Natsui and the others didn't stay to watch the rest of the tournament. They rose from the darkened stands and filed out through the corridor.
As they circled toward the contestant tunnel, they spotted Ash and Tory from a distance. A middle-aged man stood with them—his hair the same shade as Tory's—wearing a sharply tailored suit that looked almost formal. Beside him was a young, attractive woman.
As they drew closer, they heard the man speak to Tory, his voice tight with emotion.
"Tory… are you finally willing to participate in a Pokémon battle?"
Tory glanced at Ash for a heartbeat, then dropped his gaze.
"No… it wasn't like that. I was only there because of a misunderstanding!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he clenched his fists and bolted—vanishing down the corridor and leaving everyone behind.
By the time Natsui's group reached Ash, the middle-aged man let out a heavy sigh and turned away as well, following after Tory at a slower pace. Only the woman stayed.
She offered Ash an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry you had to see that. If you don't mind… could you tell me exactly what happened just now?"
Ash blinked, then looked back at Natsui and the others. After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Yeah. Of course."
Not long after, they were seated around a small round table at an outdoor café just outside the Battle Tower. The woman introduced herself first.
"My name is Yuko. I'm Professor Lund's assistant. The man you saw earlier was Professor Lund himself… and Tory is his son."
Natsui couldn't help thinking: After searching everywhere, the answer walks right up to you.
He had just been on the highest floor in the city, scanning for the research institute—and now the professor's assistant was sitting right in front of him. Luck really did vary from person to person.
While Yuko spoke, Natsui took a moment to observe her. Late twenties, crisp professional attire—white blouse, black trousers—hair pulled back neatly, makeup understated but immaculate. She carried herself like someone competent and reliable, and even in an awkward situation her expression stayed calm and warm.
Brock, of course, melted instantly.
He leaned forward with a flushed face, hands clasped near his cheeks, eyes sparkling. "To be an assistant at such a young age… that's incredible! If you don't mind, Miss Yuko, I'd love to be your assistant too. We could work hand-in-hand—"
Before he could finish, Max and Misty each grabbed one of his ears and yanked him back into his seat.
"Stop right there," Misty snapped. "You don't need to finish that sentence."
Most people would have been startled by Brock's aggressively flirtatious style. Yuko didn't even blink. Her smile never wavered—like a woman who had met plenty of oddballs and learned not to be rattled.
She didn't spare Brock a second glance. Instead, she took a small sip of coffee and looked back to Ash.
"I'm truly sorry Tory caused trouble earlier. I apologize."
Max couldn't contain his curiosity. "What's wrong with him, exactly?"
Yuko hesitated for a beat, then spoke carefully.
"It's not that Tory hates Pokémon. He's… terrified of touching them."
Her eyes softened.
"A few years ago, he went through something frightening. Ever since then, he's been afraid of Pokémon. He used to be cheerful—always laughing—but now he's like this. He can't stand to be near one, let alone touch one."
She let out a quiet breath.
"When the Professor and I saw him on TV stepping onto the battlefield… we thought he had suddenly recovered. But it seems we were wrong."
"So that's what it was…" Ash muttered, guilt washing over his face. "I didn't know. I forced him to go up there with me. I shouldn't have done that…"
Misty gave Ash a sideways look. "How did you even meet him? And how did you end up as teammates?"
Ash scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Well… I was just trying to ask for directions. But the second he saw Pikachu, he ran. I got curious, so I chased him. Then… we accidentally ran into the contestant entrance, and the lift sent us straight up into the arena."
Natsui looked away and shook his head inwardly.
That is so like Ash.
Anyone else would have asked the next person for directions. Only Ash would chase a stranger halfway across a city because he didn't understand why they ran.
Max frowned. "That sounds ridiculous… but also exactly like you."
Then he tilted his head. "But how did you get into a match that easily? Wasn't there any screening?"
Yuko nodded. "It's because of the city passports you received. Once you enter the contestant tunnel, the system scans your data automatically. You don't even need to register."
She gave a small, professional smile. "It's one of the Battle Tower's features. It cuts out most of the red tape."
"Oh…" Ash said, finally understanding how the disaster had even started. Then his expression tightened again as Tory's face flashed in his mind. "When will he get better?"
Yuko's smile dimmed, just slightly.
"That's hard to say. We've tried counseling more than once, but the doctors say this kind of trauma doesn't simply fade with time. He needs a catalyst—something that triggers a real breakthrough."
"A catalyst…" Ash repeated, nodding hard. Then he stood so abruptly his chair scraped the ground.
"I get it! Then I'll be the one to create it!"
He patted Pikachu's head, confidence blazing across his face as if the answer were obvious.
"If he can just become friends with Pikachu, he'll be fine, right?"
