"But you can't exactly blame me for everything, can you? You were standing right there for no reason, and with a face as big as yours, you practically look like a giant target begging to be hit! It's only natural that Pikachu might accidentally send an attack your way, don't you think?"
Looking at the purple-haired woman, who was now completely losing her composure, Ash deliberately put on the same innocent expression she had worn earlier.
"OBASAN?! You actually called me OBASAN?!"
Celosia had already been furious over Ash ordering Pikachu to attack her. But for a woman who cared so much about her appearance, being called an obasan was the final straw.
Her composure shattered completely. Her eyes blazed with fury, as though flames were about to shoot out of them.
"What's wrong with calling you obasan? You look like you're already in your forties, while I'm still just a kid. Isn't calling you obasan perfectly reasonable?"
"Or did I get it wrong? Should I be calling you obaasan instead?"
Looking at the woman whose eyes were practically spitting fire, Ash wore a contemptuous smile and spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone.
"You damn brat! You've finally managed to make me lose my temper!"
Seeing Ash's mocking expression, Celosia gritted her teeth and roared furiously. She was so angry that she looked ready to explode.
"Heh. I'm the one who deserves to die? I think the person who deserves to die is you."
"Attacking me is one thing. But the thing I hate most is anyone who lays a hand on my family or friends."
As Ash stared at the purple-haired woman, the playful mockery on his face vanished. His expression once again turned ice-cold.
The intense malice he had sensed earlier through his Aura had come from this very woman.
Furthermore, after checking her information through the System, Ash had already obtained her personal data.
[Name]: Celosia
[Gender]: Female
[Age]: 32
[Affiliation]: Team Flare — Senior Executive/Admin Scientist
[Strength]: 14 (Average adult: 10)
[Stamina]: 13 (Average adult: 10)
[Intelligence]: 15 (Average adult: 10)
[Charm]: 17 (Average adult: 10)
[Talent]: —
[Skills]: Advanced Driving, Firearms Proficiency, and others…
[Pokémon]: Drapion (Lv. 72), Liepard (Lv. 71), Manectric (Lv. 70), and others…
Ash hadn't recognized the woman's identity at first. It was only after checking her information through the System and seeing her name and organizational affiliation that he finally realized who she was.
The woman standing before him was none other than Celosia, one of the senior executives of Team Flare, the criminal organization operating in the Kalos region!
In the original animated series, she had participated in numerous operations to attack and capture Zygarde's Core, the little green Pokémon known as Squishy.
The reason Ash hadn't recognized her earlier was simple: she wasn't wearing Team Flare's signature red, tight-fitting leather uniform. Instead, she was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes.
But now that he knew her identity—and considering how recklessly she had just attacked him and Serena—Ash had no intention of showing her the slightest courtesy.
"Hahahaha…"
"'The thing you hate most is anyone who hurts the people around you'? And I'm the one who deserves to die?"
Celosia suddenly burst into laughter, as though Ash's words were the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"Hahahaha! What a joke!"
"Kid, you may be young, but you've certainly got a big mouth. Aren't you angry? Then come with me to the Pokémon battle court over there. Let's have a match!"
"Let me assess your strength. I'll see whether you've actually got what it takes to make such bold statements!"
After finishing her words, Celosia turned around and walked straight into the nearby park.
"Ash, I think there's something seriously wrong with that woman. Don't go with her. We should just call the police and notify Officer Jenny!"
Serena grabbed Ash's sleeve, her expression filled with worry and unease.
"There's something unusual about this woman's identity. Even if we call Officer Jenny, it probably won't accomplish much."
Ash gently patted Serena's hand.
"Don't worry. I can handle this."
With that reassurance, Ash didn't hesitate. He followed the woman directly into the park.
Serena, Clarissa Joy, Misty, and the others were worried about him, so they followed as well, accompanying Ash toward the battle court where the purple-haired woman was waiting.
Unlike Ash, who remained completely calm, Clemont, Tierno, Trevor, and the other boys looked increasingly uneasy.
Once they reached the battle court and took their positions, the purple-haired woman had already regained her composure.
She looked at Ash with the same condescending smile as before.
In her eyes, Ash was nothing more than a child with a little talent as a Pokémon Trainer. Against someone with overwhelming strength, such a child was hardly worth mentioning.
Looking at the faint smile playing around the woman's thin lips, Ash naturally understood what she was relying on.
Wasn't it simply the fact that she had three Pokémon at Elite Four level and another three at the peak of Pseudo-Elite Four level?
There was no denying that Team Flare, as the underground criminal organization operating throughout the Kalos region, possessed considerable strength. And Celosia, as one of its four senior executives, was certainly no ordinary opponent.
However, that didn't mean Ash had anything to fear.
"Still, thinking that this little bit of strength gives you the right to attack me…"
Ash looked at the purple-haired woman standing across the battle court. A faint, mocking smile appeared on his face.
"I wonder whether you've overestimated yourself or underestimated me."
"Brat!"
Celosia folded her arms across her chest and looked down at Ash with undisguised contempt.
"Before the performance battle at the end of Wikstrom's presentation yesterday, you showed off a Pidgeot capable of Mega Evolution, didn't you?"
"Since I'm apparently being so unfair to you, I'll give you a chance. Bring out that Mega-Evolving Pidgeot of yours, and let's have a battle!"
"Otherwise, don't even think about leaving here unharmed today."
"A Pidgeot capable of Mega Evolution…"
Ash's expression shifted slightly as he heard her words.
"So you really did come here because of me."
At last, he had a clearer idea of the woman's objective.
Team Flare, the criminal organization operating in the Kalos region, had originally been known as the Lysandre Labs research organization.
In its early days, it had been established with the goal of saving the world and making it a better place.
However, exceptionally talented individuals were often prone to becoming fixated on their own beliefs. Once they became convinced that something was right, changing their minds could be extremely difficult.
Worse still, such individuals could use their extraordinary eloquence and personal charisma to attract countless supporters and followers.
Giovanni of Team Rocket was like that.
Ghetsis of Team Plasma was like that.
Cyrus of Team Galactic was like that.
And Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare in the Kalos region, was no different.
During his organization's worldwide charitable operations, Lysandre had witnessed the narrow-mindedness, greed, selfishness, and other ugly aspects of human nature displayed by some of the very people his organization had tried to help.
Those experiences gradually changed the outlook of a man who had once been passionate about charity and humanitarian work.
Driven by those beliefs, Lysandre secretly established another organization behind the public face of Lysandre Labs.
It was a special organization with a very different purpose from the one the world knew.
Its mission was to judge humanity and purify the world.
That organization was Team Flare.