Chapter 207: Challenging the Elite Four (Part 2)
Lorelei’s eyes were filled with disbelief. This was the first time since her early rise to fame that one of her Pokémon had been defeated in a single hit.
"Was it just luck—a critical hit?" she wondered, quickly composing herself to avoid losing her nerve. "Or was it because of that transformation earlier? Or perhaps that golden light that boosted its power?"
She recalled the water pillar that had erupted when Greninja appeared, and how it had stood still, absorbing golden energy from the ground while enduring Dewgong’s attacks.
"Or is it a combination of all three that led to this result?"
Lorelei recalled Dewgong into its Poké Ball. "You did well, Dewgong—that loss wasn’t your fault." She kissed the ball, then sent out her second Pokémon.
"Come out, Jynx!"
"Jynx~"
As Lorelei released Jynx, Greninja used Spikes, scattering tiny Water Shurikens across the entire battlefield. Their shadows stretched long under the lights.
"Jynx—Psychic!" Lorelei commanded immediately.
"Jynx~" Jynx floated half a meter above the ice, avoiding the scattered Water Shurikens.
"Gren~" But the battle moved fast. Sharing a telepathic link with Rio, Greninja vanished the moment it saw Jynx evade the Spikes. It reappeared behind Jynx in an instant, ready to replicate its victory over Dewgong by driving a Water Shuriken into Jynx’s neck.
But just as the attack was about to land—something unexpected happened. Jynx seemed to sense it coming and tilted its head to the side, narrowly dodging the strike.
"Jynx—Sweet Kiss!" Lorelei seized the opening.
"Jynx~" Jynx spun around and puckered its lips, leaning in to kiss Greninja. Greninja’s eyes widened in alarm, but Rio’s command came instantly—it used Shadow Sneak and vanished, reappearing behind Jynx once more, swinging its Water Shuriken.
Again, Jynx avoided it as if it had seen the future, tilting its head to dodge. Rio didn’t hesitate—he ordered Greninja to retreat, narrowly avoiding Jynx’s follow-up Sweet Kiss.
"Is it because of the Forewarn ability?" Rio, sensing something off, examined Jynx’s stats more closely.
[Pokémon: Jynx]
[Level: 65]
[Talent: Elite Four]
[Ability: Forewarn]
[Gender: Female]
[Moves: ----]
The Forewarn ability allowed Jynx to read the opponent’s strongest move upon entering battle—and when that move was used, it could evade it. Clearly, Greninja’s strongest move was its boosted Water Shuriken.
With that realization, Rio formed a new battle plan. Meanwhile, Lorelei had also figured out why Greninja could vanish and reappear like it had Teleport.
"Jynx—Psychic! Send those shurikens right back at it!" she commanded.
"Jynx~" Jynx’s eyes glowed, and the miniature Water Shurikens embedded in the ice rose into the air and flew toward Greninja.
"Gren~" Greninja weaved through the projectiles with ease, using its speed advantage. At the same time, it spat out a thick cloud of black smoke that quickly enveloped the entire ice battlefield.
Lorelei frowned. She didn’t understand Rio’s tactic—she didn’t recall Greninja knowing a move like Mind Reader that would let it attack through the smoke. But then she sensed something off. She looked toward the opposite side of the battlefield—she could see a glow emanating from Rio’s position through the smoke. And from below the smoke, another light flickered, accompanied by a roar—one that didn’t sound like Greninja. It sounded more like... Charizard!
Lorelei’s pupils contracted. She realized what had happened—Rio had just switched Pokémon during the smoke cover.
"Jynx—Perish Song!" Lorelei shouted in alarm. Though she didn’t fully understand why, her intuition told her that if she wanted to win, she needed to use this move. Her Jynx might lose, but it had to take at least one of Rio’s Pokémon down with it.
But the moment before she gave the order, Rio had already issued his command.
"Charizard—clear the smoke and use Flamethrower!"
"Roaar~" A powerful gust swept across the battlefield, dispersing the smoke in an instant, accompanied by a torrent of scorching flames. Jynx, who had just been about to sing Perish Song, was engulfed by the fire.
One hit—just one. Two seconds later, Jynx collapsed, defeated, right in front of Lorelei.
Lorelei was stunned. She never imagined she would lose two Pokémon in a row to a single attack from her opponent. She looked at Rio with unprecedented gravity. A thought she’d never had before surfaced in her mind: this young man might very well become the dual-region Champion of both Kanto and Johto, leading the Elite Four themselves.
On the other side, Rio’s lips curled upward. His strategy for challenging the Elite Four was simple: win fast and win clean. He wasn’t going to drag out battles for the sake of training his Pokémon. Greninja could have beaten Jynx eventually, but it would have taken time—it was an assassin, and its strongest move was hard-countered by Jynx’s ability. So why waste time? He switched Pokémon immediately.
Charizard had more powerful moves than Greninja. He couldn’t use Sacred Fire against Jynx because Forewarn would also affect it—but he could use Flamethrower. Charizard was already Level 70—Level 80 after Mega Evolution Y, on par with Articuno and Raikou. With a 15-level advantage and type effectiveness, there was no way Flamethrower wouldn’t one-shot Jynx.
"Good work, Jynx."
Lorelei recalled Jynx and reached for her third Poké Ball. Though this young man had brought unprecedented pressure, and she now believed he could become the Champion, she would not surrender easily. She was determined to defeat at least two of his Pokémon—to make sure he knew that even if he became Champion, she would not be someone he could easily command.
"Slowbro—you’re up next."
"Slow~" With a flash of light, Lorelei sent out a Level 64 Slowbro.
"Charizard—Sacred Fire!"
"Roaar~"
A few seconds later, the purple flames engulfed Slowbro—and it collapsed.
"Th-this... this can’t be!!!" Lorelei was horrified. Her beautiful, bewitching face was a mask of shock. She never expected a Charizard to use Sacred Fire—a skill that, by all logic, shouldn’t belong to it. Charizard? Sacred Fire? How do those even go together?
A few minutes later, as her final Pokémon—Lapras—fell, Lorelei stood frozen like a wooden statue, unable to process what had just happened.