"Ash—wait!" Yuko called out, startled.
Too late.
He was already sprinting down the sidewalk, vanishing into the crowd.
After they left the café, Brock and Max went after Ash and Tory, worried Ash would get lost in the city's maze of walkways and automated routes.
May wanted to follow, but Misty hooked her arm and dragged her toward a nearby shopping center.
That left Natsui alone.
Misty invited him along, but he declined.
"You two go enjoy yourselves. I'm going to take a look around the park."
"All right. See you later!" Misty called, and the two disappeared into the crowd.
Once they were gone, Natsui's gaze drifted back in the direction Yuko had left. He released Gengar from his shadow.
Before Natsui could speak, Gengar threw up its hands with a scowl. "Yeah, yeah. Follow her, right? Seriously—how many times now? Can't you find someone else for this kind of work?"
"That's exactly why you're valuable," Natsui said, amused. "Most Pokémon can't slip through walls or sink into the ground like it's nothing. Who else would I trust with this?"
Then his expression sharpened. "Be careful. I don't know what kind of security that lab has. Stay hidden. Don't alert anyone."
Gengar thumped its chest. "Relax. I've got it."
It melted away and glided after Yuko.
Natsui waited until she had gained distance—enough that he wouldn't be connected to her by proximity—then followed at a leisurely pace.
The plan was simple: test his luck.
If he could get close enough to the institute, he might be able to see the Deoxys core directly. With Gengar tailing, Natsui didn't need to rush or stay glued to her. He walked calmly, taking in the city's strange, polished rhythm.
But he hadn't gone far before the Ultra Ball at his waist began to shake—hard.
Then, without warning, a massive red aurora unfurled across the sky.
It draped over LaRousse City like a curtain, sudden and unnatural, casting crimson light over rooftops and streets in an instant. Natsui looked up and knew immediately.
The other Deoxys had arrived.
His phone rang at the same time. Misty.
"Natsui-nii… is that—?"
"Yes," Natsui said quietly. "It's that."
His voice lowered further. "Don't make a scene. You and May need to stop shopping and find Ash and the others immediately. Stay together. Something's about to happen."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle things on my end."
"Understood."
Natsui ended the call and exhaled slowly.
This Deoxys had arrived faster than he expected, throwing off the timing of his initial approach to the lab. Still, his objective had always been the same—get his Deoxys to meet its kin—so a shift in schedule didn't change the outcome.
On the street, people stopped and stared upward. Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some pointed. Others laughed nervously, as if it were an elaborate light show.
Most dismissed it as rare weather.
The aurora vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared—barely ten seconds.
But the Ultra Ball at Natsui's waist shook even harder.
Natsui stepped into a secluded alley and released Deoxys and Gardevoir. Through Gardevoir's Telepathy, he linked his mind to Deoxys.
Can you sense your kin?
A flicker of cold emotion.
…Not clearly. Magnetic fields… too strong…
In this city, the electromagnetic noise was everywhere. Even Deoxys's senses were being distorted.
The quickest way to make contact would be for his Deoxys to release its own aurora—but doing that inside the city would be like firing a flare. Professor Lund and Yuko would connect the dots instantly.
Still, he couldn't do nothing.
If events followed the pattern he remembered, the Deoxys that arrived would escalate when it failed to find its companion—attacking the city in frustration. Natsui needed to redirect it before LaRousse turned into a battlefield.
He needed two things:
a meeting between Deoxys and its kin, and
minimal collateral damage—especially before Rayquaza got involved.
After a brief calculation, Natsui chose a compromise.
Instead of signaling in the city, he had Gardevoir Teleport them into the vast forest outside LaRousse's limits. If something was noticed, at least it wouldn't point directly to him.
Whoosh.
They appeared deep among the trees.
Natsui scanned the area—no people, no drones, no cameras. Just wind through leaves.
He gave Deoxys a short nod.
Now.
Deoxys looked up. Brilliant blue light erupted from its core and lanced into the sky. In the next instant, a wide blue aurora spread above the forest like a net—silent, vast, unmistakable.
Almost immediately, the red aurora flared again above the city.
Two lights—one red, one blue—burned side by side across the horizon, reflecting off cloud and canopy like twin signals answering each other.
Natsui didn't need Gardevoir to confirm what he already felt.
Something was coming.
Less than thirty seconds later, a figure tore through the air and dropped into the forest ahead of them.
A Deoxys—nearly identical to Natsui's—hovered above the ground, its body rigid with purpose.
The two Deoxys stared at each other.
Then, without a word, they rose into the air together.
Slowly—almost ceremonially—they began to circle. Like two dancers moving through a silent ritual, they rotated around one another in a calm, deliberate orbit, as if confirming what their senses had already known.
They had found each other.
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