"Cheers!!!"
Ash shouted excitedly while holding up a glass at the dinner table.
It was rare that Misty didn't argue with Ash. After all, Ash had successfully passed the qualifiers and advanced to the main tournament. That was definitely something worth celebrating.
Seeing the excited Ash in front of him, Sam shook his head, clinked glasses with everyone, and drank his drink in one gulp.
Everyone present was underage, and with the main matches starting tomorrow, it was naturally impossible for them to drink alcohol.
Unlike Sam, who advanced to the main tournament almost effortlessly, Ash had struggled through every single qualifying match. In several matches, he would have been eliminated if it weren't for Pikachu's incredible performance.
The Top 16 was probably Ash's limit.
The full list of Trainers who had entered the Top 16 had already been released. In terms of raw strength, Ash ranked near the bottom.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Top 16 would likely be Ash's final result in the Indigo Plateau Conference.
"Brother Sam, congratulations on entering the Top 16."
A mature female voice interrupted the celebration.
A woman with a graceful figure—wearing a gold short-sleeved shirt and hot pants—walked over to their table.
"Wow! What a beautiful lady!!!"
Brock instantly lost control when he saw the attractive woman and rushed forward, eager to express his admiration.
Misty tried to stop him, but she was too slow. Brock had already dashed out.
Just as Brock was about to grab the woman's hand, he suddenly froze in place.
Then he quietly turned around and walked back to his seat obediently.
Ash and Misty looked puzzled.
"Brock, why didn't you continue?"
Continue?
Cold sweat ran down Brock's forehead.
He had a strange feeling that if he had actually touched that woman's hand, he might not have been able to keep his own.
The closer he got to her, the more he could feel the terrifying aura hidden beneath her gentle smile.
"Hehe, little brother, why did you turn back? I was looking forward to it."
The woman raised her eyebrows and smiled at Brock.
Brock immediately stood up and bowed deeply.
"I'm very sorry! I was being reckless!"
"Don't scare him, Miss Karen," Sam said helplessly.
"Hmph. Since you asked, I'll let him off this time."
She crossed her arms and smiled.
"See you in the finals, Sam. I'm really looking forward to battling you."
After saying that, Karen turned and walked away without another word.
Once she was gone, Brock finally let out a long breath.
To be honest, the pressure he felt when Karen revealed even a hint of her aura was the most terrifying pressure he had ever experienced in his life.
"Haha, Brock, you really need to fix that bad habit of yours," Misty said smugly.
"Not every woman is as kind and gentle as Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy."
Misty didn't feel any sympathy at all. In fact, she thought Brock deserved it.
As a girl herself, she naturally understood how annoying it could be when a strange man suddenly approached you like that.
"Sam, is the Trainer named Karen strong?"
Unlike Brock, Ash was always focused on one thing—his opponent's strength.
He didn't care whether Karen was beautiful or not.
What mattered to him was how strong she was.
"Very strong," Sam replied calmly.
"If my guess is correct, she should already have Elite Four–level strength."
He decided to tell Ash the truth so he would be mentally prepared if they ever faced each other.
"Elite Four?!" Brock exclaimed, feeling a chill run down his spine.
If he had offended an Elite Four–level Trainer, she might really have beaten him to death.
"Yes," Sam continued calmly.
"You should have heard the news already. Lorelei and Agatha are preparing to step down from the Elite Four, and Lance will likely be promoted to Champion."
"That means four Elite Four seats in Kanto will suddenly become vacant."
"Karen probably came here to compete for one of those positions."
Misty and Brock looked serious.
They hadn't expected such big changes to happen so suddenly.
What they were really worried about was how the new Elite Four would affect their Gyms.
Seeing their worried expressions, Sam decided to deliver another piece of bad news.
"After the new Elite Four take office, all Gyms will undergo a qualification review."
"Any Gym that fails to meet the standards will lose its license."
Brock's Pewter Gym probably wouldn't have much trouble. With his father back, their Gym's strength should be enough to pass the review.
But Cerulean Gym was in real danger.
Neither Misty nor her three sisters were currently strong enough to fully support the Gym.
Misty had great potential, but there simply wasn't much time left for her to grow.
"Don't worry too much, Misty," Sam said reassuringly.
"With your potential, as long as you work hard, saving the Cerulean Gym shouldn't be too difficult."
"I hope so…" Misty sighed.
After Karen's sudden appearance and the shocking news revealed by Sam, everyone had lost the mood to continue celebrating.
They finished their meals quickly and returned to their rooms to rest.
---
Back in his hotel room, Sam turned on his computer and logged into the official forum of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
The qualifiers had ended, and the strength of most of the Top 16 Trainers had already been revealed.
Some netizens had even compiled a power ranking list for the Top 16 competitors.
When Sam opened it, he found that he was ranked sixth.
Since he hadn't revealed much of his real strength during the qualifiers, that ranking was actually quite reasonable.
Gary was ranked seventh.
And just as Sam had predicted earlier, Ash was placed last.
The Trainer ranked first was someone Sam knew very well.
Karen.
She was the biggest rival in this Indigo Plateau Conference.
During the qualifiers, Karen had used only one Pokémon—Houndour.
Across four rounds of matches, no opponent had managed to force her to use a second Pokémon.
That alone showed how terrifying her strength was.
One-hit knockouts.
Instant victories.
That was the rhythm of Karen's battles.
Almost no opponent could survive a single move from her Pokémon.
Strong, tall, and beautiful—Karen had already become the biggest star of the entire Indigo Plateau Conference.
Almost everyone believed that it was only a matter of time before she became the champion.
After reading the forum posts, Sam shut down the computer.
He stretched, let out a long yawn, and went to bed.
Tomorrow…
the real battles would finally begin.
---------------Author---------------
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