The helicopter descended slowly. When the cabin door opened, Kuroda couldn't wait to be the first to jump out.
"Mr. Natsui…" Looking at Natsui, Kuroda had a face full of surprise. "You actually did it!"
From the helicopter just now, he had already seen through the window that the entire valley was full of traces of battle. Not a single spot was intact!
Although he hadn't been on the scene personally, it wasn't hard to imagine what kind of great battle this man had gone through before!
Natsui didn't care much about this. He just nodded lightly. "It was okay. The process had some twists and turns, but at least I didn't fail the mission."
Given his calm demeanor regarding honor and disgrace, there was really no need to go around bragging about such things.
"That Deoxys…?" Kuroda asked cautiously.
"Since you were able to arrive here safely, isn't the meaning already very clear? Rest assured, that Deoxys has already been captured by me. It won't cause any more trouble. You guys can also safely go into the water to salvage that meteorite."
"Thank you so much!" Kuroda bowed deeply to the two of them. "Mr. Stone will also be very happy when he hears this news! On behalf of the entire Devon Corporation, I express my heartfelt thanks for your help!"
Declining Kuroda's kind offer to fly them back to Rustboro City in the helicopter, Natsui and Misty rode on Charizard. After simply handing over some trivial matters, they didn't linger and flew directly toward Petalburg City.
He had already been delayed for too long. Regarding the Petalburg Gym, which he had passed by several times but had never been able to challenge successfully, Natsui was unwilling to delay any longer.
If he went back to Rustboro City with Kuroda first, who knew what other unforeseen events might occur? Therefore, it was better to finish the challenge early so he could have peace of mind sooner.
Of course, the main reason was that Rustboro City seemed to have an indescribable magic over him. No matter how many times he left, he always ended up inexplicably returning there in the end. It was quite eerie!
Besides, he didn't want to sit in any helicopter again. That kind of noise was something he really couldn't enjoy.
As for whether he would receive Mr. Stone's personal thanks or other material rewards after returning to the Devon Corporation?
After capturing Deoxys, Natsui felt that those things didn't matter anymore.
Deoxys—that was his greatest, and also the only, harvest he wanted!
Charizard spread its wings and swept through the clouds.
A sense of fatigue emerged at this time, leaving the two of them silent throughout the journey.
When they arrived in Petalburg City again, because it was getting late, it wasn't suitable to go challenge the Gym. So, Natsui and Misty went to the Pokémon Center first to check in.
It just so happened that almost all of his Pokémon needed some treatment. Moreover, before challenging the Gym, he also needed to adjust his lineup.
It wasn't that his current lineup couldn't challenge it, but challenging a Gym with a full team of Champion-level Pokémon would be truly meaningless.
at the front desk, when Natsui handed over all his Poké Balls to Nurse Joy, he was met with her extremely shocked appearance.
"Th… these Pokémon…"
To be honest, having run the Petalburg City Pokémon Center for so many years, she had seen countless Trainers. But never had she seen a Trainer whose Pokémon lineup was as luxurious as this man's in front of her!
Making a shushing gesture to her, Natsui whispered, "Please don't be surprised. If possible, could you arrange a separate treatment room for my Pokémon? As you must have seen, some of my Pokémon aren't suitable to be shown in front of the public."
Outstanding professional ethics allowed Nurse Joy to quickly recover her composure after a brief moment of surprise. "Rest assured, in the back of the Pokémon Center, our privacy work has always been done very well. We won't let a Trainer's secrets be exposed!"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Watching Nurse Joy push his Poké Balls into the room, Natsui and Misty each returned to their dormitories. After a simple shower, they changed into new clothes and met up again in the Pokémon Center lobby.
To celebrate their victory, they decided not to have dinner there today. Instead, they would go to a high-end restaurant to celebrate properly.
Before heading to the restaurant, the two of them first strolled through the largest local mall.
Just as Natsui had promised before, he wanted to give Misty a gift to show his gratitude.
However, regarding the choice of this gift, Misty thought for a long time before finally choosing a set of relatively high-end cosmetics.
After paying the bill, watching her walk in front full of joy while carrying several bags, Natsui couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Logically speaking, at her age, she shouldn't care about these things.
