"Ash's luck is really good. He managed to turn things around like that."
At some point, Gary had walked over to stand beside Sam.
"Isn't your match about to start? Why aren't you preparing?" Sam asked curiously as he looked at Gary.
"What's there to prepare? Don't worry, I'll definitely win," Gary replied confidently.
"Oh really?"
Sam answered casually.
If he remembered correctly, Gary hadn't even made it into the top sixteen in the original story, and he was later defeated by Ash at the Silver Conference.
But things might be different this time.
Under Sam's constant pressure, Gary had grown much stronger compared to before. If luck was on his side, he might even reach the top eight this time.
As the earlier matches finished one by one, it was finally Sam's turn to battle.
At this moment, Sam stood in the tunnel leading to the battlefield, quietly waiting for his turn to step out.
Outside, the commentator began introducing the competitors.
"The next match is the fifth battle of the day! First, let us introduce the player entering from the left—Sam! Sam is from Viridian City. He also won his qualifier with great ease, so his strength should definitely not be underestimated!"
"The player on the right is Lily. She is not from Kanto, but from New Bark Town in the Johto Region."
"Let's see what kind of exciting battle these two Trainers will bring us!"
After watching many matches from the VIP seats, the guests—who had grown a little bored—suddenly became more attentive when Sam stepped onto the battlefield.
"Want to guess who will win this match?" suggested Feng Hong, the Gym Leader of Maple Leaf Gym. "Based on the performances we saw in the qualifiers, it should be close."
"I'm betting on Sam," someone replied immediately.
"Same here."
Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon Gym, and Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron Gym, didn't hesitate at all in predicting Sam's victory.
"There really isn't much suspense in this match," Blaine said with a smile. "The only interesting thing is how much strength Sam decides to reveal."
"Oh?" Blaine's words sparked Feng Hong's curiosity.
"Mr. Blaine, what do you mean? Is this Trainer named Sam really that strong?"
Without hesitation, Blaine nodded.
"I believe any Gym Leader here who has battled Sam before would say the same thing: Sam will not lose."
"The winner of this Indigo Plateau Conference will either be Sam… or Karen."
"Hmph!!!"
Lt. Surge snorted angrily when he heard Sam's name.
But even he had to admit that Sam's strength could only truly be matched by Karen.
Blaine's statement immediately caused a stir among the guests.
After all, Karen was widely recognized as the future Elite Four member.
For Blaine to compare Sam to her meant he held Sam in extremely high regard.
"Mr. Blaine must be joking, right?" several Gym Leaders said uncertainly.
"I also think Mr. Blaine's judgment might not be entirely accurate," Erika said.
"Oh? Erika, you don't think Sam can rival Karen?" Blaine asked with interest.
"No," Erika replied calmly.
"I think everything has already been decided the moment Sam entered the Indigo Plateau Conference."
"The final champion will definitely be him."
"Let's just wait and see."
After saying that, Erika turned her gaze back to the battlefield, watching Sam without blinking.
Unhappy. Very unhappy.
Listening to Erika praise Sam like that made Sabrina feel strangely irritated.
She snorted softly, closed her eyes, and began calming her mind.
---
While the VIP guests were discussing the match, the battle below had already begun.
"Houndoom is a Pokémon from Johto."
Since Lily was a Trainer from Johto, most of the Pokémon she used were also from that region.
Her first Pokémon appeared.
"Houndoom!"
Pokémon: Houndoom
Type: Fire / Dark
Strength: Mid Gym Level
Potential: Gym Level
Like Arcanine in Kanto, Houndoom was also a powerful canine Pokémon.
However, unlike Arcanine, which was worshipped like a guardian spirit, Houndoom had once been feared as a messenger from hell.
Against a mid–Gym-level Houndoom, Lapras would normally be a great choice because of the type advantage.
But the current battlefield was neither a water field nor an ice field, which made things unfavorable for Lapras.
On top of that, Lapras' strength was slightly lower than Houndoom's.
To play it safe, Sam initially planned to send out Clefable.
But just as Sam reached for Clefable's Poké Ball, another Poké Ball began shaking.
It was Lapras' Poké Ball.
Through their bond, Sam could feel Lapras' strong desire to battle.
Although he didn't fully understand why Lapras wanted to fight so badly, Sam decided to respect its wish.
"Alright then."
"Go, Lapras!"
"Lapras? Sam has chosen Lapras!" the commentator exclaimed.
"In terms of type advantage, Lapras is indeed a good choice. However, its mobility could become a major problem on this battlefield. Let's see how Sam deals with that!"
When Lapras appeared on the battlefield, it didn't immediately prepare to fight.
Instead, it suddenly looked toward the audience and cried out excitedly.
"Lapras!"
"Lapras!"
"Lapras!"
Following its gaze, everyone in the stadium looked toward the same direction.
There, sitting among the VIP guests, was a mature and elegant woman with glasses, radiating calm intelligence.
"Miss Lorelei?!"
"That's Lorelei!!!"
The entire stadium instantly erupted.
If security hadn't been present to maintain order, the audience might have rushed over to ask for autographs.
Only then did Sam understand why Lapras had insisted on battling.
"So that's it."
"You want to show yourself off in front of Lorelei… and your parents."
Sam smiled.
"Then you'd better fight well, Lapras. It'll be embarrassing if you lose."
It took a while before the audience finally calmed down and refocused on the battle.
Now that they realized Sam's Lapras was connected to Lorelei, everyone was eager to see how well it would perform.
The referee raised his flag.
"Are both Trainers ready?"
"I'm ready."
"Me too."
After receiving confirmation from both Trainers, the referee swung his flag downward.
"Begin!"
---------------Author---------------
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