"It's like this…" Luana said, a bit embarrassed. "Actually, my son Travis left on a journey with a Pikachu last year. But he's been gone for nearly a year now, and I haven't heard from him at all. No news, nothing. It's really worrying!"
Natsui raised his eyebrows. "So, you want me to help you find your son?"
"That's right," Luana said with a wry smile. "Between the gym and the hotel, I have so much to manage that I really can't get away or leave the island. So I was thinking, if you happen to meet him during your travels, could you please ask him to come back soon?"
No news at all?
Did he run away from home? Or is he just on a journey?
Natsui pondered for a moment.
As a son, that really wasn't right. No matter what, he should at least send a message or make a phone call.
But for such a situation to arise, one could imagine that either there was a problem with their family dynamics, or this boy named Travis had some sort of conflict with his family.
"Don't worry. His name is Travis, right? If I meet him, I'll definitely persuade him to come back."
Luana said gratefully, "Thank you so much for that. But that child is a bit stubborn and has a mind of his own. If he refuses to come back, at least ask him to give me a call!"
"I can do that…" Natsui shook his head. "But don't get your hopes up too high. The world is a big place, and I can't guarantee that I'll definitely meet him."
Luana, however, didn't seem too worried about this. She said, "Actually, you both have the same goal, to go to the Johto region and challenge the Silver League. So I think there's a high chance you'll meet when the Silver Conference begins!"
"He's also challenging the Silver League?" This surprised Natsui a bit. "That is quite a coincidence. Alright, I'll keep an eye out."
He didn't dare to make a firm promise. What if Travis didn't participate in the League Conference, or was delayed by something along the way? It would be wrong to give Luana false hope.
Seeing Natsui agree, Luana was overjoyed. She bowed slightly and said with sincere thanks, "Then I'm counting on you!"
…
Leaving the Trovita Gym, Natsui and Sabrina mounted Charizard and headed for their final destination—Pummelo Island!
That was where the Orange League headquarters was located. And the strongest trainer in the Orange League, the pride of the islands—Drake—was stationed in the Pummelo Stadium, awaiting challengers.
They rode the wind all the way.
High in the sky, watching the clouds drift by, Natsui couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. "Time really flies. Before I knew it, our journey in the Orange Archipelago is already coming to an end."
At that moment, one of his hands was wrapped around Sabrina. Perhaps from sitting for too long and feeling a bit bored, his hand began to get restless, slowly starting to wander upwards.
He gave a firm squeeze, feeling the softness in his hand. It wasn't until Sabrina gently tapped his hand that Natsui chuckled and behaved himself.
"What, from your tone, it sounds like you're fond of this place?" she said, annoyed.
"Of course," Natsui said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "The sun is warm here, the scenery is beautiful, it's really a great place to travel. And most importantly, I hope to spend more time with you."
Hearing his suddenly cheesy romantic words, a light smile appeared on Sabrina's face, and her heart softened a bit.
She didn't speak, but instead leaned back gently, pressing against his chest.
In truth, for Sabrina, the Orange Archipelago also held many wonderful memories. It was here that she and Natsui had come together, and she had become a true woman.
The two enjoyed the tender moment. However, after a few minutes, Sabrina suddenly let out a small sound of surprise and fixed her gaze on a spot on the sea surface below.
"I think that's that boy, Ash, down there."
"Ash?"
Hearing Sabrina say this, Natsui looked down and saw a small black dot moving on the surface of the sea.
He had Charizard descend, and as they got closer, Natsui could see that it was Ash and the others, riding on a Lapras, heading in the direction they had just come from.
"Hey, Ash, Misty!" Natsui shouted loudly.
Hearing Natsui's voice, Ash and Misty quickly stood up and looked towards the sky.
"Natsui!"
Misty's face lit up with surprise as she waved at him continuously.
Once Charizard was level with Lapras, Natsui leaped onto its back.
Lapras's body dipped down. Carrying four people was a bit of a strain for it.
"Where are you guys headed?" Natsui asked.
"Hehe, to Trovita Island to challenge the Trovita Gym, of course!" Ash said, rubbing his nose.
"So that means you've already gotten three badges?" Natsui nodded repeatedly. "That's really fast."
Hearing this, Ash couldn't wait to ask, "What about you, Natsui? Have you already gotten the fourth badge?"
"You idiot, do you even need to ask!?" Before Natsui could speak, Misty had already rolled her eyes at Ash and said in an admiring tone, "Natsui is way stronger than you, of course he already has the fourth badge! And didn't you see, he's coming from the direction of Trovita Island!"
Ash scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. After Misty's reminder, he clearly realized his own slowness.
Natsui waved his hand and smiled. "Misty's right, I've already reached the final stage. Next up, I'm going to challenge the final boss!"
"Aww…" Ash looked a bit dejected and sighed. "Darn it, I rushed as fast as I could, but I'm still one step behind you!"
"Don't worry," Natsui comforted him. "What's the difference between being a little earlier or a little later? It just means a few more days' delay, that's all."
As they were talking, they suddenly noticed Tracey, who was leaning over and dipping a glass bottle into the sea.
The seawater quickly filled the bottle.
"What are you doing?" Misty asked curiously.
"Collecting samples, of course," Tracey explained, tightening the cap. "Have you all forgotten? I'm a Pokémon Watcher. Investigating the differences in seawater to see what the habitat is like here is also part of my job."
Just then, Ash's Pikachu seemed to have suddenly noticed something and cried out at the water beneath them.
Everyone looked down and saw a large, dark shadow rapidly approaching them from under the water.
From its silhouette, it looked like a large marine creature, like a whale.
However, before anyone could react, the shadow passed beneath them and revealed itself in front of them.
With a splash of water, Natsui and the others saw a rather crudely made submarine appear before them.
