Hummm—!
The massive luxury cruise ship departed from the port, sailing toward the deeper blue sea.
After boarding the ship, Natsui and Misty first went to the guest cabin area, intending to settle their luggage properly first.
Next, they would be sailing on the sea for two days and two nights. Although the time was long and the journey far, the advantage lay in the comfort. They could recuperate while training on this cruise ship, or spar with other tourists. Overall, it would be relatively relaxing.
Arriving at the upper deck, Natsui and Misty found their room according to the room number.
Swiping the card, opening the door—the moment the door opened, Misty immediately saw the bright floor-to-ceiling windows at a glance. Outside the window was the broad sky, the boundless sea, and the unobstructed deck!
"Wow!" She threw her luggage onto the floor and excitedly went to the window, holding onto it and looking outside. "What a great view!"
"Of course." Natsui laughed. "I spent a lot of money on this. Although it's not the best location on this ship, it far surpasses those ordinary rooms."
Just as Natsui said, the room they were staying in now was not only luxuriously decorated but also had a living room, bathroom, bedroom, and kitchenette. Inside, appliances, massage chairs, and other equipment were all available. It also had a wide field of vision, no different from a star-rated hotel.
As for why he bought such a good one…
After all, it required more than two days of sailing. If they stayed comfortably, their mood would naturally be more pleasant. It was worth the money.
Seeing Misty run to the spacious and soft big bed again, rolling around with a look of enjoyment, Natsui shook his head helplessly. He first arranged the luggage, then beckoned to her. The two left the room and strolled around the cruise ship.
This could be said to be the most luxurious cruise ship Natsui had ever taken.
Compared to the St. Anne or other cruise ships he had taken before, it was larger, taller, and even more luxurious.
Apart from the two of them, the entire ship was almost fully booked. Four or five thousand people gathered here together, just like a small city.
These people were scattered in the cabins, decks, swimming pools, ballrooms, playgrounds, cinemas, and gyms, making every place look very lively.
However, the most eye-catching thing among them was still the Pokémon battles on the deck.
As the most popular activity in this world, right now a man and a woman were commanding their respective Pokémon. A large crowd of people watching the excitement surrounded them. Natsui and Misty stopped to watch for a while, but found that their level wasn't very high, and there were no dazzling operations or performances, so they paid no further attention.
The cruise ship moved steadily toward the deep sea, and the seaport behind them had already turned into a small dot.
After walking around, Natsui didn't stay idle. Just as he said last night, he and Misty went to the rear deck of the ship, found an unoccupied swimming pool, and began their training.
He first released his Feebas.
Feebas swam leisurely in the pool for a while. After Misty released her Staryu, the two Pokémon played together in the water for a while.
Misty looked up at Natsui. "How do you want to train?"
"By battling constantly, of course." Natsui said, "But my Feebas doesn't know any other moves besides Tackle and Splash. Your Staryu needs to go easy on it and 'feed it moves' bit by bit."
"Understood, I'll hold back. Then let's start quickly!"
...
In the following few hours, Misty's several Water-type Pokémon took turns going into battle, acting as sparring partners one after another, training with Feebas for a long time.
Her Pokémon were all very strong. Even if they held back, they weren't something Feebas could deal with right now.
This tired it out quite a bit. In just one morning, it was already lying flat in the water, floating there motionless, just like a dead fish.
Natsui found it funny seeing this but didn't make things difficult for it anymore.
After all, he understood the principle that haste makes waste. He also understood that even if one wanted to train, one must combine work with rest.
By the time they finished lunch, the cruise ship had already sailed one-third of the journey.
Just as the two were digesting their food after the meal, standing in front of the railing and looking out at the sea, they saw a place that looked like wreckage appearing on the distant sea surface.
"What is that place?" Misty couldn't help but ask.
"That should be Sea Mauville," Natsui answered casually.
"Sea Mauville? What kind of place is that? It sounds like it has some connection with Mauville City."
