Ariel still had some history with Lance.
Back when Ariel was carrying out the operation to capture Suicune along with other Team Rocket Executive successors.
Even though Lance had intercepted them halfway and nearly took the lives of those successors, fortunately, Mewtwo had come to save the day.
Ariel was wearing a mask at the time, so Lance shouldn't have been able to recognize him.
But now, he had truly cast a glance at him, and Ariel's intuition told him this was definitely no coincidence.
However, Ariel temporarily dismissed the possibility that Lance had recognized him.
Because if he had recognized him, wouldn't he have brought him to justice on the spot?
Thus, a second theory emerged: Lance had spent years on the front lines as a Pokémon League Investigator, known as the sharpest sword of the League, constantly pitting his wits against various fugitives, giving him a keen sense for the aura people exuded.
Could this guy have sensed the criminal aura on him?
...
The next day, the fourth day of the Ever Grande Conference.
The morning sun pierced through the mist, gilding the entire Ever Grande City in a pale gold.
The massive stadium was already teeming with noise, like a waking behemoth letting out a deafening Roar.
The League's Top 64 elimination tournament officially kicked off.
The tournament format was simple and brutal: 6v6 full battles, with the loser eliminated.
Each contestant had one match in the morning and one in the afternoon; within a single day, the Top 64 list would be whittled down to the Top 16.
In the contestant seating area, the atmosphere was completely different from the clamor outside; an invisible pressure permeated the air, so thick it felt like it could be wrung out like water.
Ariel was pulled to a seat beside Steven without any room for argument, where Wallace and Cynthia were already sitting.
This small area gathered nearly the pinnacle of the new generation of Trainers, invisibly forming an aura that made the surrounding contestants subconsciously keep their distance.
"It's starting, it's starting! The first match is Lance's!"
Steven's tone was filled with pure excitement, like a fan waiting to watch an idol perform, with absolutely no airs of a young master.
Wallace adjusted his flamboyant collar and cast his gaze toward the arena with a look of scrutiny.
Cynthia sat quietly, her long golden hair shining brilliantly in the morning light, her gaze calm and focused, like a professional scholar observing a subject.
On the massive screen in the center of the stadium, the portraits of Lance and his opponent appeared side by side.
The host shouted with his inflammatory voice:
"Let's see! The first duel! The Dragon Master from the Kanto region, the ace among the League Investigators, known as the sharpest sword of the League—Contestant Lance! And his opponent, a Trainer from the Johto region, known for his versatile tactics—Contestant Matsumoto!"
The Trainer named Matsumoto, a sharp-looking man around twenty years old, had an expression on his face that could only be described as spectacular.
He first pointed at Lance on the screen in disbelief, then pointed at himself, and finally looked at the referee for help.
"I'm fighting Lance?"
The referee remained expressionless and signaled for the match to begin.
Matsumoto's face instantly fell; his expression was uglier than if he had eaten shit.
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience, but there was more anticipation.
They wanted to see just how strong this legendary figure really was.
"Come out, Ursaring!"
Matsumoto took a deep breath, deciding to give it his all, and sent out his ace.
A burly Ursaring appeared with a Roar, its fierce aura washing over everyone.
As for Lance, he was still wearing that iconic cape. He didn't even spare his opponent a second glance, just calmly unclipped a Poké Ball from his waist.
"Go, Dragonite."
With a flash of red light, a Dragonite appeared on the field that was larger and had sharper eyes than ordinary Dragonite.
It didn't let out a single Roar, just hovered silently in mid-air, yet its mountain-like presence suppressed the entire arena.
"Ursaring, Hammer Arm!"
Matsumoto decided to strike first.
Ursaring roared and charged forward, its thick arms glowing with Fighting-type energy as it smashed toward Dragonite with heavy force.
However, Dragonite didn't even move.
Just as the Hammer Arm was about to connect, its figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
"What?"
Matsumoto's pupils constricted.
The next second, Dragonite had already appeared behind Ursaring, a Dragon Claw silently pressing against the back of Ursaring's neck.
