Chapter 205: One Day to Clear (Part 3)
After countless phone calls and verifications, the three receptionists confirmed it—Rio had indeed cleared Champion’s Road in just one day. They stared at him in stunned disbelief and relayed the news to the League.
Unsurprisingly, the Kanto League (Indigo League) office at the Indigo Plateau exploded. Every executive who received the news called back, questioning the veracity of the report. The three attendants had no choice but to forward the contact information of every trainer inside Champion’s Road to the higher-ups, who contacted them personally.
That day, the communicators of every trainer in Champion’s Road were flooded with calls. Yet the executives kept dialing. After confirming the news was true, the League’s leadership had only one thought: the long-vacant Champion seat of both Kanto and Johto might finally have an owner—and they would soon have a leader to guide them.
On the fourth island of the Sevii Islands—Frozen Island—Lorelei, the Ice-type Elite Four member, was relaxing in a hot spring inside a wooden cabin. In each hand, she held a plush toy—one of Dewgong, the other of Pikachu.
"Dewgong—Aurora Beam!"
"New~"
She bumped Dewgong into Pikachu.
"Oh—Pikachu, hold on!"
"Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
"Pika~chu~"
She bumped Pikachu back into Dewgong.
"Dewgong—you too! You can win this!"
Like a one-woman puppet show, Lorelei played out the scene with youthful glee. The cabin was decked in pink, filled with plush Pokémon toys.
Suddenly, she sensed something off—her communicator was vibrating. "Always interrupting my fun..."
She set down the plush toys, stepped out of the bath, and wrapped herself in a long towel. With a pout, she picked up the communicator. But when she read the message, her playful expression vanished, replaced by sheer disbelief.
"Impossible! One day???"
On the first island of the Sevii Islands, Bruno, the Fighting-type Elite Four member, was training with his six Pokémon in the most straightforward way—punching a mountain. His team consisted of Poliwrath, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hariyama, Machamp, and Lucario.
"Excellent, everyone! I can feel we’re in top form today—let’s push ourselves for another hour and break our limits!" Bruno shouted.
"Poli~"
"Hit~"
"Chan~"
"Hari~"
"Mach~"
"Luc~"
His six Pokémon responded enthusiastically, pounding the mountain wall with fists and kicks—no moves, just raw physical strength.
After an unknown amount of time, Bruno felt his communicator buzz in his pocket. "What a nuisance—I hate being interrupted during training!" He grabbed it, annoyed, planning to read the message and toss it aside.
But when he saw what it said, he froze in disbelief. "Impossible! Is the League run by fools now? Is this the speed a normal trainer should clear Champion’s Road with?!"
In an old castle in Kanto, Agatha, the Ghost-type Elite Four member, was preparing dinner for herself and her Pokémon. Behind her followed two Gengar, a Crobat, a Weezing, an Arbok, and a Misdreavus—all watching her cook with eager eyes.
"Patience—dinner will be ready soon," Agatha said without turning, a smile on her face.
After a moment, one of the Gengar sensed something and looked toward the castle entrance. It sank into the ground and returned half a minute later with a terrified Pidgeot, which it delivered to Agatha.
"Gengar—stop scaring the messenger Pokémon," Agatha chided, glaring at the Gengar as the Pidgeot looked half-dead with fright.
The Gengar chuckled mischievously—no one could say whether it would do it again. Agatha sighed, removed the note from the Pidgeot’s leg, and read it. Her eyes widened.
"Impossible! He cleared it in one day? At that level, even old man Oak in his prime couldn’t have kept up."
"How interesting—if this is true, it seems this old woman finally has a worthy opponent."
In the Dragon’s Den of Blackthorn City, Lance, who had been selecting elite clan members to deploy to the Indigo Plateau, received the League’s message. He stared at it in shock. "Impossible! How could he be that fast?!"
"What is it, Lance?" one of the clan elders asked, puzzled by his reaction.
Lance swallowed hard and turned around. "This year’s champion... he walked out of Champion’s Road today."
"Impossible!"—the elder had the exact same response, proving that birds of a feather really do flock together.
"Lance, don’t joke about this. How could anyone clear Champion’s Road in a single day? The League must have gotten the information wrong."
"Yes, yes—that’s probably it," Lance nodded repeatedly, suddenly finding the elder’s reasoning very comforting. Even he couldn’t clear Champion’s Road in a day—he absolutely refused to accept that Rio, who had just won the Indigo Conference, could do it.
But when Lance contacted the League directly and received official confirmation, he was stunned. Seeing his reaction, the elder grew anxious: "What is it? Did he really clear Champion’s Road in one day?"
Lance turned back slowly, his neck stiff: "Yes. The League said every trainer inside Champion’s Road can attest that Rio defeated them on his way through."