Chapter 229: The League Tournament Format
In League Year 177, 10-year-old Lorelei had already grown to 1.5 meters tall. She was already towering over other girls her age and was still shooting up.
Will wasn't surprised by this. After all, her future self was a tall, mature woman who wore heels. Although she also had long red hair, she and Liz were two completely different styles. Liz was too gentle, like a princess. No... she was a princess.
As for Will, he was still a 0.3-meter pipsqueak, though his weight had doubled.
Walking on the flat road to Pallet Town, Will was in a pretty good mood now that he was fully awake. The past year and a half had been very relaxed. He spent his days watching TV and leveling up. Although his leveling speed was slow, he had focused on his move pool and Aura Power, which had managed to pull his combat strength way up.
His offensive typing for this life was set: Water and Ice as primary, with Flying and Normal as secondary. All other types could only be used in rare situations or for support. This happened to fit perfectly with the types Lorelei preferred.
"Piplup, look! That's Pallet Town up ahead!"
"Mm." Will stared at the "village" in front of them and pursed his beak. Ash Ketchum's birth was still over thirty years away, but it was possible his mother, Delia, had already been born.
As for Pallet Town's Pokémon Professor... it was the one Will was familiar with, Professor Oak.
The world was gradually starting to look like the one he remembered.
"Professor Oak's Lab is..."
"Over there." Will pointed.
"? How did you know, Piplup?"
"Because I am all-knowing and all-seeing," Will thought, puffing his chest out proudly.
"Hehe, that's the funniest joke I've heard all year." Lorelei giggled.
They chatted and laughed as they walked, finally arriving outside Professor Oak's lab. It was interesting... Will noticed that all these Professors' labs looked just like normal suburban villas from the outside.
They reached the door. Knock, knock.
Lorelei held Will up, and he used his flipper to knock.
Footsteps sounded from inside. But when the door opened, it wasn't Professor Oak.
"Can I help you?" a normal-looking boy with glasses asked.
"Ah, you must be Lorelei. Your parents contacted me ahead of time." A stern-faced, middle-aged man walked out from behind him.
Will looked him over and couldn't help but sigh. This Professor Oak, who was only in his thirties, looked so serious and square-jawed. He gave off a "not easy to get along with" vibe, nothing like the kind grandfather he would later become. But, this was probably because he was still new to the research field.
"Professor Oak, sir! I'm Lorelei! I've watched every single one of your tournament battles!" Lorelei stood at attention, vibrating with excitement.
Of course she was excited. Professor Oak had challenged leagues in various regions and had won seven or eight major tournaments. He was widely recognized as the strongest non-League trainer in the world.
But that was all several years ago. The title of "strongest" had since passed to a female trainer who specialized in Ghost-type Pokémon. Will had heard she was a good friend of Oak's.
Professor Oak had been retired for many years. When he first announced it, his fans all thought something terrible had happened. It wasn't until last year, when the League officially announced that Oak had been certified as a "Pokémon Professor," that the fans finally calmed down.
But it still caused a stir in the trainer community. No one understood why he would suddenly switch to a completely new field at the absolute peak of his career.
Professor Oak had only said one thing: "I want to understand the relationship between Pokémon and humans."
That was it. No further explanation. He had gradually become the leading authority on Pokémon research and a consultant for the Indigo League.
"Come in," Professor Oak nodded, then said to the young man beside him, "This is a new trainer from the Sevii Islands."
"Oh, hello! I'm Elm. I'm currently Professor Oak's student and assistant. My future research is focused on 'Pokémon Breeding and Pokémon Eggs.'" The boy pushed up his glasses and introduced himself.
"Hello! I remember the Professor in the Johto region is also named Elm?"
"That's my father. He was a classmate of Professor Oak's."
"Oh, I visited there when I was little. The lab was full of Treecko," Lorelei said, nodding blankly. A confused look crossed her face. She was too embarrassed to ask... why does the Johto Professor's lab have more Treecko than the Hoenn Professor's lab?
