Chapter 248: Aiming for the Conference
Walking out of the Gate to the Spirit World.
Will expected to be transported to some unknown place. Who would have thought he would be right back at the entrance of the Pokémon Tower?
The area was now cordoned off with police tape. Two or three police cars were parked outside, along with a crowd of onlookers and reporters.
Will quickly scanned the surroundings. There were quite a few surveillance cameras.
"Great. The existence of the Spirit World is definitely exposed now. No, wait, maybe it was already exposed."
Will sighed inwardly. Even if the cameras didn't capture the energy construct of the Spirit Gate, they definitely captured his disappearance.
It all depended on what he told the police.
Yui had just become the Lord of the Spirit World; he should let her have some peace and quiet for a while.
Will pursed his beak, already formulating his story.
"Piplup!"
Lorelei's voice rang out.
Will turned his head. The little girl was running towards him, her eyes bloodshot. It seemed she hadn't slept a wink since Will accidentally entered the Spirit World.
"Lorelei~" Will waved his flipper.
In the blink of an eye, Lorelei had run up to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Where did you go?" Lorelei's voice was full of grievance.
In the middle of the night, Will had suddenly been swallowed by a vortex, leaving her alone at the entrance of a graveyard. If she hadn't had Lapras and Cloyster's Poké Balls with her, she probably would have broken down.
"Took a nap."
"Liar!" Lorelei shouted, grabbing Will's tail. "Look at your tail! The feathers are all black! You were obviously hit by a Fire-type move!"
"..." Will was speechless. He had forgotten that his entire butt was still charred black.
But Lorelei didn't dwell on it. Because Officer Jenny quickly arrived with her team to pick them up.
As Will expected, once they were at the station, the police brought in a Pokémon translator to understand the situation.
Will simply said he had been sucked into a purple vortex and had been unconscious the whole time, waking up back here.
Officer Jenny and her colleagues didn't find anything suspicious about this. After all, how could a small, cute Piplup lie?
But Jenny and the others still speculated. They guessed Will had accidentally entered the Spirit World and had his butt burned by some Spirit World fire while unconscious...
Will let them guess. He wasn't going to say a single word about the Spirit World.
By the time he came out, Lorelei had fallen asleep on a bench in the lobby. Will ran over, curled up in her arms, and closed his eyes.
Neither Lorelei nor Will had slept. Lorelei had run to the police station to report him missing, then stood guard at the Pokémon Tower for a whole day. Will had been busy conspiring with Spirit World big-shots to overthrow a ten-thousand-year-old ruler just to get out.
Both little ones were exhausted.
A passing police officer saw this scene and couldn't help but smile. He brought over the small blanket he used for naps and covered them.
When Will and Lorelei opened their eyes, it was already the next morning.
They woke up in a strange bedroom. Next to them was a big sister with teal hair.
It was Officer Jenny!
She had taken them home to use as body pillows.
"Officer Jenny!"
"Piplup!"
"You're awake? Hehe, come have breakfast." Jenny smiled at the two little ones and picked them up from the bed.
First, she took them to the bathroom to brush their teeth with disposable toothbrushes. Then, she prepared a breakfast of sausages and fried eggs for them.
"Where is your home? I'll take you back," Jenny asked, having changed into her uniform.
"No need! We're on a journey! Our goal is the Kanto Conference in two months!" Lorelei put her hands on her hips. After a good sleep, she was full of energy.
"Oh~ The Kanto Conference? I'll be watching then."
"Mhm! Piplup and I will definitely win!"
Lorelei picked up the stuffed Will and ran towards the door. "Thank you, Officer Jenny! We're off!"
"Okay, bye-bye! Be careful on the road~" Jenny waved goodbye with a smile, a hint of envy in her eyes.
Children of the Jenny clan didn't get to go on journeys like Lorelei when they were young. When they grew up, they had the time and ability, but their mindset was different.
"Where to next?" Will yawned and asked.
Although yesterday's experience was bizarre, he quickly returned to his daily mindset. He had experienced plenty of crazy things in his life; one more didn't matter.
Besides, although the beginning and process were rough, the result was undoubtedly excellent. From now on, the Emperor and Prime Minister of the Spirit World were his friends. If he saw a Spirit Gate in the future, he wouldn't be afraid. He could enter and leave as he pleased, without fear of being harmed by Dusknoir.
