Chuck insisted, and Natsui and Erika couldn't refuse, so they stayed at the gym for lunch. Natsui hadn't expected this at all. It felt a little strange to beat the Gym Leader, take his badge, and then stay for a meal.
But then he thought, if Chuck didn't mind, why should he worry about it?
Chuck's home was part of the gym. Besides the battle area, there were also dorms for the students. Aside from a few students whose families lived in Cianwood City, the rest of them lived and ate right there at the gym.
Before the meal, they also met Chuck's wife. She was a beautiful woman with long red hair who looked very gentle and kind. Honestly, for a rough-looking guy like Chuck to marry such a woman, he must have been incredibly lucky.
After sitting down at the table with the students, Chuck looked between Natsui and Erika and smiled. "Are you two a couple?"
The question made both of them fall silent. Erika had lost count of how many times people had asked them that.
Just as she was about to say no, Natsui didn't answer the question. Instead, he asked one of his own. "Mr. Chuck, did you and your wife meet while you were traveling?"
Chuck nodded and glanced at his wife with a sweet, reminiscent look. "That's right. In fact, it was because I met her on my journey that I decided to settle down and stop traveling."
"Oh, is that so? That's wonderful..."
Just then, a few students brought out plates of food and a huge tub of rice. Chuck's wife served everyone a bowl, and when she got to Chuck, she used a super-sized one that was almost as big as a washbasin.
Seeing their surprised faces, Chuck laughed. "It's nothing strange. I burn a lot of energy, you know!"
Once they started eating, Natsui noticed that it wasn't just Chuck who had a huge appetite. His students ate with the same energy, holding their bowls and eating with great gusto. It made sense, though. As Fighting-type trainers who worked out with their Pokémon all day, they needed a lot of food, and they were all still growing.
The food disappeared in no time. During the meal, the students were full of respect and curiosity for Natsui. After asking a lot of questions, they finally learned that the handsome young man before them was this year's Indigo Conference champion.
"No wonder..." Chuck shook his head with a bitter smile. "If I had known you were the champion, I would have used my strongest team from the start. Then maybe I wouldn't have lost so badly."
After lunch, Natsui and Erika left the Cianwood Gym with everyone seeing them off. As they were about to leave the street, Natsui couldn't help but look back one last time.
Seeing Erika's questioning gaze, he sighed. "We only knew him for a short time, but Chuck is a really warm and good person..."
A few hours later, they were back at the port. This time, their target was the Azalea Gym. After getting the Storm Badge, Natsui only needed two more badges to challenge the Silver Conference. Saffron City was the closest, but they had missed the boat, so they had to go to the farther Azalea Town first.
They bought tickets and boarded a small ferry, which slowly pulled away from Cianwood City. After a full afternoon and night of sailing, they spent the night on the boat and finally arrived back on the Johto mainland the next morning.
After a full night's rest, Natsui's energy and stamina were completely restored. If he had to race Chuck now, it would be no problem at all. But that was impossible now; it would have to remain a "what if."
Azalea Town was not a port town. The ferry docked in a small city, and they still had a two-hour walk north to get there.
After getting off the boat, they left the city. Just as they reached the wilderness, Erika caught a Sunkern. This was the second one she had caught since coming to Johto. Natsui didn't understand why she would catch another one of the same Pokémon.
When he asked her, Erika just smiled. "I don't actually catch them for battling. I'm just trying to make the ecosystem in the Celadon Gym's greenhouse healthier and more diverse."
"I see..."
As they talked, they passed through a dense oak forest. It was a paradise for Bug-type Pokémon, so thick with trees that it was dark even during the day. Here, Natsui used his Pupitar and the Eevee he got from the Kimono Sisters to battle a few Bug-types that attacked them, which was good experience for them.
They also saw a Farfetch'd flash past. Natsui had always liked that Pokémon and thought about catching it, but it disappeared deep into the forest before he could. He could only laugh it off, thinking it wasn't meant to be.
When they finally came out of the forest, the view opened up again. Their destination, Azalea Town, was just ahead.
Azalea Town, located on the southern peninsula of Johto, was a simple and peaceful town where people and Pokémon lived together. It was just a normal small town until a few years ago, when a trainer established the Azalea Gym there, making it more well-known.
There was also a local legend. 400 years ago, a Slowpoke yawned, and a great rain fell, ending a long drought. Because of this, Slowpoke held a special status for the people here.
As the two entered the small town, before they could even ask for directions to the gym, they saw a familiar figure.
Natsui looked closely and realized it was Professor Elm from New Bark Town.
Professor Elm saw him too. His eyes lit up, and he waved.
"I can't believe I'm seeing you here!"
"Professor, what are you doing here?"
They both spoke at the same time. Hearing their voices overlap, they looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
------------------------
Support my projects and get immediate access to hundreds of chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Pokémon, and more! ✨ Key Benefit: Your favorite novels, with my quality, and always up-to-date.
Featured Novels (with hundreds of chapters available NOW!):
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem (1050 caps)
Goddess Training Manual (800 caps)
I Have Caught a Pokémon (700 caps)
Bleach Getting Stronger (330 caps)
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha (300 caps)
And many more!
Why subscribe?
🔥 Immediate Access: Read my new chapters before anyone else.
📚 Huge Library: Access my complete catalog instantly.
⭐️ High Quality: Enjoy the novels with a professional and well-crafted text written by me.