After leaving New Bark Town, the two traveled north. After a full day's trek, by nightfall, they had left the plains and entered the mountains of Mt. Silver.
On the way, they passed a Pokémon Preserve, but Natsui wasn't interested, so they didn't go in. They walked for another half an hour and, just as night was about to fall, found a flat spot near a stream to set up their tent.
After dinner, Erika felt Natsui's increasingly intense gaze and couldn't help but feel restless.
She knew what was about to happen.
If last night was Natsui making a move under the influence of alcohol, making it hard for her to refuse, then today, if she let him have his way while they were all alone, it would be a true acceptance of his actions.
But their feelings for each other were there. Refusing him was also impossible.
Most importantly, she had already given herself to him yesterday. There was no point in stopping him now.
As for Natsui, being out here with no one to disturb them meant he could really let loose and have a good time.
Because yesterday was Erika's first time, and they were in someone else's house, he hadn't been able to fully enjoy himself. Now, after a night of initiation, her body was more accustomed to it, and he didn't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping. He could finally go all out without any restraints.
After they washed up by the river, he had a mischievous smile on his face. He pulled Erika into the tent early. As he closed the flap, he didn't forget to look at the Scizor and Jolteon on night watch outside, giving them a look that told them to stay far away and not disturb him.
Seeing the tent flap close, Gengar, who had also been kicked out, could only see the shadows of Natsui eagerly pinning Erika down against the lamplight from inside. It shrugged at Scizor and Jolteon.
"See that?" it said with a pout. "That's youth for you. It just got dark, and he's already off having his fun, leaving us out here in the cold wind."
As a Pokémon that had lived for over two thousand years, it had seen everything. It was long accustomed to such things between humans.
It's just mating, isn't it? What's there to be shy about? Did you really need to kick me out?
You really think I want to watch?
It poked the burning firewood with a stick. Seeing Scizor and Jolteon just yawn and find a comfortable spot by the campfire, seemingly unbothered by being on night watch, it let out a helpless sigh.
You two simpletons only know how to follow orders. You deserve to be out in the cold.
Sigh...
It looked up at the sky and lamented internally.
My partners have questionable intelligence. This team is so hard to lead...
Inside the tent, Natsui laid out the bedding and looked at Erika with a burning gaze, slowly moving closer to her.
"Don't..." Erika was extremely shy. Her face was beet red as she stammered, "Turn off the light first..."
Natsui smiled slightly. Compared to what was coming next, he wouldn't refuse such a small request. He reached out and turned off the lantern, and the tent immediately went dark.
Thankfully, some moonlight filtered through the tent, so it wasn't completely pitch black.
He guided Erika to lie down, then reached into his backpack and took something out.
It was the box of condoms he had used with Sabrina. She had left in such a hurry that they hadn't finished them. He never thought he'd be using them on Erika today.
Well, in a way, at least they weren't going to waste.
...
After a night's rest, the two packed their things and continued towards Silver Town.
Last night had been absolutely wild for Natsui.
But it was also truly exhausting.
Erika, on the other hand, looked even more radiant. The way she looked at Natsui was incredibly soft, as if she would melt.
Their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds. Now, both her body and her soul belonged to Natsui. Every move she made perfectly embodied the gentle and virtuous side of a woman.
Even the way she spoke to Natsui was filled with endless tenderness.
Mt. Silver was located in the eastern part of the Johto region. Strictly speaking, it was also part of the Indigo Plateau and not very far from where the Indigo Conference was held. However, its location fell within the Johto region, so it was classified as a separate area.
Silver Town was situated at the foot of Mt. Silver. It was built by a lake and had not only the largest Pokémon Center in the Johto region but also several competition venues and a well-equipped Athlete's Village. The entire town was built around the Silver Conference.
Before entering Silver Town, however, they passed by the Ho-Oh-In Temple.
The Ho-Oh-In was a temple where, it was said, the Sacred Flame for the Silver Conference was passed down every year. Because of this, some trainers considered it a sacred place and would come here to pray for good results before the competition began.
Of course, Natsui wasn't here to pray. He was just curious and wanted to take a look.
They entered the temple through the open gates.
As they had heard, aside from them, they could occasionally see other trainers. The number of people would probably be even higher just before the competition.
On the day before the opening ceremony, countless trainers would flock here to watch the ceremony of the Sacred Flame being carried to the venue.
Erika consulted her travel guide again and said with a smile, "This temple has a legend. It's said that a very fierce battle took place here in the past, and countless Pokémon were killed or injured. The war grew more and more intense, and the land became barren. An enraged Ho-Oh burned all of humanity's weapons with its fire and then revived the lakes and the land. Seeing this, people began to reflect on their mistakes. They called the remaining fire the 'Sacred Flame' and preserved it in the temple, passing it down from generation to generation. It's now used as the flame for the Silver Conference, and that's how this temple got its name."
"A Ho-Oh legend... why is it everywhere?"
Hearing that name, Natsui couldn't help but pout. He still held a considerable grudge against Ho-Oh. If it weren't for it, he would have already collected all three Legendary Beasts.
Seeing him like this, Erika let out a small laugh. But she had barely laughed for a few seconds before she saw Natsui staring at her lips with a mischievous look. She immediately thought of something, and her face turned red as she quickly suppressed her smile.
They climbed a long flight of stone steps and finally arrived at a shrine.
But they had just reached the top of the mountain and hadn't even gotten close to the shrine when two Pokémon suddenly jumped out from the side, blocking their path.
Looking closely, it was a Machoke and a Machop.
"Hmm?" Natsui stopped and looked at them in confusion. "What's this about?"
The Machoke and Machop made a threatening gesture at Natsui. Then, he saw a black shadow flash before his eyes, and a cat-like Pokémon leaped out between the Machoke and Machop.
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Hey guys, I want to apologize for not uploading any chapters lately. My mother passed away a week ago, and honestly, I just didn't have the energy to do anything. The chapters that were uploaded were the ones already scheduled.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience and for still being here. Starting tomorrow, uploads will return to normal.