In the vast network of frozen tunnels beneath the Seafoam Islands, Lorelei was still pursuing Athena.
This place was practically her home turf—she knew every corner of the icy caverns.
However, Athena had escaped by grabbing onto her Honchkrow and flying straight out, leaving almost no trace behind.
At the end of one tunnel, Slowbro turned to her and shook its head—another dead end.
Lorelei scanned the area, mentally mapping out the underground routes. There shouldn't have been an exit here.
She frowned slightly. "Probably another temporary passage dug out by their Pokémon or machinery," she murmured. "Those rats really know how to cover their tracks."
"Let's go back," she said at last. She wasn't about to waste time chasing shadows.
Back at the temporary base, Bruno was examining the strange device that Lapras had carried in earlier.
"So this thing suppressed Articuno's power?" he asked, running his hand along the cold metal surface.
"To be precise," Lorelei replied, "it suppressed Ice-type energy."
Articuno, being an Ice and Flying-type Legendary Pokémon, was also proficient in Water-type moves. Ice and Water had always been closely linked—an old, unbroken tradition.
However, Fire-type energy doesn't interact well with Water-type energy.
Even if Ice and Water were related, their core natures were different.
Water beats Fire, Fire beats Ice — that's an unshakable rule of Pokémon energy dynamics.
Still, differences in power could blur those lines. Articuno's weakened condition had simply made its Water-type attacks less effective than usual.
Otherwise, even with its Ice energy suppressed, Articuno wouldn't have been something an ordinary Pokémon could ever hope to stand against.
Lorelei couldn't have known that, in the future, a new Trainer's Charizard would one day overpower an Articuno in an official League match.
Bruno crouched down, tapping the empty square slot at the device's center. "Looks like something's missing here," he said. "Bring in Unit No. 3."
Shiraki, standing nearby, immediately obeyed.
Moments later, a nearly identical machine was brought into the room.
Unlike the luxurious model Lorelei had retrieved, this one looked crude and unfinished. In its center sat a dull, earth-colored square stone riddled with cracks.
Compared to the first, it looked pitiful.
"A disposable imitation?" Lorelei asked, hesitating to touch it for fear it might crumble.
Bruno nodded. "Most likely. I'd guess its effect was far weaker than the red stone you described. Otherwise, Articuno wouldn't have been able to overpower it."
He had, of course, already been briefed by Lorelei on what had happened earlier.
No one could forget the stunned looks on Team Rocket's faces when the hailstorm had abruptly stopped—and their device had completely failed to function.
"Athena hasn't changed," Bruno said with a dry chuckle as they stepped out of the tent. "Still as ruthless as ever—just abandoning all those men once things go south."
Lorelei shrugged. "Probably planned that way from the start. She was always one for disposable pawns."
They both knew Team Rocket's style all too well.
As a criminal organization, they maintained strict internal discipline and regularly purged the weak.
Their method was simple: hand over the unfit to the Pokémon League, under the guise of "captured suspects."
Some League officials even joked that Team Rocket was so "considerate" that it helped improve the League's annual performance metrics.
That joke didn't end well—the person who said it was personally investigated by Lance and a group of prosecutors the very next day.
Still, it had reflected what many privately thought.
After all, not everyone in the League cared about the frontline casualties.
Thankfully, such people were rare.
Among Team Rocket's higher-ups, Athena was actually considered one of the gentler ones. Whether she succeeded or failed, she simply abandoned her subordinates. What happened to them afterward wasn't her concern.
"Has the Seafoam Island been fully cleared?" Bruno asked, glancing toward Shiraki.
With Team Rocket's retreat all but confirmed, cleanup had begun.
"Yes," Shiraki reported. "Under the guidance of the captured members like Cyclops, we eliminated several temporary outposts. Three more were discovered by our own patrols—likely personal escape routes Athena set up for herself."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "It's about… Chrono Island."
"Hm?" Lorelei raised an eyebrow. "What about it? Didn't those young ones handle it just fine?"
