Chapter 259: The Sinnoh Conference
A month passed.
It was now the end of League Year 180, and the Sinnoh Conference had officially begun.
A week before the start, Slowpoke evolved into Slowbro, finally moving past its first stage.
As Will had predicted, the implementation of the Gym system had indeed silenced many adult trainers. The majority of the participants were now in the 10-20 age range, a group with more free time.
However, some trainers aiming for the Gym Leader Selection Tournament were still participating in the regional conference, clearly gunning for the championship.
Overall, the difficulty of the conference had dropped significantly, but it hadn't become a "baby cup" just yet. At least, the difficulty of the elimination rounds hadn't dropped too much. Among the trainers who made it to the elimination rounds, there were still quite a few powerful ones at the Gym Leader level.
Lorelei faced almost no pressure making it to the elimination rounds.
For the qualifiers and group stages, she relied entirely on Slowbro, Dewgong, and Froslass. She didn't even change the order. Their levels were Lv. 38, Lv. 42, and Lv. 46, respectively. In a tournament of this level, passing the qualifiers was a breeze, and their win rate in the group stage was around 60-70%.
Occasionally, if Lapras and Cloyster wanted to battle, she let them play a round to secure a point.
As for Will... he was too lazy to fight. He slacked off whenever he could. This greatly disappointed the many spectators who had waited three years to see the famous Piplup in action again.
Thanks to the efforts of his five teammates, Will essentially coasted into the elimination rounds.
That night, the elimination bracket was announced. Lorelei carried Will to see it immediately.
"Hehe~ We don't have any strong opponents on our side!" Lorelei spun around, hugging Will.
"True." Will nodded after taking a look.
He had been keeping an eye on notable opponents throughout the tournament. Specifically, those who would become future Gym Leaders or Elite Four members in other regions. Although there weren't as many as in the Kanto Conference, there were still four or five of them.
Now, all four or five of them had been placed in the other half of the bracket.
This meant Lorelei would face, at most, one of them—and that would be in the finals.
As for the side they were on... while there were elite trainers, Will didn't see any major problems. Winning shouldn't be too hard.
Currently, among Lorelei's six Pokémon, only Will was at Lv. 60, entering the Gym Leader level.
Lapras and Cloyster were both above Lv. 50, making them strong contenders in the elimination rounds. Froslass, with her Ice/Ghost typing, could also play a significant role.
Only Slowbro and Dewgong were a bit behind, but it wasn't a critical issue. Against the trainers on this side of the bracket, Will felt he could easily take on two or even three opponents by himself.
"Who do you think Lorelei will face in the end?"Lucario looked at Will.
"Either that bald old man or that dark-skinned muscular guy." Will scanned the list and signaled to Lucario.
"Why?!" Lucario frowned in confusion. He had watched the matches too. He didn't think those two had performed particularly well in the earlier rounds; they had even lost a few matches.
"They're strong. In the earlier matches, they were just using their weaker Pokémon for practice. Those weren't their main teams." Will shook his head.
He couldn't explain the specific reasons to Lucario. The two people he mentioned were Ramos and Hala.
Ramos was the future Grass-type Gym Leader of Coumarine City in Kalos. He was a kindly-looking old man who loved plants and gardening. He looked to be in his sixties.
Hala was the Kahuna of Melemele Island in Alola and a future Elite Four member of the Alola League. He specialized in Fighting-types. Hala's strength was top-tier in the future Alola region, but right now, he seemed to be around Gym Leader level, maybe in his forties.
"Which one is stronger?"
"I don't know."
Will shook his head. He had never seen them fight, and the original series never mentioned it.
However, based on their status in their respective regions, the future Hala should be stronger. But one couldn't judge so simply. The Alola League was established nearly two hundred years after the Kalos League, and the scale of the Alola region couldn't compare to Kalos. Whether an Alolan Elite Four member was stronger than an old Kalos Gym Leader... they'd have to fight to find out.
"Who do you want to fight?"
"Me?... Definitely the dark-skinned guy. We have absolutely no chance against that old man." Will pressed his lips together.
Honestly, Lorelei would struggle against either of them. Her chances of winning were almost zero.
It wasn't just because their main teams were all Gym Leader-level. It was also a matter of typing.
