The next morning, Misty disturbed Natsui until he woke up.
He opened his blurry eyes and saw Misty. She had already finished washing and was wearing her clothes. She knelt beside him. She used a single strand of her hair to tickle his cheek.
It felt itchy but pleasant.
"Natsui, your alcohol tolerance is very poor," Misty said. She covered her mouth and gave a little smirk. "You only drank a few cups yesterday. You slept until this moment!"
Natsui thought she truly understood nothing.
He checked the time. It was 7:20 AM. Based on his usual routine, he was rising late today.
However, he could not avoid this. He had spent most of the night overthinking. He had barely slept. He only rested for a short time before dawn. He woke up late because he went to bed late. It was not because of the alcohol.
Unfortunately, he could not explain these details to Misty.
He observed the area next to him. The futons for Bea and Misty were already folded and stored. No one else was in the room except for him and Misty. He did not know where Bea was.
The rain outside had stopped. He noticed the faint aroma of food in the air. Their breakfast was definitely ready.
Natsui made himself tidy. He walked out of the room with Misty. They entered the courtyard. A middle-aged man in work clothes was there. He climbed onto the roof to fix something. The elderly woman gave him instructions.
Bea stood in the courtyard. She was practicing fighting techniques. Every punch and kick made a sharp sound in the air.
She was covered in sweat. She had clearly been practicing for a significant amount of time.
She was very diligent.
Natsui wished he possessed her persistence.
However, he was somewhat lazy. He preferred to stay in bed longer.
Misty looked at the roof. The man was repairing the tiles. She wanted to explain the situation to Natsui.
"You don't know yet? It rained very hard last night. Our room leaked. Bea and I almost got wet!"
"Is that so?" Natsui pretended to know nothing. "I slept too deeply. I did not even feel the rain."
Bea heard his voice. She realized Natsui had left the room. She glanced at him. Her punching stopped for a moment. After two or three seconds, she continued her training.
Natsui felt hesitant. He felt guilty. He captured this change in her behavior immediately.
He felt a sudden shock.
He wondered if she noticed something.
This was very possible. He realized Bea had not been drinking last night. He had touched her during the night. She could not be unaware.
But if she knew, why did she not react?
She could have stopped him or scolded him.
He wondered if he was overthinking.
But why was her attitude like this now?
Misty observed the subtle atmosphere between them. She looked at them with suspicion.
She felt something was unusual.
She wondered if something happened while she was sleeping.
But that was impossible. She was right there. She heard no noises during the night. She had to wake Natsui up herself.
She thought they were probably just shy.
She believed this was the reason. They slept in a different spot last night. Now that it was daylight, they could see each other. It was natural to feel uncomfortable.
Bea took a cold shower. She came to the room. Natsui and Misty were waiting at the table.
She sat down. Then they began to eat.
The breakfast was delicious like the dinner before. The ingredients were simple. However, simple food is a test for a chef.
No one spoke. Misty felt she had to say something.
"Bea, where will you go next?"
They had rested for one night. Now they had to continue their journey. This was the destiny of a trainer. They could not stay in one place for long. New adventures were always waiting.
Natsui and Misty were going to challenge the final Gym. Bea knew she could not improve her strength here. She needed to find a new training ground.
"I will leave Hoenn," Bea said. She did not look up. "I challenged every famous Fighting-type trainer here. It is time to go to other regions."
Natsui felt relieved. He felt guilty. He could no longer face this woman casually.
It was good that they would not see each other for a while. The awkwardness would vanish over time. Perhaps they would forget this experience by their next meeting.
"Are you leaving already?" Misty was surprised. They had spent time together, so she felt sad. "I thought you would stay until the Ever Grande Conference ended. That is a pity. You will not see Natsui win another championship!"
"Wait," Natsui interrupted. "Do not speak as if I have already won. Hoenn is different from Kanto or Johto. There are many experts here. I can only promise not to fail unexpectedly. Winning a championship is not easy."
They finished breakfast. They packed their bags. They left the inn and went to the port.
The residents had returned during the night. The town looked lively now. People were walking in the streets.
