Natsui took Eevee's Poké Ball from Sakura.
Once this Poké Ball was in his hand, it meant that this Eevee had officially become his Pokémon.
After parting ways with Sakura, Natsui and Erika, along with Eevee, didn't leave Ecruteak City directly. Instead, they planned to head to the Pokémon Center there first.
After getting Eevee, the number of Pokémon he was carrying had exceeded twelve. To prevent Eevee from being automatically transported back, he had to make some adjustments first.
In the distance, watching their backs, Sakura couldn't help but wave and shout, "Mr. Natsui, I wish you another championship victory at the Silver Conference! Go for it!"
The two turned back and waved at her as well.
After spending more than a day together, the women had formed a deep friendship, and even Natsui had become familiar with them.
The night before, Erika had also made a promise with them that after the Silver Conference, she would return to see them again.
Because they had a chance to meet again, this departure wasn't filled with much sadness.
Following the wide street, the two arrived at the Pokémon Center.
After greeting the Nurse Joy there, Natsui began to ponder which Pokémon to send back.
Finally, he made a call to Sabrina.
After much thought, he decided to send the three Legendary Birds to her. These three Pokémon were rarely brought out, took up a lot of space, and with Suicune on his team, he could handle most unexpected situations. If he really couldn't, he could always have them sent back.
As for why he contacted Sabrina...
After all, he felt more at ease entrusting the three birds to his woman rather than leaving them at the Sakuragi Park. Besides, Koharu's abilities were insufficient to manage the three Legendary Birds, and the place lacked privacy, making it easy for others to spy on their existence.
Most importantly, the three Legendary Birds had spent some time with Sabrina and knew about his relationship with her, so they wouldn't be too resistant.
The call was answered quickly, but with Erika present, Natsui couldn't talk to Sabrina for too long. He had to get straight to the point and tell her what he needed.
...
Kanto, Saffron City, Saffron Gym.
On the gym's battlefield, a battle was currently underway.
The battle was between Gym Leader Sabrina's Alakazam and a female challenger's Blastoise.
The two Pokémon were attacking each other on the field, with various moves and skills flying everywhere. It looked like a very intense fight.
But at that moment, Sabrina's attention was not on the battle. She stood in the trainer's box on the left, holding her phone to her ear, occasionally nodding in agreement.
After hanging up, she turned around without hesitation and walked straight towards the gym's main doors.
As she left, the only ones remaining on the field were the utterly bewildered challenger and her father, who was acting as the referee!
Seeing her just leave like that, without even a thought for the ongoing battle, her father hurriedly called out, "Sabrina! Where are you going!?"
Sabrina didn't turn back. "To the Pokémon Center."
Her flat tone suggested she couldn't care less about the battle.
"What for!?" her father was extremely surprised. "And you're in the middle of a battle right now! What's going to happen to the battle if you leave!?"
Sabrina paid him no further mind and continued to walk out.
"Sigh..."
Seeing her like this, her father could only sigh helplessly.
This was an extremely irresponsible act, a serious neglect of her duties as a Gym Leader. If it were reported to the Pokémon League, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble.
But as a father, he was completely powerless to restrain his daughter.
His daughter's cold personality was still fresh in his memory. Although her disposition had changed a lot after her journey, becoming a bit more normal, if you provoked her, she would make you feel the terror of being dominated by psychic powers in an instant!
Now, seeing Sabrina being called away by a single phone call, as someone who had been through it, he naturally understood that his daughter's emotional state was a bit off. Someone out there must be wooing her!
It must be!
Damn it, who is it!?
But by this time, Sabrina had already disappeared through the main doors. Even if he wanted to ask, it was too late.
Helpless, he could only turn to the equally bewildered challenger and force an awkward smile.
"Ahem, as you can see, Sabrina needs to leave immediately for some business, so I will be your temporary opponent!"
...
After confirming through the phone that the three Ultra Balls had been transported to Sabrina, Natsui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been worried that something might go wrong during the transportation process. After all, these were three Legendary Pokémon. If they were lost, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But now it seemed he had been worrying for nothing.
Thinking about it, with today's advanced technology, unless Team Rocket interfered, the probability of machine failure was extremely small.
And without the three Legendary Birds, including Eevee's Poké Ball, he now had two empty slots on his team, which should be enough for the journey ahead.
Mainly, his standards were high, and he didn't just catch any Pokémon. Two empty slots were more than enough for him.
After bidding farewell to Nurse Joy, the two left the Pokémon Center, exited Ecruteak City, and continued their journey to the southwest.
Their next destination was the Olivine Gym in Olivine City.
The direct distance between Olivine City and Ecruteak City wasn't very far, but after leaving Ecruteak, they needed to walk to the end of Route 38, then head south through Route 39 to get there.
And this detour naturally lengthened the journey considerably.
Walking along the country path, they were flanked by vast grasslands, with green grass stretching as far as the eye could see. In the distant horizon, they could faintly make out the undulating mountain ranges.
The weather was clear. Although there was sunlight, it wasn't harsh, and when the gentle breeze blew on them, it was indescribably comfortable.
Eevee was very lively. It followed the two of them, darting back and forth, left and right, sometimes sniffing flowers, other times smelling the fragrant grass, or flipping over rocks. It couldn't stay still.
Seeing its abundant energy, Natsui had to call Gengar out of his shadow to keep an eye on Eevee and prevent it from getting lost.
But Gengar, having lived for over a thousand years, was like an old man. It didn't have Eevee's boundless energy and wasn't curious about everything. So after just a short while of running around, it was mentally and physically exhausted, its face a picture of utter despair.
Erika walked alongside Natsui, glanced at Eevee, and said with a light laugh, "Have you thought about which direction you want this Eevee to evolve in?"
"I haven't planned it for now." Looking down at Eevee, Natsui shook his head. "After all, it was a gift from Sakura, and it carries her hopes. So... I'll let it decide for itself."