This was a very wondrous feeling.
Looking at his own body on the bed, Natsui, who was in a soul state, felt indescribably weird.
Clearly his heart was still beating, but he himself seemed unable to even feel his breathing.
By the bedside, seeing Natsui lying there as if in a deep sleep, Misty couldn't help but kneel on the bed and nudge his arm with her hand.
"Natsui, have you left?"
What 'left'? She makes it sound like I'm dead…
Natsui turned to look at Gengar. "If I speak now, she shouldn't be able to hear me, right?"
Gengar nodded. "In soul state, indeed you cannot communicate with normal people. However, although she can't hear your voice, you can play some pranks on her."
Pranks?
Natsui shook his head. He wasn't in the mood to play any pranks on a little girl. On the contrary…
On the bed, seeing no response from Natsui, Misty thought he had already left. A strange smile appeared on her face, and she slowly extended her hand toward his chest…
Natsui watched with black lines forming on his forehead.
What on earth does this girl want to do?
Turning to look at Gengar, Natsui frowned and said, "You tell her that I haven't left yet, and tell her to behave herself!"
Originally, Gengar had an 'auntie smile' on its face, intending to watch the fun and see what Misty would actually do. Now hearing Natsui's voice, it could only sigh helplessly, cough lightly a few times, and with a look of disappointment, repeat Natsui's words to Misty.
"Eh?"
Misty was stunned, then quickly retracted her hand like a startled bird, a look of embarrassment appearing on her face.
"Um… actually, I just saw that your clothes were a bit messy and wanted to help you tidy them up."
While speaking, she was secretly regretting it in her heart.
I really am an idiot!!!
Clearly Gengar hadn't left yet, so Natsui definitely hadn't gone either. And I actually made a move at this time!
I don't know what clouded my mind just now!
Sigh, now that I've been discovered, if I want to blame someone, I can only blame myself for being too impatient!
Hopefully, this excuse of mine can muddle through…
In mid-air, Natsui naturally didn't believe her nonsense. Seeing her flushed face just now, he knew Misty's intentions were impure.
If I had known earlier, I should have released Gardevoir to protect me…
Just as he was about to say something else, before he could open his mouth, Gengar at the side urged, "Alright, don't say anymore. Just as I mentioned, the separated soul state is very unstable during the day. Let's hurry up and get down to business!"
With no other choice and no time to make adjustments, after giving Misty an uneasy glance, Natsui could only follow Gengar through the wall and leave the room.
One human and one Pokémon floated into the corridor.
Because he couldn't control his body normally, Natsui could only be pulled along by Gengar, floating into the distance.
"Where are we going?"
"Let's go to that deck just now first; they shouldn't have left yet." Saying this, Natsui asked another question, "Can other Pokémon see me right now?"
"Only Ghost-type Pokémon can see you. Why? Do you want to avoid them?"
"After all, this matter counts as a relatively covert operation. It's better to avoid other people and Pokémon. It can also reduce unnecessary trouble."
"I understand. Then let's sneak over quietly from mid-air."
Amidst their conversation, they had already arrived unknowingly at the deck where they met Diane earlier. And sure enough, she and that magician named Butler hadn't left yet.
At this moment, both were lying on deck chairs. Perhaps estimating that there were other tourists present, they weren't talking but just silently sunbathing together.
Their behavior was very normal, but the more plain this appearance was, the more Natsui felt something was wrong.
"It looks like they're going to sunbathe here for a long time." Gengar looked up at the sun. The sun was fierce, without even a single cloud. "Do we have to wait like this forever? I'll remind you once: if you leave your body for a long time, you will truly die!"
"Then find a way to make them leave here!" Natsui pondered for a moment and said to Gengar, "Go find a way to force them away!"
"I knew this kind of chore would definitely fall on my head." Gengar muttered in a low voice, but didn't dare delay. It quietly went to a place where no one noticed, then transformed into a giant electric fan and started blowing a strong wind toward where Diane and Butler were!
Whoosh—!
A strong wind suddenly blew up, messing up the hair of many tourists. Some people's hats were even blown off!
