Leaving the Dragon's Holy Land, the sky was already dusk.
The feeling after a great battle was undoubtedly refreshing.
As Natsui and the others walked out of the mountains, they looked up at the sky and saw, under the orange-red clouds, a flock of over a dozen Pidgey flying leisurely in a 'V' formation over the mountain peaks.
Everything was so harmonious and peaceful.
Looking towards the not-so-distant Blackthorn City, they could see that the city lights had already come on. Adorned with house lights, car lights, streetlights, and various neon signs, the entire city was bursting with amazing vitality, in stark contrast to the quiet surrounding forest.
It had to be said, as expected of a city surrounded by mountains, one could enjoy such a meaningful and magnificent view at this time every day.
No one would ever guess that a fierce battle had just erupted in a certain valley in these mountains.
After escorting the Team Rocket grunts for a while longer, Natsui and his group finally met up with Officer Jenny, who had come with a team to take them into custody, outside Blackthorn City.
Officer Jenny highly praised them for capturing so many Team Rocket grunts at once, and she was also very regretful about Vicious's escape.
"We were so close to catching him. Sigh, to let a top executive of Team Rocket escape just like that is truly a pity. But in any case, you've managed to capture so many ordinary members, which is undoubtedly another heavy blow to Team Rocket. You've really helped us a lot."
"Vicious won't be rampant for long," Lance said in a deep voice. "To dare to attack the Dragon's Holy Land with such a dangerous Poké Ball, the Great Elder has already given the order. The other Dragon Tamers in our clan will hunt him down after receiving the news. We won't rest until he is caught!"
To be able to talk so openly about the Dragon's Holy Land and the Great Elder in front of Officer Jenny showed just how close the relationship between the Dragon Tamers and the Blackthorn City police was. Natsui could even boldly guess that, having operated here for hundreds of years, perhaps the entire city was already under the control of the Dragon Tamer clan.
The two chatted for a few more moments, and seeing that it was about time, Lance left Kabu with Officer Jenny to handle the transfer, while he and Clair, along with Natsui and Sabrina, continued towards Blackthorn City.
Before leaving, Natsui looked back at the Team Rocket grunts.
At that moment, the police officers who had come with Officer Jenny were handcuffing them. One could imagine that what awaited these people would be years, or even decades, of prison life.
Just as Officer Jenny had said, they had indeed once again weakened Team Rocket's power.
But these people, who were about the same age as Natsui, had gone astray, and for the sake of one person's absurd ambition, had thrown away the best years of their lives behind bars. It was truly not worth it.
Hopefully, in the days to come, they would come to their senses soon.
The rest of the way was silent. By the time the group returned to the Blackthorn Gym, the sun had completely set.
After the day's battle and the long journey back and forth, everyone was very tired, so Clair did not arrange a gym battle, postponing it until tomorrow.
At the warm invitation of Lance and Clair, Natsui and Sabrina did not look for other accommodation but stayed directly at the Blackthorn Gym.
Although it was called a gym, it was actually a large manor, fully equipped with guest rooms, a dining hall, bathrooms, and other facilities, all of which were very luxuriously decorated.
And for two outsiders not from the Dragon Tamer clan to be invited to stay here showed that they had gained a great deal of recognition from these people.
Hmm… if I were to think of this in terms of other games, my reputation with the Dragon Tamer clan should be at least 'Friendly' or higher now, right?
After a short rest, Natsui and Sabrina were invited to the dining hall again.
A five-meter-long wooden table, high-stemmed glasses, white plates, gorgeous curtains, Pokémon ornaments, and a marble floor—when all these elements came together under the bright lights, the dining hall looked equally magnificent.
Even the knives and forks Natsui and the others used were exquisite silverware, which was an eye-opener for him and allowed him to deeply appreciate just how wealthy the Dragon Tamer clan was.
On the other side of the table, Lance and Clair had both changed out of their daytime attire into casual clothes.
Setting Lance aside, Clair was actually quite good-looking.
It was just that her strange hairstyle affected her appearance a bit, and her toned muscles made her look less delicate than other female trainers.
"Let's toast to this victory!"
"Cheers!"
During dinner, the group chatted happily, but it was mostly Lance and Natsui who were talking, with Clair occasionally chiming in. As for Sabrina, she had no intention of speaking at all and just ate the food in front of her elegantly.
Downing the expensive red wine, Natsui couldn't tell if it was good or bad, only that it was all the same bitter and pungent taste.
When he ate the high-end ingredients, although he could feel they were very delicious, he couldn't say what was so good about them compared to ordinary ingredients.
But in any case, Natsui enjoyed the meal very much.
After dinner, Clair arranged separate rooms for Natsui and Sabrina.
However… she clearly didn't realize that the two were in a romantic relationship and still thought they were just traveling companions.
Natsui couldn't say anything about this and could only smile wryly as he walked into his own room under Sabrina's teasing gaze.
After entering the room, Natsui composed himself and the first thing he did was wash off the dust.
He hummed a song he liked from Earth and took a comfortable hot bath in the bathroom, washing away his fatigue. However, just as he lay down on the bed, he saw Gengar approach with a sleazy look on its face.
"What's wrong with you?" Natsui gave it a strange look. "Why do you look so weird? You're smiling so vulgarly. Did you find some money?"
"What use is money to me? It's just a piece of paper, what's so special about it!" Gengar first rolled its eyes, then said with a grin, "I'll show you something good!"
As it spoke, it reached into its body and, from somewhere, pulled out a black Poké Ball.
Hmm?
Natsui looked closely and saw that it was Vicious's Dark Ball.
"A Dark Ball!?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief. "How did you get it?"
"Hehe," Gengar grinned, looking extremely smug. "Everyone else saw me destroy the Dark Balls in Vicious's hand. But actually, I secretly kept the one that hadn't been used yet."
"Well, I'll be damned. You're really something," Natsui said, shaking his head. "That was a brilliant sleight of hand. You fooled not just me, but Sabrina, Lance, and Clair too. We really thought you had destroyed all the Dark Balls in your hand at that time."
Taking the Dark Ball, Natsui examined it carefully.
Compared to a regular Poké Ball, the Dark Ball was not much different in shape. It was just that its all-black body had a dozen or so gray stripes on it.
Holding it in his hand, Natsui played with it over and over, but he didn't feel any surprise.
To be honest, with a Master Ball in his possession, he had no desire to use this kind of thing.
As a proper trainer, he disdained snatching Pokémon from others. Moreover, Pokémon caught with a Dark Ball would become evil, and their minds would be severely affected.
"Forget it. Since I have it, I'll just keep it as a souvenir, as a collector's item. Sigh, I really hope I never have to use it in the future…"
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