After leaving the ceremonial platform, Natsui returned to the contestant lounge in the arena.
Erika, Ash, and the others were already waiting there. When they saw him, they inevitably congratulated him again. Even Trinity, whom he had just defeated, hadn't left and appeared there as well!
Pop! Pop!
Brock and Ash, holding party poppers, sprayed Natsui with ribbons and shiny confetti. Misty even placed a vibrant floral wreath around his neck. Everyone had a smile on their face, clearly happy that Natsui had won.
Erika also stood there, clapping gently. Beside her, Trinity walked up to Natsui with a complicated expression and said sincerely, "Congratulations. Your Pokémon are incredibly strong. I wholeheartedly accept my loss in this match."
Seeing that Trinity hadn't left immediately after being beaten so badly and had instead come to congratulate him, Natsui felt extremely guilty.
Sigh, I should have swapped out Gyarados midway through. At least then her loss wouldn't have been so ugly...
The good news was that, judging by the look on her face, and just as Natsui had hoped before the match, Trinity didn't have the urge to seek revenge like Aya had back then.
It was clear that after the battle, she had been truly beaten into submission, and fear!
"I'm sorry for causing so much harm to your Pokémon, but please don't take it to heart. My Gyarados's fighting style is just like that. Even if I wanted to hold back, I couldn't..."
Natsui's tone was very sincere, causing the last bit of unwillingness in Trinity's heart to dissipate completely.
She smiled and said, "You can't be fully blamed. After all, Pokémon battles aren't child's play; they are inherently dangerous and cruel. Getting injured is unavoidable. If you had gone easy on me out of pity, it would have been even more embarrassing for me. In the end, the main reason for this loss is that my Pokémon still aren't trained enough, and I overestimated my own abilities, foolishly trying to defeat such a powerful opponent."
These words made Natsui feel even more embarrassed.
"Er... I didn't expect you to have such an outlook. That's remarkable. But I think you should get to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible and have Nurse Joy treat your Pokémon's injuries, to avoid any lasting problems."
Trinity naturally knew the matter was urgent. Indeed, she should have taken her Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for treatment right after the match. But even so, she came here first, wanting to congratulate Natsui immediately. This way, people wouldn't think she was a sore loser who just quietly left without a word!
Even in defeat, one should have their dignity!
But now that she had offered her congratulations, it was indeed time to take her Pokémon to Nurse Joy.
"In that case, I'll be leaving now. I wish you smooth travels ahead and hope you continue to catch many powerful Pokémon! By the way, your next goal should be the Silver Conference, right? That's the highest honor in our Johto region. I wish you the best in defeating all your strong opponents and, just like today, becoming the champion!"
"Thank you for your kind words. Please take care as well. We'll meet again!"
The two shook hands solemnly.
For Natsui, Trinity was a strong and respectable opponent.
And for Trinity, Natsui would undoubtedly leave a deep impression, especially his red Gyarados, which would likely be a shadow in her mind for the rest of her life.
Watching Trinity leave, Natsui, Erika, and the others felt the atmosphere in the lounge become much more relaxed. They chatted for a while longer, and the topic soon turned to the unexpected incident that occurred on the high platform when Natsui was receiving his blessing.
At the time, they were sitting in the audience and had naturally seen the strange turn of events. They were all very surprised by it.
Erika was the first to ask with concern, "What was that just now? It seemed like something like that shouldn't happen in the normal procedure, right?"
"Exactly!" Misty also quickly chimed in. "I saw you get enveloped by a beam of light, and then you just went 'whoosh' and flew into the sky! What on earth happened?"
"It wasn't that exaggerated!" Natsui grinned and lightly tapped her on the head. "What 'whoosh'? I'm not a rocket! I was barely a dozen centimeters off the platform, nowhere near mid-air!"
After the blessing, Natsui's conversation with High Priestess Maya was not broadcast to the audience, so although Erika and the others saw the anomaly, they had no idea what had happened.
Seeing them all looking at him curiously, Natsui shook his head and recounted the situation he had encountered and Maya's interpretation of it.
After hearing the story, Brock stroked his chin and analyzed, "So, unlike those previous guys who only had the title, you truly received the blessing of the Soul of the Sea?"
Natsui hesitated for a moment. "I'm not too sure, but according to Maya, the jewel did have some kind of reaction to me, so she's going back to check the records to see if anything similar has ever happened in the history of the ceremony."
"Then do you feel any different anywhere?" Misty's eyes lit up. "The Sea Hero! Able to travel freely underwater and communicate spiritually with Water Pokémon! That's what we Water Pokémon trainers dream of! By the way, why don't you try it now? See if you can really communicate with Water Pokémon. That would clear everything up, wouldn't it?"
Erika also nodded in agreement. "Misty's right. You'll know if you try."
Seeing that Erika also agreed with her, before Natsui could consent, Misty directly took a Poké Ball from her pouch. But just as she was about to release her Poliwhirl, a blue light suddenly flashed from her bag, and her Psyduck had once again come out on its own!
"You!" Seeing Psyduck appear, Misty flew into a rage. Her hands immediately clasped its neck, shaking it desperately. "Why do you always have to come out on your own! Tell me! Go on, tell me!!"
Psyduck's face turned red, clearly in great discomfort from being choked.
Seeing this, Natsui smiled and waved his hand, stopping the rampaging Misty.
"Forget it. Psyduck is fine. It's a Water Pokémon, after all."
Hearing him say that, Misty reluctantly let go, allowing the Psyduck, which had almost been shaken unconscious, to collapse limply onto the floor.
Clearing his throat, Natsui walked over to Psyduck, crouched down, and met its dazed face eye-to-eye.
Psyduck tilted its head, looking at Natsui with a puzzled expression, not understanding why this human was staring at it. It then glanced at its trainer, then ignored Natsui and started waddling around the lounge with its yellow body.
Natsui's eyebrows shot up, a look of astonishment on his face. After a moment's daze, he stood up, also looking completely bewildered.
Seeing Natsui's expression, Erika and the others immediately realized that something must have happened!
Misty, in particular, couldn't wait to ask, "Well!? Well!? Natsui, could you understand what it was thinking just now!?"
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