The air in the laboratory seemed to freeze.
That pitch-black gaze did not come from the physical realm, but was a colder, more fundamental spiritual intrusion. Like an invisible shackle, it spread from Umbreon's blood-red pupils, crossed the distance between them, and clamped precisely onto Lorelei's will.
At that moment, the first crack finally appeared in Lorelei's proud face, which seemed carved from ten-thousand-year-old ice.
It was not an exaggerated contortion of her expression, but a subtler, yet more startling change. Deep in her ice-blue eyes, her unchanging composure and pride rippled with shock, like an icy lake struck by a pebble. She tried to recall the Lapras beside her, a mere unconscious movement, the instinct of a top Trainer to protect her core fighting strength when faced with an unknown threat.
But she failed.
The spiritual link between her and Lapras, that invisible bond woven from trust and mutual understanding, was forcibly severed by a brutal power. Lapras was right beside her, yet it felt worlds away. What made her heart sink further was that when she instinctively reached toward her waist to take out her other Pokémon's Poké Balls, an invisible barrier obstructed her movement. It felt as though her arm had sunk into a thick, freezing mire, every exertion of strength dissipating into nothing.
She was pinned in place.
This confrontation had been forcibly locked into a one-on-one battle.
She couldn't switch Pokémon!
That realization exploded like thunder in Lorelei's mind. To her, battle was a precise game of chess, and Pokémon were her pieces. Type advantages, defensive switching, tactical deception... these were all weapons she relied on to stand at the pinnacle of the Elite Four. Now, one of her most important tactical approaches had been brutally cut off by a bizarre move she had never