Chapter 249: Smooth Sailing into the Elimination Round
Even though Agatha's presence had scared off many weaker rookie trainers, Lorelei didn't give up.
They had traveled all this way to compete, not just to take a walk and watch the matches from the stands. Even if they couldn't win the championship, they were going to give it their all.
Lorelei led Will and Lucario to a grassy plain near the Indigo Plateau.
There were still a few days before the qualifiers began.
At this point, trying to cram in last-minute leveling or learn new moves wouldn't be very effective. The key now was to develop a few solid move combinations and tactics for battle.
It was the same as always. Will and Lucario figured out their own training, while Lorelei only had to think about moves for Lapras and Cloyster.
This was one of Lorelei's advantages.
Other rookie trainers had to worry about three or even more Pokémon. But Lorelei only had to spend her time and energy on two. Will didn't need her to split her focus.
This meant Lorelei was destined to go further than other rookies of the same period. Her competitors were the rookies from previous years, or even adults.
Elsewhere on the plain.
Lucario watched Lorelei, who was frantically "sharpening her spear before battle," and then turned to Will.
"Do you really think you have a chance to win? I heard your story from the Tree of Beginning. With your foresight, you should be able to see the ending at a glance."
In private, Lucario always showed respect when facing Will. That respect was no less than what he showed Sir Aaron.
Because Lucario knew Will was the "Eternal Aura Guardian" and the "Guardian of the Tree of Beginning." He knew Will had saved Cameran Palace and the world.
Even though Will had mentioned many times that it was his past life, and this life was a fresh start, for Lucario, those deeds couldn't just be written off.
"It's actually very simple. Ask yourself this: if you were in Sir Aaron's position back then, or in my position in my last life... knowing your strength wasn't enough to stop the war or save the Tree... would you have just given up?"
"No. I would have persisted until the end. Until death."
"Exactly. That's called 'knowing it's impossible but doing it anyway.' It's a symbol of courage. And courage is the anthem of intelligent beings."
Will nodded and looked at the energetic Lorelei. "She's only 10. That's the age where you should charge forward recklessly. It's good for her growth. As for losing... it's nothing. Losing this tournament doesn't mean losing anything real."
Ten years old.
The perfect age to not know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is.
Lorelei dared to charge into Icefall Cave, kick the electric fence around the Tree of Beginning, and rush into the unknown Spirit Gate...
Calling her reckless and brainless wasn't wrong. But you couldn't deny her bravery.
Will had told Lorelei's grandmother's grave that since he ate her offerings, he would protect her descendant. That didn't just mean protecting Lorelei's life. It meant protecting her ability to grow up healthy, happy, and wild.
Lorelei's actions had Will's tacit approval. He didn't stop her, so if there were any bad consequences, he would naturally bear them.
"..."
Lucario fell silent, then clasped his paws together and bowed to Will.
Will had taught him this gesture. Every time Lucario finished teaching Will how to use Aura Power, Will would bow to Lucario like this, meaning "Thank you for the lesson."
"What about you? You've been with us for two months. Have you decided what you want to do in the future?" Will asked Lucario.
"Umm... I want to continue following you. I feel there is still much I can learn from you." Lucario scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
Aura Guardians could be anyone, but they all shared a common trait: "Self-sacrifice for righteousness."
Whether it was Sir Aaron or Will. Although they were different people, the spirit of self-sacrifice was the same. Lucario liked being around people like that.
"Follow me? Sure, I don't mind. But after this tournament, we might go back to the Sevii Islands to rest."
"I'll go too."
"Alright." Will nodded.
Of course he welcomed Lucario tagging along. Lucario was an Elite Four-level Pokémon, around Lv. 70, and a master of Aura. He was the perfect bodyguard and coach.
The pre-tournament preparation days flew by.
The first step was the Open Qualifiers.
Each participant would be randomly matched for 1v1 battles. The winner got 1 point. Finally, based on total points, the top 256 would advance.
Having traveled for six months, Lapras had reached Lv. 50, and Cloyster was Lv. 38.
The gap seemed large. But one couldn't ignore that Lapras had been with Lorelei for two and a half years before they started traveling.
So, Lapras had been with Lorelei for a total of three years.
