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"In the final Seismic Toss, your Charizard's right arm experienced a momentary power stagnation, which gave Glaceon an opportunity. It not only broke free with half its body but also used Hydro Pump to cushion the impact upon landing, reducing the damage to almost zero."
Lorelei explained why that Seismic Toss failed to defeat Glaceon, ultimately attributing it to the groundwork laid by the initial Hydro Pump.
If Charizard hadn't felt that pain in its right arm, perhaps Glaceon truly would have fallen.
At that time, Ash would have accomplished the feat of defeating an Elite Four peak with a professional peak, creating new history.
However, there is no 'if' in this world. Every detail in Pokémon battles is worth noting, as battles lost due to details are common.
Through this battle, Ash also understood how difficult it was to overcome the Elite Four peak level among normal Pokémon.
Charizard's level had increased by a whole major tier compared to when it battled Koga!
Moreover, its use of Sacred Fire was more proficient; although it could only be used once, in terms of quality, it was significantly stronger than when it battled Koga.
Adding Flare Blitz, a powerful Fire-type move, Sunny Day, the Blaze ability unleashed when its stamina was almost depleted, and its type advantage against Glaceon—this was equivalent to four buffs stacked, plus a divine-level attack—yet it still couldn't take down Glaceon!
The final Seismic Toss was even evaded by the opponent!
To put it simply, the level difference was too great. If only Charizard had been at the Gym level... but there's no point discussing that now. A loss is a loss. Ash frankly accepted this fact and resolved not to make the same mistake in the next battle.
During the Seismic Toss attack, he and Charizard were of one mind, so he could naturally feel the pain in Charizard's right arm. However, the pain lasted only for an instant, and neither he nor Charizard paid too much attention to it, suppressing the sensation directly.
But it was this momentary lapse that led to a fatal mistake and defeat.
"Don't be discouraged. To be able to battle me to this extent at that level is something I completely did not anticipate. If your Charizard were a little stronger, I would have been the one to lose, and where would I put my old face then?" Lorelei said, gently stroking her smooth, fair cheek.
If that was an 'old face,' then there would probably be no young faces in the world.
"I will become stronger, Miss Lorelei. Please battle me again then!" Ash said, looking at Lorelei with determined eyes. Where he falls, he will rise!
Losing to Lorelei once means winning back once!
"Hehe, no problem. If you want to battle me, just contact me anytime. Here's my number." Lorelei said, pulling out a business card. One side of the card had her name, Lorelei, and the other side had a string of numbers.
It looked quite simple, probably something Lorelei made on the fly.
"Ah~~ Wonderful! With Master Lorelei's number, I can call her anytime to express my admiration!" Brock, sitting nearby, clasped his hands together, a dazed expression on his face.
"If you call Master Lorelei for no reason, I'll rip off your ears!" Misty rolled her eyes, warning Brock.
A man usually so mature and steady, his IQ drops to zero when he sees a beautiful woman, not to mention acting like a pervert. With Brock acting like this, it would be a miracle if he ever found a girlfriend!
Speaking of girlfriends... Misty quietly glanced at Ash, who was holding the business card with an excited expression.
If this guy doesn't have women throwing themselves at him in the future, maybe he'll never find a girlfriend either. If Brock has an extreme love for beautiful women, then Ash has an extreme love for Pokémon.
Will this guy spend his whole life with Pokémon? That won't do; it's unhealthy for a person's physical and mental well-being. Maybe she should reluctantly... cough cough, we'll talk about it later. The journey is still long, and they're still young!
"Miss Lorelei, why are you in Cerulean City?" After resolving the battle-related issues, Ash was curious about Lorelei's reason for being in Cerulean City.
Aren't Elite Four usually very busy? How could she have time to come to Cerulean City to watch water ballet?
Why did he know Lorelei was here to watch water ballet? That's obvious; Lorelei called him during the water ballet performance. So what else could Lorelei be here for if not to watch water ballet?
