Her charming face instantly made Brock's eyes turn into huge hearts!
When Misty saw her, her fingers trembled while pointing at her, showing a look of shock and surprise: "Lorelei!!"
"Lorelei of the Elite Four!"
Misty and Brock uttered the name of the woman who suddenly spoke from behind them.
It was then that Ash showed a look of realization. He thought she looked familiar, turns out she's the Ice Elite of Kanto, Lorelei!!
"Lorelei!!" Upon seeing Lorelei, the pedestrian audience also showed a very shocked expression, evidently not expecting to meet one of Kanto's Elite Four here, how lucky is that!
"Hello~ How are you all doing? You must be Ash, right? Your name is well-known in the League, and now I finally get to see the real person." Lorelei softly supported her chin with her hands.
"Miss... Miss Lorelei! I have admired you for a long time, the moment I saw you, I felt my life was complete!" Brock stammered as he spoke, bowing deeply to Lorelei.
This was the highest level of etiquette Brock would display when faced with a dignified and beautiful woman.
Ash and Misty exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads helplessly.
"Haha, your friend is quite interesting, thank you for your admiration, but apart from being one of the Elite Four, I'm just an ordinary person, no need to be so formal. If there's anything special, it's not me who's special, but him." Lorelei said, her gaze fixed on Ash.
The special person she talked about was unmistakably Ash.
"No, I just have a little special ability. In terms of being a Trainer, I'm still far from Miss Lorelei. You mentioned proving something earlier?" After recognizing her identity, Ash brought the topic back to what Lorelei initially mentioned.
The reason Lorelei greeted them was that she overheard the rumors online discussed by the pedestrian audience.
Now, it's not only Ash's reputation that's damaged, but also the Kanto League. As long as Ash doesn't step up to dispel the doubts, the issues online will escalate and eventually get out of control.
So Ash has to make an appearance, and it needs to be a battle that matches his strength.
That's why Lorelei made the suggestion, have a battle to prove his strength.
"That's right, prove your strength by having a battle at the Cerulean Gym with me." Lorelei leaned back slightly, gently resting against the back of the chair, her charming face full of smiles.
"At the Cerulean Gym?!"
"A battle!!!"
Misty, Brock, and the pedestrian audience exclaimed in surprise, especially the pedestrian who never imagined that a casual conversation with him by a person not only involved a famous figure online but also happened to be overheard by Lorelei.
Lorelei decided to battle Ash to clear the online rumors... Which means this battle was essentially facilitated by him!
…
An hour later, a significant event occurred in Cerulean City, one of Kanto's Elite Four, the Ice Elite Lorelei, appeared at the Cerulean Gym!
That in itself was notable, but now famed online for allegedly cheating, Ash also showed up at the Cerulean Gym, and in order to prove himself, Lorelei and Ash were going to have an exhibition match!
The exhibition match's rules were one-on-one, primarily to debunk the false rumors online claiming that all of Ash's Pokemon were depleted after unleashing their potential.
Not much is needed, Ash just needs to prove with a single Pokemon that his strength is genuine and not due to any intense side effects.
No matter the intention, once the news about the exhibition match was out, it caused a frenzy throughout Cerulean City!
Despite the limited time for the news to spread, just one hour, that hour was enough to draw almost half of Cerulean City's population to the Cerulean Gym.
This is the influence of the Elite Four!
Of course, Ash might have had some influence as well, but compared to the impact of the Elite Four, Ash's influence is relatively minor.
Most people gathered for Lorelei of the Elite Four.
At the entrance of the Cerulean Gym, the acting Gym Leaders and water ballet performers, the Three Sisters of Cerulean, directly blocked the path, collecting tickets from those coming to watch the match.
Usually, a ticket for a water ballet performance costs around a hundred pokedollars, which isn't too expensive, considering it's a show performed by the Gym Leader herself!
The entire venue can accommodate around seven to eight hundred people. If filled, it could bring in seventy to eighty thousand pokedollars from ticket sales. After the negligible expenses, a performance could earn about sixty thousand pokedollars in pure profit.
However, recently the Cerulean Gym has been so deserted, that breaking even was considered a success, not to mention making a profit.
It's the first time for the Three Sisters of Cerulean to witness such an overwhelming crowd within just an hour, even the standing tickets sold out.
Daisy initially set the seating prices at five hundred pokedollars per seat, worried it might be too high, but a hundred tickets were snapped up in no time. She immediately raised the price to a thousand pokedollars, and yet three hundred seats quickly sold out.
Finally, she directly set the remaining seats at two thousand apiece, with the specially reserved front two rows skyrocketing to five thousand and six thousand!
Even so, those seats were snapped up in just half an hour!
The only remaining standing tickets were priced at eight hundred each by Daisy, yet they were still in short supply. Now, those people standing outside the Cerulean Gym were clamoring to get in, even if a seat cost ten thousand each!
Daisy , while smiling wryly and stopping the numerous Trainers who wanted to enter, sighed inwardly; if she had known earlier, she should have set each seat at five thousand, and the first two rows could have gone for twenty to thirty thousand!
Jeez, do these people really not see money as money? It's just a competition, just a seat, how do they come up with so much money to buy a spot!
Their water ballet performances sell for a hundred Pokedollars seat, two hundred for the front rows, and they're not even full!
Is the allure of the Elites really that terrifying?
To be blunt, today's revenue could probably match their monthly income. And by a month, she means a full month of full houses!