Natsui recalled carefully. Based on his memory from playing the games before, he explained, "It seems it used to be some kind of large research facility before, but was later abandoned for unknown reasons. Now it has become a paradise for anglers. Many people, because of the complex ocean currents there, don't hesitate to travel far from the mainland specifically to fish for some rare Water-type Pokémon there."
Just as his voice fell, a figure suddenly leaned against the railing next to Natsui. At the same time, a woman's voice also came over at this moment.
"It seems you know very clearly. There aren't many people who understand Sea Mauville now!"
Natsui turned his head to look and saw a stranger—a woman wearing a red leather jacket with a tube top and shorts underneath, sporting thigh-high boots, and with long, permed blonde hair!
Because she was wearing heavy makeup, Natsui couldn't tell her specific age. She should be between 27 and 33 years old. She looked reasonably beautiful, and there was a faint smell of perfume and tobacco on her.
Natsui and Misty exchanged glances. They could be certain that before this, neither of them had ever seen this woman. They didn't know why she suddenly came up to strike up a conversation.
Especially Misty. Looking at this woman who was reasonably beautiful and dressed so sexily, alarm bells rang loudly in her heart. She was very afraid the woman had some bad intentions toward Natsui!
Fortunately, not all women liked Natsui's type. Striking up a conversation with them seemed to have no other purpose.
The woman just looked at the distant Sea Mauville and said faintly, "Actually, what you just said wasn't entirely accurate either. Sea Mauville used to be a sub-sea energy extraction platform under Greater Mauville Holdings. However, the company suffered a huge blow due to the termination of the New Mauville project and eventually went bankrupt, so Sea Mauville was abandoned just like that. Before the facility was demolished, investigators discovered that it possessed a unique ecological environment, so it was preserved as a nature preserve. Over so many years, its ruins and the surrounding environment gradually became compatible, finally forming a special landscape. That's why it was renovated again as a sightseeing spot."
The woman spoke with fervor and assurance. Hearing that she actually had such an understanding of this place, Misty couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Um... how do you know so much about the situation?"
"My father worked there when he was alive."
A short answer allowed Natsui and Misty to instantly understand the reason.
While they were talking, the cruise ship had already sailed close to Sea Mauville.
Because they were standing high up, the full view of Sea Mauville was completely displayed before them.
Judging from the traces of dilapidation, it indeed looked very much like an extraction platform. However, the rear half of the entire facility had completely sunk into the sea, leaving only a small, broken half exposed above the water surface.
On the shoal beside it, one could clearly see a large number of Water-type Pokémon inhabiting it, completely treating this ruin as their paradise.
One could only say that human architecture transformed the ocean, but was also transformed by the ocean in return.
As the cruise ship continued to sail, Sea Mauville slowly disappeared from their line of sight.
Retracting her gaze, the woman looked at Natsui and Misty, smiling as she introduced herself: "My name is Diane. I'm a magician's assistant. You two are both Trainers, right?"
"Eh?" Misty asked in confusion, "How did you know?"
Saying that, she even looked at her and Natsui's attire. It was very normal; how did she tell?
Diane shrugged. "Actually, I noticed it in the morning. You two were at the rear deck pool, conducting special training for Feebas. I guessed only Pokémon Trainers would use that kind of battling as a training method."
"So that's how it is." Misty realized, then hurriedly asked, "Miss Diane, you just said you are a magician's assistant? That's really great! I've always liked magic shows since I was little. I didn't expect to actually be able to see one today. You must be very impressive, right?!"
"The one who is truly impressive isn't me, but that guy over there."
Diane raised her chin, signaling the two to look at a deck chair in the distance. They saw a silver-haired man wearing large sunglasses lying there, sunbathing!
"He is my partner, and also the world's premier magician—Butler!"
Butler?
Because he was lying down and wearing glasses, Natsui didn't see this man's face clearly.
However, he didn't care much about it. After all, this name was very unfamiliar; he was completely an irrelevant person.
