Misty and May left the party. They walked on a small path made of stones. It went all the way to the sea.
The streetlights were not very bright. They made the girls' shadows look very long. Behind them, people were setting off colorful fireworks. The light made the night sky look bright.
Waves hit the rocks. The sound of water was everywhere.
They walked for a while. Then, May had to ask a question. She asked, "What happened to you today? You seem a little unhappy."
Misty stopped walking. She turned around. She looked at May with a serious face.
"May, what are your plans after the festival ends?"
May did not know why Misty asked this suddenly. She thought for a moment. Then she answered, "Well... I have not decided yet. But I will probably stay on the path of a Pokémon Coordinator."
May finished speaking. She saw Misty's face. Misty looked like she already knew the answer. May was surprised. She asked, "Why are you asking about this?"
Misty did not answer right away. She spoke in a serious way. She said, "Can you please do me a favor?"
May noticed that Misty sounded different. She stopped smiling. She nodded her head strongly.
"Aren't we friends? If there is something, just tell me directly."
Misty took a deep breath. She felt like she was giving her own dream to someone else. She said, "When the Ever Grande Conference is over, can you take my place? Can you keep traveling with Natsui?"
"Eh? Eh!!!?"
May could not believe what she heard. She did not know why Misty wanted her to travel with Natsui.
"You... you want me to travel with Natsui? Why?"
Misty turned away. She looked sad. She looked at the sea in the distance. It was night, so she could not see anything. She could only hear the sound of the waves.
"There is no other way. After the Ever Grande Conference, I must go back to Kanto. I have to take over the gym. You know that Natsui is very popular. People like Lisia always try to get close to him. I am very worried."
May understood immediately. Misty wanted her to watch Natsui.
"This... this... but..."
May felt this was not right. She and Natsui were only good friends. She thought that watching him would be going too far. She thought she should not stop other girls from getting close to him.
This was a private matter. Traveling with Natsui normally was fine. But now she would have a secret goal. She thought this was not a good idea.
She thought Natsui might misunderstand her. She thought Natsui might hate her.
Her brain told her to say no to Misty. But then she saw Misty's eyes. Misty looked serious and hopeful. May could not speak.
Misty knew what May was worried about. But she had to ask May to do this. She had no one else to ask. She thought about what would happen if Natsui met Lisia again without her.
She did not want Lisia to take Natsui away.
"May, this is my life's greatest request. As my best friend, I hope you can say yes!"
May looked into Misty's eyes for a long time. She saw that Misty was begging. May finally nodded. She agreed.
"I understand. I will travel with Natsui, and I will help you watch over him!"
Misty felt much better after hearing May's answer. She was relieved. She smiled again.
"That's great! Thank you, May! I knew I could count on you!"
Misty and May came back. They were talking and laughing. The party was already over. Natsui and the others were waiting for them.
Everyone was surprised to see them walking together and holding arms.
"Big sister..." Max asked. "Where did you go? Why did you just get back?"
May was about to speak. But Misty spoke first. She looked proud. She said, "I'm not telling you!"
"What's that about?" Ash was also very curious. He saw that they would not talk. He whispered to himself, "What could it be? It's probably just girls' secrets. I don't want to hear it anyway!"
Ash mentioned "secrets." May felt a bit guilty. She looked at Natsui.
Natsui felt very strange.
He thought, "Why is she looking at me? Did they talk about a secret? Was the secret about me?"
...
They stayed in Slateport City for a few more days. The Grand Festival ended. Then the group had to go to Ever Grande City.
Ever Grande City is in the east of Hoenn. It is far from the main land. It is a beautiful town on a big island. There are flowers everywhere on the island. The city is famous because the Ever Grande Conference is there. The Hoenn Region Pokémon League is also in this city.
This city became successful because of the conference, just like Silver Town.
A plane is the fastest way to get to Ever Grande City. But the others are children. They do not have enough money for a plane. Only Natsui has enough money. They do not need to fly anyway. Taking a boat is very easy. There is a ferry to Ever Grande City. It is a bit slow, but they have time. The conference starts in more than ten days.
The next morning, they went to the pier to take the boat. Something happened.
Jessie and James were there. They wore disguises and looked like salesclerks. They wanted to trick Ash again. But they saw Natsui with Ash. They were shocked. They left quickly and quietly.
Ash and the others did not know it was them. They were surprised to see the people run away.
Natsui shook his head. He thought the Team Rocket trio was afraid of him. He was like a scary monster to them.
They reached Ever Grande City after two days on the boat.
They stepped onto the land. They felt the excitement in the air. Many tourists were there. Many players had also arrived. Even Natsui and Ash felt a little nervous.
