At four in the afternoon, when Natsui arrived again in Celadon City and walked up to the entrance of the Celadon Gym, he was surprised to find that the gym was under renovation.
He could see that the front half of the gym was completely surrounded by scaffolding. At that moment, many workers with tools were busy on it. The sounds of electric drills and hammers rang out, and on the ground, a dozen or so Machoke were continuously moving various building materials.
The scene was orderly. Through the gaps in the scaffolding, he could still faintly see clear scorch marks.
Although the marks had faded a lot from the wind and rain, it was still evident that the gym had once suffered a major fire.
Hmm? What happened here?
Just as Natsui was wondering, a woman's voice suddenly came from the side.
"Natsui, over here!"
Natsui turned his head and saw that it was Erika.
It had been a long time, but Erika was as beautiful as ever. She wore a kimono, her demeanor dignified, looking reserved and gentle. Standing there quietly, she had the air of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
Walking up to her, Natsui first greeted her, then turned his gaze back to the gym and asked, puzzled, "Was there a big fire here? When did it happen? How come you never mentioned it?"
"It was a long time ago," Erika said after thinking for a moment. "It was probably a few days after you were still in Kanto, just after you had challenged my gym and we cooperated with the International Police to raid the Team Rocket base."
That time…
At her reminder, Natsui thought for a moment and then remembered that there had indeed been a related episode in the anime. It really had happened a long time ago.
He asked, feigning ignorance, "It wasn't something that happened when Ash challenged here, was it?"
"Huh? You know Ash too?" Erika nodded. "When Ash came to challenge the gym, it happened to coincide with an attack by Team Rocket. It was a strange combination of two humans and a talking Meowth. They were the ones who set the fire and left the gym in ruins. Fortunately, Ash and his friends were there and helped a lot to prevent the fire from spreading."
Is that really how it happened?
Natsui's lips twitched, secretly amused.
Two humans and a Meowth, it was undoubtedly the Team Rocket trio.
Only they would be so tireless in their pursuit of Ash.
But… in terms of cause and effect, if it hadn't been for Ash, the Team Rocket trio might never have followed him to the Celadon Gym. And if they hadn't gone to the Celadon Gym, they wouldn't have attacked, and that big fire wouldn't have happened.
He was completely dragged into this by Ash.
Wisely not saying this out loud, Natsui just asked, puzzled, "Since the fire was so long ago, why has it taken until now to deal with it?"
"It couldn't be helped," Erika said, shaking her head with a wry smile. "The day after the fire, I reported the situation to the League, but because the League was short on funds at the time and it needed to go through layers of approval, it was delayed for so long. But fortunately, the money finally came through a few days ago, so I've just started the work and plan to expand the gym's scale."
No wonder she had time to think about going to Johto to catch Pokémon. So the gym was temporarily closed…
At that moment, Natsui suddenly remembered the greenhouse in the gym that had left a deep impression on him and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, are the greenhouse and the Pokémon inside okay?"
Erika nodded. "Thanks to the Pokémon working together at the time and putting out the fire in time, they were spared. It didn't reach the greenhouse. It was a blessing in disguise."
At this point, Erika suddenly thanked Natsui. "Speaking of which, I also have to thank you for the oranges you mailed. Those oranges are different from the ones in Kanto and are really delicious. After we ate them, we also planted their seeds in the flower garden, and now they've grown into saplings."
In fact, if it hadn't been for those oranges, which made Erika realize that there were indeed huge differences between regions and that each place had its own unique customs, she wouldn't have suddenly thought of going to Johto to catch Pokémon there while the gym was being renovated.
Natsui had originally forgotten about this matter, and hearing her bring it up, he was also relieved. "It's good that they can grow. I was worried they wouldn't be able to sprout or adapt to the climate here."
Just then, Erika suddenly looked behind her, searching for something.
"Strange, why don't I see Ms. Sabrina? Weren't you traveling with her?"
"Don't even mention it…" Natsui waved his hand. "The League kept urging her to come back and guard the gym. Sabrina couldn't refuse, so I came back this time to take her back to the Saffron Gym."
"Ah? So that's what happened…"
Erika was a bit surprised. After all, she had never heard of the League interfering with a Gym Leader's actions.
The thought flashed through her mind, and seeing Natsui still standing there, she suddenly came back to her senses. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I've been standing here talking to you and forgot to invite you in to sit down. You must be tired after such a long journey. Please come in and have a cup of hot tea."
Natsui was indeed a bit thirsty, so he didn't refuse. He followed her into a large, temporarily built wooden house behind her.
Inside the wooden house, besides Erika, there were also some female staff members whom Natsui had seen before at the gym. Seeing him, they all covered their mouths and giggled, sizing him up with bold, fiery gazes.
Natsui felt a bit uncomfortable under their stares. He quickly nodded at them in greeting and then followed Erika to a small reception room in the innermost part of the house.
Entering the room, the first thing Natsui smelled was a faint perfume mixed with the scent of flowers. Although the smell was pleasant, it still made his nose a bit itchy.
Looking at the environment, although it was a temporary transitional building, this reception room had been decorated exquisitely and elegantly.
Most importantly, perhaps due to her personality and hobbies, or because Erika loved nature, the place was filled with green plants and trimmed flowers. Being there gave Natsui a very warm feeling.
But…
The overly feminine atmosphere made Natsui feel a bit unnatural, and for some reason, he even felt his mouth go dry.
Erika didn't notice Natsui's strange behavior. She knelt on the other side of the tatami mat and brewed a pot of hot tea for the two of them.
"Please excuse the mess," Erika said, placing the teacup in front of Natsui. Seeing him looking around, she smiled. "This wooden house is the temporary site for the gym, specifically for handling some of the daily affairs. But because we can't hold battles here, it was built a bit simply."
"This is already very nice," Natsui said, taking a sip of tea. While composing himself, he also complimented her. "A house like this is already a home that someone like me, who wanders everywhere, dreams of having."
And being praised like this by Natsui, Erika covered her mouth and giggled, her mood also improving a lot.
She had battled with Natsui, seen his strength, fought alongside him against Team Rocket, and had even been protected by him several times in their base. Although she hadn't said anything, in her heart, she had long considered Natsui a friend.
And being praised by a friend was undoubtedly a very happy thing.
Erika's smile was very infectious and also greatly enhanced her charm, exuding a gentle aura completely different from Sabrina's.
Such a radiant woman was undoubtedly very attractive.
Natsui only looked at her for two glances and didn't dare to look any longer. He quickly averted his gaze. He cleared his throat and, to avoid overthinking, directly led the conversation to the main topic.
"You said before that you wanted to go to Johto to catch Grass-type Pokémon. I was wondering if you have any specific targets? That way I can give you some corresponding recommendations based on your needs."
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