Professor Oak briefly spoke to Aoki and then left the venue, his departure noted by the young Trainer. Aoki proceeded to have lunch with Steven and the others, though a sense of doubt and unease lingered in his heart throughout the meal. The conversation was light, but his mind was preoccupied with the upcoming matches and the strange undercurrents he had begun to feel.

There was basically no suspense in the afternoon game, the outcomes seeming almost predetermined. The only notable event was that a Trainer named Heba, performing like a true dark horse, once again defeated a stronger opponent against all odds. This victory won him a significant amount of attention and buzz from the spectators.

Meanwhile, Kazuki and Rika were also eliminated in this round, their defeat highlighting that their strength was still quite lacking when compared to the elite competitors gathered here. Kona managed to secure her victory, and it was announced that her next opponent would be Lance. This was a match everyone was anticipating, but they would have to wait until tomorrow to watch this pivotal confrontation. Aoki was still very interested in the beginning of this fateful confrontation, sensing it could be a defining battle for both competitors. Nothing unusual happened that night, the hours passing in a quiet, uneventful manner.

The next day arrived, bringing with it the electric atmosphere of the arena. Aoki and everyone else sat in the same seats again to watch the day's games. However, Professor Oak did not show up this time; only Delia, Ash, and Gary were there to watch together. The first match to be played featured Lance and Kona. Because of Aoki's prior emphasis on her potential, Lance attached great importance to Kona as an opponent.

After returning to his quarters that night, he had specifically checked Lorelei's information, and his final conclusion was that this woman's Pokemon were uniquely capable of restraining his own. A trainer understands their own team's weaknesses. Although he was known as a master of Dragon-type Pokémon, many of his Pokémon were also Flying-type, making them vulnerable to Ice-type moves.

Furthermore, Dragon-type Pokémon themselves are also restrained by Ice-type attacks. A Dragon-type and Flying-type Pokémon like Dragonite is four times more vulnerable to Ice-type moves, and the restraining effect can be devastating. However, in terms of overall hard power and raw stats, Lance was not comparable to Kona; he was far superior. At this time, Kona's strongest Pokémon, her Lapras, had only barely reached the level of a senior Champion, and there was a significant gap between it and many of Lance's Pokémon.

I don't know what was wrong with Lance, but he had no intention of taking the game lightly at all. Originally, Lorelei knew that she couldn't win, and she just wanted to go through the motions to see how big the gap was between herself and the Challenge King. But while she thought so, Lance didn't think so. He was taking Lorelei as a test subject, wanting to gauge his team's abilities against a specialist in Ice-type Pokemon on her. Then... the battle turned extremely "brutal". Lance did not hold back, and he had made meticulous tactical preparations in advance.

The first Charizard to appear on the field completed a series of four consecutive victories. Lorelei, who had not prepared to fight seriously, was stunned for a moment. It seemed that Lance wanted to use a single Charizard to achieve a six-in-a-row sweep. You must understand, in this King Challenge, from the beginning to now, no matter how huge the gap in strength, competitors would typically give their opponent some face and let them win appropriately. But Lance wanted to defeat six of her Pokemon in a row! She didn't know how she had offended Lance, but with Lorelei's temper, she certainly couldn't tolerate such a public humiliation!

In fact, Lance was also enticed by the challenge and had prepared for a good fight from the beginning, but he didn't expect that he couldn't stop once the fight started. He didn't know that his actions had completely aroused a proud woman's self-esteem. This was especially true for a strong-willed woman like Kona. Aoki, who was sitting in the stands, was utterly stunned. Is Lance asking for trouble? Lorelei obviously had no intention of fighting properly, so he could have just let it go and passed by gracefully. But Lance insisted on forcing Lorelei to use all his strength? Well, now you are winning. What's next? Don't you ever think about what you will face when Lorelei grows up and reaches her full potential? Furious, Lorelei sent out her trump card, Lapras, with a stern and resolute expression. Didn't Lance want to defeat six of her Pokemon in a row? Fine! She wanted to see how he managed to get six in a row now!

