At this moment, footsteps sounded, and a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, a full beard, and casual clothes walked over.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Hello," Xia You said kindly, "I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader Natsume. Is she here?"
The man nodded, his gaze falling on Kirlia.
"You also like Psychic-type Pokémon, don't you? But you yourself don't seem to have the potential to unleash Psychic powers."
"Huh?" Xia You said, puzzled, "I don't need to perform magic tricks, so what would I do with Psychic powers?"
"What!? Magic tricks!?" The man felt a breath caught in his chest. After a few coughs, he turned and walked deeper into the Gym. "Follow me, but don't say I didn't warn you, people without Psychic powers cannot unleash the full strength of Psychic-type Pokémon!"
Cannot unleash their full strength?
Xia You stroked Kirlia's head and did not refute him on the spot.
He just wanted to say that if a Trainer doesn't have Psychic powers, they can't connect with their Pokémon telepathically.
For other Trainers and their Psychic-type Pokémon, this would indeed affect the Pokémon's strength, but for Xia You and Kirlia, it was not a problem at all!
Walking through a long corridor, Xia You arrived at the battle arena.
With marble tiles on the floor, two rows of stone pillars reaching the ceiling, and torches lit around the arena, it looked less like a Gym and more like a temple.
On the other side of the arena, a beautiful woman with long, straight black hair, a tall figure, fair skin, a tight leather red dress, and long black stockings, was sitting on a chair, calmly watching him.
This was Natsume, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod Gym.
"Natsume, someone else wants to challenge you," the middle-aged man said, then walked to the center of the arena to act as the referee.
Natsume's body slowly floated up and gradually flew to the Trainer's command area.
Just being able to do this with her own Psychic power truly made Xia You both envious and amazed.
"I have foreseen your arrival," Natsume's voice was calm and cold, seemingly without much emotional fluctuation in her heart. "And on you, besides Psychic power, there is also a hateful aura of mischief."
As expected of a woman with powerful Psychic abilities, she could even see Gastly hidden in his shadow!
Regarding her story, Xia You remembered it quite clearly even now, due to how deeply it impressed him.
When Natsume was young, she had already awakened her innate powerful Psychic abilities. Unfortunately, due to her excessive obsession with practicing Psychic powers, Natsume gradually closed herself off, neither making friends nor destroying her own home. She even used her Psychic powers to drive out her father, who tried to stop her, and turned her mother into a doll.
And it was from that time that Natsume split into two personalities: one was the powerful Natsume, second to none, and the other was the mischievous Natsume, who longed for friends and was lonely inside.
However, now, Xia You had arrived at a very opportune time. A few days ago, Ash successfully helped Natsume return to normal with a Haunter he brought from the Pokémon Tower. Although she still looked cold and emotionless at the moment, she at least no longer closed herself off, reconciled with her family, and even occasionally smiled.
Thinking of this, Xia You quickly glanced at the middle-aged man.
He must be Sabrina's Father, right?
"Excuse me…" Xia You collected his thoughts and asked, "What are the battle rules?"
Natsume said, "It's a one-on-one battle. As long as you defeat my Pokémon, you will have successfully challenged me."
With that, Natsume slowly took out a Poké Ball. With a flash of red light, a Pokémon with whiskers, shaped like a golden fox, appeared in the arena.
It was indeed the Kadabra that accompanied Natsume in the anime!
Pokédex: "Beep. Kadabra, the Confusion Pokémon, Psychic type. The evolved form of Abra. Strange things like clocks turning backward happen around Kadabra. It can also emit special alpha waves from its body, causing pain to enemies who approach it. Furthermore, it has high demands on its Trainer; Trainers without strong mental power will not be acknowledged by it. Additionally, it is said that without a spoon, it can only use half of its usual Psychic power."
Xia You put away his Pokédex, extended his hand forward, and Kirlia slowly walked onto the battle arena.
"Aren't you sending out your Ghost-type Pokémon?" Natsume asked.
Xia You shook his head and did not offer much explanation. After all, Gastly's strength was too great, and it had a type advantage. Using it to battle Kadabra would neither allow his Pokémon to train nor leave the opponent any room to retaliate.
Just then, a Haunter flew out from the side. It first circled around Natsume, and then, seemingly having spotted the Gastly in Xia You's shadow, it hastily flew over.
Xia You's Gastly, seeing it, also floated out from the shadow. The two Pokémon flew together, making funny faces at each other, looking joyful.
Haunter is indeed the evolved form of Gastly, and to be so close upon their first meeting, it seems this lineage of theirs truly enjoys playing around.
However…
This must be the Haunter Ash brought from the Pokémon Tower, right?
It really didn't return to the Pokémon Tower, but instead followed Natsume!
Seeing that both Pokémon in the arena were ready, and Natsume showed no intention of making the first move, Xia You couldn't help but shout, "Kirlia, use Confusion!"
Kirlia raised its hands, and Confusion instantly activated, launching a preemptive attack. Immediately, an invisible force surged towards Kadabra.
Natsume did not speak, but Kadabra raised the arm holding the spoon and also unleashed Confusion.
The two Confusion attacks clashed in the air, erupting in a strong light. However, as both sides continuously outputted power, Kirlia's expression gradually became strained.
Although both had evolved once, Kirlia's Psychic power was still inevitably suppressed by Kadabra!
Ultimately, Kadabra's Confusion struck Kirlia hard, causing Kirlia to lose its footing and involuntarily retreat a few steps.
Fortunately, both Pokémon were of the same type, so their respective Psychic moves struck each other without causing much pain or discomfort.
"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"
Following Xia You's command, a green light formed in Kirlia's hands. Immediately after, an endless stream of Magical Leaf shot towards Kadabra at an extremely fast speed.
Natsume's expression remained unchanged, but Kadabra, in a critical moment, suddenly used Teleport, dodging the attack.
To be able to communicate telepathically with Kadabra and issue commands without speaking.
And this, was Natsume's true power!