Serena had seen Lorelei on television. A brief glimpse, her attention fixed on Ash's matches rather than the commentary box. The Elite Four had been a concept to her then, a title attached to people who existed in a different stratosphere of power and importance. The kind of person she might never meet in her entire life.
She'd thought the same about Ash.
Now she was standing in front of both of them, on an island she'd reached by accident, during a journey she'd started on impulse. The luck was getting hard to rationalise.
"This is Serena," Ash said, handling introductions with his usual directness. "New teammate. She's from the Kalos region. We met on Trovita Island and she joined up. Brock stayed on Navel Island to help Professor Ivy."
Lorelei acknowledged Serena with a warm nod, then turned her attention back to Ash. "What brings you to Pummelo Island?"
"On our way to Shamouti Island. Looking for Lugia." Ash kept it simple. With Lorelei, he didn't need to dress up the mission. "Why are you here? An exhibition match seems like a strange assignment for an Elite Four member."
Lorelei's smile remained, but something shifted behind her eyes.
"The exhibition match is cover. I'm here to investigate Team Galactic."
Ash went still. "Team Galactic?"
"I know about your mission, Ash. The League briefed me. I chose to operate separately rather than wait for you. Putting this entire investigation on a fifteen-year-old's shoulders isn't something I could accept, no matter how capable that fifteen-year-old is."
Her tone was measured, but the feeling beneath it was clear. To the League, to the press, to the spectators who'd watched the Indigo Plateau Conference, Ash was a prodigy. A Champion.
To Lorelei, he was a child. A brilliant, powerful, extraordinary child who was being sent into danger that had swallowed a Champion.
Because that was the reality nobody was saying out loud. Cynthia was gone.
Not dead. Not confirmed captured. Just silent. No periodic check-ins with the League. No mission updates. No response to calls. The woman who ranked second in the Masters Eight, the second strongest trainer in the world, had walked into the Orange Islands to investigate Team Galactic and stopped communicating.
The League estimated a ninety percent chance she'd met with trouble. They weren't broadcasting that estimate. If word spread that the Sinnoh Champion had been neutralised by a regional branch of a criminal organisation, the blow to institutional confidence would be catastrophic.
The circle of people who knew was small. League leadership. The Elite Four. And Ash, who'd exchanged numbers with Cynthia before she left and noticed the silence on his own.
He'd called. No answer. Called again. Voicemail. No callbacks. No texts. The pattern didn't match Cynthia's character. She'd promised regular contact about Lugia Jr.'s condition. A Champion who broke promises wasn't the Champion Ash had met.
But he refused to accept the worst-case interpretation. Cynthia was second in the world. Her tactical mind was as dangerous as her team. The idea that a branch operation of Team Galactic could take her down felt wrong. Unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.
The League didn't share his optimism. They'd planned to send Lance, but Lance was tied up with Dragon Clan obligations and couldn't break away. Lorelei had volunteered. If Cynthia had fallen, sending anyone weaker than an Elite was sending them to the same fate.
"Any leads?" Ash asked. The impatience in his voice was undisguised. Two weeks of travel. Two new Pokémon caught, a Snorlax among them. A successful Berry shopping trip. As a vacation, the Orange Islands had been productive. As an investigation, the total intelligence gathered was zero.
No Team Galactic traces. No Team Rocket movements. No sign of Cynthia. Nothing.
Lorelei shook her head. "The investigation has stalled. Team Galactic has left no footprint in any region we've checked. No communications intercepted. No personnel identified, no base locations narrowed. It's as if they don't exist in Kanto at all."
She paused.
"But they do. Previous intelligence confirmed their presence. They haven't been discovered, so they have no reason to evacuate. And their objective hasn't been achieved, so they have no reason to leave."
The exhibition match was a gamble. Make noise. Draw attention. Create a high-profile event that might provoke Team Galactic into revealing themselves, even if the odds of that working were slim.
Team Galactic's objective was Lugia. Everything they'd done, including the forced type conversion of Lugia Jr., had been in service of reaching the God of the Sea. Cynthia had intercepted their operation and seized the results, which meant Team Galactic's plan had stalled but not ended.
They hated Cynthia for that. And when she'd returned for a second investigation, the probability of walking into a targeted trap was high. If they'd captured her, they'd eliminated the only League operative who knew how to find them. No reason to run. Every reason to stay hidden.
They were still in the Orange Islands. Lorelei was certain of it.
"Miss Lorelei," Ash said. "Change the exhibition match opponent to me."
Lorelei's brow creased. "To you? Ash, if you replace the original opponent, it might make Team Galactic more cautious rather than less. They know who you are. An Elite and a Conference Champion on the same island could look like a coordinated operation."
"That's exactly the point." Ash met her eyes. "If it's you alone, they can afford to ignore the exhibition. You're Elite Four, but you're one person. If I show up too, the person who took Lugia Jr. from them, the trainer they already have a grudge against, they won't sit still. Team Galactic will come to me."
...
The stadium on Pummelo Island wasn't built for Elite-level combat. It was a local venue designed for mid-tier entertainment matches.
Today, it was packed to the walls.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Alan, your host for today's Elite exhibition match! Without further ado, let's welcome the star of the show: the Ice-Type Elite Four, Lorelei!"
The roar that answered could have been heard on the next island. Lorelei walked out from the players' entrance with the composed stride of someone who'd done this a thousand times. Professional suit. Calm smile. The audience loved her before she'd taken her first step onto the field.
"And her opponent!" Alan's voice climbed. "I'm sure many of you recognise this name. The Champion of this year's Indigo Plateau Conference, from Pallet Town: Ash!"
A beat of silence. Then recognition rippled through the crowd like a wave.
"Wait, that Ash?"
"Kanto's super rookie! Half a year of travelling, won the Conference, almost beat Lorelei in their last exhibition!"
"This is a rematch?! I thought this was going to be some nobody!"
"I almost didn't buy a ticket! Are you kidding me?"
The buzz escalated from murmur to roar in seconds. The originally modest exhibition match had transformed into the most anticipated battle on Pummelo Island in years.
Their last match had been at Cerulean Gym. Tickets for that event had been scalped at astronomical prices. Lorelei had fielded an Elite Four Peak Pokémon, the kind of firepower reserved for genuine title challenges, and Ash had pushed her to the edge. Months had passed since then. How much stronger had the boy become?
Ash stepped out from the opposite entrance. Red and white cap. Simple jacket. Denim. Pikachu on his shoulder. The confident grin that had become his signature across every broadcast and every arena he'd entered.
The crowd erupted.
"Miss Lorelei." Ash adjusted his cap and raised his voice across the field. "Let's go all out this time."
"I'm looking forward to it, Ash." Lorelei's smile carried genuine anticipation. "Show me how far you've come."
The referee stepped to centre field and announced the format: two-on-two. Both trainers drew their first Poké Balls.
They threw simultaneously.
From Ash's side, wings spread and flame roared. Charizard landed on the field and announced itself with a cry that shook the stadium rafters. Orange scales, burning tail, the Fire/Flying dragon that had become synonymous with Ash's team.
From Lorelei's side, a blue, shell-armoured Pokémon materialised with a sharp hiss. Cloyster. Water/Ice. A defensive fortress with offensive capabilities that belied its appearance.