Bea boarded a ship going to a different destination. Natsui and Misty boarded their own ship.
The whistle sounded. The ship left the port. They leaned against the railing. Both had their own thoughts.
They left the island. At that moment, visitors arrived at the sea southeast of Mossdeep City.
An engine made a loud noise. A helicopter flew from a distance. It had the "Mauville TV" logo. It arrived where Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre had fought.
Ty and Mary were inside. They were the reporters Natsui met in Mauville City. They sat in the back and looked down.
Ty held a camera. He looked for a long time. He spoke to Mary.
"Is this the place? People said there were several islands. Why can I only see shallow sandbanks?"
"You are a fool!" Mary said. "This is the place. The sandbanks were the islands. A massive power leveled them!"
The helicopter landed on a flat sandbank. They jumped out.
Ty checked a satellite map. He could not match the map to this location.
"I must ask," he said. "Why did we travel so far to come here?"
"Were you listening to me? I explained this before," Mary sighed. "We want to return to the studio. We want a promotion. We must find explosive news and the truth! Investigate now. I worked hard to get someone to bring us here. I do not want to go home with empty hands!"
They were reporters, so they had good information. They knew the extreme weather started at this center. They were certain the official news was a lie. The weather was not caused by air pressure or plate movements. Someone or some Pokémon fought here. This battle affected the entire region.
They believed only the legendary Groudon and Kyogre had this energy.
They had little time. They stopped talking and searched for clues.
They actually found something.
They found pieces of a ship. They found uniforms from Team Aqua and Team Magma. They found marks from a battle.
They even saw an International Police badge!
These clues showed the official statement was false. It was a secret battle between two evil groups.
The International Police were involved too.
This discovery made them excited.
Mary imagined the day she would reveal the truth. It would cause a massive sensation.
The International Police tried to hide this truth. It was very big news. She would get a promotion and more money. Her fame was coming soon.
They took photos. They saved the clues. They moved forward to find critical evidence.
These items proved a battle happened. They linked the event to Team Aqua and Team Magma. But they did not prove Groudon and Kyogre were involved. They could not link the weather to the legendary Pokémon yet.
They searched every corner carefully. They found a new discovery where Natsui had stayed.
"This is..."
They saw footprints on the ground. A mysterious power had protected a small area of the ground. They analyzed it and reached a conclusion.
"Someone was commanding Pokémon to fight Team Magma and Team Aqua!" Mary's eyes were bright. "I suspect this person even fought Kyogre and Groudon!"
"That sounds impossible," Ty was conservative. "I cannot imagine a person with that much power. Who could fight two legendary Pokémon? Perhaps one of the Elite Four?"
"The Elite Four..." Mary touched her chin. She did not know much about battles. But she knew the Elite Four were the strongest people in Hoenn. She nodded. "Only they possess such power. Based on the information, only Drake could be here."
Ty agreed with her. But he felt something was wrong.
He looked ahead. He saw the remains of the island. Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre had erased it. A massive island existed there before.
Now the island was gone. It was deleted. He wondered what terrifying power could do that.
He wondered if the Elite Four could stop a battle of that level.
He felt confused. He and Mary searched for more evidence.
They found nothing else. They arrived too late. The wind and rain had lasted for a day. The ocean had washed away the traces.
They were full of expectations when they arrived. But they wasted hours and found nothing new.
The ship left the island. It sailed for almost a day. It arrived at Lilycove City.
Ships are much slower than flying. But the journey was relaxing. They were not in a hurry. They enjoyed the trip.
Natsui got off the ship. He received a call from Mr. Stone.
The Meteorite Key Stone was finished. The workers were very efficient. Mr. Stone had gathered the team quickly. They worked as soon as the Meteorite arrived. They worked for over a day to finish the task.
Natsui was excited about the Meteorite Key Stone.
Rumors said it contained cosmic energy. He wondered if his Pokémon would be stronger during Mega Evolution.
He did not know if the rumors were true. It might be a normal Key Stone. It might not affect regular Pokémon. He would find out when he held the stone in his hand.
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