Chapter 335: Elite Four Lorelei, Don’t Get Worked Up

The video continued playing.

Aurelia wasn’t in any hurry to visit a city.

Instead, she first headed into the mountains north of Saffron City.

Her plan was to find somewhere quiet, evolve Kirlia into Gallade, and then spend some time training so they could both get used to its new power.

But plans rarely survived reality.

Less than two hours after entering the mountains, Aurelia discovered something utterly ridiculous.

There was extremely strong public Wi-Fi out here.

And it wasn’t just Wi-Fi.

There were vending machines, charging stations, shared massage chairs, and even signs placed at regular intervals that read:

Sun-Moon Group · Wild Resort Area — Proudly Sponsored

Thirsty? Drink Sun-Moon Energy Water.

Tired? Relax in a Sun-Moon Massage Chair.

By the time Aurelia reached the twenty-third billboard, she could only helplessly call Selene and ask what was going on.

"Oh! Big Sis, you went over there!"

Selene’s cheerful voice came through the communicator.

"That’s the resort area I developed last month!"

"It’s completely automated! If you get tired from training, you can even soak in the hot springs!"

"Well? Super thoughtful, right?"

"I’m here to train."

"Training inside a resort area sounds great!"

Aurelia touched the billboard beside her.

"...But won’t all this interfere with the wild Pokémon living here?"

"Of course not!"

Selene replied confidently.

"I specifically had an ecological assessment done. The Pokémon love it!"

"Especially the Water-type Pokémon. They spend all day soaking in the automatically temperature-controlled hot springs now and refuse to come out!"

Aurelia: "..."

Fine.

She decided to ignore the billboards and continued farther into the mountains.

Less than ten minutes later—

She encountered a Cloyster basking in the sun.

More precisely a Cloyster lying in an automatic massage chair.

The chair vibrated with a steady bzzzzzz, while Cloyster rested there with its eyes half-closed and a facial mask stuck across its shell.

Aurelia stared at it silently for a moment.

Then decided to pretend she hadn’t seen anything.

"This should do."

She took out the Dawn Stone Selene had given her and released the golden Kirlia.

The Dawn Stone emitted a gentle light that completely enveloped Kirlia.

When the glow faded Gallade stood in its place.

Its arms resembled a pair of blades, gleaming coldly beneath the sunlight.

"Gallade, how do you feel?"

Aurelia asked.

"My body feels lighter, and my power is much more concentrated."

Gallade answered through telepathy.

"But I’ll still need time to adapt to this new style of combat."

Aurelia nodded.

"Then we’ll train here—"

Before she could finish, an extremely relaxed female voice came from behind her.

"Aurelia?"

Aurelia turned around.

Beneath a nearby tree stood a woman with long red hair, holding a glass of iced lemonade.

Lorelei.

"Aunt Lorelei?"

Aurelia turned toward her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the hot springs."

Lorelei lightly shook the glass in her hand.

"The water quality at this resort is pretty good. I came here to relax for a couple of days and check on how the Pokémon in the area are doing while I’m at it."

Aurelia fell silent for a moment.

"Then I won’t disturb your vacation."

"I’ll go farther ahead and find somewhere quieter to train."

"What’s the rush?"

Lorelei stopped her.

"Your Kirlia only just evolved into Gallade. A Pokémon’s power tends to be at its least stable immediately after evolution."

"Let me help you."

Aurelia paused.

"Wouldn’t that be troubling you too much?"

"Not at all."

Lorelei pushed up her glasses, the corner of her mouth curving slightly upward.

"Ahem..."

"Your father and I are old acquaintances, after all."

Aurelia looked at Lorelei.

Then at the Cloyster beside them that was still enjoying its spa session in the massage chair.

In the end, she nodded.

Training lasted only twenty minutes.

Lorelei had originally planned to use her many years of experience as an Ice-type Elite Four member to give Aurelia some guidance.

Then Gallade unleashed a single Psycho Cut and left a white mark across Cloyster’s shell.

Cloyster immediately withdrew into itself and began sulking.

Lorelei fell silent.

She felt as though her professional dignity was facing an unprecedented challenge.

"All right."

Lorelei restored her usual composed smile.

"That’s enough training for now."

"Aurelia, want to come with me to the resort mall at the foot of the mountain?"

Aurelia looked at the Cloyster on the ground, still lost in its existential crisis.

Then she looked back at Lorelei.

"Okay."

At the foot of the mountain—

Sun, Moon & Stars Resort Shopping Center, a property of the Sun-Moon Group.

A huge electronic display continuously played commercials starring Selene herself.

The moment the two stepped through the entrance—

Ding!

The welcome system activated.

A Rotom Dex flew out from inside the mall and circled Aurelia three times.

"VIP IDENTITY DETECTED!"

"MISS AURELIA!"

"BIOLOGICAL ELDER SISTER OF CHAIRWOMAN SELENE!"

"ATTENTION, ALL DEPARTMENTS! ATTENTION, ALL DEPARTMENTS!"

"MISS AURELIA HAS ARRIVED AT OUR SHOPPING CENTER!"

"LEVEL-ONE PREPAREDNESS STATUS ACTIVATED!"

"REPEAT—THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

"Copy, copy! Clear out the East District immediately!"

"West District reporting! Bring out every limited-edition item that arrived today!"

"North District reporting! Highest-level reception protocol activated!"

Aurelia looked around in bewilderment.

"Wh-What’s happening?"

Lorelei still held her unfinished iced lemonade.

She smiled like a cat that had just stolen a fish.

"It seems your little sister’s ability to get things done is even more ridiculous than I expected."

Before she could finish—

A crowd of mall employees in matching uniforms poured in from every direction.

They formed two perfectly straight lines in front of Aurelia and Lorelei.

"WELCOME, YOUNG MISS AURELIA, TO SAFFRON CITY COMMERCIAL CENTER!"

A man who appeared to be the manager came jogging over.

His forehead was covered in sweat, yet his face carried an enthusiastic smile.

"Miss Aurelia!"

"Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?!"

"We could’ve cleared the mall in advance to welcome you!"

"No, no!"

Aurelia hurriedly waved her hands.

"We’re just here to look around..."

"Understood."

The manager immediately raised his radio.

"THE YOUNG MISS WOULD LIKE TO CASUALLY LOOK AROUND!"

"ALL STORES, ENTER MAXIMUM RECEPTION STATUS!"

"...That’s not what I meant."

Unfortunately—

Nobody was listening anymore.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Aaron]: Sun-Moon Energy Water, shared massage chairs, fully automated temperature-controlled hot springs... Selene’s businesses have already expanded into the middle of nowhere. What’s next? Is she going to stick Sun-Moon Group billboards on the summit of Mt. Coronet?

[Lucian]: If things really are this exaggerated... I’d estimate that half of all consumer spending in the Pokémon world is eventually going to end up in Selene’s pocket.

[Viola]: Wait a second. When Lorelei said, "Your father and I are old acquaintances," the way she pushed up her glasses made it feel like there was definitely some hidden meaning there.

[Valerie]: More than just hidden meaning. That angle at the corner of her smile alone tells me their relationship is absolutely not simple. And judging by the usual pattern of this livestream, there’s a very high chance Lorelei is going to end up—

[Lorelei]: That is the parallel-world version of me. Please remain rational. In reality, Asher and I barely know each other.

[Skyla]: My Master said the same thing about not knowing Asher very well last time. Then she got featured in the very next episode.

[Lorelei]: So the more I explain, the guiltier I look? Fine. I refuse to answer.

[Volkner]: Refusing to answer = half a confession.

[Flint]: Hahaha! That’s brutal, @Volkner.

[Volkner]: Naturally. A man may fall but he must never miss the entertainment.

[Lorelei]: You two. Do you dare tell me your current locations?

[Flint]: Ahem... Elite Four Lorelei, don’t get worked up.

[Lorelei]: Do I look worked up?