Seeing that Danny had already climbed more than ten meters, Natsui didn't delay any longer and also began to ascend, using both his hands and feet.
Although the height of Mt. Navel looked daunting, once Natsui truly cleared his mind and focused on conquering it, he felt a sense of calm.
His movements were a bit clumsy, and he wasn't as agile as Danny, but his strategy was to be slow and steady, taking it one step at a time to ensure he made no mistakes.
Besides, with Haunter secretly protecting him, he didn't have to worry about falling to his death if he lost his footing.
Just then, the rumbling of the track sounded in his ears, and Sabrina, riding the cable car, glided past him on her way to the summit.
Natsui turned his head to look and, through the glass of the cable car, he could see her giving him a small wave.
"You can do it. I'll wait for you at the top."
Although it was just a simple word of encouragement, Natsui was instantly filled with motivation, and with every pull, it felt as if he had an inexhaustible supply of energy!
And after getting over his initial awkwardness, he slowly began to catch up to Danny's pace!
The distance between them grew smaller and smaller, until finally, they were climbing neck and neck.
After about twenty minutes, when they had climbed to the halfway point, Danny stopped and suggested they take a break.
Natsui's stamina was still plentiful, and he had wanted to push on and climb to the summit in one go. But since Danny was the professional, after a moment's thought, he decided to follow his advice.
"Phew..."
Sitting down on a flat rock, Natsui let out a long breath and looked out into the distance.
A few white clouds drifted by, moving slowly with the breeze. They were so close that it seemed he could reach out and touch them.
Their current position was likely the same spot he had seen shrouded in clouds and mist before they landed on Navel Island.
The air here was fresh, and the view was spectacular. They could see the vast ocean in the distance and the island forest below them, a truly refreshing sight!
And most importantly, after climbing here with his bare hands, the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment Natsui felt was simply indescribable!
Seeing his expression, Danny smiled. "For someone's first time rock climbing without equipment, you're doing very well. But you'll need to be careful from now on. From here, although the slope gets gentler, the temperature will drop sharply and become extremely cold!"
Nodding, Natsui said, "No problem, let's go."
Just as Danny had said, after they had rested for a few minutes and passed the halfway point, the rest of the journey no longer required climbing. They could continue upwards on foot, but as the altitude increased, the air became colder, and they even had to be careful not to breathe in the cold wind directly!
After walking another dozen meters, snow began to appear underfoot, and snowflakes even started to fall from the sky!
It felt as if the weather had instantly changed from summer to winter!
After climbing for so long, Natsui still didn't know the exact altitude. He asked Danny, but to his surprise, Danny also shook his head, saying he didn't know.
"Actually, this mountain isn't particularly high. It's just because of the weather conditions that the summit is shrouded in dark clouds year-round, which is why the weather is so variable!"
Treading on the thick snow, the two of them climbed another few hundred meters and finally reached the summit.
By now, the snow was falling more heavily, even affecting their visibility.
And because of the prolonged exertion, Natsui's fingers and calves were already a bit sore. He had been sweating earlier and hadn't felt it much, but now that they were at the summit, the falling snow felt bone-chilling!
Through a gap in the snowfall, he could see dozens of geysers on the summit, continuously erupting amidst the thick snow.
In the distance, Sabrina, who had reached the top earlier, quickly walked out of a small wooden cabin next to the cable car station.
She had a thick red blanket, which she had found somewhere, draped over her shoulders. When she reached Natsui's side, she draped another blanket over his shoulders.
Instantly, with the protection of the thick fleece, Natsui no longer felt cold.
On the other side, Danny, who had been completely ignored, was left speechless by this scene.
There are two people here, why couldn't you have brought one for me too? And besides, that's my blanket...
Shaking his head helplessly, he had no choice but to go into the cabin himself and grab a blanket to put on.
When he walked back in front of Natsui, the confidence had returned to his face.
"Congratulations, you've passed."
After this abrupt congratulation, Danny had expected Natsui and Sabrina to look surprised, but he saw that their expressions were calm, without a hint of astonishment!
"I figured as much," Natsui smiled. "You're the Gym Leader of this Navel Gym, right?"
A deep sense of defeat welled up in Danny's heart. He was silent for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "What? You already knew? You're pretty smart. That's right, I am the Eastern Star of the Southern Cross, the Gym Leader of the Navel Gym—Danny!"
With that, he turned to look at Sabrina and asked hopefully, "And you, miss, did you also guess my identity?"
Looking at Sabrina, her expression was still unchanged. She just glanced at him and said nothing.
She showed no sign of the shock he had imagined she would upon learning his identity!
In truth, after traveling together for so long and picking up on a few small details, Sabrina had also vaguely guessed Danny's identity. But even if he was a Gym Leader, so what?
She really didn't understand why a Gym Leader from a minor-league, remote island would be so keen on revealing his identity in front of her, the Gym Leader of Saffron City, the most prosperous city in the Kanto region.
Seeing that Sabrina was still completely unmoved, Danny opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Forget it. First of all, welcome to the Navel Gym. After passing the initial test, I agree to have a match with you."
With that, Danny held up three fingers. "The Navel Gym match is divided into three rounds. As long as you can win two of them, you'll have successfully completed the challenge. So, the first round is a hot water freezing competition!"
As if on cue, a fissure nearby suddenly erupted, and in an instant, a jet of water several meters high shot into the air.
And from the billowing steam, it was easy to see that even on this icy summit, the water temperature must be extremely hot!
"A freezing competition?"
It seems that just like in Ash's match in the anime, the events here haven't changed.
But...
Natsui rubbed his chin and asked, "But I don't have any Ice-type Pokémon. What should I do?"
Danny crossed his arms and shook his head with feigned regret. "Well, there's nothing to be done about that. You'll just have to forfeit the first match."
"That counts as a loss?" Natsui was taken aback. "Can't we change to a different event? I'm sure many other trainers without Ice-type Pokémon have challenged here before, right? Does everyone have to be judged as having failed?"
"Nope," Danny smiled. "These are my rules, and they must be followed!"
Seeing his firm attitude, Natsui couldn't help but frown.
He still had too few Pokémon, and their type coverage was not very comprehensive, which easily led to awkward situations like this.
But losing without a fight was not his style.
Taking an Ultra Ball from his waist, Natsui said helplessly, "If that's the case, then I can't hold back any longer. It seems I'll have to make an exception and let this guy participate!"
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