It was Serena's first time seeing Lorelei in person. Before this, she had caught a glimpse of Lorelei's appearance on television, but she hadn't paid much attention, focusing all her interest on Ash instead.
For Serena, an existence like the Elite Four was something she might find difficult to encounter in her entire life, and the same went for Ash——
As a result, she never expected that on her first trip to the Orange Islands, she would not only meet Ash but even the legendary Elite Four.
She really was exceptionally lucky——
Speaking of which, Lorelei seemed to know Ash. Judging by the familiar way they spoke, the two of them were old acquaintances, even to the point of joking with each other. Were all the women Ash knew... this beautiful?
Furthermore, Lorelei wasn't just beautiful; her figure was also exaggeratedly good. A simple professional suit sets off her physique to the fullest. If she were a man, she might look at Lorelei and be unable to look away at all.
"This is Serena, my new companion. Brock stayed on Valencia Island to help Professor Ivy. Serena is from the Kalos region. After we met by chance on Trovita Island, she joined the team." Ash first introduced Serena, then asked Lorelei why she had come to this island for an exhibition match.
Generally speaking, an Elite wouldn't just come out for an exhibition match casually, because they were Elite! The Elite held genuine power and had many important matters to attend to, making them incredibly busy normally.
The reason Lorelei was able to have an exhibition match with Ash last time was that she had received the mission to watch over Giovanni and welcome Ash. Additionally, Lorelei wanted to help Ash, this rising star of Kanto, clear up the rumors outside, which was why she had an exhibition match with him.
But why would she have time to come to Mandarin Island for an exhibition match today? The League mission?
"Actually, the exhibition match is just a cover. My purpose for coming here is——to investigate Team Galactic."
"Investigate Team Galactic?!" Ash's tone was slightly surprised. He clearly hadn't expected Lorelei to come with the same purpose as him.
"Yes. In fact, I also know about the mission you're carrying, Ash. It's just that I thought about acting separately from you. After all, it would be too unfair to press all the responsibility onto you alone. You're only a fifteen-year-old child. I didn't expect to run into you on Mandarin Island." Lorelei had a smile on her face, but her tone was slightly heavy.
No one knew how much she had reacted when she first learned from the League that Ash was heading to the Orange Islands to investigate Team Galactic and find Lugia.
Not only because Ash was the hope for Kanto's rise, but also because Ash was only fifteen. No matter how powerful he appeared, in Lorelei's eyes, he was always a child!
Letting a child get involved in a cross-regional criminal organization's mission—wasn't that just a joke?
This was muddy water that even the Sinnoh Champion couldn't wade through. So far, Cynthia hadn't sent any messages back to the League. Logically, if the tracks of Team Galactic were discovered, information should have been immediately sent to the League to request reinforcements.
Even if no traces of Team Galactic were found, Cynthia would periodically report that she was safe. Now that Cynthia hadn't sent any news, it could only mean one thing—that Cynthia had met with an accident.
The possibility of this guess was as high as ninety percent, but the League didn't dare to spread this news casually. If the people within the League knew that even the Sinnoh Champion had gone missing while investigating this matter, it would be too great a blow to the League's morale.
So currently, the only people who knew Cynthia was missing were Ash, the League's top brass, and the Elite Four.
Ash knew because Cynthia had promised him back then that she would contact him periodically to check on Little Lugia's situation, and they had exchanged phone numbers.
But now, Ash couldn't get through at all when he called, and the other side had never called back. So Ash also had a faint bad premonition in his heart, but he believed that Cynthia wasn't the kind of person who would fail so easily. She was the Champion! And she was the Champion ranked second in the Masters Eight!
This meant Cynthia was the second strongest in the world. Coupled with her brilliant mind, how could she possibly fall to a mere small branch of Team Galactic?
The League, however, didn't think so. They believed Cynthia had already met with an accident, so they had to send someone new to the Orange Islands to investigate.
Originally, the one coming here should have been Lance. After all, if even Cynthia had met with an accident, wouldn't sending anyone else be like offering them a meal?
