May won the Silver Town Pokémon Contest. She also earned her second Ribbon in the Kanto region.
To Natsui, traveling in the past with Sabrina, Erika, or Misty was mostly about his own journey. Those people revolved around him. But now, with May by his side, he had to attend these Contests often. For his personal journey, it seemed like a bit of a detour.
However, Natsui was actually happy to participate from a spectator's point of view. It gave him different insights and improved his mindset. He could also learn many different things from these Pokémon Coordinators.
You could say that even though he was not doing much, it was a way to rest and relax.
It was a balance between work and play.
As for Jeremy, the man May defeated, he returned to his honest office worker look after the match. He left the venue with a slightly lonely figure.
Even though he did not win and seemed to fall short of his dream, he at least gained his family's recognition. That was a big reward.
Maybe because of this, they would meet him again at other Contests!
But that was for the future. For now, after winning, Natsui and May needed to continue their journey.
Since they bought the boat tickets yesterday, they did not go back to the Pokémon Center after leaving the Contest hall. Instead, they waited a while at the pier and took a small passenger ship away from the Kanto mainland.
Just as planned, their destination was Metallic Island, where the Battle Palace is located, not far from Cinnabar Island!
However, getting there would not take just a few hours. They needed to sail through complicated sea routes for quite a while.
The three-deck passenger ship slowly pulled away from the pier.
After leaving Silver Town and sailing for over an hour, they could see Vermilion City in the distance. But the sightseeing ship did not stop there. By the time the sun went down, they had left the coastal waters and reached the open sea.
The scenery of the open sea was not much different from the coast. The water was bluer, the air was saltier, and there was no continuous land nearby, only small islands.
The excitement of first going out to sea disappeared quickly. The tourists stopped looking at the unchanging ocean and busied themselves with their own things.
Even though the ship was small, battles were unavoidable.
Two young boys, not even ten years old, were commanding their Pokémon on the deck. They were having a lot of fun. Those immature battles still attracted a few adults to stop and watch.
Natsui did not even want to look. He just lay on a lounge chair, feeling the last sea breeze before sunset.
May sat beside him. She was looking at a map while chatting with Natsui from time to time.
A school of Barraskewda, swimming over from somewhere in the sea, jumped out of the water and swam alongside the ship. Just then, someone suddenly shouted.
"It's Lugia!"
With that one shout, most people's attention was grabbed. These people all crowded to one side of the railing, looking out at the distant sea.
Sure enough, they saw a silver shadow flash under the surface. But because it was partly submerged, whether it was really Lugia needed a closer look.
However, that was already enough to make people excited.
While feeling lucky, the tourists took out their phones and filmed the scene.
May also went over to take a few looks. When she came back, she saw Natsui still lying on the chair. He had not even opened his eyes and looked completely indifferent. She could not help but laugh.
"Natsui," she sat next to him and asked softly, "when you traveled in Kanto and Johto before, did you see Lugia?"
"Of course I saw it. I've even seen more than one," Natsui's tone did not change at all. It was as if a legendary Pokémon like Lugia could not interest him anymore. "It's just a big sea bird. After you've seen it a few times, it's nothing special."
Clearly, he was showing off.
But who could blame him? He really had the experience to back it up!
After night fell, a strong wind suddenly started blowing. It made the waves surge and the ship shake constantly.
A wind like this made people wonder if the small boat could handle it. But for someone like Natsui, who traveled often, it actually helped him sleep.
They stayed on the ship for one night. By the next morning, Natsui and May had reached their destination.
From a distance, Metallic Island did not look special. It looked like a large, green, lush island.
Natsui did not know exactly where the name Metallic Island came from. Was it because it produced many metal ores? Or because many Pokémon as hard as metal lived there?
He did not know, and he had not found the information on the maps. But none of that mattered. He was just here to challenge the Battle Frontier. Even if he did not understand those things, so what?
They got off the boat in a very small town. Just after they walked off the pier, the passenger ship sailed away.
Without the noisy whistle, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. It felt as if they were in a huge, isolated primeval forest.
Perhaps because few people besides the occasional challengers came here, even the town looked very quiet. After taking a short rest at the Pokémon Center outside the town, the two headed toward the mysterious Battle Palace according to the map.
However, this trip was not as smooth as they imagined.
Almost the entire Metallic Island was covered in thick forest. This meant the island was full of various wild Pokémon. Perhaps because they were rarely disturbed, these Pokémon were very territorial. Natsui and May were attacked several times just by passing through.
Especially the Beedrill here. They were numerous and very aggressive. They bothered the two of them for a long time along the way.
With no other choice, Natsui had to release his Scizor and Dragonite. With them clearing the way, they finally reached the Battle Palace smoothly.
But calling it a palace was not accurate; describing it as ruins was more fitting.
In the middle of the forest, a tall, exotic-style tower made of smooth stones stood there. Looking closely, the stone steps, blocks, and walls were covered in moss. Some parts were damaged. No one knew how many years it had been there or why it had been built.
It was clear that Scott had not funded the construction of this place. Perhaps it had a lot to do with the tradition of the Frontier Brain here.
