Recalling Dragonair into its Poké Ball, Natsui followed the ladder back from the seabed and into the gym.
He went to the changing room, took off his swimming trunks, tossed the diving goggles and underwater breather aside, and after a quick rinse and drying off, changed back into his regular clothes. By the time he had done all this and met up with Sabrina in the main hall, Ryuji had also just walked over from the other side.
Seeing Natsui, Ryuji gave a wry smile and spread his hands.
"That Dragonair of yours is really amazing. My Pokémon were completely no match for it. May I ask, is it your ace? How did you train it to be so strong?"
Ace?
Natsui pondered for a moment.
How should I answer him? If I tell him that Dragonair is just in my third tier of Pokémon right now, far from being an ace, wouldn't that be too discouraging for him?
After organizing his words a bit, Natsui smiled. "Dragonair hasn't even reached its final form yet; it's still in its growth stage. But I believe that after it evolves, it will definitely become one of my ace Pokémon. As for training, actually, I think if you shorten your ballet practice time and focus more on training their battle abilities, your Pokémon will eventually grow to this level of strength too."
See, expressing the same meaning tactfully. This is the art of language.
And hearing him say this, how could Ryuji not understand that the powerful enemy that had just easily defeated him was just one of his opponent's ordinary Pokémon.
The gap is too obvious. It's really a bit disheartening.
Was my path of wanting to be both a Gym Leader and an excellent synchronized swimmer really wrong?
The two chatted briefly for a while longer. Seeing that a lot of time had passed, Natsui prepared to take his leave.
The Cerulean Gym didn't have any badges or anything to prove that one had defeated Ryuji. Although it lacked some collectible significance, the trip wasn't in vain. At the very least, Dragonair had gained a lot of experience, which was clearly another step towards its evolution.
Waving to Ryuji, under his respectful send-off, Natsui and Sabrina walked out of the Cerulean Gym and once again summoned Charizard.
This time, they didn't linger but planned to head straight for the location of the Saffron Gym—Saffron City.
…
Kanto, Saffron City.
When Natsui and Sabrina arrived here, it was already the early morning of the third day.
Charizard had flown and rested intermittently. From the mid-eastern part of Johto to the central part of Kanto, a journey of nearly two thousand kilometers, excluding the rest stops in between and at night, it had flown for nearly a day and a half.
Such a long journey had left it quite exhausted.
Although Natsui could have switched to other Pokémon like Zapdos on the way to let Charizard rest, he chose not to, instead using the opportunity to train Charizard's endurance, to see where its limits were.
Now, it seemed that Charizard's stamina was indeed very abundant. After flying for so long carrying him and Sabrina, it was only a bit listless.
In the open space in front of the Saffron Gym, Charizard flapped its wings, descended from the sky, and landed.
The gentle breeze it created rustled the grass in the flowerbeds and also blew against the long skirts of a few ladies, causing a few pedestrians on the street to turn and look. Fortunately, people in the city were already used to Pokémon, so it didn't attract too much attention.
Natsui glanced at the Saffron Gym.
Just as he had seen before, after so long, the Saffron Gym had not changed at all. But people's hearts were no longer the same.
With Natsui's help, Sabrina also jumped off Charizard. She looked at the place where she had grown up since she was a child, and for the first time, felt a sense of resistance.
She didn't want to go back at all.
Unfortunately, now that she was here, she also knew that the two of them were bound to part.
She turned around and, for the first time, took the initiative to hug Natsui.
Natsui smelled her beautiful hair, gently patted her on the shoulder, and said softly, "Alright, you're back here now, and you're a cool and aloof Gym Leader. This little-girl look of yours, you absolutely can't let those psychic apprentices training in the gym or the challengers who fear you see it. It will affect your prestige."
Sabrina naturally didn't care about these things, but she still obediently let go.
She kissed him on the cheek, whispered her farewell, and then walked towards the main entrance of the gym. And just before entering, she looked back at Natsui one last time.
"My heart will always belong to you."
Hearing Sabrina's soft yet solemn voice, Natsui couldn't help but be taken aback.
Was that her confession?
He was about to say something, but Sabrina had already entered the gym and disappeared from sight.
Natsui stood there, waved at the empty air, and then stared at the door for a long time. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he sighed and climbed back onto Charizard's back.
At that moment, his mind was filled with memories of his time with Sabrina. But with her no longer by his side, his heart felt empty.
Fortunately, they weren't breaking up, just separating temporarily. Besides contacting each other by phone, he could also come back here to visit her in the future.
Sigh…
Shaking his head, he hid his disappointment.
So, where to next?
Should I go straight back to Johto, or stay in Kanto for a while?
After a moment's thought, Natsui finally decided to go to the Sakuragi Institute first.
After all, having come all this way back, he didn't want to leave immediately. He had to at least say hello to the people who had always taken care of him.
Charizard carried Natsui into the air and flew south.
After flying for another hour or so, he arrived in Vermilion City. But he didn't go directly to bother Professor Sakuragi. Instead, he first went to a gift shop to buy some presents and some fruit before heading to the Sakuragi Institute.
The Sakuragi Institute also hadn't changed at all.
Ding-dong!
Natsui rang the doorbell. When Koharu opened the main door and saw him standing in front of her, her eyes widened, and she stood there stunned for a long time.
Even Professor Sakuragi and the others were extremely surprised by Natsui's sudden visit.
"Natsui? What are you doing back!?"
Natsui smiled and didn't explain the specific reason, just handed the gifts to everyone.
"I came back to Kanto to take care of some things and will be leaving tomorrow. I thought I had some time, so I came to visit you," he said. At this point, Natsui turned to look at Koharu. "What are you doing here? Don't you have school today?"
"Have you lost track of time, Natsui? It's Saturday today. There's no school."
Koharu had already recovered from her shock. Seeing Natsui, she was incredibly happy. Although she maintained a calm expression, her racing heart betrayed her.
And hearing her say this, Natsui also had a moment of realization.
Wandering in the wild every day, either battling or traveling, a normal life had long since left him behind. How could he still remember the specific date?
------------------------
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