Violet and Lily could barely contain themselves as their eyes almost gleamed green at the sight of the constant inflow of cash.
They wished the Elites would come perform every day. Isn't this much easier than making money through water ballet?
"Apologies everyone, the standing tickets are also sold out now. Better wait for the next exhibition match if you want to watch... When's the next time? I don't know either. It depends on the mood of Elite Lorelei." Daisy winked and stuck out her tongue playfully.
She's also curious when Elite Lorelei will come back. If Lorelei could come continuously for a week, they practically won't need to perform water ballet for the rest of their lives, merely fulfilling their duties as Gym Leaders, their later years would basically be worry-free.
Inside the venue at this moment, Ash and Lorelei were already standing on the battlefield, which was the water field of the Cerulean Gym, surrounded by a deep blue energy barrier.
This was the Aura barrier Ash had set up around the field beforehand. Although the time and energy are limited, it's no problem withstanding a battle at even the Elite or Champion Level.
This match was just one-on-one, so it won't last too long. Ash set up the barrier beforehand because he didn't want to be distracted during the battle.
"Is this your ability? It really is a convenient power!" Lorelei exclaimed, unable to contain her amazement as she scanned the surroundings, her hands propped in front of her chest, her eyes glowing with praise.
Originally, she intended to apply to the League for a special battle machine for Elites to send to the Cerulean Gym.
Any battle above the Elite Level must have proper protection measures. Otherwise, even just the aftershocks could greatly affect the surrounding audience.
So Lorelei's plan was to first have the machine from the League sent over and conduct the exhibition match the next day, but Ash suggested that it wasn't necessary, his ability could act as a living shield.
At least it can withstand the aftershocks of Champion Level attacks, as long as the barrier isn't directly bombarded by a Champion Level attack.
Therefore, what was originally tomorrow's match was moved up to an hour from now, meaning right now.
Yet, even with just one hour's notice, the Cerulean Gym became crowded instantly, as if the entire Cerulean City came rushing to the Gym in that short span of time.
Otherwise, such a spectacular scene would absolutely not have occurred.
And these people all paid to get in, just to watch an exhibition match from an Elite.
This is the Elite of Kanto, which carries more prestige than a prospective Elite like Koga. Not only that, but Lorelei is no ordinary Elite either; she is the Ice Elite of Kanto!
As everyone knows, Kanto's Elite Four are all at the Champion level, so if you could witness them battling it out, if both sides were evenly matched, it would indeed be a genuine Champion battle!
Though today Lorelei's opponent was just a rookie Trainer fresh out of the gate, this rookie's journey was anything but ordinary.
Just from the promotions online, this rookie, three months into the game, is touted as a rookie Trainer capable of matching Elite level strength, also known as Kanto's Superstar!
It's just that recently this Superstar got caught up in a cheating scandal, and this battle with Elite Lorelei is also to clear the air about those cheating rumors.
Either way, witnessing first-hand the legendary Ice Elite of Kanto, Lorelei, in battle, even against a newcomer, is a spectacle worth the view!
Besides, this isn't just any newcomer, they might just surprise everyone.
For Lorelei to personally step up and clear the rumor, those accounts online... should be false, right?
On the arena, when faced with Lorelei's compliment, Ash smiled noncommittally, with a hint of smugness in his smile.
"Well, let's begin, Miss Lorelei. Shall we both send out our Pokemon?" With it being a one-on-one exhibition match, the rules weren't strict. Ash thought it fair for them to send out their Pokemon simultaneously.
But Lorelei shook her head, "If, as an Elite, I don't give you even this small allowance, I'd be splashed on the trending headlines. Allow me to send my Pokemon first."
As Lorelei spoke, her elegant hand gracefully swept across her waist, and a red and white ball silently appeared at her fingertips before she threw it.
"Ka!" With a flash of light, a Pokemon, graceful and fox-like, appeared on the floating platform of the water field.
This Pokemon is predominantly light blue with a sleek and elegant physique. It has large, pointed ears, and a blue diamond decoration on its head, with ribbon-like extensions falling to the sides.
Its deep blue eyes seem to possess a gaze that could freeze everything.
"Glaceon!" Ash exclaimed in surprise, as this Pokemon isn't often seen in the Kanto region.
At this, Lorelei showed slight surprise on her face, "Ash, you know quite a bit, don't you? Even knowing Glaceon."
Glaceon doesn't frequently show up in the Kanto region; while many in Kanto know of Eevee, not as many recognize Glaceon.
Ash knew Glaceon because the experts in the group explained all about Eevee and its evolutions at one point, so Ash could identify Glaceon.
However, with his Eye of Insight, he inherently knew the names of Pokemon, recognizing them was a separate matter.
"Miss Lorelei has a Glaceon? But this Glaceon isn't your main Pokemon, right?"
"Oh? You even know that? Seems the rumors in the League about your ability to detect Pokemon levels aren't false," Lorelei raised her eyebrows slightly, speaking words that made Ash's heart skip a beat.
Someone in the League knows he can detect Pokemon levels? Who? Could it be he had shown off too much?
"Just some trivial use of Aura Power, nothing worth mentioning." Ash shrugged, attributing everything to Aura Power.
Lorelei didn't dwell on the matter and instead answered Ash's earlier question, "You're correct, this Glaceon isn't my mainstay; however, she's among the best in my second lineup, reaching the Peak. Underestimating her could come at a cost~"
"In that case, I choose you, Charizard!"