Phoebe looked the same as before. He had not seen her for a few days, but she did not look different at all.
"Phoebe, you scared me!"
Misty patted her chest. She still felt the shock. They had been through a lot together and traveled for over a day. Because she had been surprised, she did not use polite titles with this Elite Four member anymore. It seemed they could talk like normal friends.
Phoebe rubbed her nose and smiled. "Chuckle, I am like a Ghost Pokémon. I come and go without a trace!"
Natsui was also surprised to see her appear now. However, he immediately took the two bags from his back and handed them to her.
"Keep them safe. Do not let anyone steal them this time."
Phoebe took the bags and gave Natsui a deep bow.
"Natsui, Miss Anabel told me what happened. Thank you so much! Don't worry, I will keep them safe this time. I believe that without ambitious people like Maxie and Archie, no one else will try to take them!"
Natsui and Misty looked at each other.
Clearly, Phoebe did not know that Necrozma had saved Maxie and Archie. It seemed Anabel had hidden the news on purpose. She did not want to cause a panic. So, she even hid the truth from an Elite Four member.
This was the right thing to do, but they did not actually need to be too careful.
Even though Maxie and Archie were taken away, their current situation meant they could not move freely. As for whether Necrozma would help them capture Groudon and Kyogre—if it really came to that, hiding the orbs anywhere would be useless.
But since Anabel had not mentioned it, they did not tell Phoebe about it either.
"How are your grandfather and grandmother?"
"They are all settled," Phoebe laughed. "The League helped me build a new house in the same spot as before. It isn't finished yet, but I think they can return to their peaceful life very soon."
Natsui nodded. Now, everything here was truly finished.
Next, they could continue their journey without any distractions.
They chatted for a few more minutes. They turned down Phoebe's kind offer for a meal and waved goodbye to her.
As she watched them walk away, Phoebe held the two bags tightly. She kept her gratitude in her heart.
...
The Hoenn Pokémon Grand Festival is held in Slateport City.
Natsui and Misty were familiar with this city. They had been here before. They had visited the Oceanic Museum, met Drew, and watched May compete in a Contest for the first time.
Returning this time felt like visiting a familiar place.
After traveling for two days, they arrived at the city. Ash and the others had already been there for a long time. However, they were not staying in the city. They were staying in the Contest Village for the Grand Festival!
Just like the Pokémon League, the officials took the Grand Festival very seriously. They built a fancy stadium. A Pokémon Center, dorms, cafeteria, and training rooms were all included.
It was located by the sea in Slateport City. It was made of two parts: the harbor and the competition area. The entire stadium area looked like a pentagon. It was surrounded by tall buildings and open-air fields. In the very center was a fancy, pentagon-shaped battle arena!
The functions were different, but it was just as crowded as the Pokémon League. It showed how popular it was. You could see how much people were looking forward to the Grand Festival.
In terms of popularity, it was only slightly behind the Pokémon League.
When they entered the Contest Village dorms, Misty and May met. The two girls held hands and talked excitedly.
"May! I can't believe you really did it!"
"Yeah, to be honest, I didn't think I could win five ribbons either. I can't believe I can join the Grand Festival!"
"It's all because of your hard work!"
This was the friendship between girls...
While the two girls were talking, Natsui looked at Ash. Ash happened to look back at the same time.
Natsui smiled first and said, "Did you collect eight badges too?"
"Of course!" Just like May, Ash's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I can't wait for the Conference!"
"Yeah, the Ever Grande Conference. I am looking forward to it too."
Then, Ash seemed to remember something. He quickly asked Natsui, "Natsui, since you have all your badges, can we travel together for the next few days?"
"I think so, unless something happens. Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Great!" Hearing Natsui's answer, Ash jumped up. "We can have big meals again!!"
This guy...
Natsui thought he had something important to say. It turned out to be this!?
He really was a glutton.
Natsui was a bit speechless, but it also showed that Ash truly saw him as a close older brother.
If it were anyone else, even a very familiar friend, Ash would not say that.
It seemed he saw Natsui as both a rival to chase and someone to rely on.
At this time, Natsui also met May's mother, Caroline. He was not surprised to see her. This was a big event. A mother would naturally come to cheer for her daughter.
However, for May, it was a bit sad. Her father, Norman, was busy at the Gym. He could only cheer for her on TV from home.
Back to the main topic.
They went to the fancy dorms. In May's room, Natsui learned about the schedule for the Festival.
It was split into the preliminary round and the main tournament. Tomorrow, the preliminary round would start first. On the Appeal Stage, they would choose 64 coordinators from the 247 entries. Those 64 would go to the main tournament. Then, they would fight for the final victory.
It sounded just like the Pokémon League.
Since the preliminary was tomorrow, May was naturally nervous. After chatting for a while, Misty suggested they go to the training field. Everyone except Natsui went to do their final practice.
