Lost in his thoughts, Natsui wasn't sure when he finally fell asleep.
When he woke up, the sky was already bright. He looked to his side and saw that Erika's bedding was neatly folded, but she was not in the room.
He rubbed his eyes and was just getting dressed when Erika pushed the door open and came in. Her white socks made a soft pat-pat sound on the floor.
"You're awake?" she said softly. "Mr. Kurt has breakfast ready. He sent me to get you."
He looked at Erika. She was as beautiful as ever.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Natsui asked.
A light blush appeared on Erika's cheeks. Just like him, she had tossed and turned, feeling both shy and conflicted. It took her a long time to fall asleep. She had only finally relaxed and drifted off after hearing the steady sound of Natsui's breathing.
"It was pretty good. Much more peaceful than sleeping outside."
She was right. Whether it was a Pokémon Center, a hotel, or camping in the wild, nothing was as comfortable as a real home. Even though they were just guests, the night's rest had washed away their tiredness.
After Natsui washed up, they went to the dining room for breakfast. Professor Elm, it seemed, had drunk too much and was still sleeping it off.
At the table, Natsui and Kurt chatted about all sorts of things. After they finished their morning tea, the sun was already high in the sky, but there was still no sign of Professor Elm. Natsui asked Kurt to say goodbye to the professor for him. With Kurt and Chie seeing them off, they finally left the house.
Once they were down the street and the house was out of sight, Natsui shook his head with a sigh.
Noticing his expression, Erika turned to him. "What's wrong?"
Natsui sighed again. "Running into Professor Elm in Azalea Town was already a nice surprise, but then getting such a precious Poké Ball... I'm happy, but I also feel like I owe them a huge favor."
"Don't think too much about it," Erika smiled. "Like Mr. Kurt said, that Poké Ball was like a ticking time bomb for him. Now that he's given it to you, he doesn't have to worry about people coming to cause trouble. He should be thanking you!"
Hearing her say that, Natsui felt much better.
"You really know how to make someone feel better."
"Not at all," Erika said, her cheeks turning a little red. "I'm just telling the truth."
As they spoke, they arrived at the Azalea Gym. It was located on a plain just outside of town, surrounded by green grass. The building itself was a huge, dome-shaped structure that looked more like a botanical garden than a gym.
The Azalea Gym Leader was Bugsy, a specialist in Bug-type Pokémon. Defeating him would earn a trainer the Hive Badge.
Natsui had already planned his strategy and decided which Pokémon to use. But when he eagerly approached the entrance, he found the doors were closed and a notice was posted on them.
Huh?
Confused, Natsui quickly read the notice and was very surprised. It turned out that Bugsy wasn't at the gym. He had gone to a forest early that morning to catch Pokémon and wouldn't be back for at least a few days. He asked any challengers to please wait.
"Well..." Erika frowned after reading it. "This is unexpected."
She turned to Natsui. "What should we do? It looks like he won't be back for a while."
Natsui frowned too. With their similar expressions, they almost looked like a married couple.
"Sigh, I should have just come to challenge the gym yesterday."
Erika hesitated. "Should we go look for him?"
Natsui shook his head. "We don't know where he went. There are so many forests around here. Finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack."
He thought for a moment, then took out his phone and opened the map to study it. Erika leaned in to look as well, and they both fell silent.
Honestly, this was a surprise, but it also made sense. After all, Gym Leaders needed to train and catch new Pokémon to keep getting stronger so they wouldn't be left behind by the times. Still, it was a bit of a delay for him.
His eyes scanned the map. Goldenrod City wasn't too far, but going there and coming back would take more than three days. It would be better to stay nearby. But if not Goldenrod City, where else could they go?
His gaze happened to fall on one location, and his eyes slowly lit up.
"Let's go here!"
Erika looked where he was pointing. It was a valley in the mountains between Azalea Town and Violet City. The name of the valley was—
Her eyes focused. "Charicific Valley?"
Natsui nodded with a smile. "I've heard that the Charizard there are very strong. I'd like to see how mine compares. It'll be a good experience."
Erika had no objections. She would follow him anywhere, so the distance or difficulty of the journey didn't matter to her.
With a new goal set, they changed their direction and headed for Charicific Valley.
Charicific Valley was a natural park located between tall mountains. Because the terrain was so dangerous and it was home to many fierce Charizard, regular people were not allowed to enter. Of course, for trainers, there was nowhere in the world they couldn't go.
They left Azalea Town and walked north. After half a day, the altitude began to rise, and the trees became scarcer. In the distance, they could see a range of mountains. Even though the mountains looked close, they knew it would take a long time to walk there.
Luckily, time was something they had plenty of. They walked at a relaxed pace, stopping here and there to enjoy the scenery.
It was dark by the time they reached the foot of the mountains. It would be too dangerous to go in at night, so they decided to set up a tent and camp there, starting their climb the next morning.
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