"Caster, you're incredible! You won a full six-on-six battle without losing a single Pokémon! I really believe you can win the whole thing now."
"Seriously! I've been following Caster for a year. Remember when he showed up with a Magikarp, said he was going to challenge the Cerulean Gym, and everyone laughed at him? Who would've thought he'd actually make good on everything he bragged about?"
"Keep it up, Caster! I'm sending you a Great Ball gift now. Win the title and I'll spring for Rayquaza's Draco Meteor. Promise!"
Caster's victory sent the livestream chat into a frenzy, and gifts kept pouring in.
Plenty of viewers urged caution, though. "Don't let your guard down, Caster. The farther you get in a regional tournament, the stronger your opponents are. The semifinals might look close to the title, but you've still got two tough matches ahead of you. Be careful."
"Don't worry, everyone. I'll do my best. I won't let you down."
Caster glanced at the chat. "I hope you'll keep cheering me on through the next rounds."
Once he returned to the competitors' lounge through the tunnel, he ended the stream.
Gary came over to congratulate him, then hurried toward the battlefield.
"Good luck, Gary!" Caster called after him with a smile. "See you in the semifinals!"
Gary didn't share Ash's excitement. He gave a casual wave without looking back, playing it cool.
Before long, Gary and his opponent took their positions for the second quarterfinal match.
His opponent was an adult Trainer with several years of experience. His Pokémon were a little stronger than Gary's overall.
Only a little, though.
Gary had gathered plenty of information ahead of time and prepared several battle plans. That gave him a clear tactical advantage.
Even so, it was a hard fight. Gary's quick decisions during the match won it for him.
The battle lasted more than forty minutes, including the break at the halfway point.
Caster also got to see several Pokémon Gary had kept in reserve.
There was a Magmar that could breathe towering flames, a Dodrio whose three heads worked perfectly together as it darted across the field, a Nidoqueen with tremendous strength, and a sturdy Golem with remarkable defenses.
Every one of them was impressive.
"Gary's team really is stacked," Caster said.
Gary's approach was to catch a wide range of Pokémon and rotate them through training. He tried to raise each one well enough to handle different kinds of opponents.
It made his team flexible. He could choose Pokémon suited to each opponent, while his opponents had a hard time planning around him.
The drawback was obvious. It took time, effort, and a lot of money!
Gary had the money, cared enough to train every Pokémon, and knew how to make time for them all.
Caster knew he couldn't do it himself, even if he had the money. He simply didn't have the energy.
Assunta's match followed Gary's.
Assunta looked young, but she was a strong Trainer and handled her Pokémon with ease.
Her Venomoth was a menace. It knew strong Bug-type, Poison-type, and Psychic-type moves. Quiver Dance and a range of moves that weakened its opponents made it miserable to fight.
Assunta advanced to the semifinals as well.
In the last match, Zeke from Lavender Town sent out his Gengar. Once again, it stood out with its speed and ability to appear out of nowhere. It hurled Shadow Balls one after another, overwhelming its opponent with sheer firepower.
Like Caster, Zeke won with ease.
That settled the semifinal lineup for this year's Indigo League Conference.
By late afternoon, the sun was sinking toward the horizon.
The Indigo Plateau had two major complexes. One hosted the annual Indigo League Conference. The other was League headquarters.
The headquarters occupied several buildings, where much of the League's senior staff worked. League leaders made their decisions there.
A closed-door meeting was underway in one of the headquarters' conference rooms.
"We have the names of this year's four semifinalists. Take a look."
At the head of a large conference table, the red-haired Champion Lance pressed a button on a remote. Photos of the four Trainers appeared on the screen behind him, along with brief profiles.
When Lorelei saw Caster's photo, she adjusted her glasses, folded her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
His advancement didn't surprise her. The young man had an astonishing talent for raising Pokémon. Even as a member of the Elite Four, she had to admire it.
A year wasn't much time, but give Caster three or four years and Lorelei believed he could become her equal.
Maybe then she could retire!
"We've got some promising young Trainers this year," said a stern-faced old woman. She glanced at the photos. Three of the four semifinalists were very young, and she smiled. "They remind me of my own battles in the Indigo League. Everyone was so full of energy back then..."
Agatha, the Ghost-type specialist, was the oldest member of the Indigo League's Elite Four. She was also the oldest Elite Four member in Pokémon League history.
These days, she liked to reminisce and talked more than she had when she was younger.
But when she spotted Gary's name, her words faltered.
The others understood why. None dared interrupt the temperamental Ghost-type specialist while she was lost in thought.
After a long pause, Lance looked around the table. "As usual, a member of the Elite Four should attend the Conference semifinals. They're the day after tomorrow, and it would only take half a day. Who's going?"
Agatha hesitated.
Across from her, Bruno, the heavily muscled Fighting-type specialist, said bluntly, "I went last year, so I'm sitting this one out. Besides, I recently caught an enormous Onix on Mt. Hideaway. It has a lot of potential, and I'm training it right now..."
That left Lance looking at Lorelei. He wondered how to persuade the Ice-type specialist, who rarely seemed interested in anything.
Clearly, none of the Elite Four cared much for these appearances. As far as they were concerned, the standard of competition at the Indigo League Conference wasn't high enough to hold their interest.
If a truly exceptional Trainer showed up, they'd attend without the League asking.
To everyone's surprise, Lorelei smiled and raised a hand before Lance could say a word. "I'll go. It's close by, anyway. I can be there in a few minutes."
"All right, Lorelei will attend the semifinals." Lance settled the matter at once. "I'll attend the final."
Then he looked around the table again. "After the Conference, our exchange matches with the Hoenn League will begin. Under the agreement, we'll travel to Hoenn this time. The matches will mainly be for younger Trainers, but we'll need one member of the Elite Four to lead the group..."
Bruno leaned back and stared at the ceiling, avoiding Lance's gaze. "I think I went to the last regional exchange, too..." he muttered.
Agatha suddenly developed a cough and began muttering about her aching back and her old age.