As for Natsui, he did not join them. He was only there as a spectator this time. He was happy to be free.
Natsui watched Misty and the others leave noisily. He shook his head. He took this chance to go to the snack street next to the stadium. He planned to walk around.
This was a rare experience. If he were competing, he could not be this relaxed. He would have to prepare seriously like May. He would not have the mood to wander around.
Every snack street is mostly the same. They sell the same things. But people like the atmosphere. In the crowd, even common items and snacks become very interesting.
He let out Gardevoir. With her by his side, Natsui bought some snacks he liked. He walked with the crowd.
To be honest, he had not spent time alone with Gardevoir for a long time. Because of their telepathy, they did not need to talk much. They understood each other's feelings. Even so, spending time together was still necessary.
Even though people saw Gardevoir in Hoenn sometimes, Natsui's Gardevoir was special. Her aura and shape were very striking. This made the people nearby stare at her in wonder.
Some rude people even came up to him. They wanted Natsui to trade Gardevoir to them. Natsui felt that some people lacked common sense and did not know their place.
He waved them away. He and Gardevoir kept walking. After ten meters, he saw three familiar people.
Even though they were in disguise, he recognized them instantly. It was Jessie, James, and Meowth!
These three followed Ash everywhere. It was not strange to see them here. He did not know what they were doing. They were shouting and selling things. A large crowd gathered in front of them. It looked like they were promoting something.
Natsui did not want to deal with them. He started to walk past. But the Team Rocket trio seemed to feel something. They all looked over at the same time.
With one look, they saw Natsui. Their eyes even met his!
They all shivered visibly. They froze in place and could not move.
Natsui looked away. He walked past them with Gardevoir. It looked normal, but in that atmosphere, every step he took felt like he was stepping on their hearts!
Natsui walked far away. Only after he vanished into the crowd did the trio stop being frozen.
Jessie's back was soaked with sweat. She stayed in her pose and whispered, "Is... is he gone?"
If there was one person in the world they feared most, it was that man!
"He should be gone." James let out a long breath. He looked at Meowth. "Hey! Meowth, why did you pee yourself?"
"This is sweat! It's sweat!!" Meowth wanted to scratch him. But he thought Natsui might come back, so he did not move. He just said, "That was so dangerous. I did not think we would meet him here!"
Jessie recovered and was still scared. "Yeah, I thought we were going to be finished. His aura is too scary..."
Only James hesitated. He seemed to see the truth. He said to the other two, "Have you noticed? This isn't the first time he has ignored us. He never really goes out of his way to trouble us."
Meowth said tentatively, "Is it better to say he does not care about us at all?"
"That's because he doesn't think we are a threat." Jessie was smart for once. She smiled proudly. "But that's good! As long as we don't bother him first, we will be safe! We just need to focus on the brat and Pikachu!"
"You're right!"
They laughed together. The trio quickly forgot about meeting Natsui. They went back to their work.
Natsui left the snack street. He held some small gifts he found. He found a bench and laid them out. He split them into several groups.
He went out to walk around, but he had a goal. Since he was here, he wanted to bring some gifts back. He needed to thank Sabrina, Erika, and even Chloe, who always looked after his Pokémon.
Just as he finished sorting the gifts and was looking for a place to mail them, a small girl wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a mask walked up to him.
"Chuckle, it really is you!"
Because of the mask, the girl's voice sounded a bit different. But Natsui still felt it was familiar.
"Huh..." He looked at her for a while. He recognized her by her hair color, body shape, and her bold short skirt. "Lisia!? Why are you here?"
It was Lisia, the Contest idol he met in Sootopolis City!
Lisia was dressed very carefully. She seemed afraid that people would recognize her. But it did not work well. At least, Natsui recognized her quickly.
Lisia took off her mask. She gave Natsui a big smile.
"I was invited here for the Grand Festival. I was bored in my room, so I decided to wear a disguise and walk around. I did not expect to see you. I'm so lucky!"
Then, she looked left and right. She did not see Misty. She asked, "Natsui, where is the girl who was with you? Why isn't she here?"
Natsui knew the two of them did not get along. He shook his head. "She is with her friends. They are practicing at the training field for the last time."
Hearing this, Lisia's smile became even brighter. She boldly grabbed Natsui's arm. She smiled sweetly and said, "Great! In that case, let me walk around with you!"
Natsui felt two soft sensations against his arm. He tried to pull his arm away, but Lisia held on too tight. He could not get free.
He had no choice but to let her hold him.
At the same time, he felt lucky. He was glad Misty was not here. If she saw this, they would be fighting for a long time.
"Sorry, you're late. I just finished. I was thinking of going back to rest."
He meant to say no. But Lisia did not care. She said, "Okay! I've been out for a long time too. I'm a bit tired. Let's go back to the dorms together!"