The woman was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with long, reddish-brown hair styled into three ponytails. She wore a long skirt and a black tank top. Although she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, at first glance, the impression she gave Natsui was that of a fiery woman who had spent her life by the sea.
When she drew closer, she looked at the boy still circling in the air and sighed helplessly, as if lamenting his failure to live up to expectations.
"Tad, what trouble have you gotten into now? Didn't I tell you to clean your room? How did you sneak out again?"
The boy, Tad, shouted, "Sister! Help me! They're here to challenge the Gym!"
Sister?
So, she's the Gym Leader of Tangelo Gym!
Natsui had expected her to rescue her brother first, but to his surprise, she merely glanced at the situation, seemed to understand what had happened, and then ignored her brother, turning her attention instead to him and Sabrina.
"I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Cissy, I'm the Gym Leader of the Tangelo Gym, and also the Western Star of the Orange Islands' 'Southern Cross'."
This so-called Southern Cross was, in fact, the collective name for the Gym Leaders of the several local gyms in the Orange Archipelago!
Due to a matter of perspective, the brilliant constellation was not easily visible in regions outside the Orange Islands, so it had become a unique feature of the archipelago, symbolizing—the most brilliant existences in the Orange Islands!
However, seeing her stand with her hands on her hips, showing no intention of shaking hands, Natsui also remained where he was.
"I'm Natsui, and I've come specifically to challenge you. And this is my companion, Sabrina."
"Natsui?"
Hearing the name, Cissy frowned, as if trying to remember something.
Only after studying his face carefully did she have a flash of realization. "I remember now! I was wondering why your name and face looked so familiar! You're this year's undefeated Indigo Conference Champion!"
Natsui hadn't expected to be recognized even in the distant Orange Islands. It seemed the influence of the Indigo League was not limited to the Kanto mainland!
"That's right, it's me." Since there was nothing to hide, Natsui admitted it freely.
"I can't believe it's really you!" Cissy smiled. "To think that after conquering the Indigo Conference, your next target would be a small, remote league like ours! It's quite an honor!"
"Please don't say that, Miss Cissy," Natsui said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "A Pokémon battle doesn't distinguish between large or small leagues. As long as I think it's worthwhile, I'll travel across the ocean to get there, no matter how far."
Hearing this, Cissy couldn't help but applaud. "Spoken like a true champion! You certainly have a way with words!"
Only then did she speak with sincerity. "Speaking of which, my disappointing little brother has really caused you trouble. I've scolded him many times before, but he just can't seem to kick this habit of playing pranks. Whatever he did just now, I apologize on his behalf. Could I ask you to let him down, for my sake?"
Although she was complaining about her brother, a hint of affection could still be heard in her tone.
There was nothing to be said. He was her brother, after all, and since Cissy had pleaded so earnestly, Natsui signaled to Sabrina to let Tad down.
However, after a moment's thought, Natsui added a stern warning. "Miss Cissy, I'd advise you to keep a better eye on him. This time, he was lucky to run into us. If he encounters someone more vicious, there's no telling what more egregious things they might do to him."
"..." Cissy gave an awkward smile, her expression a bit embarrassed as she nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be stricter with him."
Nearby, as Tad's feet touched the ground, his legs gave out, and he collapsed, vomiting heavily!
The dizziness in his head felt as if he had ridden the pirate ship ride at an amusement park dozens of times in a row; he was completely disoriented!
After he had recovered a bit, his gaze towards Sabrina was now filled with sheer terror!
What... what a terrifying woman!
She's even scarier than my sister!
They continued towards the sea, and under Cissy's guidance, Natsui and Sabrina arrived inside the Tangelo Gym.
Standing on the floor, Natsui looked around and found that not only did the Gym look like a warehouse from the outside, but its interior decoration was also very simple. Compared to the lavish gyms in the Kanto region, it was far too humble!
As Sabrina and Tad each went to the sidelines of the battle area, Natsui also refocused his thoughts and looked at Cissy on the other side.
"Miss Cissy, may I ask what the battle rules are here?"
"Good question," Cissy smiled. "Actually, the Gym battles in the Orange League are quite different from those in the Kanto region. In the past, many challengers who only knew how to battle and didn't understand the local customs would just demand a battle right away. It really gave me a headache!"
With that, she took out a remote control and pressed a few buttons. A nearby panel opened, revealing a row of empty cans. Then, the battlefield beneath their feet split down the middle, revealing a standard rectangular swimming pool!
Once the pool was fully revealed, Cissy opened a Poké Ball and released a Seadra into it.
"Alright, now that you're here, regardless of whether you're the Indigo Conference Champion, I, Cissy, the Western Star of the Southern Cross, accept your challenge!"
"The upcoming match will be held in three different stages. For the first stage, we will each send out one Water-type Pokémon and use Water Gun to hit those empty cans in sequence. Whoever hits the most cans will win the first round!"
In the stands, hearing that such a match format existed, Sabrina couldn't help but frown in surprise.
Is this really a Gym battle, and not some children's game of playing house!?
How ridiculous. To think that the esteemed Orange League would use such a childish method for its competitions. No wonder the trainers here are so weak!
Compared to Sabrina's thoughts, Natsui actually had no objection to this battle format.
Although it was different from an intense confrontation and looked very simple, it required a high degree of precision from the Pokémon!
For a Pokémon that hadn't been trained in this area, or whose proficiency was not high enough, completing this challenge would undoubtedly be very difficult.
"No problem. Then the Pokémon I'm sending out is this one!"
Natsui opened a Poké Ball. As the blue light faded, a Blastoise appeared in the swimming pool.
Among his Pokémon, only Blastoise and Gyarados were Water-types. However, Gyarados was all about destruction and would be completely unable to perform such a delicate task. Therefore, Natsui had no choice but to send out Blastoise for this challenge.
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