Chapter 282: Times Change, A Decade Flies By
Facing Will, Agatha recalled her Banette and sent out her ace, Gengar.
'Oh, crap.'
Will was speechless. He had originally planned to take down two of Agatha's Pokémon to salvage some face for Lorelei. But the opponent sent out her ace immediately.
If he remembered correctly...
This Gengar was Lv. 78 two years ago.
Will was afraid it had already reached the Champion level. If it was even Lv. 79, Will felt confident he could exchange a few moves before going down.
The battle lasted fifteen minutes.
Will lost.
That Gengar had indeed reached Lv. 80, stepping into the Champion class.
Moreover, as a Ghost-type specialist, Agatha's commanding skills were unquestionable. As a contemporary of Professor Oak and someone who debuted even earlier than Carmela, how could she be far behind those two quasi-Champion trainers?
Plus, Agatha had likely studied Will specifically. She occasionally predicted his moves perfectly.
In the end, Will fell to Gengar's Perish Song.
There was no way around it. Just dodging Gengar's unpredictable attacks was exhausting enough. Defeating it before Perish Song took effect was impossible.
The winner was decided.
Will's defeat saddened many of his fans, who had hoped for a miracle.
The next day.
Finals: Agatha vs. Bruno.
Ghost vs. Fighting. Bruno was nearly swept. Agatha almost became the second contestant to solo an entire team with one Pokémon.
This result didn't surprise most people. The strength of the four Elite Four candidates matched everyone's expectations.
After all the matches were concluded, the President of the Indigo League appeared in person to announce the birth and status of the Elite Four.
From then on, the Elite Four were the publicly acknowledged strongest trainers in the League.
And Lorelei's name gradually faded from common use, replaced by the title "The Ice Elite Four." (Note: The author used "Water Elite Four" in the previous chapter, but here says "Ice Elite Four" is what she becomes known as, which matches canon better, though she uses both types heavily.)
Cerulean City, famous for its gathering of Water-type trainers, even held a three-day Water Festival to celebrate.
However, from this moment on...
Lorelei began her career as a working professional.
Arresting powerful poachers, gathering intelligence on illegal organizations, infiltrating criminal syndicates as a spy, subduing rampaging Totem Pokémon in the wild...
The frequency of work was low. With good luck, she might not have a single mission for a month and could do whatever she wanted.
With bad luck, she might have to run to two cities in a day, or even spend over a month undercover in some gray organization.
In days like these, time passed quickly.
League Year 186.
Lt. Surge was unseated single-handedly by Lance.
The Electric Elite Four stepped down. The Flying Elite Four ascended.
Originally, Lance intended to use the more imposing title of "Dragon Elite Four."
But unlike the games and anime... in this world, the Indigo League rejected him.
With 5 Flying-types and 4 Dragon-types on your team, what right do you have to be called the "Dragon Elite Four"? Even Lorelei didn't insist on "Ice Elite Four" initially.
Poor Lance was thoroughly labeled "Lance the Bird Keeper." Rumor had it that when he went home for the New Year, the elders of the Dragon Clan nearly kicked him out.
League Year 191.
The Pokémon League established the position of "Champion," signifying the strongest seat in the League. To become the Champion, one had to defeat all four Elite Four members.
But the 23-year-old Lorelei, worn down by work, no longer had any desire to be Champion.
Lance, on the other hand, had a strong desire for it.
No. rather than wanting to be Champion, he wanted to escape the title of "Flying Elite Four."
But unfortunately... as long as Lorelei held her position, Lance could never become Champion.
Another five years passed.
League Year 196.
Lorelei, now 28 and approaching 29, began considering retirement.
But her mother kept pressuring her to get married, arranging blind dates. This annoyed Lorelei to no end. She could only stay in her Elite Four position, using work as an excuse to refuse the dates.
Actually, Lorelei wasn't opposed to marriage and children. It was just... her standards were too high.
Will couldn't figure out what kind of man Lorelei wanted. After five or six blind dates, she completely rejected the idea.
And she wasn't the only one. Rumor had it that Karen in Johto and Cynthia in Sinnoh were in similar situations. These three women had great looks and power, and their standards matched.
Lorelei's mom had suggested she consider Lance or Bruno. But Lorelei complained that they looked old and, more importantly, couldn't beat her.
That same year.
Lucario saw someone on TV who looked remarkably like Sir Aaron and recognized him as an Aura user at a glance.