People scrambled to dodge the strong wind. Amidst the chaos, Diane and Butler obviously couldn't continue sunbathing either, so they could only get up and leave.
Fortunately, the two didn't realize someone was playing tricks. They just took it as a normal weather change and didn't mind.
Watching the two return to the cabin, once Gengar returned to his side, Natsui hurriedly followed, trailing them quietly.
To avoid being discovered if these two also had Ghost-type Pokémon around them, Natsui didn't dare follow too closely, keeping a distance of about ten meters or so.
This was a relatively safe value, allowing Gengar to react in case of a sudden situation.
Following them all the way, Natsui discovered that the place these two lived wasn't actually very far from his room, but it was two floors higher. The room grade also looked slightly higher.
One could only say, as expected of a magician, he really had money~
The two stopped in front of a door, then swiped a card to enter the room.
Gengar went in first to take a look. After confirming there was no danger, it pulled Natsui in through the wall beside it.
As soon as he entered the room, Natsui heard a man's voice.
"You shouldn't have taken the risk to approach him."
Hearing this voice, Natsui looked up and saw that Butler had already taken off his glasses, allowing Natsui to see his appearance clearly.
How should one put it…
This man looked at least over thirty years old. He was reasonably handsome and his mannerisms were fairly elegant. It was just that his hair was combed into a peculiar hairstyle, giving him a somewhat frivolous feel.
"What does it matter?" Diane walked to the liquor cabinet, poured herself a glass of red wine, and brought it to her lips to savor slowly. "Didn't you already break away from Team Magma? Then he can't be considered your enemy anymore."
Team Magma!?
Hearing this name, Natsui knew he really hadn't guessed wrong. Butler indeed knew him, and had even been a member of Team Magma!
But…
What was this about breaking away from Team Magma?
"You're looking for trouble!" Butler's expression darkened. "If you draw his attention, our plan could very likely fail at the very end!"
"Isn't that just perfect?" Diane chuckled lightly. "That way you can give up that unrealistic dream, and you can also kill that unrealistic heart of yours!"
"Impossible!" Butler denied it flatly. "No one can stop me from taking revenge on those guys who mocked me! Once we reach Forina this time and find Jirachi's crystal, my wish can be realized!"
Jirachi?
Hearing this, Natsui understood everything.
These two people—no, it should be said Butler—used to be a member of Team Magma. Later, for some reason, he was mocked and quit Team Magma, so he wanted to realize his wish by finding Jirachi.
As for the Jirachi they mentioned, it was a Steel and Psychic-type Mythical Pokémon.
It is said that such a legend has been circulating since the distant past: if one lets Jirachi hear a clear singing voice once every 1,000 years, it can remain awake for 7 days. And when it wakes from its slumber, it will grant any wish written on the wish tags on its head!
Of course, for most people, this was actually just a legend. They would smile knowingly upon hearing it and let it pass; very few people would take it as real.
Only paranoid guys like Butler would hold such a great obsession with it.
However, by this point, Natsui also vaguely recalled that these two seemed to be characters from the Jirachi movie, and Butler was the villain in it!
No wonder although their names were unfamiliar when he saw them, their images looked somewhat familiar. So the reason originated here.
Having understood the sequence of events, Natsui lost interest.
Mainly because he had no thoughts about Jirachi, nor was he willing to go specifically to some Forina.
Forget it, let's leave the subsequent matters to Ash to handle.
Shaking his head, since he knew the purpose of these two, he lost interest. He gave Gengar a look, and the human and Pokémon left the room, following the original path back to their own room.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Misty lying next to him, sleeping soundly using him as a pillow!
And her Starmie was acting as a guard, standing bored to the side…
This guy…
Helplessly shaking his head, Natsui dived back into his body and immediately opened his eyes.
His movement immediately woke Misty up. The young girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked at him blankly, and was stunned for a long while before coming back to her senses.
"Natsui, you're back?"
Natsui looked at her hesitantly. "You didn't do anything to my body, right?"
