As they went deeper into the crystal forest, the path became more difficult to travel. The crystals became denser, and the various bizarre trees, with their lush branches and leaves, were extremely sturdy after being crystallized, unable to be broken or bent. This made it almost impossible for them to move forward. Sometimes, they had to climb to a very high place to continue.
And to avoid being discovered by Entei and exposing their position, they didn't dare to ride a Pokémon and fly over so conspicuously.
Fortunately, they soon discovered a small river that was still flowing. Perhaps because it was constantly moving, the river water had not been crystallized.
This was good news.
The river was wide, and even if there were crystal trees on the side, they couldn't extend into the river. If they could follow the river upstream, they could reach the manor unimpeded.
With this in mind, Natsui went directly into the water to test it.
The river was not deep, nor was the current too strong. It only came up to his ankles, and the deepest part only reached his calves. And most importantly, it led straight to their destination, saving them a lot of time and energy.
Although this would inevitably get their shoes and pants wet, these were all trainers used to roughing it. No one cared about such a small thing.
It was just that the river water was a bit cold, and after walking for a long time, their feet inevitably began to ache. But in any case, it was much better than traveling on land.
Seeing him wave, the others all went into the water and began to move upstream.
After walking for a few minutes without encountering any danger, they relaxed a bit. But Natsui still reminded them to stay vigilant and be as quiet as possible to avoid being discovered by Entei.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a jet of flame suddenly shot across the sky, speeding over their heads.
The group looked up and saw Entei standing on a high rock in the distance. It was the one that had just launched the attack, but its target was not them, but a hot-air balloon high in the sky.
The flames shot across the sky and accurately hit the balloon.
After a violent explosion, the balloon was directly destroyed. And amidst the countless fragments of the balloon, a few screams were suddenly heard, and then three figures of different sizes fell like meteors towards the crystal petals.
Needless to say, the only ones who could still be following them at this time were the unlucky Team Rocket trio.
The Team Rocket trio's balloon was too conspicuous, and Entei's attention had been drawn to them, which was why it had attacked them.
Although these guys were very unlucky, in a way, the Team Rocket trio had also helped to divert attention for Natsui and the others.
Seeing Entei turn its neck, Natsui's mind moved, and he quickly signaled the others to get ashore and hide.
And just as they had hidden themselves, they saw Entei scan the surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze.
Seeing that there was nothing unusual, it then returned to the petal tower.
So cautious…
Natsui sighed inwardly, then looked in the direction where Team Rocket had fallen.
He said with a light laugh, "Thank you so much to Team Rocket this time. You could say they helped us draw the fire. I hope they landed safely. To be honest, I admit I was too harsh on those guys before. If I meet them next time, I'll definitely go easy on them."
Hearing Natsui's joke, Misty couldn't help but smile. "I agree! I just don't know if they'll be happy to hear that news."
After this interlude, they went back into the water. After walking a few hundred more meters, they finally arrived at the foot of the manor.
At this moment, the entire manor was completely surrounded by crystal. From the outside, there was no trace of any building at all. It was truly no different from a flower petal made of crystal.
Fortunately, there was still a drainage outlet that had not been blocked, allowing them to enter the interior of the petal tower from there.
However, the outlet was over ten meters above the ground, and the walls were extremely smooth. On their own, it was impossible for them to climb up.
A continuous stream of water flowed down from the high place, converging into the river and splashing up countless water droplets.
Natsui and Ash exchanged a look, knowing that at this time, they had to rely on the power of their Pokémon.
The two took out their Poké Balls respectively and summoned their Flying-type Pokémon.
Natsui sent out Charizard, while Ash sent out the shiny Noctowl.
As the blue light faded, Charizard consciously came to Natsui's front.
He extended a hand to Misty, and as she came over, Natsui directly picked her up and then jumped onto Charizard, which then carried the two of them up to the drainage outlet.
As for Ash's Noctowl, with its size, it was impossible for it to carry both him and Brock up to the outlet.
But out of pride, and not wanting to bother Natsui, Ash could only use a slightly more troublesome method.
He took out two more Poké Balls and released his Bulbasaur and Chikorita. He then had Noctowl first send the two Pokémon up to the outlet, and then had them use their Vine Whips together to tie around his and Brock's bodies and slowly climb up.
Although this was a bit slower, they weren't girls like Misty and should be self-reliant.
After Ash had climbed up, Natsui couldn't help but ask, "Where's your Charizard? Why didn't you just send it out?"
Ash shrugged. "I left it at the Charicific Valley to train."
The Charicific Valley. So Ash has already been there.
If he had the time, Natsui also wanted to go there to take a look, and also to let his own Charizard train there for a bit.
Of course, he was different from Ash; he wouldn't leave his Charizard there permanently.
After a short rest, they entered the interior of the petal tower through the drainage outlet and came to a greenhouse.
The noise of the flowing water covered their conversation and footsteps. Nevertheless, they were still very careful, cautiously looking around.
Looking around, Natsui found that the place had been eroded by the crystal beyond recognition. The originally beautiful plants had all turned into crystal forms. Only a patch of land surrounded by a pool, with a flower room on it, had been spared and remained in its original state.
But…
It had to be said, as expected of a professor, his family was very wealthy. This greenhouse was almost the size of a Pokémon Center. He was really rich.
And just as the group was wading through the water to enter the flower room, he suddenly received a call from Erika.
When the call connected, before Natsui could speak, Erika's rather helpless voice came from the other end.
"I have some unfortunate news for you. Your actions have been discovered by Professor Oak."
"Huh? How so fast!?"
Natsui had thought their actions would be noticed, but he never expected to be discovered by Professor Oak just as they had arrived.
After Erika explained for a few moments, Natsui finally understood. It turned out that as they were crossing the river just now, they had been spotted by that TV reporter and had been recorded the entire time.
And Professor Oak and the others had only learned that they had snuck away through the live television broadcast.
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