Natsui did not want Mary to come into his room. However, Mary had dressed up very carefully. She had already decided what to do. She would not let him send her away with just a few words.
Still, they could not keep pushing and pulling each other in the hallway.
If someone saw them, they might understand the situation wrongly. They might even think he had called for a "special service."
If any photos or videos of this scene were shared, he could never explain it.
Luckily, at that moment, Misty and May came walking toward them. They were not far away. They were talking and laughing together when they saw the scene.
Misty looked at the woman with a suspicious eye. "Is this Mary?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"
Mary heard Misty's question. She knew Misty traveled with Natsui. But Mary thought Misty was just a little girl who did not understand anything because of her age.
Mary waved her hand and smiled. "I am only here to visit Natsui. It is very late. Why are you two not sleeping yet? Staying up late is a girl's worst enemy,"
Mary thought she could trick these two girls into leaving by talking like that. She did not know that Misty would not believe her at all!
As Misty walked closer, she smelled the perfume on Mary. She looked at how the woman was dressed. She knew Mary had a suspicious plan.
Thinking of this, Misty changed her plan to go back to her and May's room. Instead, she grabbed May's hand and walked straight into Natsui's room.
Eh?
Mary was surprised. She did not expect the two of them to go into Natsui's room. What was she supposed to do now?
When she saw that Natsui said nothing and let them in, Mary found it even more unbelievable!
She looked at him with shock. She really wanted to ask: Do you like little girls?
And you have two of them at the same time?
No wonder you would not let me in for a long time!
So you do not like mature women like me, but you like these little girls instead?
He is really living a wild life!
Inside the room, Misty let go of May's hand after they entered. She walked to the table, poured a glass of water, and drank it all quickly.
Only May sat on the bed. She felt stiff. She looked around with curiosity and shyness.
This was the first time she had ever been in a man's room.
Before, when she came to find Natsui for training, she only stood at the door. Now she was actually inside. She was sitting on a spot where someone had clearly been lying down. She felt her heart start to beat faster.
Is this Natsui's room?
She looked around. She saw his clothes folded neatly and the items he used. She saw the water he had been drinking. The whole room was clean and tidy, but it seemed to smell like him.
She looked at Misty again. Misty acted like she was in her own room. She was not shy at all. In fact, she was moving things and using them as she wanted. May felt a little jealous.
She was not jealous of the relationship between Misty and Natsui. She was just jealous that Misty had such a reliable "brother" whom she liked.
Unlike her, who only had a younger brother who did not listen...
At that moment, Misty grabbed a can of soda. She walked to May and gave her the drink. Then she sat down right next to her.
"You saw that, right?" Misty said in a mocking way. "That reporter's perfume was so strong. She looked like she wanted to be all over Natsui. There will be more people like her from now on. We have to watch out for them!"
Even if you say that...
A forced smile appeared on May's face.
The situation was already like this. What was she supposed to do in the future to avoid these things?
Thinking back, she had been a bit impulsive when she agreed to this the other day.
But it was too late to regret it now.
Bang.
The heavy sound of the door closing echoed. Natsui walked over and shook his head at the two girls.
"I finally made her leave. It is a good thing you two showed up at the right time. Otherwise, I would not have known how to get away,"
"Would that not have been better?" Misty rolled her eyes. "A beautiful woman coming to your door—is that not exactly what you want!"
"You little brat!"
Since she teased him, Natsui was not polite. He reached out and put his arm around her neck. He gave her a light knock on the head.
Seeing the two of them playing, May felt a strange and complicated feeling in her heart.
In the future... will I be like this with Natsui, too?
On the third day of the Preliminary Tournament, Natsui had his final preliminary match before noon.
After two rounds of battles, there were only 64 trainers left in the Ever Grande Conference. There were many empty spots in the dorms. Also, the number of daily matches was much smaller.
However, as the weaker trainers were removed, the skill level of the remaining people became higher.
For example, Natsui's current opponent looked very ordinary. Natsui had not met him on his journey, but the opponent was not weak at all.
Unfortunately, he was fighting Natsui.
If he had fought someone else, he might have won and moved to the next round.
But there was nothing he could do. He was unlucky because he had to fight the strongest person in the tournament.
Actually, it was not just him. Natsui had not done anything very flashy yet, but anyone who faced him right now would lose. It did not matter who it was.
Ash, Tyson, and Morrison all had matches at the same time. Only Misty came to cheer for him this time. But even if she was alone, Misty's voice was loud enough to be heard over everyone else.
She would not let him lose his spirit!
For this match, Natsui changed his team to Metagross and Eevee. These two Pokémon had been used before. But since their power was lower than Natsui's other Pokémon, they needed more practice.
Also, compared to the previous matches, Eevee and Metagross were a new pair. Natsui wanted to see how well they worked together.
They were fighting against a Sandslash and a Farfetch'd.
Ground-type Sandslash had an advantage over Steel-type Metagross. However, the Flying-type moves from Farfetch'd were not very effective against Steel. So, looking at the big picture, it was hard to say who had the advantage. It would depend on how the Pokémon performed.
This trainer had clearly watched Natsui's previous two matches. He knew Eevee and Metagross were very hard to fight. So, as soon as the battle started, he ordered a full attack.
But this was exactly what Natsui wanted.
He had already fixed the mindsets of Eevee and Metagross before. So, he skipped that step today. Instead, he also told them to attack fully.
