At one corner of the bustling shopping street.
Will was hiding in a nook, drenched in sweat. A Xatu stood faithfully by his side.
"That guy didn't chase after us, right, Xatu?"
Will asked while nervously leaning forward, poking his head out just enough to steal a glance at the street. Seeing no one nearby, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
But in the very next instant, Xatu's eyes flared with an intense blue glow. Without hesitation, it seized Will with psychic power and dragged both itself and him rapidly backward.
BOOM!
The wall Will had just been leaning against suddenly exploded into rubble. A large, brown, muscular foot was planted firmly on what remained of the wall—above it, a leg spring-like in its taut power.
"Damn it, this bastard again!"
Still rattled from the near miss, Will's breathing grew ragged, and his face contorted into a twisted grimace.
"Give up already. With the psychic barrier in place, your teleportation won't take you beyond the limits of this area. You can only warp around within the confines of this battlefield."
A deep, gravelly voice sounded from directly behind him, footsteps heavy, each one closer than the last.
Will turned his head with a scowl dark enough to curdle blood. Standing before him was a towering, broad-shouldered man built like a boulder.
"Bruno… Are you seriously going to keep dogging me like this, instead of worrying about the rest of Team Rocket's men?"
Will cautiously took a step backward, his voice biting cold.
Yes, that man was none other than Bruno of the Elite Four! And it was precisely this very man who had only recently thrown Will into prison labor…
And now, fate had "graciously" allowed them yet another "romantic and fateful reunion."
Of course, Will's heart screamed refusal. Like hell he wanted this! He couldn't beat this musclebound freak at all!
But for reasons unknown, this big oaf had suddenly decided to single him out for a relentless hunt.
This time, Will had at least learned from past mistakes. He hadn't even considered fighting Bruno head-on. The moment he spotted him, he had ordered Xatu to teleport them both away.
But… The League had long since stationed Psychic-type Pokémon around the entire shopping district, weaving together a psychic barrier. Instant teleportation could no longer take him directly outside.
The result? Will had been forced into an endless game of cat-and-mouse—like a chick endlessly pursued by a hawk.
"Lance and Lorelei will handle things on their end."
Bruno's reply came calmly, matter-of-fact, his gaze still locked firmly on Will.
"I didn't think the League had rotted this badly… to think you'd already been bailed out this quickly."
He let out a faint sigh. This Team Rocket executive was no stranger to him—after all, they'd crossed paths just a week prior.
Back in the Elite Four's council chamber, Bruno had often been the silent one, the invisible shadow. He had never truly aligned himself with Lance or Lorelei, nor joined in when they voiced sharp criticisms of the League's failings.
But now…
The very Team Rocket executive he himself had captured and sent to prison just days ago was already standing here again, alive and swaggering, right before his eyes.
At that moment, Bruno suddenly understood—perhaps even sympathized—why Lance and Lorelei had been growing more and more radical in their views.
Will's brow furrowed deeply. He couldn't care less what Bruno was mumbling about. What mattered was figuring out how the hell he was supposed to escape from this monster's grip.
Damn it all! He'd only just gotten out of prison labor a few days ago!
And now this? Was he seriously about to get thrown back in?
Why?! Why was everyone targeting him specifically?! Was it just because he was short?!
This trash heap of a Team Rocket… He didn't want to stay in it anymore!
Poor, pitiful Will could've burst into tears. Since childhood, he'd never endured this kind of humiliation, never suffered such injustice!
-----------------------
Meanwhile, high above Celadon City, the sky remained smothered in unyielding sheets of rain.
The ground below was already glazed over with frost, the biting cold sinking into flesh and bone. Karen shivered, rubbing her bare arms as goosebumps prickled across her skin.
One glance at the surroundings was enough—thanks to their battle, both Team Rocket members and League personnel had wordlessly, instinctively abandoned this zone.
After all, Lorelei's freezing aura made no distinction between friend or foe. Especially her wide-scale Blizzard attacks—anyone caught in them would be left with nothing to do but cry bitter tears.
So, everyone had decisively shifted their fighting elsewhere, leaving this entire stretch of ruined battlefield solely to Karen and Lorelei for their duel, their imperial clash of titans.
"Hissss~… Truly terrifying, terrifying beyond measure. Lorelei of the Elite Four really is utterly terrifying."
Karen cast a look at Lorelei, only to see the woman's face perfectly calm and impassive, unchanged, as cold and rigid as ice itself. Karen let out her "astonished" comment anyway.
In truth, Lorelei hadn't moved a single muscle on her frostbitten mask of a face since the very beginning…
"This kind of frigid temperature… and Lorelei, you don't even seem affected in the slightest. Eh? Tell me, Lady Lorelei, is your blood perhaps cold as well?"
Karen gasped with "shock," her curiosity piqued, almost spelling it out bluntly: was Lorelei a cold-blooded creature?
"Annoying pest!"
At her words, Lorelei's eyelids twitched faintly. Her aura dropped several degrees colder as she shot back icily.
Cold-blooded? Your mother's cold-blooded!
I've mastered Ice-types—my resistance to freezing temperatures is naturally through the roof. Ever think of that?! Cold-blooded your ass!
From the very start, you've been jabbering non-stop, talking and talking and talking. Why can't you just shut up for once?!
Lorelei's ample chest rose and fell slightly from anger. Calm as she usually was, this foul-mouthed woman's endless stream of venom was enough to test even her legendary patience!