Hearing this topic, Misty lost all sleepiness and shook her head hurriedly. "Of course not! Why? In your eyes, am I that kind of person!?"
Regarding her reaction, Natsui felt slightly suspicious. But after checking himself carefully and seeing his clothes were still worn properly, he could only keep this doubt in his heart.
Misty seemed very afraid that Natsui would continue on this question, so she asked, "What did you find out just now?"
"Nothing much." Natsui shook his head. "Although those two indeed have other purposes, their target isn't me. There's no need to waste energy on them anymore!"
...
During the rest of the voyage, Natsui focused without distractions, continuing to conduct special training for Feebas with Misty.
Although they still couldn't make Feebas evolve, at least it accumulated quite a lot of experience. Compared to before, it had made great progress.
During this period, Diane also came to watch their training, chatting very casually with Natsui and Misty. She seemed completely ignorant of the fact that she and Butler had already been exposed.
Natsui acted as if he knew nothing, polite yet distant.
And such a journey continued until they reached the port of Sootopolis City. Natsui and Misty disembarked, bringing this segment to a close.
Sootopolis City, the mysterious city sleeping in history.
Located in eastern Hoenn, it is a city on a large island independent of the Hoenn mainland. It is said that the prototype here is Santorini, Greece.
The entire Sootopolis City is located inside a volcanic crater. It is said that a long time ago, an underwater volcano erupted and then protruded out of the sea surface. The crater in the center of the land formed a lake due to rainwater accumulation. Soon, people discovered that the climate here was very warm and suitable for living, so they built Sootopolis City inside this crater.
Coming down from the gangway, Natsui was about to head to the Sootopolis Gym. But before he could walk out of the pier, he saw a figure flash past from a distance.
Although it was just a hurried glance, relying on his keen eyesight, he still recognized that person at a glance. It was the Team Aqua Admin he had dealt with many times—Shelly!
Strange, why is she here?
Could she be plotting some operation again?
With a thought in his heart, Natsui wasn't in a hurry to challenge the Gym anymore. Instead, he called out to Misty, and following the direction Shelly left, he quickly followed.
Given his grudges with Team Aqua, let alone meeting like this, even if he heard they were nearby but some distance away, he would have to take the initiative to go over and kick them a few times.
The two sides had long reached a point of never resting until one died.
Shelly seemed to have something on her mind and didn't notice anyone following her. There were not even other Team Aqua members beside her; she was all alone!
Let alone Natsui, even Misty sensed something was wrong.
"What's wrong with her? Could it be that she was traumatized after failing to fight for Deoxys last time?"
Just as Misty said, as a high-ranking Admin of Team Aqua, Shelly appeared in people's line of sight so undisguisedly at this moment, and she looked preoccupied. It seemed something had indeed happened.
"Shouldn't be." Natsui was also puzzled. "I feel she isn't that fragile of a person. There should be something else."
While talking, the two followed behind Shelly, leaving the passenger port all the way and walking toward the cargo area on the side.
After following for a long time, seeing no one around, Natsui didn't plan to follow any longer. Instead, he took the initiative to strike, surrounding Shelly with Misty, one in front and one behind.
No matter what reason she had, as a mortal enemy, encountering such a good opportunity, naturally, he couldn't miss it!
Shelly evidently hadn't expected to be followed. Seeing someone blocking her path, she was startled. And when she saw clearly it was Natsui, she was even more astonished.
"Didn't expect we would meet here, did you?" Natsui looked at her with a beaming smile, while his hand already reached for his waist pouch. "Although I feel very sorry for you, there's no helping it. Today it's your turn to have nowhere to run!"
"Wai… wait a minute!" Shelly's expression changed. She hurriedly raised her hands, signaling she had no thought of resisting. "I have an important matter I must handle right now. Could you please let me off this once!?"
Compared to her previous overbearing manner, the Shelly at this moment was like a different person.
"Oh?" Natsui smiled a smile that wasn't a smile. "To be honest, I'm also very curious. Seeing your flustered appearance, obviously something has happened. So, can you tell me exactly why?"
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