Chapter 266: Challenging the Kanto Conference Again
Time flew.
Two years passed.
It was now League Year 183.
After leaving Mount Tensei, Will and his team traveled all around the Johto region. Then they went home to rest for a month before setting off again to travel around the Hoenn region.
During these two years, Lorelei didn't participate in any regional conferences. Instead, she focused entirely on challenging various trainers with Will and the others.
The drive Lorelei showed in these two years was enough to shock even Will.
And now, the strength of the entire team had risen by more than a notch.
Three of them had reached the Gym Leader level.
Dewgong and Froslass had both broken through Lv. 50.
The only one left was Slowbro, who was still at Lv. 49, which was close enough.
Four Island, Sevii Islands.
One afternoon.
"Piplup~ Look at my hair~"
Lorelei's voice rang out.
Will, who was watching TV, turned his head and froze for a moment.
Sixteen-year-old Lorelei was already 1.75 meters tall. She had started to take an interest in mature fashion, with short skirts and small heels filling her room.
But Lorelei's mom wouldn't allow her to wear high heels too early. Lorelei was still growing, and wearing heels every day this early could deform her feet.
Will always sided with her mom on this. Even though Lorelei looked very elegant and beautiful in heels. But who cares?
Today.
Lorelei had curled her wine-red hair and was wearing a black and white princess dress.
Seeing Lorelei like this, Will almost thought Liz had traveled through time.
But looking closer... she was too young.
When he met Liz in his second life, she was already twenty-eight. He had never seen Liz as a teenager in his first life.
But he thought... maybe this was what she looked like.
Suddenly, Will paused.
An idea popped into his head...
Reincarnation existed in this world. Either Ash or Riley was the reincarnation of Sir Aaron, and the other was likely a descendant.
So...
Could Lorelei be Liz's reincarnation?
"Forget it. Liz is Liz, Lorelei is Lorelei."
Will shook his head vigorously. Even if Lorelei really was Liz's reincarnation, he wouldn't confuse the two.
"Hehe, Piplup, what do you think? I look like the first Queen of the Dragonite Kingdom, right? I took you to see her picture."
Lorelei smoothed her hair.
When they were traveling in Johto, Lorelei had taken Will to Blackthorn City. Although they couldn't enter the Dragonite territory, they visited the Blackthorn Gym, which had a portrait of Liz.
"Indeed, very similar." Will looked up at Lorelei and nodded.
"Hehe, you say that as if you've actually met the Queen."
Lorelei walked over, picked Will up, and gently rubbed his round head. "Mm, you're getting heavier."
Lorelei's voice was soft and gentle. More and more like her mother, and more and more like Liz.
Will had watched Lorelei's personality change bit by bit over the last two years.
Twenty months of travel.
Lorelei had become more and more like a normal girl. Of course, her bravery and optimism hadn't changed, but her words and actions had become more patient.
As for Will...
In these two years, his height hadn't changed at all, but his weight had increased by 10 pounds. He now weighed 30 pounds, though his body shape hadn't changed much.
"Are we leaving again?" Will rested his head on Lorelei's chest and stretched.
"Mhm. Kanto. This time, we're definitely taking the championship."
"Mm. It's about time." Will nodded lightly.
The intensity of the regional conferences was dropping year by year. By now, Elite Four-level competitors had basically disappeared. Those trainers had either become Gym Leaders or joined the League's various combat departments.
Gym Leader-level competitors were now the ceiling for regional conferences, looking more and more like the anime.
Aside from that... some were being recruited by evil organizations.
Yes. Even though it wasn't reported on TV and the League might not have discovered it yet, Will estimated that at least Team Rocket and Team Galactic had been established. Whether they were still in their infancy or had already developed to a certain scale was hard to say.
However, Giovanni hadn't become the Viridian Gym Leader yet, so who knows where he was plotting.
"Shall we go?"
"Mm."
Calling Lucario, they boarded the yacht to the Kanto region.
First stop: Cinnabar Island, an isolated island southwest of the Kanto mainland.
Cinnabar Island had the Fire-type Cinnabar Gym, led by Blaine.
The current Blaine was a man in his prime, not yet fifty, and hadn't reached the bald, elderly appearance he had in the anime.
In the anime, Blaine was a riddle-loving Gym Leader. In the games, he was the founder of the Cinnabar Lab and a formidable Pokémon researcher. The reason Blaine became a Fire-type trainer was that he got lost as a child and was saved by the light of Moltres.
