Dun—!
The venue lights slowly brightened. Under the crowd's expectant gaze, Lilian gave a mysterious smile and pointed to the two empty seats before her. "Ladies and gentlemen, first, please welcome our very, very special guests,
Master Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four!!
And,
The Pokémon Top Coordinator, Wallace!!"
Lorelei, the master-class Trainer who currently ranked second among the Kanto Elite Four!!
She stood at the pinnacle in almost every Trainer's heart, an existence enthroned at the summit—and an idol to every female Trainer!!
At some point, silence had fallen over the venue, and delicate snowflakes drifted down from the ceiling.
Six-pointed snowflakes,
Pure white snowflakes,
Flowers of snow,
In an instant, the venue became a world of purity.
Tap,
Tap,
Tap.
Soft footsteps accompanied the snowflakes into the center of the venue. No one saw how she had appeared, nor did anyone care.
Because,
Standing before them was the Ice-type Elite, the master of Water types.
Her bearing was as piercing as a bitter wind,
Her beauty, like a polar iceberg.
"O living souls, living souls, the road becomes a river of ice.
Life has no four seasons, only that frozen..."
The faint voice lingered in everyone's ears, seeming at once admiring and lost.
Whose voice was that?
But in an instant, every spectator cast the question aside.
Because,
The polar iceberg revealed one breathtaking facet.
"Listen to the voices of these flowers of snow~"
A voice like the coming of spring stirred the snow sprites within the venue.
Chime~
Chime, chime~
Chime, chime, chime~~!
As the snowflakes melted, the sound of wind chimes rang out.
Without a sound,
The drifting snowflakes in the venue became a fleeting memory, and Lorelei, the Elite who had brought it all about, was already seated.
That momentary smile seemed like a dream.