In a Black World —
After Lorelei arrived at Crystal Lake, she reunited with old friends. Needless to say, these old friends were Ash and his group.
When she saw Ash, Lorelei was not only surprised to meet them here, but also shocked by the change in Ash. How to put it… No matter how mature Ash was before, in the end he was still just a ten-year-old child. Children are the most susceptible to change, so it was normal for Ash to change. However… this time, Ash had changed too much. If Ash had given Lorelei the feeling of a child before, now Ash was not only much more resolute in appearance, but his temperament was also completely different—like a mature adult.
When was the last time they met? It seemed less than three months ago, right? In under three months, what had Ash experienced to change his temperament so drastically, as if… a heavy burden had suddenly been placed on his shoulders? You could see it between his brows—his heart seemed perpetually tense… It was quite intriguing!
Lorelei's thoughts raced, but she didn't forget to greet everyone. Because of Lorelei's position as one of the Elite Four, plus the fact that Ash and Lorelei knew each other, and with Lorelei as a guarantor, Ash and the others didn't need to go back to the police station to give statements; they just needed to provide a brief record on-site.
Misty stepped forward, slightly twisting the facts, and cleverly obscured the Zapdos incident. Although Officer Jenny was trustworthy, because it involved a dangerous organization like Team Universe, this time the police hadn't just sent Officer Jenny, but also many male officers. (Trivia: Officer Jenny isn't the only police officer, but in most cases, only Officer Jenny is needed.) When dealing with a major organization like Team Universe, more manpower had to be dispatched. That's why Misty concealed some details this time. Otherwise, not only would Zapdos become known, but the lake's healing effect on Electric-type Pokémon would also be discovered. As the saying goes—never underestimate human greed!
After briefly taking statements, the police withdrew, taking the four 'Peerless Scum' with them. The Dark Balls had been completely destroyed by Ash, leaving not a single one behind. Although with current technology, it was unlikely they could be reproduced—after all, if it were that easy, Team Universe wouldn't have collapsed so completely—it was better to be safe than sorry, so Ash destroyed them all without a trace!
Because the Dark Balls were destroyed, Pokémon like the Fearow became ownerless. However, since they were all unconscious from Pikachu's attack, they could only be recalled into Poké Balls for now.
After all the relevant people had left, Lorelei looked at everyone and said seriously, "So… can you tell me what really happened now?"
Misty's lies couldn't fool Lorelei. Lorelei had also keenly noticed a subtle golden light shimmering in the lake, but she hadn't exposed Misty's lies—she'd even helped corroborate them. Although their contact had been brief, Lorelei still trusted Misty's character, so she didn't think Ash and the others were doing anything bad; they must have a reason for hiding it. Now that Officer Jenny and the others were gone, Lorelei asked Ash and the group. It would be fine if they didn't tell her, but she at least wanted to confirm if they needed her help.
Misty scratched her head awkwardly and laughed. "Heh, there's really no hiding anything from you, Ms. Lorelei…" Misty glanced at Ash, and after getting his nod, she began to tell Lorelei the truth of what had just happened.
"...So, these people were hunting Zapdos, and you happened to find them." As she said this, Lorelei looked at the lake shimmering with a faint golden light. "So Zapdos is healing in this lake right now! You're really lucky. Encountering the legendary Zapdos isn't common."
Ash and the others exchanged glances, then smiled at Lorelei without saying a word. Meeting the Legendary Birds more than once… no need to show off, right?
Lorelei was puzzled by their smiles but continued, "Actually, I'd rather meet Articuno than Zapdos. Don't you agree? The most beautiful of the Legendary Birds is Articuno—with its elegant and beautiful feathers, pure and flawless ice-blue body, and its image that looks like a miraculous work of art…" Speaking of Articuno, the usually calm and composed Lorelei showed a hint of excitement.
As the Ice-type Elite Four member and the de facto Ice-type Champion, she had actually rarely encountered Articuno. If she ever did meet one by chance, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to battle it. After all, it was a Legendary Pokémon. Why would it just fight you directly upon meeting and then go with you if it lost? To catch one, you first had to prevent it from escaping. In that regard… you'd have to rely on a Ghost-type's Mean Look. So, Lorelei still yearned to encounter the legendary Articuno.