The day is finally coming...
Ever Grande City is small, but it has many tall buildings. It is very modern. It is just like a big city.
They entered the city. Natsui and Ash went to the registration center. They had to check their papers. Misty and the others followed May's idea. They decided to go to a ramen shop called "Ever Grande Pavilion."
People say the ramen there is very good. May said it is one of the top three ramen shops in Hoenn.
Misty and the others wanted to try it. Natsui remembered that May loves food.
May is a food lover. She gets very angry if someone steals her food. Food is very important to her. She seems like a different person without food.
Ash wanted to go with them. But he knew he had to do his work first. He looked sad as May and the others left. They were singing. Then he followed Natsui to the conference venue.
The venue for the Ever Grande Conference is in the mountains. It is behind the city. The venue is built around a lake. It is very large. There are many buildings around the water. Paths connect the buildings to the stadium. The stadium is in the middle of the lake.
There were many tourists and players there. People were everywhere. They did not know why everyone came so early.
They did not waste time. They went to the registration desk.
You can register until the opening ceremony starts. But most trainers do not wait that long. Only people who are late or busy wait.
They arrived at the desk. Natsui had already signed up at the Fortree City Pokémon Center. He only needed a quick check. He waited for Ash to finish. Then Nurse Joy gave them a guidebook.
The book had the match schedule. But it also had many pages about food and restaurants. It would not help with battles. But May would be happy to see it.
This Ever Grande Conference has a torch relay. This happened at the Indigo Plateau and Silver Conferences too. The relay is happening today.
Nurse Joy told them the news. Ash forgot about the ramen. He wanted to go see the relay immediately.
Natsui also wanted to see it. He sent a message to Misty. Then he and Ash went toward the relay route.
They almost reached the gate. Then they saw a short old man. He got out of a black car.
That person is...
Natsui knew who it was. Ash ran forward to say hello.
"President Goodshow! It's been a long time!"
Charles Goodshow turned his head. He saw Ash and Natsui.
"It's you two! Candidate Ash and Candidate Natsui, have you also come to the Ever Grande Conference?"
"That's right!"
Ash nodded. Natsui also said hello to Goodshow.
"Mr. President, it has been a long time."
Goodshow nodded. He said, "It is good that you are playing. I think you will both do very well. Natsui, do you want to win the championship again?"
"Everyone wants to win the championship," Natsui laughed. "I will do my best. I can accept any result at the end."
This was a very smart way to speak. He shared his thoughts but was not mean to other players. He achieved two things at the same time.
Goodshow looked at Natsui. He saw that Natsui was a good speaker.
"Then I wish you both a good result. I have work to do, so I will go now."
Goodshow is an important person. He is busy every day. The boys did not waste his time. They said goodbye. They walked toward the sacred fire.
Goodshow went to an office building at the venue. He entered a meeting room.
The room was full of smoke. The people in charge of the conference were there. They looked sad. They stood up when Goodshow entered.
"Everyone sit down."
Goodshow sat in the main seat. He did not look happy. He asked, "Tell me, what should we do?"
Everyone looked behind Goodshow. There was a screen. It showed a photo of Natsui. He was holding the trophy from the Silver Conference.
It was quiet for a moment. Then people started talking.
"Is this man really here for the Ever Grande Conference?"
"Yes. He is very strong. Will he win the championship easily again?"
"I heard he used new Pokémon in Hoenn. Is he still as strong as before?"
"Who knows? But if he wins with a team like that, we should stop the event. We should just give him the trophy now!"
Goodshow did not like their answers. He hit the table. The room became quiet.
"I want solutions. I do not want to hear your complaints!"
The people looked at each other. No one spoke.
Finally, one person spoke quietly. They said, "We have no way to stop him. We cannot stop him from playing, right?"
People started talking again.
"We cannot do that! We must let him play. That has never happened before. No!"
"That is right. People will think badly of us if we do that."
"Then how do we stop him?"
One man was smoking quietly. He did not say anything. He had a small smirk on his face.
This man was John. He was the director for the last two conferences.
John laughed to himself. He knew about television ratings. He knew what the audience wanted to watch.
They wanted to stop Natsui? John would not let them do that.
Goodshow was also making a mistake. He wanted these people to stop Natsui from winning.
These people only think about growth. They do not know that ratings and reputation are most important.
A player like Natsui brings many viewers. More viewers mean the conference is a success.
John thought they could think all they wanted. It would not be useful.
John shook his head. He put out his cigarette. He looked at the big screen.
The photo of Natsui was very good. He looked confident and proud. He looked like he was better than everyone in the room.
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