Three years to go from Lv. 15 to Lv. 50. That speed wasn't fast.
Times were different now. In Will's Dragonite life (Era of Primal Beasts), this speed would have been very fast, but in this peaceful League Era, it was a bit slow.
This was mainly because Lorelei was just a little girl back then, and her efficiency in training Lapras was too low. Later, she split her attention with Cloyster. Otherwise, Lapras would be higher level.
As for Cloyster's Lv. 38... in the entire pool of competitors, it was considered mediocre. Thanks to its naturally high defense, it was a tricky opponent for other trainers in the qualifiers. But later on, it would undoubtedly drag Will and Lapras down.
But there was no helping it. It had only joined the team six months ago. You couldn't ask for too much.
The quality of competitors in the qualifiers varied greatly. Weak ones fainted if Lapras grazed them; strong ones could tank ten of Lapras's Water Guns like it was a drink.
Plus, Will wanted to hone the coordination between Lorelei and her other two Pokémon and test their tactics, so he barely fought during the qualifiers.
So for Lorelei, the qualifiers were actually a bit tough. Lapras won almost every match, but Cloyster basically traded wins and losses.
By the end of the qualifiers, Lorelei ranked 202nd, barely scraping into the group stage.
It was worth mentioning that some spectators from Cerulean City recognized Lorelei during the qualifiers and cheered for her. Since Cerulean City loved Water-type Pokémon, they had a lot of goodwill toward the Water-specialist Lorelei.
After the qualifiers came the Group Stage.
Divided into Groups A, B, C, and D, with 64 people per group. It used a random 2v2 format, with the winner getting 1 point. Each person fought 16 rounds, and the top 16 from each group advanced to the final elimination tournament.
In the group stage, Will couldn't slack off anymore.
The qualifiers had eliminated most of the weaklings. Only a few lucky ones made it to the group stage.
A Lv. 38 Cloyster was now bottom-tier in the group stage. Sending it out meant losing nine times out of ten.
Will's level had reached Lv. 47. Only 3 levels lower than Lapras. But in actual combat power, Will was more than a cut above Lapras. This wasn't just because of his richer battle experience, but also his deep move pool, versatile Aura Power, and lack of terrain restrictions.
In the group stage, Will won almost every match. He only lost one or two rounds against veteran trainers with higher levels and type advantages.
Lapras's win rate dropped to around 50-60%. Although her strength was upper-middle tier in this group, she was definitely struggling.
If Will hadn't participated and Cloyster had taken his place, Lorelei definitely wouldn't have made it to the elimination round.
At the end of the group stage, Lorelei earned 10 points, advancing to the elimination tournament in the last qualifying spot of her group.
It was from this moment that Lorelei truly entered the public eye and started making a name for herself.
Because... among the final 64 participants, Lorelei was the youngest. The next youngest was a 15-year-old boy.
Lorelei was also the only rookie trainer on their first journey to make it to the elimination round!
And Will replaced Lapras as "Lorelei's Ace" in everyone's eyes.
Everyone looked at the tiny Piplup with new respect. Historically, powerful Pokémon usually appeared in their final evolutionary stage, or at least their second. Pokémon showing such power in their first stage... it wasn't unheard of, but it was extremely rare.
So Will became famous, too.
On the night the group stage ended, the matchups for the elimination tournament were posted in the main hall.
Lorelei led Will straight to the board to find her name.
But when she saw it, her face went pale.
Her first opponent wasn't Agatha, but a young man in his early twenties.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was... if she beat this young man...
Her opponent in the next round, the Top 32 match, would be Agatha!
This basically guaranteed that the furthest Lorelei could go in this tournament was the Top 32.
"What? Gonna forfeit after the first round?" Will sat in Lorelei's arms, swinging his legs lazily, and glanced up at her.
"No way! I'll fight to the end! Actually, it's perfect. I've wanted to battle that senior for a long time. Now I can see how big the gap between us really is."
"Mm." Will smiled slightly, not surprised. If Lorelei had chosen to give up, that would have been surprising.
"Let's go, Piplup. Get a good rest tonight. We have a tough battle tomorrow. That big brother isn't an easy opponent either. I remember he specializes in Fighting-types."
"Fighting-types? Then Lapras and Cloyster are in big trouble."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter