"Next, the Johto region!"
"Elite Four of the Poison type, the Elite Four Koga!"
The manner in which the Johto region's Elite Four made their entrance was different from that of the Kanto region. After all, they were not as well known as Lance or Lorelei, so they did not all appear on stage together as in Kanto. Instead, each name was announced individually, and each member was presented to the audience one by one.
A man dressed in a dark purple ninja outfit, with a mask covering half of his face, appeared on the stage as if he were a ninja who had emerged from nowhere. Aside from a few people capable of following the trajectory of his movements, most had no idea how he had appeared.
This display, however, made the residents of Johto—who had been somewhat nervous and uneasy—let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, Koga was not an unfamiliar figure. As the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City, he had once been just one step away from becoming a member of the Elite Four. After so many years, it was only natural that he now possessed the strength befitting an Elite Four member.
For ordinary people and average trainers, the concept of strength existed only within stadium battles, following the rules set by the League: whoever achieved good results was considered strong. They had no concept of life-and-death battles in the wild.
Koga's apparent strength might not have been outstanding, but in a battle where life and death were at stake, in the current Kanto region probably only the Elite Four Agatha could ensure an absolute victory against him.
Judging from the physical condition Koga displayed, among those present on the stage, the only one who could compare to him was the Fighting-type Elite Four, Bruno. However, Bruno was famous for his brute strength, while Koga stood out more for his bodily agility and unpredictable ninja techniques.
"The second! Psychic-type Elite Four, the Elite Four Will!"
After Koga appeared and steadied himself on the stage, the host announced the second Elite Four member.
A man dressed in strange and luxurious clothing in shades of purple and pink appeared, wearing a mask that covered his eyes, giving the first impression of being a magician.
Will also appeared out of nowhere, but in a different manner from Koga. While some people could still vaguely catch Koga's silhouette as he moved, Will relied entirely on teleportation through psychic powers. A Natu perched on his shoulder was the source of the spatial energy fluctuations of the teleportation.
"The third! Dark-type Elite Four, the Elite Four Karen!" The next to appear was Karen.
With long bluish-silver hair reaching her waist, she wore casual, carefree clothing with a somewhat alternative style, and her face bore her signature mischievous smile.
She leaped down from the sky with the help of a Honchkrow that had an equally sinister appearance.
As a Dark-type Elite Four member, Honchkrow was one of her signature Pokémon.
As for Will and Karen, the spectators present were relatively familiar with them. Unlike Lance, who had always been in the spotlight, Lorelei, Will, and Karen truly revealed themselves to the Kanto public during the Sinnoh Tournament. Before that, although they were already young prodigies with a certain level of fame, they were not widely known.
It was not until after the Sinnoh Tournament that the three truly entered everyone's field of vision.
However, because that tournament gathered too many stars, Will and Karen lagged slightly behind in both strength and luck, and failed to enter the highly watched final top four.
Even so, although there were some doubts about them occupying the position of Elite Four, people could accept it.
After all, both Will and Karen occasionally displayed their strength in public. Moreover, Karen's blatantly genuine attitude not only failed to make her a target of criticism, but by openly declaring that this was her true self and that she did not want to pretend, she gained an enormous number of followers.
Thus, she and the ice goddess Lorelei were called the two goddesses of completely opposite personalities in the Kanto region.
In contrast, Will's fame seemed more like a supporting role. When people talked about Lorelei and Karen, they would sometimes mention Will in passing, but he was never the main focus of attention.
In response to this, Will showed no reaction, simply training his Pokémon silently and improving his strength.
It could be said that the announcement of these three Elite Four members somewhat reassured the people of Johto; at the very least, they were not random selections of completely unknown individuals with no background whatsoever.
"Next, let us welcome the fourth! Steel-type Elite Four, the Elite Four Irene!" Immediately afterward, the host presented the fourth Elite Four member.
Steel-type Elite Four!
Irene!
Not only did the spectators present claim they had never heard of this person, but even Cain, who was watching the ceremony from the VIP room, had never heard that name before.
Whether from the memories of his past life or from the information he had previously known on Earth, there was no record of Irene. Cain's knowledge of this person was a complete blank.
"Ohhh—!"
While he was still pondering, he saw an elegant woman, wearing a large white hat and an entirely white outfit, standing atop the back of a Metagross and slowly descending from the sky. She gave the impression of an immaculate angel descending from the heavens.
With a faint smile on her face, her expression conveyed a sense of warmth that seemed to envelop the entire body.
Although people did not know much about this person named Irene, upon seeing the Metagross beneath her feet and her confident and reassuring smile, they stopped worrying so much.
While a single Metagross did not represent everything, someone capable of appearing on such an occasion without the slightest sign of fear or nervousness at least possessed the basic dignity of an Elite Four member.
Even so, upon observing the eight Elite Four members present on the stage, even a fool could tell that the four from the Kanto region were clearly stronger and more convincing.
The host did not say anything further about this. Even if he wanted to, he did not have the authority to evaluate figures as important as the Elite Four.
According to the original plan of the Kanto–Johto League, this was the moment to thank the high-status figures who had come from various regions for the ceremony.
The main representative of the Hoenn region was the Sandstorm Elite Four, Cain, along with the future leader of the Devon family, currently a chief-level researcher of the Hoenn League.
As for Phoebe and Wallace, although they were also very strong, they did not yet hold positions representative enough. Wallace had even returned the Sootopolis City Gym to his master, focusing entirely on improving his strength.
From the Sinnoh region came Cynthia, who had just become one of Sinnoh's Elite Four, as well as the Fire-type Flint and the Psychic-type Lucian.
The main representative of the Unova region was Shauntal, who had become a Ghost-type Elite Four, along with Caitlin, whose mastery of psychic powers had improved slightly, and Grimsley, an expert in Dark-type Pokémon.
The person in charge of the Kalos region was also an old acquaintance of Cain: Diantha.
She was accompanied by Drasna, a Dragon-type specialist, and someone who even surprised Cain: Malva.
It was neither the noble knight Wikstrom nor Siebold, the Water-type specialist, but Malva, the Fire-type specialist.
The only remaining question was whether, in all of this, Team Flare had intervened or not.
(End of chapter)