Lorelei had not slept for three straight days.
During her cyber battle with the mysterious opponent codenamed "Strategist," she had tasted an unprecedented sense of defeat. Every data trap she painstakingly laid, every logical probe she made, was effortlessly neutralized in ways she could neither understand nor even imagine, and even turned into a weapon against her.
She felt as though she were playing against a ghost from the future.
Her opponent knew her tactical thinking, the operating patterns of the Pokémon League's intelligence department, and even her personal thinking habits inside out. He always anticipated her predictions, cutting off every escape route before she could make her move. Yet she knew nothing about his identity, location, or purpose.
There was no longer any point in continuing to struggle in the intangible online world. It would only waste precious time and give her opponent more room to set his plans in motion.
Lorelei realized that catching the "Strategist," who was as cunning as a Mismagius, through technological means was almost impossible.
She decided to stop waiting passively. She would take the initiative and bring the battlefield out of the virtual world and back into reality.
She devoted all her energy to analyzing intelligence from within Team Rocket. Exercising her highest clearance as a member of the Elite Four, she consolidated the reports from every Pokémon League informant planted within Team Rocket, along with all the scattered information about Team Rocket's activities gathered through various channels over the past several years.
Vast quantities of data converged on the enormous screens in her office, forming an intelligence network so complex it was dizzying. Countless streams of data representing personnel movements, shipments of supplies, and financial transactions flickered across the screens like galaxies.
After days of sleepless analysis and cross-checking, Lorelei's eyes were