The most infuriating part? Lorelei had no real way to shut her up!
"Lapras, Sheer Cold!"
Lorelei's voice rang frost-sharp, issuing her command.
She would freeze this woman into an ice sculpture—one that wouldn't thaw for ten thousand years!
Lapras reared back, its body glowing with an aura of frozen blue, the chill radiating like death's embrace.
"How dull. And again, you've gone silent."
Karen merely shrugged, though the smirk tugging at her lips grew ever crueler.
"Houndoom, Fire Blast!"
Houndoom's paws thundered across the ground as it bolted forward. From its maw erupted a searing inferno, a blazing cross-shaped fireball that scorched the air red-hot as it roared toward Lapras.
"Dewgong, Hydro Pump!"
Lorelei coolly adjusted her glasses, her tone as calm as ever.
Dewgong did not hesitate, unleashing a massive torrent of water to meet the incoming Fire Blast. Water and fire clashed violently in midair—
BOOM!
The explosion rattled the street.
And just at that moment—Lapras had completed its charge for Sheer Cold. The ultimate freezing attack was about to be unleashed when—
"Night Slash!"
In Lorelei's widening, incredulous eyes, a Weavile blurred into existence at Lapras's side.
Grinning wickedly, its claws glowed with dark energy as it slashed viciously across Lapras's body.
Lapras cried out in pain, its whole body sent flying, smashed brutally into the ground.
"How… how is this possible?"
Lorelei couldn't believe it. Her gaze instinctively flicked to Karen—how had Weavile gotten there so suddenly?!
And then—she realized.
The Weavile standing at Karen's side melted into shadow and vanished.
Double Team.
Lorelei understood at once, her expression darkening.
She had slipped. She'd allowed Karen's constant stream of words to distract her, her focus fractured, so much so that she hadn't even noticed when Weavile had set up a decoy.
This woman… this vile woman! Absolutely shameless!
"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!"
Karen's smile only grew, her voice flowing smoothly without pause as she pressed the attack.
In truth, Karen's strength had always surpassed Lorelei's. Had this been a regulated one-on-one battle in the League's arena, she'd already have had the upper hand by now.
But she couldn't deny it—the battlefield control Ice-types brought was suffocatingly strong. Lorelei's relentless, gapless onslaught had forced Karen to tread carefully all along.
Still, the opportunity had now been seized.
Houndoom's jaws crackled with violet-black energy, gathering power before unleashing a devastating Dark Pulse aimed straight at the fallen Lapras.
"Dewgong!"
Lorelei snapped back to focus, ordering quickly.
Dewgong fired off an Ice Beam, intercepting the Dark Pulse just in time.
If Lapras—already struck down by two consecutive Night Slashes—were to also take the brunt of that Dark Pulse, it would be finished.
The freezing beam cut across the street, clashing against the dark energy wave midair.
But…
"Night Slash!"
Weavile sprang again, faster than lightning, claws flashing as it struck Dewgong directly.
With a heavy crash, Dewgong too was hurled away, tumbling to the ground beside Lapras.
Lorelei's expression grew grim, her entire face shadowed in cold fury. In an instant, the tide had turned against her. And then…
"Ara~ Ara~ Elite Lorelei, seems your strength isn't quite as good as the rumors claimed. Looks like this is all you amount to after all."
Here it came.
That grating, poisonous voice again, dripping with mockery.
"Despicable!"
Lorelei's eyes darkened, her chest heaving with restrained anger. She was furious beyond measure.
This damned woman—using constant chatter to disrupt her focus, weaving plans around her divided attention—it was too low, too disgraceful!
"Hah?"
Karen blinked at her in surprise, feigning innocence.
"Pfft—No way, really? Did I hear that right?"
"Elite Lorelei, you're a trainer who's clawed her way up to champion-tier, infamous for merciless and ruthless tactics… and yet you're calling me despicable?"
"But me? I'm just a pure, sweet, innocent, kawaii little maiden, you know."
"Tut-tut… Could it be that you just can't stomach losing? If you were defeated by 'trash,' as you call me… would that wound your pride too much?"
Karen's laughter spilled free, her posture leisurely, her tone mocking and cruel.
If looks could kill, Karen would already be obliterated under Lorelei's death glare, reduced to less than ashes.
Merciless and ruthless?
This woman never missed a chance to slander her! Where on earth was she merciless? Where ruthless?!
You call this innocence?! You?! A maiden?! Bah!
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Just because you've gained a little advantage, you really think victory is already in your grasp?"
Lorelei forced down her boiling rage, her voice cutting frostily.
It didn't matter. She could still fight.
Even with both Dewgong and Lapras injured, as long as she stayed composed, she could still turn the tide.
"Oh~?"
Karen's sing-song voice stretched out mockingly, her eyes alight with gleeful scorn.
"So now you've nothing left but words, hmm? Very well, then. I'll show you exactly why I sit upon the throne of the Elite Four."
Though Karen's mouth fell silent this time, the look in her eyes spoke volumes, the unspoken jeering louder than words.
Lorelei felt it clearly, her jaw tightening, her voice dropping colder still.
She would freeze this wretched woman into an ice statue lasting a million years if she had to!
"Emmm~ Well then, do try your best, Lady Lorelei."
Karen merely shrugged again, her posture relaxed, her smile carefree, as if Lorelei's threats meant nothing at all.
Ah yes… the battles between women—terrifying beyond words!
(End of Chapter)