The advancement of this conferring ceremony was somewhat unexpected.
Fortunately, during the upcoming period, Natsuhiko temporarily had no important matters and could still attend.
As Sakuragi had said, Chrysa indeed found him shortly afterward, and while apologizing, hoped to help her teacher with some tasks before time ran out.
Natsuhiko certainly did not refuse this.
Yamato had been following Chrysa for almost a month now, and most of the handover was complete. His abilities had also been recognized by Natsuhiko.
After obtaining Natsuhiko's consent, Chrysa left.
Natsuhiko wasn't in much of a hurry.
He had a few things to take care of in the next three days.
He changed his appearance and went to the black market in Hearthome City.
Speaking of which,
Natsuhiko was now the head of the Hearthome City Hunter Guild.
But in fact, he had never managed it even once. Most matters were left to Joanna.
When Natsuhiko saw Joanna, she was scolding a few hunters who had failed to capture their prey due to their mistakes.
Those hunters didn't even dare to lift their heads in front of Joanna, the "notorious" female Gyarados.
Natsuhiko leaned against the pillar in the guild hall, watching her with a smile without disturbing her.
To be honest,
Joanna's abilities were indeed commendable, both in Pokémon capture and guild management.
At the very least,
The last time Natsuhiko came, the guild hall was quite chaotic with constant noise.
But this time,
Hunters were quietly lining up to accept and hand in assignments.
No one was barking orders due to their high Hunter Level or strength.
Joanna naturally noticed Natsuhiko — now "Hunter N," the true controller of the Hearthome City Hunter Guild.
However, the registered hunters currently in the Hearthome City Hunter Guild did not recognize Natsuhiko, the true "big figure."
After scolding a few more sentences, she dismissed the hunters, who were akin to quails, and walked toward Natsuhiko.
"It seems like you quite enjoy this feeling."
Looking at Joanna, who was wearing special sunglasses, Natsuhiko teased with a smile.
Joanna rolled her eyes at him, irritated.
"If it weren't for your desire to be a hands-off boss, I wouldn't have to be so troubled."
Despite her irritation, Joanna didn't mind the sense of power-in-hand.
It felt like... even without taking a seat, having such power was not bad.
Natsuhiko chuckled lightly and tossed a Pokeball.
Joanna instinctively caught it.
"This is..."
Gazing at the calm and steady Drapion inside, she showed a puzzled expression.
"Just a Drapion I caught, it seems suitable for you."
This was the Drapion that had surrounded an Audino.
Joanna also had a Drapion, but it wasn't one she had trained herself; its strength grew slowly, so it was better to replace it directly.
In her lineup, apart from that Salamence, the others could be replaced.
"Elite Candidate level?" Joanna asked tentatively.
After all, she already had a Gym Leader Level Drapion, and Natsuhiko knew it wasn't necessary to give her another Gym Leader Level one.
Natsuhiko shrugged, the meaning was clear.
Seeing his reaction, Joanna showed a complex expression.
Once, Natsuhiko was still weaker than her, but not long ago, he rose to hold the seat and title of the Hunter Guild, and now he was giving away an Elite Candidate Level Pokémon without blinking an eye.
The rapidity of such changes left Joanna somewhat unable to adapt.
Natsuhiko, seeing her complex expression, couldn't help but pat her shoulder.
"Just wait a bit. Soon you'll be able to take a seat too."
This was a part of their trade.
A trade from the past.
Now Joanna was almost completely won over by Natsuhiko.
But if she wanted to aim for the highest seat, she needed support from someone already in the seat, and Joanna was one of Natsuhiko's choices.
"Hmm..."
Joanna responded lightly, her expression somewhat dazed.
Coupled with the Elite Candidate Level Pokémon Natsuhiko had shared with her previously in the Alola Region, she now had two Elite Candidate Level Pokémon, even before Salamence had fully matured.
With such strength, as long as she could wield these two Pokémon's strength properly, she now had the qualifications to compete for a seat.
Compared to fighting alone, this was undoubtedly much faster.
"Help me handle these Pokémon. No need to rush; take your time selling them," said Natsuhiko, as he took out a pile of Pokeballs.
Among them were two Elite Candidate Level Pokémon apart from three Aggrons and a total of 64 Gym Leader Level Pokémon.
"So many?" Joanna was full of astonishment.
Given Natsuhiko's current position, any Pokémon she was responsible for selling were, at the least, Gym Leader Level and above, yet there were so many!
"Be a bit careful when selling the two Elite Candidate Level ones. The rest are all Gym Leader Level. Try to find connections and use different channels to sell them; it shouldn't be difficult for you."
"Two Elite Candidates..." Joanna smacked her lips.
Natsuhiko continued:
"Hold onto the money for me. You should also know about the matter I instructed the shop manager about previously. Try to keep an eye on it and collect as much as possible. Deduct the money from here."
"I understand," Joanna nodded.
"And these."
Natsuhiko took out six more Pokeballs.
Just from the quality of the Pokeballs, Joanna knew these six Pokémon wouldn't be simple.