But Lance also had important matters to attend to and couldn't get away. Coupled with Lorelei volunteering herself, it ended up being Lorelei who came to the Orange Islands to find Team Galactic's whereabouts.
"So, Miss Lorelei, is there any news on Team Galactic?" After hearing Lorelei's general account of the situation, Ash asked somewhat impatiently.
He had traveled all this way, and besides knowing he had to go to Shamouti Island to find Lugia, he hadn't obtained a single scrap of other information. There was no news of Team Galactic, nor any news of Team Rockets.
He had, however, caught three Pokémon, including a Snorlax that could be called a god of war. If it were just a simple trip, then Ash's harvest over these two weeks would definitely be quite abundant.
But with a mission on his shoulders, having no progress on the mission was what made Ash anxious.
Lorelei shook her head and said, "Not yet. The investigation into Team Galactic has hit a bottleneck, which is why I'm holding a high-profile exhibition match here. The goal is to make some noise and lure Team Galactic into revealing themselves, even though the possibility of this plan succeeding is a bit slim."
Team Galactic currently had almost no information leaking out. There was no way to start an investigation, as if they didn't exist in the Kanto region at all. If it weren't for something happening to Cynthia's investigation, they would even doubt if Team Galactic was still in Kanto.
But according to their previous intelligence, it was impossible for Team Galactic to leave Kanto. On one hand, they hadn't been discovered yet, so there was no need to evacuate. On the other hand, their goal hadn't been achieved yet.
Speaking of Team Galactic's goal, it was naturally Lugia, God of the Sea. For the sake of Lugia, they had even gone through great pains to turn Little Lugia into a dark-type Pokémon, but unfortunately, they were intercepted midway by Cynthia.
Team Galactic definitely hated Cynthia to the bone. After all, the former had ruined their good plans and even snatched away their results, causing their plan to stall.
So when Cynthia went back for the second time, the possibility of her encountering a targeted trap was very high. If Cynthia was trapped, then the only League personnel who had a way to find their whereabouts would also disappear, giving them even less reason to flee.
Therefore, those guys from Team Galactic were definitely still in the Orange Islands!
Lorelei's idea was to use the exhibition match to let the entire Orange Islands know she had arrived. This way, Team Galactic, being in the Orange Islands, would also have a high probability of getting the message. No matter what kind of move Team Galactic made, it would be possible for them to show a weakness.
The fear was that Team Galactic wouldn't make any move at all. In that case, there would be no way to start. What was scary was that——the latter possibility was even greater.
So even Lorelei wasn't quite sure if this exhibition match would have any effect.
"Miss Lorelei, can the opponent for the exhibition match be changed to me?" Ash said, his words startling.
"Changed to you?" Lorelei's dark brows furrowed slightly. Even if it were changed to Ash, the effect of the exhibition match would be about the same, and it might even make Team Galactic more alert. In other words, it would do more harm than good.
Could it be that Ash still just wanted to have a simple Pokémon battle to test his own results?
"That's right, change it to me. If it's me——Team Galactic might take the initiative to come to the door!"
"Hello, everyone in the audience! I am Allen, the host for the entire broadcast of this Elite exhibition match! Without further ado, next, let us grandly invite the heavyweight star player of this exhibition match—the Ice-type Elite Four, Miss Lorelei!!"
"Whooooooo—!!" Cheers like a mountain of waves and a sea of roaring instantly swept through the arena. In an atmosphere so intense it was boiling, Lorelei stepped out calmly from the players' seats.
Her well-tailored professional suit outlined her slender and graceful figure to the fullest. Her straight, long, jade-like legs shimmered with a delicate luster under the sunlight. Her steps were full of elegance and composure, without a hint of flirtatiousness, instead revealing the crispness unique to the strong.
On her face, which was both intellectual and radiant, there was a warm and calm smile. Her burgundy eyes curved slightly, as if filled with a soft glow.
