At the silver-haired woman's command, Ariados attacked without hesitation.
It was just as expected from world-famous thieves. They were decisive and acted without a moment's delay.
Ash never imagined they would attack a stranger just for pulling off some silk threads and exchanging a few simple words.
Caught off guard, he was hit by Ariados's Psychic attack and fell into the river beside them.
It happened so fast that not only Natsui, but even Pikachu could only watch as its trainer was attacked by Ariados.
"What are you doing!?" Ash yelled at the silver-haired woman as he climbed out of the river. He was soaking wet and looked completely miserable.
Seeing that the two thieves still looked unconcerned, Ash's anger flared up. He gritted his teeth. "Alright, if that's how you want to play, we won't be nice either! Pikachu, go!"
With a wave of Ash's hand, Pikachu charged straight at Ariados, and the two Pokémon instantly began to battle.
Seeing that the blonde woman's Espeon was about to join the fight, Natsui took out a Poké Ball and sent out his Gardevoir.
The two Pokémon clashed with their psychic powers. Even though it was invisible to the naked eye, you could feel two powerful forces colliding in mid-air, causing the air itself to distort.
The blonde woman's gaze swept over the group. "It seems you're determined to meddle in our business!" she said coldly.
Erika, Misty, and Brock didn't say a word. Instead, they sent out their own Pokémon, showing their support for Natsui and Ash through their actions.
The two thieves' Pokémon were indeed strong, but only when compared to the average person. Against Natsui and his friends, they were completely outmatched.
After fighting for a while, they sensed something was wrong. They exchanged a look, and the silver-haired woman started the speedboat, heading off into the distance. The blonde woman blew a whistle. Ariados and Espeon, still in battle, heard the sound and immediately broke off the fight. They jumped onto the speedboat and disappeared with the two women down the canal.
"What was that all about? Why did they stop fighting?" Ash said. He was confused that they had just left like that. He was also frustrated that he couldn't get an explanation for being knocked into the water, leaving him feeling empty and unsatisfied.
What surprised him even more was that when he turned his head to check on the girl, he found that she had also vanished!
"Hey, where did she go? When did she disappear?"
If it weren't for the Ariados silk still on the ground, he would have thought he had just imagined the whole thing.
Hearing Ash's cry of surprise, Natsui and the others turned to look where he was standing. The girl who had been right beside him, Latias, was gone.
They had been so focused on the battle that no one had noticed when she slipped away.
"She's probably just shy, so she left quietly," Natsui said, shaking his head. He then looked at Ash and teased, "But you, my friend, not bad. You already know how to be a hero and save the damsel in distress!"
"That's right, this is a rare sight. He's finally getting the hang of it," Misty said with a shrug, sighing dramatically. "Too bad she left without a word. She didn't seem to appreciate your help at all!"
"Don't say that!" Ash's face turned red as they teased him. "I... I didn't save her for that reason. It's just... she helped Pikachu earlier, and I couldn't just stand by and watch a girl get chased by Pokémon!"
"Alright, alright," Misty said, looking at him sideways and waving her hand with a smile. "We get it. You don't have to explain."
After Ash wrung the water out of his clothes, they quickly put the incident behind them. The group continued toward the city center, leaving the canals and arriving at the city's largest plaza.
Their destination this time was the Alto Mare Cathedral, located at the front of the plaza. It was both a church and Alto Mare's only museum. The cathedral not only housed historical documents and artifacts from the city's founding to the present day, but also had some fossils on display.
There were quite a few tourists inside the cathedral. As they entered the main hall, they were affected by the atmosphere and lowered their voices.
Looking to the side, they saw beautiful paintings hanging on the walls and a huge Aerodactyl fossil on the floor. The fossil was completely integrated into the marble beneath their feet and had been treated for protection, so they didn't have to worry about damaging it by walking on it.
"Amazing," Brock said in awe, then added with some concern, "But is it really okay for us to just walk on it like this?"
Although Brock was talking to himself, an elderly voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Don't worry. It's not just this Aerodactyl. There are other Pokémon fossils inside, like Kabutops. They've all been given a mirror finish. It feels like you're stepping on them, but there's actually a layer of transparent tempered glass protecting them, so it's perfectly fine."
Natsui and the others turned to see a short, slightly chubby, bald old man with a thick white beard walking slowly toward them.
Natsui's first impression of the man was that he was particularly round and kind. He wore a name tag on his chest. Natsui looked closely and saw it read: Lorenzo, Guide.
Ignoring their surprised expressions, Lorenzo smiled. "This must be your first time in this city, right? In that case, please follow me, and I'll give you a tour."
Under his guidance, the group walked deeper into the cathedral. Along the way, just as Lorenzo had said, they could see other fossils like Kabutops on the floor. Like the Aerodactyl, they had all been specially treated, giving them a strange and special feeling of walking on fossils, a novel way to experience the ancient atmosphere firsthand.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting colors on the marble floor.
They arrived in a circular room, where a tall, massive device of unknown purpose stood before them.
Brock was bathed in the colorful sunlight. For some reason, he suddenly spread his arms and shouted, "This feeling of bathing in the sun! Is this a sign from heaven that I'm destined to meet beautiful ladies in this city!?"
Natsui walked past Brock and stood below, looking up at the huge device.
It was made entirely of steel and stood over ten meters tall. Four massive supports rose up, enclosing a strange sphere within them. It looked both odd and mysterious.
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