Of course, this also stemmed from his lack of understanding of magic. Different trades are separated as if by mountains; naturally, he wouldn't know what kind of status this name held.
But evidently, to be called the world's premier magician, he must be very impressive!
"How rude of me. I am Natsui, and this is Misty. Just as you saw, we are indeed Trainers, preparing for our upcoming journey."
Misty also asked, "Miss Diane, where are you guys going?"
"We are going to Forina to regroup with other members, and then perform."
Forina?
Natsui also felt very unfamiliar with this place name. However, because he had looked at the map, he knew it should be located in the interior of the Hoenn continent. But regarding other information, he knew nothing at all.
However, what surprised him was that the magician named Butler in the distance stole a few glances at him just as he introduced his name.
This wasn't an illusion; he had truly felt it!
Even from his gaze, Natsui sensed a vague hostility!
This made him somewhat baffled. Even if Butler was dissatisfied with him because Diane struck up a conversation with him, that was none of his business. After all, it was Diane who took the initiative to find him, not him taking the initiative to find this woman.
But on second thought, it seemed this matter wasn't that simple.
He could be certain that Butler had already seen him talking to Diane earlier, but he didn't have any reaction at that time. It was only when he mentioned his name that he suddenly felt his hostility.
In other words, this man definitely knew him!
Or rather, he had heard his name, and it was the negative kind!
Thinking further, even Diane striking up a conversation with him seemed very unusual.
Of course, this was just his guess without any basis. But being able to arouse his vigilance proved that this matter was already very unusual.
Hmm, worth noting.
Although thoughts turned in his mind, he kept a smile on his face, not revealing any flaws.
The three of them stood there chatting casually for a while longer, talking and laughing. Everything looked so normal. Even Butler retracted his gaze and no longer secretly paid attention to them, as if nothing had happened before.
After parting ways, Natsui took Misty back to their room.
As soon as they entered the room, he hurriedly called out Gengar.
"What for?"
Gengar, who was reading a book, floated out from the shadow. It looked at Natsui with a baffled expression, not understanding why he called it out for no reason.
Ignoring Misty's equally surprised gaze, Natsui said to Gengar, "Do you have the kind of ability that can temporarily separate a person's soul from their body?"
The reason he asked this was that he remembered in the anime, when Ash was in Kanto, to defeat Sabrina, he went to the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town to try and capture a Ghost-type Pokémon. Right at that time, Haunter and Gengar separated his soul from his body, and he stayed in the tower for a long time.
"Of course I can." Gengar nodded. "But what do you want to do? This is actually a very dangerous thing. A slight carelessness could lead to true death. Moreover, during the day, this ability is also very unstable."
Natsui told Gengar and Misty about his guess just now.
After finishing, he frowned and said, "So no matter what, I want to go and see exactly what is going on. If they really have some designs on me, I can be prepared in advance."
"So that's it!" Misty realized belatedly. "No wonder I also faintly felt that Diane's purpose wasn't pure. Hearing you say this, they might really have some ulterior secret!"
Seeing both of them looking at it, Gengar hesitated slightly, then nodded.
"I understand. I will control it carefully!"
Taking a deep breath, instructing Misty to watch over his body here, Natsui lay on the bed fully clothed.
However, just before closing his eyes, he turned his head to look at Misty and said somewhat uneasily, "Stay here properly. Absolutely do not let anyone barge in. And also… don't do strange things to my body!"
"What kind of person do you take me for?" Misty waved her hand with a face urging him on. "Oh my, leave this place to me. You don't need to worry at all. Just hurry up and check on the situation of those two people!"
Natsui wanted to say something but stopped. He just felt that there seemed to be a light flashing in Misty's eyes at this moment…
Forget it, ignore her…
Shaking his head and pushing away distracting thoughts, he relaxed his mind and lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Gengar immediately floated above his head, reached out a hand, and touched him. Instantly, Natsui felt himself become weightless. In the next second, his soul floated out of his body uncontrollably!
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