Grass beats Water. Fighting beats Ice.
And Lapras, Cloyster, and Dewgong were all Water/Ice types. That was a terrible combination here; they'd take 2x damage from Fighting and Grass (neutral or super effective depending on the move).
For Lorelei, fighting Ramos should be easier because Ice beats Grass. Against Ramos, Lapras and the others could deal significant damage.
But the level gap was huge. A reduced type disadvantage wasn't enough to bridge it. Slowbro, Dewgong, and Froslass were more than 20 levels lower than Ramos's Pokémon; they might not even get a chance to attack. Cloyster was also more than 10 levels behind. Only Lapras would have a slightly easier time.
But the final victory relied on Will.
Since he was disadvantaged against both, he'd rather fight Hala. At least Will wasn't weak to Fighting, and his evasion rate against Fighting-type attacks was extremely high.
In contrast, Grass-type moves like Vine Whip, powders, and Mega Drain were hard to dodge, and Will was weak to Grass. Fighting Grass-types would be tough.
Against Hala, he might be able to take out three, or at least two. If he took out three, the remaining three would be left to his teammates, giving them a sliver of a chance.
But against Ramos, taking out two was his limit. The remaining four Gym Leader-level Pokémon would absolutely crush Lapras and the others.
"So..."
"We wait. At worst, we get second place. That's enough for Lorelei to brag about for a while."
Will grinned, unconcerned. Just like the Kanto Conference, he was open-minded.
Lorelei was only 13. She had plenty of time to achieve her dreams. Besides, a 13-year-old regional runner-up in these years was still very prestigious. In a few more years, a runner-up title might not mean as much.
The elimination rounds began.
The trainers on Lorelei's side of the bracket had limited strength, with average levels floating between Lv. 45 and Lv. 55.
This was the gap. This level of strength would barely have made it past the qualifiers in the pre-reform Kanto Conference. But now, two-thirds of the elimination round participants were at this level.
During the elimination rounds, Will rarely fought. Sometimes, Lapras alone could take out two or two and a half opponents. Will fought less than five times in total, and usually just to clean up weakened enemies. It was a sweet deal.
He was more focused on the other half of the bracket.
To his regret, Hala was slightly outmatched and lost to Ramos.
Lorelei's opponent in the finals was decided: Ramos.
On the day of the finals.
Lorelei put Will in the last slot as her ace. Her first five Pokémon went out one by one... and only managed to defeat two of Ramos's Pokémon.
This meant that for Lorelei to win, Will had to defeat four opponents.
In the eyes of many spectators, this final match wasn't even as exciting as Ramos's semi-final match. Just like in the future Sinnoh League, where Ash vs. Tobias was more exciting than the actual finals.
Regardless, the referee shouted into the microphone.
"Contestant Lorelei sends out her final Pokémon—Piplup!"
"Contestant Ramos sends out his third Pokémon—Gogoat!"
Seeing the two Pokémon on the field, the cooling audience suddenly fired up again.
Will's appearance was a small part of it.
The main reason was Gogoat.
Gogoat is a common Pokémon in the Kalos region. They have high potential, comparable to starter Pokémon, and are gentle and easy to raise. Most importantly, this species has a history of coexisting with humans for 5,000 years. Nowadays, Gogoat serve more as helpers in work than as battlers.
But it depended on whose Gogoat it was.
The one Ramos sent out... was his Ace.
This was why the audience cheered. It was an Ace vs. Ace match.
Will and Gogoat stared each other down, waiting for the battle to begin.
"Using your Ace against a little penguin... don't tell me you haven't researched me. I don't believe it." Will grinned.
This Gogoat was Lv. 68, 8 levels higher than him. It was usually Ramos's anchor.
He hadn't expected to face it so soon. Will had originally hoped to fight a Sunflora or a Weepinbell, take two down, show off, and be done with it.
Now... Ramos wasn't planning to let him show off at all.
"Piplup..." Lorelei's worried voice came. Even the usually carefree Lorelei could see how dire the situation was.
"Shut up. Watch my moves." Will raised a flipper, signaling for silence.
It was hard.
But not impossible.
Taking down two might be out of the question now. But taking down Ramos's Ace? He had a shot.
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