There was no violent explosion, no flashy light effects.
With just a muffled "thud," that seemingly mighty Ursaring rolled its eyes back and collapsed straight down, completely losing the ability to battle.
One move.
Just one move.
The entire arena was deathly silent.
Even the host was speechless for a moment, forgetting to provide commentary.
Matsumoto's mouth was wide open; he hadn't seen what happened at all.
"It's Extreme Speed…"
In the contestant seating, Steven muttered to himself, his face, which usually carried a gentle smile, now filled with gravity.
"No, that's not right. That speed has already surpassed the realm of ordinary Extreme Speed, and… that precise control over power—any more would have damaged the field, and any less wouldn't have secured a one-hit victory."
"It's terrifying."
Wallace was also dead serious, "The level of training for this Dragonite has reached its peak."
Matsumoto didn't want to believe it and sent out his second and third Pokémon one after another.
A fast Noctowl tried to use Air Slash for long-range harassment, but was knocked out of the sky by a precise Flamethrower from Dragonite.
A thick-skinned Golem had just used Rollout when it was swatted away by a Dragon Tail with immense Superpower, slamming into the stadium's energy shield with rock fragments scattering everywhere.
Throughout the entire process, Dragonite hadn't even moved from its spot.
It was as if it wasn't participating in a 6v6 battle, but rather conducting target practice.
Simple, efficient, and brutal.
When Matsumoto's sixth Pokémon, a Steelix, was also blasted black and collapsed by a Fire Blast from Dragonite, the audience finally snapped out of their trance, erupting into thunderous cheers and applause.
"Sweeping the team!"
A true one-versus-six sweep!
And almost every Pokémon was taken down within three moves.
Lance remained expressionless from start to finish. He recalled Dragonite, gave a slight nod to his demoralized opponent, and turned to leave the field.
That cape billowed behind him, leaving the entire arena with a solitary and powerful silhouette.
"This guy…"
Steven's Adam's apple bobbed, "He didn't use his full strength at all. This Dragonite didn't even use Dragon Dance."
Ariel's gaze had never left that Dragonite.
He saw deeper than Steven and Wallace.
That Dragonite wasn't just powerful; what was even more terrifying was the tacit understanding between it and Lance.
Throughout the entire match, Lance hadn't given a single explicit command; all attacks and defenses were executed by Dragonite autonomously.
This meant that the Trainer and the Pokémon had reached a realm of perfect synchronization.
Ariel turned his head to look at Cynthia beside him and asked softly, "If your Garchomp faced it, what are the odds of winning?"
A trace of imperceptible fighting spirit flashed through Cynthia's beautiful eyes. She pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Evenly matched."
"Evenly matched?"
Ariel smiled to himself.
He knew this was a modest remark.
With Cynthia's pride, how could she believe her ace would lose to an opponent of the same level?
When she said evenly matched, the subtext was that she was confident she could win.
But this also proved from the side just how terrifying Lance's Dragonite was.
Being able to make the future Sinnoh Champion say the words "evenly matched" was, in itself, the highest form of praise.
Ariel's gaze fell back to the arena. Lance had already returned to the contestant seating and happened to lock eyes with Ariel.
It was that look again.
Sharp, scrutinizing, as if it could pierce through skin and look straight into the soul.
That inexplicable chill rose in Ariel's heart once again.
He was one hundred percent certain that Lance did not recognize him while he was wearing the mask.
If he did recognize him, what would be coming his way now wouldn't be the gaze of a League Investigator, but handcuffs.
Then, only the second possibility remained.
Could this guy really sniff out the criminal aura on him just by feeling?
Ariel calmly shifted his gaze away, while his mind began to calculate.
It seemed he couldn't just coast through this tournament like before.
Facing a monster of this level, any attempt to hide his strength could lead to disaster.
Moreover, when targeted by such a "vicious dragon," the best method wasn't to hide, but to display enough strength to make him wary, or even earn his recognition.
Only by standing at the same height could one obtain the right to equal dialogue.
Immediately after, the second match began.
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