It couldn't possibly be for him, could it? That's ridiculous.
"Hehe, I heard there's a water ballet that can refresh one's mind and spirit here, and I happened to have nothing to do, so I came to watch the ballet and relax." Lorelei replied with a blooming smile. As for whether it was actually as she said... of course not.
Her main purpose for being in Cerulean City was for Ash.
Entrusted by Professor Oak, she was supposed to wait for Ash and his friends in Viridian City, but Giovanni, whom she had been watching, suddenly disappeared.
It was expected that Giovanni, as the leader of Team Rockets, would have many ways to avoid detection.
But generally speaking, both he and she tacitly knew about the surveillance. You don't do anything, I don't do anything, and we both coexist peacefully here.
However, Giovanni's sudden disappearance indicated that he was secretly preparing for some covert operation. Lorelei's first thought was Ash.
Professor Oak had told her to pay close attention to Ash; he was currently a key target for Giovanni. If Giovanni had any schemes, it was highly likely they would target Ash. So, Lorelei immediately tracked Ash's whereabouts and positioned herself in Cerulean Gym in advance.
This battle, besides clearing Ash's name from online rumors, was also a warning to Giovanni, who was hiding in the shadows.
I am already by Ash's side. If you dare to lay a hand on Ash, then weigh the power of a Champion Trainer—by Lorelei.
"Miss Lorelei, where are you going next?" After chatting for a while, Ash asked Lorelei about her future plans.
They wouldn't stay in Cerulean Gym for too long; they were almost ready to leave and continue their journey to Viridian City.
Lorelei lightly tapped her chin with a slender finger, a thoughtful expression on her pretty face. After a moment, she slowly replied, "I'll go to Viridian City next. There's someone I need to keep an eye on there; I let him escape before, but I estimate he should be back by now."
Someone to keep an eye on? Escaped?
Who could possibly require one of the Kanto Elite Four to watch over, and more importantly, managed to escape from her? This person must be incredibly resourceful.
Misty and Brock were both wondering who it could be, but Ash already vaguely knew the answer.
Who else could it be that an Elite Four personally monitors, is in Viridian City, and can still slip away from under the Elite Four's nose, besides Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader?
As for why Lorelei was monitoring Giovanni, Ash couldn't guess, but that didn't prevent their destinations from aligning!
"Since we're all going to Viridian City, why don't we go together?" Ash suggested.
"Sure, why not? I'm free anyway, and I'd like to experience what it's like to travel when you're young~" Lorelei replied instantly with a radiant smile, as if she had already prepared this answer.
Perhaps even if Ash hadn't invited her, she would have found another reason to go with Ash and his friends.
Brock, upon hearing Lorelei readily agree to Ash's invitation, his squinting eyes immediately turned into heart shapes: "Ah~~ To have the honor of traveling with Master Lorelei, I can die content even now!"
"Then go die!!" Misty, unable to bear it any longer, gave Brock a whack. Her companion acting so shamelessly in front of someone she admired made Misty feel like she had lost all face.
Ash and Pikachu were already used to this scene, merely twitching their lips. Lorelei, on the other hand, covered her mouth and chuckled softly. For a moment, the backstage area of Cerulean Gym was filled with joy... In the afternoon, as the area around Cerulean Gym gradually calmed down and even the fervent fans had mostly dispersed, Ash and the others finally left Cerulean Gym.
If their configuration had attracted attention, the entire Cerulean City would probably have erupted into chaos again. So, even their departure from Cerulean City had to be done quietly.
"Have a safe journey!"
"Remember to visit Cerulean Gym often when you have time!"
"It would be best if you brought Elite Four Lorelei back for another battle~~"
The Sakura sisters each said a line, their abacus beads practically bouncing off Ash and the others' faces.
This Elite Four battle had brought them a huge profit, at least for the next six months they wouldn't have to worry about Cerulean Gym's funding. Without financial concerns, Sakura could better fulfill her duties as Cerulean Gym Leader.
