After they got off the ship in Vermilion City, it was time for everyone to say goodbye.
For some of them, this was only a short farewell. They would see each other again in a few days. But for Brock and Misty, their journey was over for now. They might need to stay here and rest for quite a while.
Ash and Brock were the first to leave Vermilion City. They waved goodbye to Natsui and headed northwest along the main road.
They both had to return home to see their families. They needed to visit their mothers and spend time with their loved ones again. Even though they left together, they would part ways later.
That still felt a little sad.
Natsui also wanted to see Sabrina and Erika as soon as possible. But now that he was already in Vermilion City, he needed to visit Professor Cerise first.
His Pokémon were still staying there too. He had to go see his partners before anything else.
Misty and May had also returned to Kanto. But Misty did not want to go back to the Cerulean Gym right away. She said she wanted to see Natsui's Pokémon first. So she brought May along and followed Natsui to Professor Cerise's laboratory.
Natsui noticed her whispering to May in a secretive way. He figured she must have her reasons, but he did not think much of it.
He assumed they would say goodbye soon enough. Maybe Misty just wanted to spend a little more time with him.
But Natsui had no idea that Misty was thinking about something completely different as he led them there.
Behind Natsui, Misty leaned close to May and whispered, "We're going to see Chloe soon. Be careful. Don't be fooled by her 'good girl' act. She's actually very clever. You need to watch out for her as a rival in the future!"
"A rival? Isn't that a bit much..."
May felt that Misty was overthinking it.
She knew Natsui was amazing. He was handsome and exactly her type. He was strong, and she admired him. He was also kind and cared about her feelings. But would that many girls really like him? Was Misty maybe overestimating how charming he was?
May did not know about anyone else, but she knew she liked him a little herself.
Of course, she only kept that thought to herself. She knew Natsui was important to Misty. And since Misty was already upset because they were about to separate, it was better not to provoke her.
Natsui wanted to surprise everyone, so he did not call Professor Cerise or Chloe ahead of time. He took out the gifts he had brought back and bought a few more from a gift shop. Once everything was packed up, he carried them with him into the Cerise Laboratory.
He had lived here before and still had his own room. As he stepped into the English-style garden, Natsui looked around. Everything felt very familiar.
Misty had been here once before, but she had only stayed briefly near the battle area. This was her first time entering through the front gate. Curious, she stopped whispering to May, and the two of them looked around.
The giant park in the back was even more interesting than the laboratory itself.
"Natsui..." May asked curiously, "Are your Pokémon staying here?"
"Yeah." Natsui nodded. "I got my Pokédex here. This is also where I started as a trainer. My journey began right here."
Natsui... the start of everything?
May looked at Cerise Park again. After hearing that, the whole place suddenly felt more special. It even seemed a little mysterious.
The three of them walked to the front door of the laboratory.
Natsui was about to knock when he suddenly heard footsteps on the other side. Then the door opened from the inside.
A girl with long reddish-purple hair stood there. Her hair was braided, and she was carrying a basket of Berries, clearly on her way out. She looked up and saw Natsui standing there with the two girls behind him.
This girl was Chloe.
Natsui was just about to say hello when Chloe blinked once and shut the door again.
Huh?
Natsui was caught off guard. He had no idea what she was doing.
He was about to knock, but the door opened again. Chloe looked at Natsui, blinked, and shut the door a second time!
Only then did Natsui understand. Chloe thought she was seeing things and was checking again.
Did she think she was still dreaming?
Honestly, it made sense. He had not told her he was back in Kanto, so suddenly seeing him standing at the front door must have been too much.
Natsui shook his head and was about to call her name. But Chloe had already realized that Natsui really was there. She let out a happy cry and opened the door for the third time.
"Natsui! You're back!?"
Because of her tone and the obvious joy on her face, Misty immediately became wary.
Chloe was not like Lisia. Misty saw her as a rival, but at least one she could still speak to normally. She would not act openly hostile toward her the way she did with Lisia.
"Yeah, I'm back." Natsui smiled, then joked, "What was that? Don't you trust your own eyes?"
Chloe's face turned a little red. She smiled sweetly and said, "Yes! You came back without telling us anything. I really didn't expect it!"
"I wanted to surprise all of you."
Natsui smiled and introduced everyone.
"You already know Misty. This is May. We met in Hoenn. She came back with Misty to visit Kanto. May, this is Chloe. She's Professor Cerise's daughter."
"Hello."
"Hello."
"Chloe, long time no see."
The two girls shook hands. Misty had warned May ahead of time, but May still liked Chloe right away. Chloe really did give off the feeling of a proper, well-behaved girl. It was hard to dislike her.
And Chloe also liked May immediately.
It was simply a matter of personality. Misty and Lisia clashed the moment they met, but May and Chloe did not have that kind of reaction at all.
Natsui glanced at the basket in Chloe's hands and asked, "Were you heading out?"
"Yeah." Chloe was clearly in a very good mood after seeing Natsui. She answered happily, "It's Saturday, so I don't have school today. I was just about to go to Cerise Park and bring your Pokémon some extra food."