"They did," Shiraki said carefully, "but their methods were… a bit excessive. The Rocket warehouse there was blown sky-high."
Even the logistics team had been stunned when they'd seen the report.
Bruno burst out laughing. "Well, as long as no one got hurt, who cares if it got blown up? Whose idea was that?"
"Silas," Shiraki replied.
Bruno chuckled. "Silas, huh? Figures. Must've been taught by Nobuhiko. He told me once that kid 'wasn't ruthless enough.' Guess he fixed that."
Being fellow Fighting-type specialists, Bruno and Nobuhiko had a close relationship—and Bruno had heard him brag more than once about his "junior apprentice."
Lorelei thought for a moment, then nodded. She remembered the name.
When Lance had submitted Silas's report, every piece of data from his childhood onward had landed on the desks of the League's top brass—
including the "redacted" ones marked as false.
Without another word, she pulled up her League communicator, opening a secure group chat and typing a message.
Bruno looked away quickly. He'd peeked once before and learned his lesson—the result had been a full month of desk duty with zero field missions.
Seeing that Lorelei was absorbed in conversation and hadn't responded, Bruno turned to Shiraki and gave a short instruction.
"Yes, sir." Shiraki saluted crisply and left.
"If we're done here, I'm heading to Celadon City," Lorelei said casually without looking up.
"What, another shipment at the Game Corner?" Bruno teased instinctively.
"Mm. A limited-edition release," Lorelei replied.
They were talking about collectible dolls.
Lorelei was well-known not only for her calm, composed battling style but also for her vast knowledge of Ice- and Water-type Pokémon. She was a role model for countless trainers specializing in those types — and the idol of many fans, especially women.
Her most devoted admirers had even managed to discover the existence of her private room filled with Pokémon plush dolls she'd collected over the years.
After all, the Seven Islands might be sparsely populated, but that didn't mean Lorelei was friendless.
That intriguing contrast between a queenly demeanor and girlish charm only made her more beloved.
"All right then, I'll go chat with those young trainers," Bruno said, turning toward the exit.
The two walked side by side until they reached the base's entrance, where they parted ways naturally — no further words needed.
Neither of them mentioned Articuno. Lorelei didn't bring it up, and Bruno didn't ask.
As for whether Team Rocket had truly succeeded in their operation… that was something only the two of them knew.
Outside the valley, Silas and his companions were still chatting.
"I'm telling you, that hailstone was only zero-point-zero-one centimeters from hitting my head! One more second and—bam! I'd have been done for!
Those hailstones were huge, like Graveler-sized! Scary as hell!
But come on, who am I? The great Yezo! I didn't panic at all. My Bisharp sliced them apart with just two swift moves—shing, shing—and poof! Ice shards everywhere!"
Yezo leaned lazily against a massive tree trunk, bragging nonstop.
Everyone ignored him.
It was the third time he'd told the same story word-for-word.
If he kept going, they were about ready to gang up on him.
"Enough already," Silas interrupted, clearly irritated. "If I remember right, you've only got five Gym Badges so far, right? Registration for the tournament starts in twenty-six days. Maybe focus on that instead of running your mouth?"
"Relax! Who am I? Yezo! Three more badges? Easy. One per day, three days, done.
I've got it all planned: challenge Viridian Gym for the last badge, then hop on the sightseeing tram straight to Indigo Plateau. Smooth as silk!
Anyway, back to the hail—"
Yezo completely ignored Silas's interruption and continued his self-glorified tale.
"Yo! Still full of energy, huh, Yezo?"
A booming voice cut through the chatter — Bruno had arrived.
"Elite Four Bruno!" everyone greeted respectfully, and Yezo finally shut up.
"Haha, come on now, no need to be so stiff! Most of you already know me."
Bruno grinned and threw a muscular arm around Soshu's neck.
"So, what do you think of your teammates this time? How was fighting alongside them?" he asked cheerfully.
"Strong," Soshu rasped, his voice hoarse — mostly because Bruno was gripping his neck too tightly.
