After resting for a night at the Pokémon Center, Natsui and Sabrina didn't rush to leave Violet City. Instead, they crossed a lake and went to the Sprout Tower in the northern part of the city.
The Sprout Tower was located within a temple on the outskirts of the city. From its location, the temple was far from the hustle and bustle of the city center, nestled against a mountain and by the water, surrounded by forest—truly a good place for quiet cultivation.
Since admission was free and it was a famous landmark, many tourists came here every day.
But it was only nine in the morning, still early, and the monks had just finished their morning prayers. At this moment, there weren't many tourists visiting the temple.
Natsui and Sabrina walked through the temple gate.
Perhaps it was a psychological effect, but as Natsui stood in the solemn temple, he seemed to faintly feel a sense of Zen surrounding him.
But…
Glancing at Sabrina, Natsui laughed at himself.
What Zen? Get away from me.
He was currently head over heels for Sabrina and was also liked by several young girls. Entangled in the red threads of fate, he was probably destined to have no connection with Buddhism in this life.
Walking a few more steps into the temple, Natsui looked around and found that the layout of the temple was surprisingly simple.
Surrounding them were the monks' living quarters, and he could see a few monks sweeping the courtyard in the distance. And in the center, a three-story wooden tower stood on a stone platform.
This must be the Sprout Tower…
To be honest, after seeing the real thing, Natsui was a bit disappointed.
When he first heard the name, he had thought it would be a six or seven-story building. But now, looking at it, the Sprout Tower was no different from an ordinary wooden tower, with wooden walls and green tiles. It wasn't in the shape of a Bellsprout, nor was it very tall. It was quite different from what he had expected.
Gengar popped its head out of his shadow. It looked around, clearly having the same question.
"I really don't get it. Why is it called the Sprout Tower? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with a Bellsprout."
Natsui looked down, flipping through the travel guide he had gotten from the Pokémon Center. "Well… it seems to say that inside the Sprout Tower, there's a huge pillar that is constantly swaying, maintaining the balance. Because it's like a constantly swaying Bellsprout, that's why it was named that."
"A swaying pillar?" Gengar asked, puzzled. "If it's always swaying, wouldn't the building be very unstable? Why would it be designed like that?"
"I don't really understand the specifics either," Natsui shook his head. "The guide doesn't say. But I heard that this kind of flexible structure has very good earthquake resistance, known as 'flexible construction'. Not just in ancient times, but even many modern buildings still use this construction method. Although it looks like it's swaying, in terms of structure, there's no problem."
As they spoke, Natsui and Sabrina had already climbed the steps and walked into the Sprout Tower through the open gate.
Creak.
Stepping onto the wooden floor, as soon as they entered the tower, their eyes were drawn to the giant wooden pillar that was constantly swaying like a pendulum.
The pillar was about two meters wide, hanging down from the upper floor and extending into the ground, swinging back and forth rhythmically.
"So… so big!"
Gengar, curious, passed through the wall, first looking upstairs, then sinking into the ground. When it flew back to Natsui, it was still muttering in disbelief.
"I just looked. There's no external force driving this pillar. The reason it can keep swinging on its own is entirely due to its clever structure. It's so amazing!"
"Mhm, it is indeed amazing."
Amidst Gengar's incessant chatter, Natsui and Sabrina went up the stairs to the second and third floors.
But to his disappointment again, the entire Sprout Tower, apart from the giant pillar, was really no different from other wooden towers. There was nothing else worth seeing.
He had come with high hopes, only to leave disappointed.
But since it was a famous landmark, and he was already here, Natsui took a few more photos as souvenirs.
They stayed for a while longer, and at eleven in the morning, they had the temple's free vegetarian meal. It had to be said that this simple yet delicious vegetarian meal might have been the biggest gain of their visit.
And it was only during the meal that Natsui suddenly realized that the monks training here all seemed to have a Bellsprout.
He figured that to match the temple's name, they had chosen to catch Bellsprout to train with them.
After eating their fill, Natsui and Sabrina put their hands together, said their farewells to the monks, and then turned and left, heading straight out of Violet City.
Since they still had a few days before their appointment with Looker, their next destination was to continue northeast, pass through the vast, dense forest, and go directly to Blackthorn City to challenge the gym there.
And after the gym battle, they would turn west to reach Mahogany Town and meet up with Looker.
The two walked along the wide road for half an hour. Just as they were about to enter the forest, they saw a red sports car speeding towards them from the distance.
The sports car sped past Natsui, kicking up a cloud of dust. And before the dust had even settled, the car had reversed and come back.
The scene was so familiar that Natsui subconsciously looked inside the car.
Sure enough, in the passenger seat, he saw an 'old acquaintance' of about Ash's age.
"Hmm? Gary?"
Needless to say, the person making such an entrance was, of course, Gary.
Just like before, Gary's car was filled with scantily clad young women. He sat in the passenger seat, looking at Natsui, also very surprised.
"Natsui? I can't believe I ran into you here!"
"I'm also very surprised," Natsui said, waving at him, then looked down at his sports car. "Long time no see. It seems you're still the same, still like to travel by sports car."
"Of course," Gary said, crossing his arms and lifting his chin. "This is the fastest way to travel. It's countless times faster than you people who walk!"
Seeing Gary, Natsui naturally thought of Ash and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, since you're here, have you seen Ash?"
Gary snorted. "We just parted ways at the lab yesterday. That guy also set off for here, but at his pace, he's probably still crawling along the Indigo Plateau."
Still at the Indigo Plateau?
That really is slow.
Refocusing his attention on Gary, Natsui, just as he had when they first met, once again took a Poké Ball from his pouch, tossed it in his hand a few times, looked at him, and smiled. "So, long time no see. Want to have a battle with me now?"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing his words, Gary shook his head.
"Now? Let's not. Our big showdown has to wait for the Silver Conference. At that time, I definitely won't lose to you again, and I'll let you have a taste of defeat!"
With that, he ignored Natsui, waved his hand, and as the young woman driving stepped on the gas, the sports car sped away.
Vroom!
Dust once again filled the air.
And watching his receding figure, Natsui couldn't help but smile.
This is great. Strong opponents are appearing one after another. With all the unknown opponents as well, the Silver Conference is sure to be very lively.
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