"It's like this…" Luana said, a bit embarrassed. "Actually, my son Travis left on a journey with a Pikachu last year. But he's been gone for nearly a year now, and I haven't heard from him at all. No news, nothing. It's really worrying!"
Natsui raised his eyebrows. "So, you want me to help you find your son?"
"That's right," Luana said with a wry smile. "Between the gym and the hotel, I have so much to manage that I really can't get away or leave the island. So I was thinking, if you happen to meet him during your travels, could you please ask him to come back soon?"
No news at all?
Did he run away from home? Or is he just on a journey?
Natsui pondered for a moment.
As a son, that really wasn't right. No matter what, he should at least send a message or make a phone call.
But for such a situation to arise, one could imagine that either there was a problem with their family dynamics, or this boy named Travis had some sort of conflict with his family.
"Don't worry. His name is Travis, right? If I meet him, I'll definitely persuade him to come back."
Luana said gratefully, "Thank you so much for that. But that child is a bit stubborn and has a mind of his own. If he refuses to come back, at least ask him to give me a call!"
"I can do that…" Natsui shook his head. "But don't get your hopes up too high. The world is a big place, and I can't guarantee that I'll definitely meet him."
Luana, however, didn't seem too worried about this. She said, "Actually, you both have the same goal, to go to the Johto region and challenge the Silver League. So I think there's a high chance you'll meet when the Silver Conference begins!"
"He's also challenging the Silver League?" This surprised Natsui a bit. "That is quite a coincidence. Alright, I'll keep an eye out."
He didn't dare to make a firm promise. What if Travis didn't participate in the League Conference, or was delayed by something along the way? It would be wrong to give Luana false hope.
Seeing Natsui agree, Luana was overjoyed. She bowed slightly and said with sincere thanks, "Then I'm counting on you!"
…
Leaving the Trovita Gym, Natsui and Sabrina mounted Charizard and headed for their final destination—Pummelo Island!
That was where the Orange League headquarters was located. And the strongest trainer in the Orange League, the pride of the islands—Drake—was stationed in the Pummelo Stadium, awaiting challengers.
They rode the wind all the way.
High in the sky, watching the clouds drift by, Natsui couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. "Time really flies. Before I knew it, our journey in the Orange Archipelago is already coming to an end."
At that moment, one of his hands was wrapped around Sabrina. Perhaps from sitting for too long and feeling a bit bored, his hand began to get restless, slowly starting to wander upwards.
He gave a firm squeeze, feeling the softness in his hand. It wasn't until Sabrina gently tapped his hand that Natsui chuckled and behaved himself.
"What, from your tone, it sounds like you're fond of this place?" she said, annoyed.
"Of course," Natsui said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "The sun is warm here, the scenery is beautiful, it's really a great place to travel. And most importantly, I hope to spend more time with you."
Hearing his suddenly cheesy romantic words, a light smile appeared on Sabrina's face, and her heart softened a bit.
She didn't speak, but instead leaned back gently, pressing against his chest.
In truth, for Sabrina, the Orange Archipelago also held many wonderful memories. It was here that she and Natsui had come together, and she had become a true woman.
The two enjoyed the tender moment. However, after a few minutes, Sabrina suddenly let out a small sound of surprise and fixed her gaze on a spot on the sea surface below.
"I think that's that boy, Ash, down there."
"Ash?"
Hearing Sabrina say this, Natsui looked down and saw a small black dot moving on the surface of the sea.
He had Charizard descend, and as they got closer, Natsui could see that it was Ash and the others, riding on a Lapras, heading in the direction they had just come from.
"Hey, Ash, Misty!" Natsui shouted loudly.
Hearing Natsui's voice, Ash and Misty quickly stood up and looked towards the sky.
"Natsui!"
Misty's face lit up with surprise as she waved at him continuously.
Once Charizard was level with Lapras, Natsui leaped onto its back.
Lapras's body dipped down. Carrying four people was a bit of a strain for it.
"Where are you guys headed?" Natsui asked.
"Hehe, to Trovita Island to challenge the Trovita Gym, of course!" Ash said, rubbing his nose.
"So that means you've already gotten three badges?" Natsui nodded repeatedly. "That's really fast."
Hearing this, Ash couldn't wait to ask, "What about you, Natsui? Have you already gotten the fourth badge?"
"You idiot, do you even need to ask!?" Before Natsui could speak, Misty had already rolled her eyes at Ash and said in an admiring tone, "Natsui is way stronger than you, of course he already has the fourth badge! And didn't you see, he's coming from the direction of Trovita Island!"
Ash scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. After Misty's reminder, he clearly realized his own slowness.
Natsui waved his hand and smiled. "Misty's right, I've already reached the final stage. Next up, I'm going to challenge the final boss!"
"Aww…" Ash looked a bit dejected and sighed. "Darn it, I rushed as fast as I could, but I'm still one step behind you!"
"Don't worry," Natsui comforted him. "What's the difference between being a little earlier or a little later? It just means a few more days' delay, that's all."
As they were talking, they suddenly noticed Tracey, who was leaning over and dipping a glass bottle into the sea.
The seawater quickly filled the bottle.
"What are you doing?" Misty asked curiously.
"Collecting samples, of course," Tracey explained, tightening the cap. "Have you all forgotten? I'm a Pokémon Watcher. Investigating the differences in seawater to see what the habitat is like here is also part of my job."
Just then, Ash's Pikachu seemed to have suddenly noticed something and cried out at the water beneath them.
Everyone looked down and saw a large, dark shadow rapidly approaching them from under the water.
From its silhouette, it looked like a large marine creature, like a whale.
However, before anyone could react, the shadow passed beneath them and revealed itself in front of them.
With a splash of water, Natsui and the others saw a rather crudely made submarine appear before them.