"Bing bing bing! What's warm inside your body?"
Just as Ash and his group were wondering what to do next, an old man suddenly appeared before them.
"An open-air hot spring," Ash replied with a smile, remembering this part of the story.
"The answer is correct. I didn't expect anyone to come all the way to Cinnabar Island looking for a Gym. The heirs of each great family always end up here first." The old man nodded, clearly impressed.
"You're Blaine, the only Champion-level Trainer in Kanto without an official title," Ash said. What he meant was that Blaine's true strength wasn't recognized by the League, hidden from all but the most powerful families.
"Come with me. If you wander around like this, you won't even find a place to stay. Besides, I want to see the strength of Kanto's youngest Champion Trainer." Blaine smiled, leading Ash and the others toward a hot spring lodge nestled in the hills behind Cinnabar Island.
"You'll stay here tonight. The rooms in the middle are open—you can choose whichever you like. Behind the lodge is an outdoor hot spring. There's also a mixed bath if you don't mind." As Blaine explained, he gave Ash a curious glance when mentioning the mixed bath.
Ash didn't think much of it, but the three girls with him immediately blushed at the thought. Soon enough, Sabrina and Suzie shared one room, while Ash naturally ended up paired with Cynthia.
There was no way they could battle today. The heat of Cinnabar Island drained everyone's energy, making it hard even for Ash to focus. After stripping down and wrapping a towel around himself, Ash headed for the hot spring behind the lodge, intent on relaxing.
Cynthia, on the other hand, went to soak with Sabrina and Suzie. If it had been just her and Ash, she wouldn't have been so shy, but with the hot springs separated by only a thin wooden wall, she felt embarrassed and decided to join the other girls instead.
Ash understood and didn't press the matter. When he arrived at the mist-shrouded hot spring, he saw the water bubbling warmly, surrounded by smooth stones. Raising his brow, he stepped in, savoring his first hot spring experience since arriving in this world.
But just as he was about to relax, Ash's eyes narrowed. A faint red glint flashed across them as his aura sharpened. Someone was already in the hot spring, hidden in the steam.
"Who's there?" Ash demanded.
As the mist thinned, the figure of a woman became clear—wine-red hair tied up, pale skin gleaming against the water, and an elegant face that radiated a dangerous allure.
"One of the Elite Four… Lorelei." Ash recognized her immediately. He had studied the dossiers on the Elite Four before. Though he wondered why she was here, he didn't ask. Instead, he simply slid into the water, leaning back against a rock.
"This is our first meeting. You're more composed than I expected. Aren't you curious why I'm here?" Lorelei asked with a teasing smile. Even through the steam, she gave off a mysterious, almost regal aura.
"I did wonder," Ash admitted, resting a towel over his face. "But since Blaine is your uncle, it's not strange for you to be here." He now understood the strange look Blaine had given him earlier.
"I just wanted to see what kind of person Kanto's youngest Champion Trainer is—and to gauge your strength. I know you're here to challenge my uncle's Gym, so I came to see for myself." Lorelei's eyes glittered as she slowly moved closer.
At 28, Lorelei was at the height of her elegance, confident and alluring in a way few women could be. This was the first time in her life she had ever shared a bath with a man.
Normally, she would never do such a thing.
But circumstances gave her no choice. Though her family, the Glacienne family, was far more harmonious than the fractured Blackstone or Mugino clans, expectations still weighed heavily upon her.
The Glacienne family had always been strict with its traditions. Although Lorelei technically held authority, the final say still rested with her father. Among the great families, it was an unspoken rule: to inherit the position of patriarch, one had to reach Champion level.
But at twenty-eight, Lorelei remained stalled at the Elite Four stage, unable to take the final step. Her peers—Masaki Oak and Lance of the Draconis family—had already broken through to Champion rank.
Even Cynthia, her contemporary and rival, had reached that level. The pressure weighed heavily on her.
Lorelei's younger brother also showed great promise. He had already reached the level of an Elite candidate and was expected to advance further soon.
This only made her feel more unwilling to accept her stagnation.
Out of all her contemporaries, only she and Bruno had yet to step into the Champion tier.
Even Agatha, another member of the Elite Four, was Champion-level in truth—though the world outside the great families remained unaware of it.
Her meeting with Ash was not merely out of curiosity.
Beyond testing the strength of Kanto's youngest Champion Trainer, Lorelei secretly hoped he might help her break through her bottleneck. Ever since she had learned of Ash's skill as a pharmacist, the idea had taken root in her mind.
Perhaps Ash couldn't directly elevate a Trainer to the next tier. But Pokémon? That was another matter. The Rare Candy he had created had already become legendary, and Lorelei didn't believe for a second that he had truly only produced five.
The Champion level was a mysterious threshold, a realm apart.
To explain it simply: Elite candidates possessed raw power, Elites mastered details, prospective Champions achieved deep understanding, and true Champions transcended into something greater—forming a bond with their Pokémon so profound that it resembled direct communication.
Ash, for example, could almost instantly grasp a Pokémon's strengths and nature the moment he laid eyes on it. That was the difference—the mark of someone who had already touched the Champion's path.
...
TN:
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