After Ryosuke and the other two left, the Sinnoh Elite Four returned to the embassy.
The Fire Elite Four had an impatient personality and could not hold back first, "Are these three from Johto here to make a joke!? Tch, I almost couldn't hold it in just now… They want our students to deliberately lose to them, and they even want to use Pokémon as bargaining chips!
Do they think I would care? Hmph! It's utterly ridiculous… I don't know what the League Council was thinking to agree to such a meaningless competition. This is clearly an internal conflict of Johto. Why should we get involved!?"
Bertha shook her head and said helplessly, "The Johto Region has fallen to such a state… I think its decline is not far off. You! Calm down. Can't you see the purpose of the council?"
"This matter originally had nothing to do with our Sinnoh, but since it involves battles between Elite Four students, then it concerns us. Not only must we not lose, we must win! And it would be best if we achieve a complete victory. Isn't that what the council instructed before we left?" The Electric Elite Four spoke as if seeing through everything.
Caitlin's father was currently the strongest among the four Elite Four members, and this operation was led by him. "The council has already seen the declining trend of Johto. The Elite Four represent one of the highest levels of combat power in a region, while their students represent the future stars. If we obtain a complete victory in this competition, how will the people of Johto view these Elite Four who protect their region? Will they still have expectations for Johto's future?"
"Brilliant… In that case, the people of Johto will certainly be completely disappointed in the Johto League, and their cohesion will naturally be weakened."
"In short, this is the first step for the League Council to control Johto. We must not mess this up! Right now, those three fools in Johto are probably still dreaming. In tomorrow's competition, those three will definitely be lax in their guard, so Pryce's student will instead be a bit more difficult to deal with.
I will arrange for my daughter Caitlin to handle him. Caitlin's psychic powers has already reached the level of communicating with Psychic-type Pokémon. Dealing with that kid should be more than enough."
Bertha nodded and said, "The Psychic-type is one of the most difficult types for novice Trainers to deal with, and Caitlin can launch silent attacks. At the beginning, it is impossible to capture her movements, and the kid will definitely panic." 'A child of that age simply has no way to resist.'
The other three all agreed with Caitlin's father's suggestion.
Next, the four made arrangements. Flint, who specializes in Fire-types, would deal with Kenny's Grass-type Pokémon.
Volkner, who specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, would deal with Karen's Dark-type Pokémon.
Bertha's student, who specializes in Ground-type Pokémon, would naturally counter Aya's Poison-type Pokémon.
Afterward, they called their students over to manage the final strategic arrangements.
---◓---
The next day, at the arena, the place was already packed with people. The audience stands were filled with spectators, and even the aisles were crowded.
Many Pokémon enthusiasts had traveled long distances from various cities to watch this clash between the younger generation of the two regions, and there were even support groups from Sinnoh!
These people had gone through great trouble to come to the arena, naturally hoping to witness thrilling battles. However, this was merely the product of a power game…
The Elite Four from Johto and Sinnoh entered from two different entrances, followed by their respective students.
They met at the center of the battlefield.
At this moment, Caitlin's father said, "Elite Four of Johto, I must apologize in advance. I will inform you first that our Sinnoh League Council has just sent an urgent message. We must return to Sinnoh today, so the four matches can only be held simultaneously."
"Hmm? You won't stay to attend tomorrow's closing ceremony before leaving?" Ryosuke asked, trying to persuade them.
"No, no! We do not dare to go against the decision of the council."
Everything was proceeding according to the plan of the Sinnoh Elite Four, while Ryosuke and the other two were still happily waiting for the upcoming victories, after which they would aggressively suppress Pryce.
The betrayal of the Sinnoh Elite Four had already begun. The reason for holding all four matches simultaneously was precisely to deny Ryosuke and the others any time to prepare.
Normally, there would be a draw first, and the matches would be fought one by one. As long as Sinnoh won one match, Ryosuke and the others would immediately sense that something was wrong and prepare accordingly.
At that point, the outcome would be uncertain, after all, Karen's level was not inferior to Flint or Volkner, and Dark-type Pokémon also held a clear advantage over Caitlin's psychic powers.
However, by conducting all four matches at the same time, a complete collapse would occur simultaneously. By the time Ryosuke realized something was wrong, it would already be too late.
Moreover, all their schemes against Pryce were in the hands of the Sinnoh side, so they would not dare to act out. They could not possibly accuse the Sinnoh Elite Four of breaking their agreement in public, saying that they had promised to "let them win". If such words were spoken, their reputation would be completely ruined!
The Sinnoh Elite Four had clearly grasped this subtle relationship. At that time, no matter how furious Ryosuke was, he could only suppress it…
After this match, the Sinnoh Elite Four would certainly not be able to remain in Johto, and would naturally leave as quickly as possible.
---◓---
Under the attention of the entire crowd, the drawing officially began.
There were two boxes, each containing balls of four different colors. As long as both sides drew balls of the same color, they would become opponents.
Karen stepped forward first and drew a black ball. Correspondingly, under the control of Caitlin's father's psychic abilities, Volkner also drew a black ball.
This round of drawing did not yet make Ryosuke notice anything unusual.
Next, Aya was matched against Bertha's student.
When Flint was matched against Kenny, Ryosuke sensed that something was wrong and repeatedly signaled to the Sinnoh side, but everyone acted as if they did not see anything.
Finally, Caitlin was naturally matched against Tetsuya…
Taking advantage of the moment when he announced the matchups, Ryosuke quietly walked to Caitlin's father and said, "…Didn't we agree last night that Flint would face Tetsuya!?"
Caitlin's father smiled and said, "Oh~ My daughter is the strongest among the four. Only by letting her deal with this Tetsuya can I feel at ease."
For now, he still had to stabilize Ryosuke. Only when all four had stepped onto the battlefield would everything be truly secure.
---◓---
The massive Johto League main arena was large enough to accommodate four battles simultaneously.
Amid the host's passionate announcement, the eight competitors and referees had all entered the field.
Tetsuya glanced at Caitlin on the opposite side. This Caitlin could use psychic powers to communicate with Pokémon, putting him at a disadvantage. His chances of winning were indeed not high, but he did not actually need to win. As long as he did not cause Pryce to lose too much "face", that would be enough… maybe.