As for Ash… he didn't yearn for it anymore. Who would yearn for their own Pokémon?! Let alone yearning—he hadn't even called Articuno back to his side much recently. The method for improving Legendary Pokémon was different from ordinary Pokémon. It wasn't that they didn't need training, but rather than training, they relied more on sleeping and absorbing the energy of specific environments to grow stronger. For example, the little Lugia—it basically ate, slept, and ate while sleeping. It did do some training, but because it spent most of its time sleeping, it didn't even have one-third of the training volume of Ash's other Pokémon. Yet… the little Lugia's improvement rate was no worse than any of the Pokémon in Ash's team, even the top ones! The same was true for Articuno. Professor Oak had specially built an ice cave in his backyard for it to live in. In the artificial cave, Articuno could also steadily increase its strength. Aside from occasional calls to communicate and bond, Ash rarely recalled it. It was too far away…
Ash listened to Lorelei describe her longing for Articuno and wasn't sure what expression to wear. If he told Lorelei he had already caught Articuno… would her always-calm expression suddenly crumble? Ash secretly gave up on this mischievous idea…
[Lorelei]: Tsk, tsk, Ash in the Black World really does have a mischievous side! To think of such an idea…
[Cynthia]: Haha, it's not just the Black World. Ash in the White World does this occasionally too. It's better to say… this should be Ash's inherent nature.
[Misty]: That's right! That guy Ash comes up with some mean ideas from time to time to scare people! Last time in Lavender Town, with that out-of-body experience prank, I didn't even know I was being tricked! It scared me half to death!
[Ash]: Um… I can't help it, I just can't. Don't you think it's fun?
[Misty]: I don't think so!
[Serena]: I don't think so either!
Misty really didn't think so, and Serena wasn't being a lemon~ The viewers in the real world also thought about it carefully and realized it was true—Ash in the White World had actually done plenty of sneaky things. Even Pikachu had been influenced a bit, and often the things Team Rocket did weren't as underhanded as Ash's pranks. It was just that White Ash had always given people the impression of being scatterbrained. When he did such things, everyone subconsciously thought it was just childish behavior. However, Black Ash was different. He had been too composed from the start, so such behavior from him was even rarer. But it seemed to have started increasing recently, as if it was after… the Celebi incident? Was it because the Rainbow Rockets incident was too heavy a burden that Black Ash began to let his true nature show? No, if the burden were truly heavy, he should suppress his personality even more and force himself to walk the righteous path… The audience was a little puzzled.
In a Black World —
After Lorelei and Ash chatted for a while, she prepared to bid farewell to Ash and the others, as she was also planning to go to Silver Town to prepare for the Silver Conference. Originally, she had nothing to do with this Silver Conference, but… back in the Orange Archipelago, she and Ash had made an agreement: if Ash won the championship at the Silver Conference, he would… well, he would name her as his opponent in the King's Exhibition Match.
The Elite Four Exhibition Match was actually a match to elect new Elite Four members, but it wasn't a formal replacement match. Replacing an Elite Four member couldn't be done quickly. The so-called Elite Four Exhibition Match was a two-on-two showdown. If the challenger won, they would be awarded the title of 'Provisional Elite Four Member,' just like Orange from the Light Red Gym. As for how a Provisional Elite Four Member becomes an official one… that was still a ways off, so we won't discuss it for now.
In summary, Lorelei was about to say goodbye to Ash, but Ash proactively stopped her. "Ms. Lorelei, would you like to stay one more day? I plan to challenge Zapdos after it recovers. Judging by Zapdos's recovery rate… it should probably be fully healed by tomorrow morning. Are you interested in watching?"
Hearing this, Lorelei raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of surprise and interest on her face. "Oh? Ash, you want to challenge Zapdos? Did Zapdos agree to your challenge?"
"Hmm… the reason is a bit long. In short, I haven't officially challenged Zapdos yet, but… even if I don't propose it, Zapdos won't leave after it recovers. It will definitely stay and give me a chance to challenge it—a battle for conquest!"
Hearing this, Lorelei became even more curious. "If you don't mind… would you be interested in telling me the 'long story' reason? I'm quite interested."
Ash was stunned for a moment, then after thinking for a while, he nodded with a strange expression. I've said it before, but if you want to hear it… it wasn't me who took the initiative to tell you… Ash thought to himself.
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