Natsui didn't know much about perfume, but he knew he couldn't go wrong by listening to the expert's opinion.
Erika then took out the perfume sampler she bought for Sabrina, rolled up her sleeve, and sprayed a little on her wrist.
"Come and smell it, doesn't it have a wonderful scent?"
Glancing at her fair, smooth arm, Natsui leaned in and took a light sniff. Indeed, he smelled a pleasant fragrance, fresh yet not overpowering.
And besides the perfume, there was the heart-pounding scent of a young woman.
This scent was different from Sabrina's, which also reflected the vastly different personalities of the two girls.
Erika smiled and said, "This perfume can't be bought anywhere else but our store, you know. It's our own unique blend."
Clearing his throat, Natsui said, "Alright, I'll take these four perfumes. Please wrap them up for me."
After paying, Natsui said goodbye to Erika and left the perfume shop. He intended to contact Looker, but his calls wouldn't go through.
Strange, wasn't he the one who said he wanted to meet once he got to Celadon City?
But thinking about his mysterious identity, Natsui didn't dwell on it.
Perhaps he was on a mission.
And as a Gym Leader, since Erika was currently at the perfume shop, going to the Celadon Gym would be pointless; he couldn't challenge her at all.
After a moment's thought, Natsui turned and headed for the Celadon Game Corner.
Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well kill some time there.
The Celadon Game Corner was in the southeast of the city. When Natsui saw it with his own eyes, he found it was much larger than in the games. Not only did it have a hotel and a restaurant, but even a movie theater and several dance halls!
People were coming in and out of the Game Corner, not just groups of young people, but also many middle-aged adults. Looking inside, there were claw machines, arcade games, slot machines, dance machines, balloon-popping games, and pachinko machines—a vast and lively assortment.
At the counter, he bought a dozen or so Game Coins, and just as he was about to walk to a claw machine, his eyes were drawn to a nearby stall.
The owner of this stall was just an ordinary man, and the goods he was selling were rows of Pokémon masks of various styles.
"Excuse me, how much is that mask?"
Natsui pointed to a half-mask of a Gengar.
The upper part of the mask was identical to Gengar's large, dark purple face, covering most of the wearer's face, while the lower part was missing a piece, perfectly revealing the wearer's mouth.
"You have a good eye, sir," the shop owner said. "This mask is the treasure of my stall. Not only is it very durable, but its eyes are also made of glass, so your vision won't be obstructed at all. It usually sells for 300, but today's special price, just for you, is 250."
"That number...", Natsui frowned and started to haggle, "Will you sell it for 100?"
"You must be joking, sir. 250 is already a very cheap price," the shop owner said with a sincere face, seemingly unwilling to budge.
Natsui shook his head slightly and used his old trick, turning to leave without looking back. Seeing this, the shop owner quickly rushed forward and pulled him back.
"Alright, alright! I feel a connection with you. How about you add a little more? I'll sell it to you for 150, how about that?"
Natsui laughed inwardly; this trick was truly foolproof.
However, his face remained unmoved. He only took out a 100-dollar bill. Seeing this, the shop owner, though sighing, quickly took the bill and stuffed the mask into Natsui's hands.
He was so fast that Natsui couldn't help but wonder if even 100 was too high a price...
After leaving the stall, Natsui put the Gengar mask in his backpack for safekeeping.
Ever since revealing Zapdos at Silph Co., Natsui could clearly feel that showing his true face could easily attract unnecessary trouble. Although this mask was simple, it could effectively hide his identity, greatly reducing his chances of being exposed.
He took out a Game Coin and inserted it into the claw machine. Just as he was concentrating, several pairs of eyes outside the Game Corner fixed on him.
"Hey, hey, are we really going to attack him?" James asked in a low voice, hiding in a phone booth. And beside him, naturally, were the inseparable Jessie and Meowth.
"Of course, it's an order from the boss," Jessie nodded. "Besides, we ditched the twerp and his Pikachu and rushed back to Celadon City specifically for this guy!"
"But..." James hesitated, "he's a really nice person. Didn't he help us escape from the bottom of the sea last time? If we do this, wouldn't we be ungrateful?"
"You idiot, we're the bad guys! How can you say something like that!" Meowth leaped up and scratched James's face hard.
"Waah! My face!" James fell down in pain, but quickly got back up. "But he's right at the entrance to our secret base. Are we really going to do it here?"
"Of course we can't do it here!" As the true leader of the trio, Jessie made the decision. "Let's wait for him to leave the Game Corner, then we'll find a chance to strike!"
...
After having a great time at the Game Corner, Natsui was about to leave with his two plush toy prizes when he suddenly received a message.
The message was from Looker, and besides a location pin, there wasn't a single word.
What does this mean? Are we supposed to meet there?
Wary, Natsui followed the location pin, walking towards the edge of the city until he stopped in front of a few warehouses next to the freight train station.
It was quiet here, not a soul in sight, and besides the occasional freight train passing by, there were no other sounds.
"Haunter, go check the vicinity. Kirlia, stay on high alert."
Natsui gave the orders quietly and then put on the mask he had just bought.
He never thought that this mask, which he had bought so recently, would come in handy so quickly!
Before long, Haunter returned and shook its head at Natsui.
"There's no ambush here, but in that warehouse up ahead, there's a seriously injured person!"
A seriously injured person?
Natsui was taken aback. Realizing that Haunter had never seen Looker and didn't know what he looked like, he nodded and followed its directions, soon arriving at the door of a damaged warehouse.
The warehouse's large door was already broken, the metal gate ajar. To his surprise, a trail of blood stretched from outside the gate all the way inside.
The bloodstain was alarmingly conspicuous, and the thick smell of blood seemed to be constantly telling a story.
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