The four Pokémon crashed into each other in a head-on fight. In the end, Natsui won.
It was a victory of pure strength.
The trainers were important, but in close fighting, the most important things were the Pokémon's own reactions and condition. Without a doubt, the improved Eevee and Metagross performed much better than Farfetch'd and Sandslash.
This style was completely different from his previous matches. The crowd loved it.
Before, they thought Natsui was the kind of trainer who made matches last a long time. They did not expect him to completely change their opinion today.
So, he is also an expert at fast attacks and head-on fighting...
Because the match ended very quickly, the others were still fighting when Natsui finished.
However, Natsui did not go to see how they were doing. He took Misty and went straight to the main stadium.
Today was the last day of the Preliminary Tournament. The people who won had to go to the main stadium to find out who they would fight in the next stage. It was easiest to meet there.
Before long, the winning trainers started arriving one by one.
Ash, Tyson, and Morrison all won their matches as expected. Once they reached the stadium, all 32 trainers for the main tournament were there.
Standing in the center of the field, Natsui looked around.
Compared to the 600 trainers at the start, there were only 32 people left now. The meeting area felt very empty.
Many trainers Natsui had met during his travels had left this stage feeling sad.
But while some were sad, others were happy.
The remaining trainers all had small smiles on their faces. They waved at the fans in the stands.
Being able to get this far proved they would at least be in the Top 32. For most people, this was a great result and a big honor.
Not everyone was good enough to stand here. You needed both strength and luck. To be one of the best out of 600 people was something to be happy about.
Everyone knew that the main tournament was officially starting now. Because of this, the area was filled with many cameras everywhere. The media coverage of the Ever Grande Conference was very large.
The camera flashes did not stop. It did not feel like a bracket drawing. It felt like a big press conference.
The flashes made the trainers' eyes hurt a little, but they kept smiling. They wanted to look their best for everyone.
Under everyone's gaze, the faces on the big screen began to move.
The rules for the Victory Tournament were different from the preliminaries. At this stage, battles became 6-on-6 Full Battles. The trainers no longer had to worry about losing because of one bad match. They could finally show the crowd their best skills.
After about ten seconds, the images on the big screen stopped.
Ash and Morrison found their opponents immediately. But when they saw the match for Natsui and Tyson, they both looked at them with shock.
The reason was simple: in the round of 32, Natsui and Tyson were paired together. They were opponents!
Seeing this, Natsui calmly looked away from the screen. He felt no stress at all.
In the eyes of Ash and the others, Natsui and Tyson were not very close, but they had spent a few days together. They were like casual friends. Having to fight a friend and try their best to win felt a bit heavy.
Also, both of them were very strong. To Ash, Natsui was the best in the world. Tyson had also made a strong impression since the start. People thought he might win the whole tournament.
With two strong people like this fighting, it was a shame that one had to be removed.
But that was all they thought. They did not think much else.
Only Natsui knew that, in the original story, this man named Tyson was supposed to be the champion of this Ever Grande Conference. He did not expect to fight him in the first round of the main tournament!
What a surprising pairing...
However, he did not mind. He had to fight everyone eventually. It did not matter if he met Tyson early.
The only thing he felt bad about was that Tyson's journey would probably end here. Tyson was supposed to be a champion, but he was about to lose his chance to be famous.
As for whether he would lose to Tyson...
Natsui did not even think about it.
If that really happened, the Legendary Pokémon he had defeated would not accept it. The opponents he had beaten in other regions would also find it hard to accept.
At this point, it was not just Natsui who wanted to win. Even the people who had lost to him wanted him to go further. That way, losing to a Champion would be expected and not embarrassing.
In the crowd of trainers, Natsui looked at Tyson. Tyson looked over at the same time.
Natsui could feel a strong fighting spirit in Tyson's eyes. Natsui just gave a light smile.
Come on then. Let me see what you can do!
After leaving the main stadium, they went to celebrate Ash and Natsui winning. Ash suggested a big meal, and everyone agreed. Natsui paid for a large meal at a nearby restaurant.
Morrison heard there was good food, so he joined them. Natsui did not send him away. Since Morrison and Ash were friends, Natsui was nice to him for Ash's sake.
As for Tyson, he probably went to the restaurant alone to avoid feeling awkward. He was thinking about his match with Natsui tomorrow.
Natsui did not push him. After all, they were not really close.
After the meal, at a nearby coffee shop, Natsui finally agreed to the interview requests from Alexa and Mary.
Being able to delay the interviews until now was the best he could do.
This world was about Pokémon battles, but it was also about social connections. He had been interviewed by Alexa twice, so he could not say no to her again.
As for Mary, she had tried to offer herself to him last night and failed. Natsui was afraid she might be angry. He did not want her writing fake reports or trying more "seduction tactics," so he agreed to the interview.
Choosing to work with Mary even after saying no to her was a long-term plan for Natsui.
Someone who was willing to do that much to succeed clearly cared a lot about her career.
You should never make an enemy out of someone like that if you can't be friends. He was not afraid of trouble, but it was better to avoid it.
Interviews were unavoidable because he kept winning. More reporters would follow him. So, Natsui decided to give the chance to her.
He would let people know that Mary had the exclusive interview rights for him in the Hoenn region. This way, he would keep Mary happy. He would also use her to stop other reporters. It was a very good plan to solve two problems at once.
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