Among the three sisters, Sakura's talent was second only to Misty's, but without good training resources and guidance, she lagged far behind Misty.
However, in these past few months, Misty's departure had also helped Sakura grow a lot. While she couldn't be called a mature Gym Leader, she was at least a qualified one.
She was planning to return a renowned Cerulean Gym to Misty before she came back!
Lorelei smiled and waved to the three sisters, indicating that she would return for an exhibition battle if the opportunity arose.
Then, the group set off on the road to Viridian City.
Seven days later—
At the entrance of Viridian City, Ash and his group of four arrived neatly. Returning to Viridian City again, Ash couldn't help but show a look of emotion. This was the first city he had reached, and at that time, he was still a small fry without even an advanced-level Pokémon.
And now, he had grown into a powerful Trainer capable of directly contending with Elite-level Trainers!
It was also in this place that he first met Team Rockets, and from then on, a karmic bond was formed, and they have been entangled ever since.
A few days ago, they even encountered the Team Rockets trio. When those three recognized Lorelei, they actually said they wanted to capture Lorelei's Pokémon to present to their leader.
At that time, Ash didn't even feel like having Pikachu shock them. How many dishes had they had? So drunk that they dared to covet Lorelei's Pokémon? Let your leader come; even your leader wouldn't dare to lay a hand on Lorelei's Pokémon.
The outcome, of course, was that the Team Rockets trio was sent flying once again. Lorelei, having heard from Ash and his friends that the Team Rockets trio had been sent flying at least a dozen times, also showed a look of surprise.
Are there such god-like people in the world? And they are also members of Team Rockets. If they weren't Team Rockets members, but just ordinary thugs, Lorelei would truly want to recruit them into the League.
The League is currently lacking all sorts of talented individuals.
Unfortunately, they are ultimately Team Rockets members. To recruit them, Team Rockets would have to be defeated first.
Team Rockets, if nothing else, has strong organizational cohesion. Even some people within the League are not as loyal to their organization as Team Rockets members are.
After all, if we talk about organizations, the League is also an organization.
Speaking of Team Rockets, Ash suddenly thought of a strange location after arriving in Viridian City: the Pokémon Center that the Team Rockets trio had invaded, attempting to steal Pokémon from it to present to their boss.
Now he knew that the boss of Team Rockets was Giovanni, so the question arose... Viridian City, strictly speaking, should be considered Team Rockets' headquarters, given that their boss was the Gym Leader here.
So, were the Team Rockets trio just bored and decided to raid their own headquarters to steal Pokémon from the Pokémon Center? If this was an order from Giovanni, then that person would definitely be incredibly stupid.
So, it was most likely those three idiots acting on their own initiative to invade.
He wondered if Giovanni, upon learning of this, would be exasperated or so angry his soul would leave his body.
"Hey, Ash, what are you thinking? Snap out of it, Master Lorelei is talking to you!" Brock waved his hand in front of Ash's eyes, bringing Ash, who was lost in strange thoughts, back to reality. Then, Ash turned to Lorelei with a puzzled expression. Had Lorelei just spoken to him? How come he didn't hear her?
"Hehe, it's alright. Ash must be feeling sentimental, recalling the scene when he first left Viridian City... What I just said was, thank you for taking care of me during this time. We'll part ways here. You're going to challenge Viridian Gym, right?"
Ash nodded: "Yes, we're preparing to challenge Viridian Gym. Miss Lorelei, are you going to..."
"I'm going to a friend's place. Here, take this with you when you challenge Viridian Gym." Lorelei said, taking out a tiny dot and handing it to Ash.
Ash took it and looked at it confusedly, unable to figure out what it was.
"This is a mobile pinhole camera. It uses the League's latest technology, incorporating the power of space to fit a power source, transmitter, and other components into such a small camera. Pin it to your collar, and I'll be able to see every move inside Viridian Gym through my monitor."
Lorelei's words startled both Misty and Brock. What did she mean by that?!