Bruno chuckled and loosened his hold. "Not training properly, huh? Silas, you should give him a lesson sometime.Nobuhiko told me you drained him completely in less than a month!"
Bruno's personality outside missions was drastically different — calm and disciplined during work, carefree and boisterous afterward.
"As I always say," he added with a laugh, "train with full effort, rest with full freedom — that's how you keep training sustainable!"
That was his standard answer whenever people asked how he balanced such extremes.
"No,Nobuhiko's still far ahead of me in skill," Silas replied evenly, brushing off Bruno's teasing tone.
Seiichiro Sasaki, who had been standing a few steps away, subtly shifted closer again.
Soshu's eyes glinted — Silas's confidence in facing him clearly stirred his fighting spirit.
"Don't even think about it," Silas said dryly, crossing his arms. "We're civilized people."
He'd only known Soshu for a day, but he already had him figured out — a straightforward, battle-obsessed simpleton.
"Speaking of the Indigo Conference, not many of you are joining this year, right?" Bruno asked suddenly, shifting topics with lightning speed.
"Yeah," Silas replied just as quickly. "After we talked it over, only me, Yezo, Junya, and Rokuhira decided to enter."
The others were still thinking about whether Silas and Soshu would actually fight in person.
"Oh?" Bruno looked at the two in the back. "You two from scholar families are participating too?"
He genuinely didn't know — he hadn't had the time to study everyone's backgrounds in detail.
"It's all about participation," Rokuhira Kaido replied with a polite smile.
Bruno nodded approvingly. "That's fine. Just keep your priorities clear — don't waste your talents as researchers."
That wasn't an empty warning.
Silas had become a senior researcher thanks to his rare discoveries of new Pokémon species, but Rokuhira and Junya had earned their status entirely through their own intellect and dedication — though, admittedly, their family backgrounds gave them some advantages.
Still, their published research stood as solid proof of their ability.
Rokuhira's theoretical focus was on simplifying the process of teaching Pokémon moves — his dream being to let any Pokémon master any learnable move through optimized training.
His paper "A Study on the Possibility of Magikarp Learning Hydro Pump Through Postnatal Conditioning", published when he was only seventeen, remained a favorite among scholars to this day.
After all, it connected two extremes: the universally mocked Magikarp, and the famously powerful Hydro Pump.
Most would call that impossible — yet many Pokémon professors agreed that his simulations held scientific merit.
The community still wondered whether a Magikarp capable of learning Hydro Pump might truly exist somewhere.
Junya, meanwhile, remained silent. His past research focused on ecological balance among Pokémon species, following in his grandfather's academic footsteps.
However, due to various family and personal factors, he was now focusing on becoming a strong Trainer instead — though that wasn't something outsiders needed to know.
Bruno, of course, had no idea about any of that.
"I plan to rest here today," Silas said casually, "then head out first thing tomorrow."
He and Bruno spoke naturally — perhaps because both were martial artists, there wasn't the usual tension people felt around an Elite Four member.
"Good idea," Bruno nodded. "It's smart to arrive early and get used to the environment. The Indigo Plateau has excellent facilities for competitors."
He chatted enthusiastically, not caring that the topic technically didn't concern him anymore.
As a member of the Elite Four, Bruno could no longer participate in regular tournaments — only in exhibition or opening matches.
Unless there was a special event exclusively for Elite Four or Champion-tier Trainers, entering the Indigo Conference would simply be unfair.
The Indigo League Conference registration ran from February 7th to February 10th, with preliminary rounds starting on the 11th. The Athletes' Village opened a full month early to allow badge holders to settle in.
By Silas's calculation, tomorrow would be the first day the village opened — perfectly in line with his schedule.
As for training supplies, the Indigo Plateau — being the League headquarters — would be swarming with merchants selling everything a Trainer could need.
The only potential problem was League Credits, but Silas wasn't too worried.
"All right then," Bruno said, grinning mischievously, "whoever places highest in the tournament, I'll treat them to a round of Rage Buns!"
The group laughed, accepting the playful challenge.
....
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