However... in the manga, Blaine was quite a figure. For example, he created Mewtwo.
"Water vs. Fire. Let's finish this quickly~" Lorelei hugged Will and smiled.
Even though it was her first time challenging the Kanto Gyms, Lorelei wasn't too worried.
"Don't get cocky. We have plenty of Ice-types too." Will pouted.
With Will, a Piplup, joining the team, Lorelei's current lineup was five Water, four Ice. In the Gen 1 games, it was four Water, four Ice. Later versions changed it to three Water, five Ice, reflecting her status as the Ice Elite Four.
Although Water beats Fire... Ice is weak to Fire.
Sending out Dewgong, Cloyster, and Lapras... even with their Water typing, they wouldn't have an easy time. Froslass was straight-up unsuitable.
"Dewgong, Slowbro, and Froslass are up."
Lorelei had her own plan. As she grew older, she became more independent. She stopped asking for Will's opinion on minor issues.
This saved Will a lot of trouble.
Sending out the three lower-level Pokémon was probably intended to train them before the conference. Dewgong and Slowbro might not reach Gym Leader level, but Froslass should be fine.
This coincided with Will's thoughts.
He didn't know if Lorelei had changed him or if he had changed Lorelei. But they were becoming more and more in sync.
If only Will could evolve. Otherwise, he reckoned he could even try Mega Evolution with Lorelei.
Before entering the Gym.
"How long until the Kanto Conference starts?" Will asked.
"This year's Kanto Conference is late. It's at the end of the year. Still nine months to go."
"Oh, plenty of time then."
Entering the Gym.
Lorelei struggled in her first Gym battle. Blaine was stronger than she expected.
That's right. Not the Gym Pokémon, but Blaine himself.
This Blaine was the one from the games. Not only a powerful Fire-type trainer but also a renowned Pokémon researcher. His theoretical and practical knowledge were top-notch.
In the first round, Lorelei sent out Slowbro, thinking she could take down at least one of Blaine's Pokémon. Instead, she got hammered.
However, after adjusting her mindset, Lorelei opened Blaine's eyes, taking two wins in a row with the disadvantaged Froslass.
Time flew.
Will, Lorelei, and Lucario collected all eight Gym Badges in just two months.
And this time, Lorelei spent very little time playing or sightseeing. It couldn't be called a "trip" anymore; it was a "campaign." Lorelei was dead serious about winning this conference.
For the next six months, Lorelei didn't run around. Aside from taking Lucario back to Rota City for a few days, she spent the rest of her time between Celadon City and Saffron City.
These were the two biggest cities in Kanto. The resident and transient populations were massive. They also gathered a large number of trainers aiming to challenge the League. It was a great place to train.
Will had originally suggested Lorelei go to Mt. Silver to train. He wanted to take a look himself. But unfortunately, non-League members weren't allowed on Mt. Silver. Both regional Leagues were up there; if anyone could just wander in, the League would be done for.
So, for the remaining seven months before the conference, Will and Lorelei basically lived in Saffron and Celadon.
It wasn't until the ninth month arrived that they headed to the Indigo Plateau's athlete's village.
By this point, four of Lorelei's six Pokémon had reached Gym Leader level.
Will had the highest level, reaching Lv. 69, just one step away from Elite Four level. Thanks to Ho-Oh raising his potential two years ago and Marshadow giving him a Lucky Egg... otherwise, Lapras would have caught up to or even surpassed him.
Below Will was Lapras, only two levels lower at Lv. 67.
Then came Cloyster and Froslass. Cloyster was Lv. 63, and Froslass had just stepped into Gym Leader territory at Lv. 60.
Although Dewgong and Slowbro hadn't reached Gym Leader level, they were at Lv. 58 and Lv. 54, respectively.
Levels like these wouldn't be a drag even in the elimination rounds.
With four Gym Leader-level Pokémon, Lorelei was definitely the strongest contender for the Kanto Conference champion.
Especially Will. His panel level was Lv. 69, plus he had all those items, special moves, and battle experience far beyond ordinary trainers and Pokémon. His true strength was solidly Elite Four level. And not low-Elite Four, either.
By Will's own estimation, if he had a type advantage, he could take on a Lv. 75 opponent no problem.
If he met that Magmortar from Lake Valor again... he wouldn't be afraid.
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