But Lance was completely unaware of the fury he had provoked at the time. His momentary confusion and aggressive strategy would bring him a great deal of trouble in the future. Just when everyone else was about to congratulate Lance on his dominant performance, Aoki showed a look of deep pity. "It's not that I don't help you, you asked for it yourself, you can't blame others," he muttered under his breath. Aoki had forgotten that if he had not emphasized at the beginning that Lance should be careful of Lorelei, this would probably have been just an ordinary battle. Lance would have likely gone a little easier and saved Lorelei's face. Tsk tsk—the unintended culprit was now gloating over the misfortune he had indirectly caused.

Sure enough, Lorelei, now fighting with her full strength and determination, defeated the Charizard, which had already consumed a great deal of energy, with her Lapras. Lorelei's expression had originally improved a little after this hard-fought victory. If Lance had stopped at this time, there might still have been a chance to save the situation. After all, he had lost one Pokemon and couldn't achieve a string of six anymore. But Lance seemed to be waiting specifically for Lorelei's Lapras and directly sent out his own trump card in response: his Dragonite! He wanted to see how much of an impact this Lapras would have on his dual Dragon-type and Flying-type Dragonite. But by doing this... even Phoebe, watching from the stands, thought it seemed a bit too much and unnecessarily harsh. "Brother Aoki, isn't Brother Lance... going a little too far?" Phoebe asked, her voice filled with concern. Cynthia, Caitlin, and Drake beside them nodded in agreement with her assessment. Aoki could only slap his forehead in sheer helplessness. Well, you've completely blocked your own escape route, he thought. Just look at the fiery determination in Lorelei's eyes now.

Aoki finally understood why, no matter how hard Lance tried in the future, he would never be able to truly overcome Lorelei and become the undisputed champion of the Kanto region. He was totally offending Lorelei right at this moment!! You treat a future powerhouse as a mere weakling, and will they ever let you have an easy time in the future? Can you even imagine the profound and lasting hatred level of a scorned woman? It was no wonder she would challenge Lance dozens of times during future King Challenges in Kanto, determined to defeat him personally. However, at that time, Lance was still stronger than Lorelei, so he did not ultimately fail. But after more than a dozen grueling matches, it became increasingly difficult for Lance to deal with Lorelei's refined strategies and powerful Ice-type assaults, and he even nearly lost his title the last time they fought.

The Pokemon League, knowing this volatile situation, dared not let Lorelei challenge like this again indefinitely. Otherwise, wouldn't it be incredibly damaging if Lance, who was regarded as one of the future pillars of the League, were to lose his position as one of the Elite Four? So the League ultimately canceled Lorelei's King Challenge and directly appointed her as the Ice-type specialist, one of the Elite Four. But did anyone think that was the end of the rivalry? No, it was just the beginning. Even though Lance later attempted to communicate with Kona privately and offered his apologies, he was never truly forgiven. In a word, if you want to be a champion, you must win against me fairly. By that time, Lorelei had fully grown into her power, and it became monumentally difficult for Lance to definitively defeat her. "So this is where everything started... What a sin..." Aoki sighed secretly to himself, the weight of the revelation heavy upon him.

But just as Aoki finished his internal sigh, he frowned deeply, his senses snapping to alert. Because he had just felt a distinct and powerful malicious gaze sweeping over him from somewhere in the crowd. Aoki was intensely aware of this feeling at this moment, his instincts honed sharp. It could be due to his own latent psychic powers, or it could be because his experiences had made him very sensitive to this kind of predatory sight. In short, when no one else in his group seemed to react, Aoki had noticed it immediately. He raised his head calmly and extended his psychic feelers outwards, scanning the environment. What surprised Aoki was that when he used his psychic abilities to sweep across the entire venue, a distinct vacuum area appeared in his mental map. It was like there was a piece deliberately missing from a cake, very obvious and jarring to his senses. Then he looked intently in that direction. He saw a middle-aged man dressed entirely in black with a severe crew cut hairstyle. This man was also looking directly at Aoki, his gaze piercing. Their realizations met in mid-air, a silent clash of wills. Immediately, the middle-aged man in black showed a deliberate, mocking smile, acknowledging the contact before melting back into the shadows of the crowd. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ⓝovelFire.net