The two had just walked up the steps. Before they could enter the ruins, a man in his seventies or eighties walked out. He had a round bald head, white eyebrows, and a white beard. He was shirtless, had strange tattoos on his arms, and held a staff.
"New challengers have come to the door. Welcome."
Even though he looked old, the man's spirit was very good. Not only did he move easily, but his voice was also loud. Especially his bald head, which actually reflected a bright light in the sunshine!
This distinctive appearance allowed Natsui to recognize him instantly. He was the Frontier Brain of the Battle Palace, Spenser!
However, Natsui's knowledge of him was limited to his name. He did not know what Pokémon he had or what his battle style was like.
"You must be Mr. Spenser." Since the Frontier Brain had already guessed his goal, Natsui got straight to the point. "My name is Natsui. As you said, I am indeed here to challenge this Battle Palace."
"People cross the sea and brave the waves to come here for only one purpose." Spenser smiled slightly. "I am Spenser. Every time I see a young person like you with sharp eyes and energy, I can't help but feel that Pokémon trainers have a bright future."
After just a few words of conversation, Natsui felt an elder's care for the younger generation from Spenser.
This matched the feeling Spenser gave Natsui. In short, he was a man who was not only wise but also very kind.
Spenser looked up at the sky. Seeing that it was a sunny day, he smiled at Natsui. "I feel your confidence from your eyes. That is good. I will use all my strength to face your challenge. However, compared to being indoors, today is a clear day. Do you want to battle outside?"
Here it comes!
Even though Spenser was asking, his tone made it clear that this battle would definitely happen outdoors.
And because Natsui had watched the anime and remembered it well, he knew that the outdoor battle was the true test of the Battle Palace!
But that was perfect.
He was worried the difficulty would not be high enough. Compared to boring indoor battles, a fun and new format could excite him more!
"Of course," Natsui did not hesitate and nodded. "The air on this island is great, and you can smell nature everywhere. I was just thinking about staying outside a little longer."
Seeing Natsui agree, Spenser smiled and did not say much else. Holding his staff, he led the way and took them away from the area of the Battle Palace.
At first, May thought the outdoor battle Spenser mentioned would be held in an open space near the palace. But as Spenser walked farther and farther, she slowly realized something was wrong.
She walked a few steps faster to get close to Natsui and asked softly, "We've been walking for over ten minutes. Natsui, where do you think he is taking us?"
"Who knows," Natsui shrugged and made a small joke. "In any case, he's not going to lead me off this island."
After leaving the Battle Palace and crossing a forest, the slope under their feet suddenly went up. By the time May realized it, the three had already walked up a mountain peak that was not too high.
When they reached the top and stood there, the surrounding scenery came into full view. They also finally saw the entire layout of the Battle Palace.
Although it was the full view, most of it was covered by trees and plants. They could only see an outline.
May took a deep breath and looked around.
The small peak under her feet seemed to have been cut in half by some power from a person or a Pokémon. It had become flat ground and was made into a simple battle arena. Standing here, the cold sea breeze blew over. Even though it was sunny, she still felt a slight chill.
So this is the so-called "outdoors"...
It really is far!
But then again, Mr. Spenser's stamina is really good...
She and Natsui climbed such a high mountain because they were young and traveled often, so they were fit. But Mr. Spenser was so old, yet he climbed up without getting red-faced or out of breath. He was really amazing!
However, what surprised May more was obviously coming next.
Spenser pointed here, then pointed to the distant coastline, and then to a winding river on the other side. He said to Natsui, "The battle arena under our feet is where we start. From that coastline to the river on the other side, the entire huge forest is the arena for this outdoor battle."
"Eh?" Hearing this, May could not help but speak out. "All of that!?"
It was not her fault for reacting that way. The area Spenser pointed to was simply too big!
Just by sight, it had to take up at least one-third of the entire Metallic Island!
"That's right, all of it."
Spenser nodded to May, and his gaze turned back to Natsui with a look of admiration.
This young man in front of him had been calm from beginning to end. Even after seeing the battle arena he mentioned, his expression did not change at all. This really made him stand out compared to previous challengers!
Natsui naturally did not know that his calm composure had left a deep impression on Spenser.
After scanning the area Spenser pointed to and remembering it, he just nodded calmly.
To him, this was no big deal. It was just that the arena was a bit larger and the terrain more complicated. After all, when he fought those legendary Pokémon before, which one was not a battle with the sky as the roof and the earth as the stage? How could he be shocked by this scale?
After explaining the arena, Spenser spoke about the rules of this match.
"The battle here uses a three-on-three elimination format. As long as you defeat all three of my Pokémon, you win. Of course, during the match, you can change your Pokémon as you like and choose a lineup that benefits you."
The arena was there, and the rules were announced, but May still did not understand one thing.
Seeing that Natsui did not speak, she asked, "Um... Mr. Spenser, I want to ask something. The arena is so big, and we are standing here. As the battle goes on, we will easily lose sight of the Pokémon. How will the winner be decided then?"
Spenser laughed loudly. With a wave of his hand, a small flying robot that could hover in the air appeared in front of May.
"Don't worry. This is the referee robot of the Battle Palace. Under its camera, no matter where the Pokémon go, we can track their status at any time!"