Countless ribbons sprayed down on Natsui. He smiled and waved to the crowd.
Behind him, Misty felt a little discouraged. She knelt on her water ski board, gently stroking her Corsola as her eyes flickered toward Natsui.
In the race just now, she and Corsola had given it their all, but they still lost to Natsui by a narrow margin. It was hard not to feel disappointed.
Even so, she was still happy for her Natsui.
Losing to Natsui was the only outcome she could accept without complaint. If it had been anyone else, she would have been pouting and grumbling by now.
Behind them both, the favorite to win, a man named Rossi, looked unhappy. After all, his goal had been to defend his championship. He didn't expect to lose not only to someone younger and more handsome than himself, but he hadn't even beaten the young girl next to him. He had only managed to get third place!
The difference between his expectation and the result was immense.
But speaking of the young girl, she was quite a beauty. She was really good-looking!
At this thought, an idea struck him. He took the initiative to speak to Misty. "You must not be from around here, right? To celebrate your second-place win, how about it? Would you like to come on my boat for a tour of the city?"
His enthusiastic attitude made it difficult to refuse. Misty thought about it. They had just arrived in this unfamiliar city and really did need a guide to show them the sights. Wasn't this man, Rossi, the best possible candidate, offering his services freely?
"Okay," Misty said after a moment's thought, then added, "But I have to bring my friends!"
"Of course, no problem," Rossi agreed at once. He then asked, "By the way, your friends are...?"
Misty smiled brightly and pointed forward, her gaze softening as she looked at Natsui.
"That's him!"
Hm?
Rossi's eyes narrowed.
Those two were together?
He had to admit, this guy was really lucky. Not only did he win the championship, but he also had such a beautiful girl with him!
Awards were given, speeches were made, and many photos were taken. By the time Natsui finished with everything, half an hour had passed. When he found Erika and the others to regroup, he saw that Ash, who had disappeared before the finish line, had already returned to the group.
Naturally, Natsui immediately noticed Rossi standing to the side.
Rossi was talking nonstop to the group about something. Unfortunately, aside from Ash, who was very supportive, the others looked uninterested.
Erika and Misty, of course, were focused on Natsui and paid no attention to other men. As for Brock, he only had eyes for pretty older girls, so why would he listen obediently to another man's stories?
Seeing Natsui return, before anyone else could say anything, Rossi was the first to walk up to him, extending his hand with a broad smile.
"Congratulations on winning the championship!"
It was clear he was trying his best to show off his charm and humor.
Natsui looked at the strange man before him. Although he knew his name, he didn't understand why he was here.
After shaking his hand, Natsui glanced at Erika with a puzzled expression.
'What's going on?'
Seeing Natsui's look, Erika shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.
Rossi was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Perhaps from spending a lot of time in the sun, his skin was slightly tanned. His brown, medium-length hair was parted in the middle, giving him the air of a surfer.
Just then, Misty walked up to Natsui and smiled. "Natsui, Mr. Rossi here says he wants to show us around."
Natsui finally understood. "Well, thank you very much for that."
"Oh, right," Ash said excitedly. "Natsui, hurry and let us see what the champion's medal looks like!"
At his words, everyone except Rossi looked at Natsui's hands. He was holding a round medal made of transparent glass. The medal refracted colorful light under the sun. On the glass, the images of two Pokémon were faintly visible, and a green gemstone was embedded in it.
"Is this the Alto Mare victory glass trophy?" Misty said excitedly. "It's so beautiful!"
Natsui smiled and handed the trophy to Erika. Indeed, in terms of pure beauty, neither the Indigo League, Orange League, nor the Whirl Cup trophies could compare to how beautiful and delicate this glass trophy was.
Remembering something, Natsui looked at Ash and asked curiously, "Where did you go just now? How did you suddenly veer off the course?"
Ash was clearly confused about it too. He scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile. "I don't know what happened either. I guess Totodile was too nervous and went the wrong way."
Apparently, Latios and Latias had not revealed themselves to Ash. What had happened earlier was perhaps just a whim of the two Pokémon.
Hearing this, Misty lifted her chin proudly, a look of "I knew it" on her face.
"See? I said before that not being last would be the best result for Ash. I didn't expect him to be the only one who didn't finish the race!"
Remembering his big talk before the race, Ash blushed a little and didn't dare to look at Misty's smug face.
Nearby, Rossi couldn't get a word in. When he finally saw them stop talking, he said, "Alright, let's save the chat for the boat."
Natsui had thought Rossi's boat would be a speedboat or something similar, but when they walked to the riverbank, he was surprised to find it was a wooden boat!
Or rather, it was more appropriate to call it a small boat. Here, they had a formal name—gondola.
Rossi got on the boat first, holding a long oar at the back. After Ash and Brock were on, Natsui helped Erika and Misty onto the boat one by one, and then he jumped on last.
The short gondola was immediately filled by the group.
As Rossi gently paddled, the gondola drifted toward the other end of the canal.
The scenery on both sides passed by. Watching leisurely from the river offered a different kind of charm compared to being on the shore.
Brock even let out a sigh. "The Alto Mare gondola I've always dreamed of," he said with emotion. "I've always wanted to ride in one!"
The small boat followed the canal, circling most of the city. Eventually, they arrived back at the two stone pillars of Latias and Latios they had seen when they first disembarked.
"These are our guardian deities," Rossi explained when he saw them looking at the pillars. "Legend says they saved this city from disaster. Even now, some people still believe they are hidden somewhere in the city, protecting this City of Water!"
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