"First to Vermilion City, then take the bus to Fuchsia City, then take a boat back to Pallet Town, and finally go to the Indigo Plateau for the Kanto Conference!"
Lorelei had already planned the itinerary. This route would complete their lap around the Kanto region. Except for Celadon City, they would have visited every city on the Kanto mainland.
"Sure. There's just enough time." Will nodded.
They walked out of Lavender Town. Just a few steps out of town, they saw a Lucario standing on the road ahead.
'Will.' Lucario waved. He used his Aura to speak directly to Will's mind, so Lorelei couldn't hear him.
"?! It's the one from Cameran Palace!" Lorelei recognized him instantly.
"Long time no see~" Will waved back. "Are you going to travel with us?"
"?! Is Lucario coming with us?" Lorelei got excited hearing Will's words. Even though Lucario wouldn't be her Pokémon, having a Lucario travel with them would be awesome. Especially this one, who gave off such a strong, righteous vibe. Having him around would feel very safe.
"Yes. I am a bit lost and do not know what to do. So I came to find you, to help you train your Aura Power."
Lucario nodded. He had listened to Will and gone to the Tree of Beginning, activating the Time Flower there. He had heard Sir Aaron's apology and explanation. Although he was moved, he was also lost.
Sir Aaron was dead. Cameran Palace no longer needed a guardian. He couldn't find a purpose for his life. So, for now, he decided to find Will, repay his kindness, and slowly search for a meaning to his existence.
"Yay! Welcome, welcome!" Lorelei jumped happily. "Let's go, let's go!"
And so, the traveling party gained a new member.
Will's life returned to its ordinary track.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
Will, Lorelei, and Lucario arrived at the Indigo Plateau's athlete's village three days before the tournament began.
"I remember there are rooms prepared for the participants. Let's go to the Pokémon League Center and ask?" Lorelei looked at Lucario.
Lucario tilted his head in confusion. Why ask me? He had only been back in this world for a few months. His understanding of this world was incomplete. The things he had seen on this journey had shocked him multiple times.
"Let's go. Let's see the other competitors." Will patted Lorelei's shoulder. He needed to see what kind of monsters and freaks were participating.
"Mhm!" Lorelei nodded, also looking forward to it.
They went to the Pokémon League Center.
The first thing to do was register the Pokémon she would use in the tournament. If she wanted to switch Pokémon, she would have to inform the staff before the match began.
The front desk was staffed by three Nurse Joys from nearby cities.
"Hello, Miss Joy. I'm here to register my Pokémon." Lorelei placed Will on the counter. Will waved at the Joy standing inside.
"Okay. Is it this Piplup and the Lucario?" Joy instinctively looked at the little penguin and the dog beside Lorelei.
"Huh? No! Lucario isn't my Pokémon." Lorelei quickly shook her head and waved her hands.
Over the past two months, she had occasionally watched Lucario training with Will. To put it bluntly, if Lucario entered the tournament, he would basically be guaranteed the championship unless he ran into an Elite Four or Champion-level trainer.
Lorelei took out Lapras and Cloyster (formerly Shellder) and registered them.
After registration, Lorelei received a number plate from Nurse Joy. This wasn't her participant number, but her room number.
However, they didn't leave immediately. Instead, they found a sofa in the lobby and sat down, observing the surrounding competitors.
"As expected, the difficulty is high," Will muttered, scanning the room.
Trainers ranging from ten years old to sixty or seventy could be seen. Some of the older folks had Pokémon with them that were clearly Gym Leader-level. Those were not opponents Lorelei could handle right now.
"Ah?! It's Agatha! We're doomed!"
Suddenly, Lorelei stared in a certain direction, her mouth gaping open.
Will turned to look and instantly got a headache.
The "Agatha" Lorelei mentioned was none other than the future Kanto Ghost-type Elite Four, a traveling companion of Professor Oak from the same era.
Agatha was currently in her thirties, in the prime of her life. She didn't look as kindly (or creepy) as she would later; instead, she looked solitary and aloof, wearing a "world-weary" face that discouraged anyone from approaching.
Some trainers, seeing Agatha appear, immediately went to the front desk to withdraw their registration.
This was normal. Professor Oak had won countless tournament championships. As his companion, although Agatha had always been eating his dust, she had taken plenty of second and third places. She was famous, and her strength was obvious to all.
"I knew it. No chance for the championship this time. We'll just have to wait for the format change and play in the 'baby cup'." Will shook his head secretly.
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