • Lumiose • Manalo |
Regional Pokémon Leagues Indigo • Orange* • Johto • Hoenn • Sinnoh Unova (BB) • Kalos • Alola • Galar • Paldea Areas of jurisdiction Pokémon League Reception Gate • Hall of Fame Palace of Victory • Cerulean Cave • Area Zero Others Admissions Exam • Pokémon Association PIA • World Coronation Series (Masters Eight Tournament) | ||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
