In the Huaxia Region, Huang Ba had served as the gatekeeper of the Elite Four Challenge to get back at trainers he looked down on. He had the strength of an Elite Four member but refused to become one. Volkner was much the same.
Their reasons were different, though. Volkner loved battling opponents who could match or surpass him. He couldn't stand Pokémon battles against weaker trainers.
The Pokémon League Conference took too long. Even if he crushed every opponent on the way, it would still eat up his time, and ninety percent of those battles would mean nothing to him. Only the Elite Four Challenge interested him. So while he refused to enter the conference, he had considered challenging the Elite Four directly.
Some might call Volkner arrogant for disregarding other trainers. But he had once traveled to the Unova Region to challenge Shauntal, one of its Elite Four. The Unova League had sealed the result, so no one knew what had happened. That silence was an answer in itself.
Huang Ba merely had strength comparable to the Elite Four; whether he could actually become one remained to be seen. Volkner, on the other hand, was stronger than an ordinary Elite Four member.
According to Flint, Volkner was one of Sinnoh's most gifted trainers, second only to Champion Cynthia. Flint was no ordinary trainer himself: he was the current Fire-type member of the Sinnoh Elite Four!
The two had been close friends since childhood. In their younger days, Volkner often sparred with Flint and won far more often than he lost.
As they grew older, their differing ideals sent them down separate paths. Flint set off on a long training journey and eventually joined the Sinnoh Elite Four. Volkner, unable to bear battling weaker opponents, returned to Sunyshore City,