When she raised her hand to nod in greeting to the surrounding audience, her every move carried the steady aura of a top Trainer while also having just the right amount of friendliness, instantly pushing the enthusiastic atmosphere of the scene to a new peak.
"Next is the opponent for the Ice-type Elite Four. I'm sure everyone is no stranger to his name. He is the Champion of this Indigo Plateau Conference, Ash from Pallet Town!!" Allen's voice echoed through the stadium, and a brief silence followed as they didn't react for a moment to who Ash actually was.
—
Originally, the opponent for this exhibition had already been decided—an unknown Trainer whose name had never even been heard of, and whose strength seemed average.
The people who came here to watch were mainly there for Lorelei. They didn't care about Lorelei's opponent. As it turned out, Lorelei's battle opponent wasn't the originally scheduled person, but a player named Ash.
"Ash——seems like I've heard that name somewhere?"
"You idiot! It's Kanto's supernova, Ash! He won the Indigo Plateau Conference after only traveling for half a year, and he even defeated a Substitute Champion on his journey. He once had an exhibition battle with Elite Four Lorelei and almost defeated her!" Some people familiar with Ash revealed his information as if counting their family treasures.
Now, whether they knew Ash or not, everyone instantly became excited.
"What?! Won the Indigo Plateau Conference after traveling for half a year?! What kind of freak is he!"
"I remember now! So it's that super rookie. Why would he come to Mandarin Island and face off against Elite Four Lorelei?"
"Speaking of which, doesn't this battle count as a rematch between Ash and Elite Four Lorelei? Ash wouldn't be looking to avenge his previous defeat, would he!!"
"Holy crap, is it that explosive? Luckily I bought a ticket. Those people who thought the exhibition match wouldn't be worth watching and didn't grab tickets must be kicking themselves right now!"
——
The audience's discussions grew louder and louder, and the recognition of Ash spread from person to person, giving those who didn't know him a brand-new understanding of Lorelei's opponent.
It turned out that Lorelei's opponent this time wasn't some ordinary existence, but a super genius!
Furthermore, this super genius had fought an exhibition match with Lorelei before. Although that match was labeled an exhibition match, it was almost like a formal Elite Four match!
Lorelei had sent out a Pokémon that was truly at the Elite Four Peak level. In other regions, that would be an Elite's ace Pokémon!
For Lorelei, it might not have been her main force, but it could truly prove how powerful Ash was at that time!
Several months had passed since then. Who knew how much Ash had improved? Would his Charizard, which was rumored to be incredibly miraculous, appear in this battle?
Amidst the increasingly restless voices of the audience, a young figure finally stepped out from the other side's players' seats. As the light shone on the figure, everyone also saw the person clearly.
He wore a red and white hat on his head, a simple jacket paired with long denim pants, a golden Pikachu stood on his shoulder, and a confident smile was on his face.
Ash's appearance caused the surrounding noise to instantly turn into unparalleled cheers. People all around were shouting for Ash, also feeling fortunate that they had come to watch this match.
Back then, the ticket prices for that exhibition match at the Cerulean Gym had been driven up to astronomical levels! Although ninety-nine percent of the people present hadn't seen that match in person, they still had some understanding of the prices for that exhibition match.
And now, they had actually secured tickets for a match between Ash and Lorelei at a perfectly normal price. It could be said that they were as lucky as could be.
An ordinary exhibition match instantly became full of suspense and worth looking forward to.
"Miss Lorelei, let's have an all-out duel!" Ash adjusted the hat on his head and shouted loudly toward Lorelei.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Looking forward to your power, Ash," Lorelei replied with a slight nod of her snow-white chin.
Next, both sides took out their Poké Balls. After the referee announced the two-on-two match rules, they threw their Poké Balls onto the field with a sudden toss!
"Roar!!" The orange-red fire dragon flapped its wings and let out a long cry toward the sky.
"Spa~" A blue Pokémon with a shell-like appearance appeared in front of Lorelei—the Water/Ice-type Cloyster!