Chapter 184: Lorelei! An Unavoidable Battle!

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"Charizard!"

Anon stared blankly at his Charizard, who had collapsed on the ground. Then, with a loud shout, he quickly ran toward it.

"Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is Arbok! All of the green side's Pokémon used by Anon are unable to continue battling! The victor of this match is the red side's contestant—Liam!"

It's finally over... Liam looked at the trembling Arbok and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"You did great, Arbok. Thanks to you and everyone else. I'm counting on you next time too. You were amazing today—when we get back, I'll treat you to all the Moomoo Milk you can drink!"

Liam walked up to Arbok, wrapped his arms around its large head, and smiled as he spoke.

"Chaaaarbok!!"

The moment Arbok heard the words "all the Moomoo Milk you can drink," its eyes lit up. Even though it hadn't had any yet, it was already squinting in happiness. Its scarlet tongue flicked in and out constantly, as if it were already savoring the taste of milk.

"Haha, all right, come back and rest now."

Liam chuckled at Arbok's reaction. He then gently tapped its body with a PokeBall, returning it to rest, and turned to walk toward Anon.

"The battle has concluded! What an incredible match! Both trainers have shown their true strength! Though Anon has lost, we remain in awe of his powerful Pokémon! This was a defeat with honor! At this moment—regardless of victory or defeat—let's give both of them a round of the loudest applause!"

"Wooooooooo~~"

"Let's give it up for Anon! You were amazing! And let's cheer for the victor—Liam! Congratulations to Liam for advancing to the next round!"

"OOOOOOHHH!!!"

Liam walked up to Anon. Sensing Liam's approach, Anon trembled slightly. Then, he returned his Charizard to its PokeBall, stood up, and smiled at Liam.

"Haha, that must've been embarrassing. I admit defeat fair and square. I didn't even manage to force you to use your full team. Looks like I still have a long way to go. I'll need to train harder from now on."

Looking at the sincere expression on Anon's face, Liam smiled as well. He extended a hand toward Anon and said,

"That was a fantastic battle. I learned a lot from it. It reminded me that I still have much to improve. We both have a long road ahead. If there's a chance in the future, let's train together and keep growing."

Anon looked at the outstretched hand before him, listened to Liam's words, then smiled and firmly shook his hand.

"Yeah! It's a promise! I'll surpass you soon!"

"Hahaha! If you think you can, then bring it on!"

"Hahahaha!"

The two young men exchanged smiles, their laughter ringing out far and wide.

What followed were the battles between the remaining six contestants. First up, two unknown trainers clashed in a chaotic match. In the end, the Grass-type specialist from Celadon City—Hando—was defeated by the Bug-type specialist from Viridian City—Maple.

Then came the match between Bruno and Lance. 

Bruno used five powerful Fighting-type Pokémon and one Onix, but even so, Lance only needed four of his Pokémon to secure victory. So far, they only knew Lance had a Gyarados, Seadra, Charizard, and Ampharos. 

A Dragonair was also seen previously, but the rest of his lineup remained a mystery.

"Lance is hiding his cards well," Liam thought, unaware of the irony.

Lastly came Lorelei's battle against Akami, a Rock-type trainer from Pewter City. The outcome was no surprise. In Kanto, most Rock-types also carry a Ground-type dual typing, which happens to be weak to Ice-type moves. 

The result was obvious: Lorelei won a clean 3-on-6 sweep.

The tournament's Top Four was now decided: Liam, Lance, Lorelei, and Maple. The next day, these four trainers would battle for a spot in the finals, with matchups decided by random draw. 

And as luck would have it, Liam's opponent... was the one person he didn't want to face—Lorelei.

Staring at the massive face-off display on the big screen, Liam was filled with a strange mixture of emotions—excitement tinged with unease.

He was excited because this was a match he had been anticipating for a long time. Lorelei was a formidable opponent—there was no doubt about it. And battling strong opponents was what Liam, as a Pokémon Trainer, lived for.

But what unsettled him wasn't Lorelei's strength—it was the fear that he might go soft on her when the time came, might not give it his all. And that, to him, would be a disservice—not just to himself or Lorelei, but also to Delia.

Lost in thought, Liam didn't notice someone approaching him from behind...

"Hehe, what's wrong? Feeling nervous now that you know you're up against me? Already realizing you're not a match for me? Tell you what—beg for mercy now, and I might let you lose with a little dignity."

While Liam was brooding over the screen, Lorelei had walked up behind him and suddenly slapped a hand down on his shoulder, grinning as she spoke.

"Ahhh! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Thank goodness I don't have heart issues, or you'd have scared me to death!"

Liam had genuinely been startled by the sudden pat, practically leaping out of his skin. He turned to look at Lorelei, clutching his chest with a deadpan expression.

"Hey! You're such a wimp, I think you're even afraid of small mosquito bites! If you dropped dead from that, you'd deserve it!"

Lorelei looked at Liam, who'd been scared half to death, and barely suppressed her laughter, instead giving him a disdainful glance.

"Bite me if you dare!"

The second the words left his mouth, he regretted it—because Lorelei had already opened her mouth wide, revealing her sharp canines.

"Hey! No, no, no! I was kidding! Don't really bite me! Just tell me what you want. Don't think being all buddy-buddy now means I'll go easy on you tomorrow—not happening. Not even through a window crack!"

Seeing that Lorelei really seemed ready to bite, Liam immediately backed down.

But this time, Lorelei didn't joke back as usual. Instead, she dropped her playful demeanor and looked at him seriously.

"That's exactly what I came to say. Tomorrow, I'm not holding back. I'll go all out. I'm going to show you my real strength—prove myself to you. So you'd better do the same! If I catch you looking down on me—I swear I'll never speak to you again! You got that?"

With that, Lorelei turned and walked away. Liam could even see a hint of nervousness in her retreating figure, and couldn't help but chuckle.

As she hurried off, Lorelei suddenly froze when she heard his laugh. Then, without looking back, she quickened her pace and practically ran away.

After the laughter faded, Liam understood: Lorelei was just as conflicted as he was. When she found out they'd be facing each other next, she must've been torn up about it too. 

But unlike Liam, she was more decisive. She came to him, stated her position clearly, and demanded that he fight with everything he had.

"Heh... Looks like there's no room for hesitation this time."

Liam gave a wry smile, shaking his head as he muttered under his breath.