Those words really touched Natsui.
While he had been traveling, Chloe had been helping take care of his Pokémon. A simple "thank you" did not feel like enough.
"You worked hard." Natsui shook his head, unsure what else to say, then handed her the gift he had prepared. "These are gifts from Hoenn. I hope you like them."
He did not know how else to thank her, so that was all he could do. What he did not realize was how warm that gesture made Chloe feel inside.
"Thank you."
Chloe accepted the gift and smiled at him again.
Natsui looked past her into the house and asked, "Is the Professor here? What about Chrysa and Ren?"
Chloe nodded. "They're all here. Do you want me to go call them?"
"No need." Natsui waved his hand. Then he pointed at Misty and May and told Chloe, "They haven't seen Cerise Park yet. Could you show them around? I'll go see Professor Cerise first."
He gave Misty and May a nod, then carried his gifts into the laboratory.
After he left, Chloe smiled at the two girls.
"Please come with me."
Carrying the basket, Chloe led Misty and May along behind her.
Before long, they reached the gate to Cerise Park. May looked through the glass and did not see any Pokémon. She asked, "Why is it empty? I thought trainers kept their Pokémon here."
Chloe used her key card to open the gate and smiled at May.
"The park isn't open to everyone yet. Right now, only Natsui's Pokémon are here. There were not many to begin with, and he took most of them to the Ever Grande Conference. Only a few are still here now."
The three of them entered the park together.
A long stone path stretched forward, with grass on both sides. Beyond that were hills and forest.
Chloe stepped off the path and led them through a patch of trees until they reached a flower field. She moved a few branches aside, and Misty and May finally saw Natsui's Venusaur sleeping among the flowers.
The sight felt almost magical.
Only a few days ago, they had seen Venusaur battling on the field. After the tournament, Natsui had sent the older members of his team back here. Seeing Venusaur again in a place like this felt strange.
Chloe set down the basket and took out a few green Watmel Berries. She placed them in front of Venusaur, then turned and smiled at the two girls.
"Venusaur loves Watmel Berries. They're sweet and crunchy. Do you want to try one?"
Misty and May both shook their heads.
Hearing Chloe's voice, Venusaur opened its eyes, gave a content nod, and started eating the Berries.
Chloe brushed the dirt off her clothes, picked up the basket again, and continued leading the girls deeper into the park.
Along the way, Misty and May saw more of Natsui's Pokémon.
A Scizor was striking a tree with its claws. A Tyranitar was resting on a pile of rocks. A Jolteon was chasing butterflies. A Blastoise was in the water. And a Crystal Steelix was staring out from the mouth of a cave. Chloe clearly knew exactly where each of them liked to stay.
And the Pokémon all seemed to like Chloe as well. The moment they saw her, several of them came closer on their own.
Misty could not help feeling a little strange as she watched that.
She had not realized Chloe had been taking such good care of Natsui's Pokémon.
Eventually, they reached the largest lake in the park. Misty came to a stop.
May noticed the change in her expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Before Misty could answer, the surface of the water exploded.
A giant red Pokémon burst up from the lake!
Now May understood.
Both she and Misty froze with fear. The Pokémon looked fierce enough to stop their breathing for a moment. Its eyes were large and cold, and the pressure it gave off was overwhelming.
It was an incredibly intimidating entrance.
This was Natsui's giant red Gyarados.
It was the ruler of the park. It lived in the lake alone, and even Pokémon like Venusaur and Blastoise rarely approached its territory.
Misty and May could not move. They were too stunned to even take a step.
This was May's first time seeing the giant red Gyarados in person.
She had only heard about it before from Misty and Ash. Actually seeing it now was a shock. She had never imagined that a Gyarados could be this huge or this frightening.
She also had not known that a red Gyarados even existed.
Chloe walked calmly to the water's edge without showing the slightest fear. She tossed the remaining Berries from her basket to the giant red Gyarados.
The giant red Gyarados swallowed them easily, then sank back beneath the surface.
Chloe picked up the basket again. Seeing the expressions on Misty and May's faces, she smiled.
"Don't be afraid. It's actually very well-behaved. As long as you don't provoke it, it won't attack you."
May asked, "You're really not scared?"
"Scared?" Chloe shook her head. "They're Natsui's Pokémon. They would never hurt me. So there's nothing to be afraid of."
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Note: From now on, all names will be in English every single one. Since some of them were previously in Japanese, I'm going to try to correct them all starting from Chapter 1
Thank you to everyone who waited for me, and I'm sorry for taking so long to update on WebNovel.
I thought my PC was finally fixed, but it started getting blue screens again, so I couldn't upload the chapters properly.
However, I found out that if I use a different browser on my phone, the chapters can be pasted without any problems. So I'll be publishing them from there from now on.
I'm sorry again for the delay.
Patreon hasn't had this problem because the chapters there are scheduled automatically, and there is also a moderator taking care of everything.
Thank you for your patience and support.