At two in the afternoon, Natsui and Erika crossed the grassland and arrived at a Pokémon Center built in the wild.
After setting out from Ecruteak City, they had been walking for several hours, their legs aching and their bodies exhausted. Now that they were here, they finally had a chance to rest and recover their strength.
It's worth mentioning that while on the grassland, the two encountered a herd of Sunkern. Erika decisively took action and successfully caught one, marking the second Grass-type Pokémon she had captured since arriving in Johto.
Seeing herself getting closer to her goal put her in an exceptionally good mood.
Geographically, this Pokémon Center was built at the intersection of a forest and a field, at a three-way fork in the road. Perhaps due to the high number of passing trainers, many people rested here every day. As a result, the Pokémon League paid special attention to this location, building this Pokémon Center on a rather grand scale!
The automatic doors slid open to either side, and when the two entered the three-story Pokémon Center, they found that the lobby alone was already bustling with at least several dozen trainers!
As the soundproof barrier vanished, the sounds of people talking and Pokémon crying instantly washed over them.
"Wow, it's so lively!"
Seeing so many people, Erika couldn't help but exclaim.
It was clear that this Pokémon Center was very well-equipped. Televisions, satellite phones, and desktop computers were all available for trainers to use freely. There was even a swimming pool outside, where seven or eight Water-type Pokémon were playing and splashing around.
"It is lively, almost on par with the facilities at the Indigo Conference. Alright, let's not worry about all that for now. I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat."
At Natsui's urging, the two got straight to the point and had a late lunch in the cafeteria.
As they had agreed, they decided to spend the night here.
In fact, judging by the current time, there was still a long while before nightfall. They could have continued their journey after eating, but a look at the map made it clear that this was the only place to rest before reaching Olivine City. If they didn't want to camp out in the wild tonight, they had to rest here for the night and set off again early the next morning.
Fortunately, neither of them was in a hurry, and they both preferred sleeping in soft beds, so they weren't too concerned about whether it would cause a delay.
The food at the Pokémon Center was still delicious, but during the meal, compared to Erika's elegant and graceful manner of eating in small, slow bites, Natsui was not so formal. His table manners could be described as quite casual.
After finishing lunch, the two discussed their plans and were about to take a look around the Pokémon Center. But before they could get up, a teenage boy and girl suddenly walked up to them.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but are you that Natsui?"
The girl's clear voice reached him. Natsui turned to look and saw that the girl was quite pretty, with long, light-blue hair tied into two pigtails that defied gravity by sticking upwards. She wore a form-fitting top and shorts, looking enthusiastic and full of energy.
Beside her, a Misdreavus floated above her head.
As for the boy next to her, he wore a baseball cap backward, a red hoodie, and yellow shorts. A lock of his hair stuck out from the gap in his cap, rebelliously sticking up in the air.
In terms of hairstyle, the two of them shared a similar style.
"I am. Is there something I can help you with?"
"It really is you!"
Hearing Natsui's confirmation, the two exchanged a look, excitement visible in each other's eyes!
The girl, in particular, even jumped for joy!
Under Natsui's and Erika's surprised gazes, perhaps realizing their loss of composure, the two quickly cleared their throats and quieted down.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Marina." After speaking, she pointed to the boy beside her. "His name is Kenta. We're both trainers from New Bark Town!"
Marina? Kenta?
Natsui frowned slightly. He had some recollection of these two, as if they had appeared a few times in the anime, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall any specific episodes.
"What can I do for you?"
"Well, I saw your matches at the Indigo Conference, and I know you won the championship! So, would you be willing to have a battle with me!?"
"Me too! Me too!" Kenta was not to be outdone. "I want to battle you too!"
"You two are too loud..." Natsui shook his head helplessly, but he didn't refuse. "Alright, if someone challenges me, I have no reason to say no. Let's just call it some post-meal exercise!"
With the two of them interrupting, Natsui and Erika's plan to explore the place naturally fell through.
The group left the building and went to the backyard of the Pokémon Center. Like other Pokémon Centers, the simple battlefield in the back was a standard configuration of the league.
Before Natsui even reached the battlefield, Kenta and Marina were already arguing about who would battle him first.
They bickered for a bit, both seeming to want to be the first to battle Natsui. But for some reason, Kenta suddenly backed down and gave the spot to the girl.
Marina eagerly stood in the trainer's box on the other side, looking at Natsui with a grin.
"Today must be my lucky day. I can't believe I get to battle a champion!"
Natsui shook his head, his gaze sweeping between the two of them. "I can see you two are very close. Are you traveling together?"
Hearing this, both of them blushed instantly.
Marina waved her hands. "No, Kenta and I just happened to run into each other here."
Kenta also said, "She's right. Although we've been playmates since we were kids, we've been traveling separately since leaving New Bark Town. It was just a coincidence that we met here!"
"Well, that's quite a coincidence."
Natsui chuckled. Seeing their shy expressions, he knew what was going on.
These two must have feelings for each other but were too shy to break through that barrier.
Although it was just a budding romance, compared to Ash's cluelessness, Kenta was already leagues ahead!
"What are the rules for the match?"
As Kenta and Marina had envisioned, they wanted to each have a battle with Natsui, with both sending out two Pokémon.
However, after hearing this, Natsui refused them, only allowing them to each send out one Pokémon for a single-round, winner-takes-all match.
The two were slightly disappointed. After all, they understood that battling such an opponent, win or lose, would bring them a lot of growth and insight. Naturally, they hoped to battle Natsui a few more times!