But looking at it now, no matter the age, the love for beauty is truly something everyone has…
Let alone in front of the person she likes.
...
Early the next morning, after Natsui ate breakfast, he first retrieved all his stored Poké Balls and immediately began the exchange work.
The four Pokémon—Red Gyarados, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Jolteon—were all transferred back to Sakuragi Park by him. Charizard was also sent to the Charicific Valley to continue its training.
As for the Legendary Birds, he transferred them back to Sabrina's hands. However, after thinking about it, he also transferred Jigglypuff to Sabrina.
That disobedient fellow, Jigglypuff… he had no intention of taking it along on his journey, so he might as well leave it to Sabrina to handle.
He really wanted to see whether Jigglypuff's hypnotic singing was more powerful or if Sabrina's psychic powers were stronger!
A very interesting scene should occur.
Would Jigglypuff draw a funny face on Sabrina, or would Sabrina completely tame Jigglypuff?
After doing all this, he also retrieved the Poké Balls for Dragonite, Scizor, Tyranitar, Eevee, Combusken, Metang, and Feebas, which he had transferred away earlier, back from Sakuragi Park.
These Pokémon were the lineup he wanted to train in the Hoenn region!
After everything was settled, he then took Misty and headed straight for the Petalburg Gym.
Following the main road, the two arrived at the Petalburg Gym with ease. Although it was just past 8:00 AM, the Gym doors were already open. It was clear that Norman was ready to accept challenges from those Trainers at any time.
This dedication could be said to be completely different from Brawly of the previous Dewford Gym!
This visit seemed no different from the last one. The biggest difference was the absence of May and Max, making the Gym feel deserted.
When the two entered the Gym doors and arrived at the battlefield, they saw a middle-aged man from a distance, training his Pokémon there. This man was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a lean body, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes. Just standing there with his arms crossed over his chest was enough to make people sense that he was extraordinary.
How should one put it? It was the aura of a strong person!
Even though it was their first time seeing him, Natsui and Misty knew that this person was May and Max's father, and also the Leader of the Petalburg Gym—Norman!
Norman also sensed someone arriving almost simultaneously and glanced over.
Before Natsui could speak, Norman smiled and said, "You guys are finally here. I've been waiting for your visit."
"Eh?" Misty was stunned and asked in confusion, "You know us?"
"Of course." Norman laughed heartily. "I've heard May and Max talk about you guys several times. Although it's our first meeting, I already know a lot about you from our phone calls!"
Misty realized, "So that's how it is."
Turning his gaze to Natsui, Norman stroked his chin and said, "Presumably, you came this time to challenge the Petalburg Gym, right?"
"That's right. Shall we start now?"
Norman shook his head and smiled. "Don't be in such a rush. Since you are May and Max's friends, you should come and have a cup of tea first."
Hmm?
Have tea?
No longer looking at the bewildered man and woman, Norman turned his head toward the inner room of the Gym and shouted loudly, "Caroline! We have guests! They're May and Max's friends!"
"Coming!"
A woman in her thirties responded and then walked out from inside.
She had long orange-red hair tied into two pigtails shaped like lightning bolts. She was beautiful, with fair skin, and dressed very fashionably. Wearing a pair of pearl earrings, she didn't look like a housewife at all, but more like a cosmopolitan beauty!
This was Norman's wife, and also May and Max's mother—Caroline.
One could only say, she lived up to her reputation as a beauty. It was no wonder she could give birth to such a stunning daughter like May.
It was just…
Natsui and Misty really didn't expect that on this visit to challenge the Gym, instead of starting the fight, they would meet May's mother first!
This feeling was just like suddenly meeting the mother-in-law while being at a loss for what to do!
There was no helping it; they could only greet her politely.
"Hello, Auntie."
"Hello, Miss Caroline."
Compared to Misty's address—which tried to bring their relationship closer from May's perspective—Natsui's address of 'Miss Caroline' undoubtedly put Caroline in a much better mood!
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Sorry, everyone I had the posting schedule set up incorrectly over the last four days, which is why the latest chapters didn't go up. I apologize for the mistake, and thank you for your patience. The uploads should be back on track now.
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