Next came the most crucial part of the entire ceremony. The eight Elite Four members standing on the stage had to choose one person from the entire venue as an opponent to demonstrate their strength.
It could be another Elite Four member from the two regions present on the stage, or one of the guests from the various regions seated in the stands.
As long as they could demonstrate their strength, winning or losing was not actually all that important.
If one was confident enough in their own strength, they could challenge someone who had already been famous for a long time and was powerful enough. There was no need to win; on the contrary, by fighting against a strong opponent, it was easier to highlight one's own power and make all the spectators feel just how formidable the challenger was.
Of course, those who had long since become famous and were recognized by everyone, and who felt they had nothing to prove, did not have to accept a challenge.
For example, the elderly Elite Four Agatha—her strength was something acknowledged by everyone.
In fact, this challenge was mainly prepared for the four new Elite Four members of the Johto region. The four Elite Four members of Kanto were the former Kanto–Johto Elite Four, so they did not need to prove anything.
"This old woman will not take part in the competitions of the young. I withdraw from the challenge," said the Elite Four Agatha, leaning on a wooden cane, with a kindly smile.
Both in terms of strength and age, Agatha was the senior among the eight Elite Four present on the stage, and everyone recognized her power completely, so no one was going to refute her words.
In fact, Agatha's appearance there was already the result of several League officials persistently persuading her. With her reputation and strength, she had no need whatsoever to participate in such a "ridiculous" activity.
After saying this, the Elite Four Agatha vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.
Then it was the turn of the Fighting-type Elite Four, Bruno.
"Hahaha! I won't get involved in this either." After speaking, Bruno stomped heavily on the stage, and his astonishing physical strength directly shattered the tiles beneath his foot.
With a single leap, he jumped up into the stands and sat down in the VIP area beside the Elite Four Agatha, who had already disappeared earlier.
Bruno also had his own pride. He was not going to demonstrate his strength by challenging someone weaker than himself. In the entire venue, the only person stronger than him was Agatha, and since she did not wish to participate, he also withdrew from the challenge.
In reality, he had intended to test Lance's strength. When Lance had just become an Elite Four member, he had challenged Bruno repeatedly, but after recognizing his true strength, they had not fought again since then.
However, having a veteran challenge a newcomer could give the impression of bullying the weak. If Lance wanted to fight, he would challenge him himself; if not, Bruno would not bother.
Bruno's withdrawal also caused the audience in the stadium to feel slightly disappointed.
Agatha's withdrawal was understandable, but Bruno's as well left many spectators—who had not seen him display his strength in a long time—with a sense of emptiness.
It was time for the third: Lance.
Lance swept his gaze across the stadium. He knew that, now that it was his turn, he could no longer withdraw, or the spectators would think the Elite Four were too arrogant, which would cause discontent.
Moreover, Lance was not like Agatha or Bruno, who had been famous for a very long time. At such a moment, watched by everyone, he truly needed to show more of his strength.
His previous promotion battle to become an Elite Four member had been criticized, with claims that his opponent had held back. Although he had displayed part of his power in later Elite Four exhibitions, the opponents were too weak to truly test his strength.
Lance looked toward the stands once more. He paused for a second on Bruno and three seconds on Cain before making a decision.
"Since this is a challenge, as an Elite Four member of the Kanto region, I naturally know our own members better. So my target is... the Elite Four Lorelei!" With a shake of his cape, Lance announced his opponent.
"Ohhh—!"
At last, they were going to see a battle between Elite Four members. The crowd erupted in cheers; they did not care who challenged whom, they just wanted to see an Elite Four–level battle, even if it was only an exhibition.
"Pff—!" At that moment, Cain, who was seated, suddenly spat out all the water he had just drunk upon hearing whom Lance had chosen as his opponent.
The water splashed onto Steven and Phoebe, who were sitting beside him.
Steven looked at Cain with annoyance as he took out a handkerchief to wipe his brand-new black suit. "Just because Lance is challenging Lorelei, do you have to react like this?"
Steven knew part of the conflict between Lorelei and Lance—or rather, Lorelei's one-sided resentment toward him—but he did not know it in as much detail as Cain did.
"You don't know. But ever since Lorelei failed in the last challenge for the Elite Four title, she hasn't stopped keeping Lance in mind. Even before becoming an Elite Four member, she challenged him more than ten times in a row, until the League had no choice but to give her the vacant position and acknowledge her strength."
"But after becoming an Elite Four member, Lorelei went even further and challenged him even more frequently. Lance couldn't take it anymore and has asked me for advice more than once."
"And now, with the attention of the entire world, Lance challenges Lorelei again... tsk, tsk..." As he spoke, Cain showed an expression of sympathy.
"Then won't the relationship between Lance and Lorelei become increasingly tense?" Phoebe asked curiously.
"This is where Lance's shrewdness shows," Cain said, the smile on his face growing even wider.
The three of them looked at him, waiting for the explanation.
"It's very simple. The Elite Four Agatha and the Elite Four Bruno withdrew because their strength is unquestionable and they've held their positions for a long time; they don't need this kind of challenge to prove anything. On the other hand, Lance has only been an Elite Four member for a little over a year and hasn't had a battle that truly demonstrates his power, so on an occasion like this, he was obliged to choose someone as an opponent."
"The first ones he rules out are the four new Elite Four members of Johto: they haven't proven themselves yet, so they wouldn't serve to test Lance's strength either."
"Then he rules out the Elite Four Agatha. Even if she doesn't show her power, everyone knows it's because she's too strong and doesn't need to put on a display; challenging her would practically be seeking death."
"So he had to choose between Bruno and Lorelei, and in the end, he chose Lorelei," Cain explained.
"And why did he choose Lorelei instead of Bruno? You know that the Elite Four Bruno is stronger. If he managed to win, he could even rise to second place, but if he loses to Lorelei, he could drop to fourth," Steven asked.
"Because he knows that even if he chose to challenge Bruno, when it came time for Lorelei, she would challenge him anyway. Fighting twice would make the probability of losing to Lorelei even higher."
"Moreover, even if he really loses to Lorelei in this challenge, there won't be many people criticizing his strength. They'll think he's yielding to his opponent, that it's not his true level, since this is an exhibition match."
"And taking the reasoning to the extreme, if Lance really loses to Lorelei, he loses the match but gains Lorelei's forgiveness... wouldn't that also be a good thing?"
From Cain's words, one could perceive just how meticulous Lance's way of thinking was.
(End of chapter)