"Yes," Elm continued. "My grandfather met the Leaf God when he was young. Ever since then, he has been obsessed with research and breeding, trying to raise a Sceptile that can rival the Leaf God."
"Give it up," Will, still in Lorelei's arms, thought, shaking his head. My last life isn't something you can replicate. Celebi's special Miracle Seed, multiple inherited egg moves, Platane's potion, the Alpha status from the Tree of Beginning... If the Elm family could achieve even one of those, it would be enough to make history.
Just then, Professor Oak came over holding a small tray. On it were a small blue tablet and six Poké Balls.
"Lorelei, here are the Pokédex and Poké Balls I prepared for you." Professor Oak gestured to the items, then bent down to look at Will. "A Piplup from the Sinnoh region. That's a wonderful Pokémon. I remember at the Sinnoh Conference, an Empoleon almost defeated my Charizard."
Professor Oak gave Will an extra look. He felt this little Piplup was strange. A normal Piplup would be very proud and would hate being stared at like this. It might even get angry and peck him. But this Piplup's gaze was as calm as water... almost... murky.
It was as if... it were a Pokémon that had lived for hundreds or thousands of years.
"Thank you, Professor! My Piplup will be even stronger than that Empoleon one day!" Lorelei put Will down and began packing the items into the backpack her mom had given her.
"Are you going to challenge the Indigo League, Lorelei?" Elm walked over and asked.
"Mhm!" Lorelei nodded, a confident smile on her face. "I'm definitely going to become the Champion!"
"Then you're clear on the competition rules?"
"Yes! 3v3 single-elimination battles!" Lorelei nodded again. She'd been watching the tournament for years; of course she knew the rules.
Compared to her, Will had actually been quite surprised when he first saw this format on TV. In his memory, the League Conference was a 6v6 tournament. After doing some research, he found that the current Pokémon League format hadn't yet evolved to the level seen in the anime.
Back in League Year 50—the year his third life ended—the tournament was still a 1v1 format. After that, they had tried 2v2, 2v2 team battles, 3v3, field-based battles... one after another.
Now, it had temporarily stabilized at 3v3 single-elimination.
Furthermore, there was no such thing as "Eight Badges, Elite Four, and League Champion" yet. You didn't need any badges to enter the Conference. You just had to sign up when the time came and wait for the open qualifiers.
If you could get a recommendation letter from a League member beforehand, you could skip the qualifiers and go straight to the main tournament. But that "League member" couldn't just be anyone. It had to be someone at the level of a Pokémon Professor or a department head.
"Good. Then you're all set. Oh, and..." Professor Oak nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "The League has a rule: trainers on a journey can carry a maximum of six Pokémon. For minors, that number is reduced to three. Any Pokémon caught after that will be automatically transported to the registered Professor, which would be me."
"~What! That's not fair! I protest!" This was the first time Lorelei had heard this rule. Her face fell. This meant that on her journey, she could only catch one more Pokémon to carry with her. The rest would all be sent here. That was almost the same as not catching them at all.
"Protest denied. This is also for your protection." Professor Oak shook his head and patted Lorelei's head.
Although that's what he said, Will knew it wasn't just about "protection." That's just what you tell a kid.
He had learned in his last life that some villains would carry over a dozen Pokémon, becoming "one-man armies," which had caused a lot of trouble for the League's founders. And it wasn't just villains. Even normally decent people could lose their temper. When a person with ten Pokémon loses it... they're very dangerous.
This was especially true for kids, whose morals weren't fully formed and who were prone to acting on impulse. In this modern, peaceful era, it was natural to limit the number of Pokémon one could carry. It was the same logic as "arms control" back when Will was human.
But there was no need to tell a child all that.
"Okay... then I'm off."
"Mhm, be careful on the road. The Pokédex has an emergency distress function. If you're in danger, press the red button in the slot on the back."
"Okay~" Lorelei replied.
She then eagerly scooped up Will and left the lab.
"Where to?"
"North!"
"Viridian City?"
"Of course not! Rota City! It's the number one must-see place in all of Kanto, no exceptions!"
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