Seeing this person, Lucario proposed leaving for Sinnoh to meet him. He felt this person was connected to Sir Aaron.
Will recognized the person as likely Sir Aaron's descendant, Riley. He suggested Lucario go to Iron Island to look.
Thus, Lucario left the team. But he promised he would come back to find Will and Lorelei.
One day.
Lorelei, who was slacking off at the Indigo Plateau League HQ, suddenly received a new mission.
Without a word, she picked up Will and boarded a plane to the Hoenn region.
The plane landed in Petalburg City.
In the anime, this was where May and Max's parents lived. Their father, Norman, was the Petalburg Gym Leader.
"Where are we going?"
Will sat in Lorelei's backpack, only his head sticking out.
Over the past ten years, as his strength grew, his height and weight had increased too. His height hadn't changed much, only growing 5 centimeters. But his weight had doubled to 30 kg.
Lorelei complained about carrying him all the time, and with Lucario gone, Will had to suffer the indignity of the backpack.
"This mission is special. I plan to ask for some outside help."
Lorelei replied. At twenty-eight, her voice had become a bit husky and mature, possessing a certain "married woman" charm. Sometimes when she spoke, Will thought he was hearing her mother from years ago.
Seeing the twenty-eight-year-old Lorelei, Will also clearly recognized the difference between her and Liz.
They looked very similar. But their temperaments were vastly different.
Lorelei was confident, heroic, a very proud and strong woman. Just by looking at her, everyone would think she was formidable.
Liz was different. Her strength was forced by the difficulties the Dragonite Kingdom faced. Her nature was gentle; she radiated a soft, "easy to bully" aura. If Liz wore plain clothes, no one would think she was anyone important.
"Gym Leader Norman?"
"No, his wife."
"Huh?! Caroline?"
Will was stunned. May's mom, Caroline. If he remembered correctly... wasn't she just an ordinary housewife, not even a trainer? How could she help?
Chatting as they walked, Lorelei carried Will to the Petalburg Gym.
Norman seemed to have been waiting for a long time, standing at the door.
"Lorelei, long time no see." Norman waved first.
"Brother Norman, it has been a long time." Lorelei smiled and nodded, not overly polite. They knew each other from way back.
Will wasn't surprised. Eight years ago, when Lorelei took him on a mission in Johto, they had worked with Norman.
This Norman was a combination of the anime and game versions. His hometown was Johto (specifically Olivine City in some canons), but his father-in-law wouldn't let his daughter marry so far away. So Norman moved to Petalburg City in Hoenn to marry Caroline, essentially "marrying into the family."
When they got married, they had invited Lorelei. But she was on a secret mission and didn't receive the message.
"Come in. Caroline heard you were coming and started cleaning early this morning. And May has wanted to meet you for a long time."
Norman invited Lorelei in. Only then did he notice Will on her back. "Piplup, long time no see. Why are you back there?"
"...Piplup."
Will gave a generic cry. Sometimes, people not understanding his language was good. He didn't have to think of an answer. Just make a noise and let them interpret it however they wanted.
Inside Norman's home.
Hearing the commotion, Caroline ran out to greet the guests. She was holding a toddler in her arms, and a little girl stood by her leg.
"These must be Max and May. First time meeting them," Lorelei smiled and bent down, rubbing May's head, then greeted Caroline. "Long time no see, Caroline. I need your help this time."
"You're too polite, Lorelei. It's my honor to help you," Caroline smiled.
"...Auntie Lorelei~"
May was a bold girl; she lunged forward and hugged Lorelei's leg. This personality was a bit like Lorelei when she was little.
"May really admires you. She's been watching your matches with her dad since she was little," Caroline said, then looked at the son in her arms. "Max will definitely be the same later."
"May, call me Big Sister from now on. Here, play with Piplup."
Lorelei took off her backpack, pulled Will out, and presented him to May.
Will was speechless.
"Piplup!"
May's eyes lit up, and she immediately pounced, hugging Will's head.
"May, you can't do that!" Caroline scolded.
"It's okay, my Piplup doesn't mind. Other Piplup, you have to be careful with," Lorelei scratched her head.
"Hey, hey, control this kid," Will muttered internally, looking at May, who was hugging him with all her might.
This little girl. Her face was red; she was using all her strength.
But Will's 30 kg of bulk wasn't for show. How could a 6-year-old girl lift him?
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