Natsui and May left the forest near the Battle Tower behind.
They traveled west for several days, leaving the eastern side of Kanto and gradually returning to the more central part of the region.
The journey was simple, but it was not boring.
By the time they finally arrived, both of them looked worn out from the road.
This part of Kanto was much busier than the places they had passed through before.
Tall buildings, broad bridges, and parks could be seen everywhere.
Cities like Saffron, Vermilion, and Celadon were all in this area.
Instead of heading straight into the larger cities, however, the two of them turned and began traveling north.
They walked for most of the day.
Then, on the fourth day, during a lunch break, they arrived at Mulberry City.
It was called a city for good reason.
Even from a distance, it looked large and lively.
There were many streets, rivers, tall buildings, and crowds of people.
The entire place felt full of energy.
They had not originally planned to come here.
They had changed their route only after hearing about a Pokémon Contest from some Trainers they met along the way.
The Grand Festival was drawing closer, and there were very few Contests left now.
For Coordinators who already had five Ribbons, that was not a problem.
But for May, time was running out.
She had started collecting Kanto Ribbons late.
The same pressure weighed on many other Coordinators too, especially those who were still short by one Ribbon.
As soon as they arrived, May learned something important from Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center.
The Mulberry Contest was the final chance to earn a Ribbon before the Kanto Grand Festival. (bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net)
May immediately patted her chest and let out a long breath.
"It's a good thing we got here in time."
"If we'd arrived even two days later, I really would've missed the Grand Festival!"
"Yeah..." Natsui replied.
May was right.
If she missed this one, then she would have to wait until next year for another Kanto Grand Festival.
By then, she would probably be stronger and more confident.
But she would no longer be traveling through Kanto, and the timing would not feel the same.
After resting briefly at the Pokémon Center, the two of them headed for the Mulberry Contest Hall.
The building stood in the center of the city.
It was round, blue and white, and looked much like many other Contest Halls from the outside.
But this place clearly felt different.
Because Mulberry City was large and busy, there were many more local Coordinators here than usual.
The entire area outside the hall was packed with Trainers and Pokémon.
At a glance, there had to be close to a hundred people there.
Other than Saffron City, Natsui had never seen a Contest with so many participants.
Many of the contestants had come from far away too.
Just like May, they needed one final Ribbon and had rushed here for this last chance.
May looked around and quickly spotted several familiar faces.
A lot of Coordinators were clearly trying one last time before the Grand Festival.
They all wanted that final opening.
But no matter how many people entered, there was only one Ribbon.
"There are really a lot of people..." May muttered.
The two of them pushed through the crowd, signed in at the registration desk, and took a quick look at the stage.
Once they had done that, they left the hall again.
They had not gone very far when they saw Harley.
May muttered under her breath, "Honestly, why is he everywhere?"
Harley spotted Natsui and May immediately.
Maybe he just had a talent for noticing people he hated.
Unlike before, he did not avoid them this time.
Instead, he walked right over with a bold smile.
"It really has been a long time, you two."
He was not wearing a mask, and he was not pretending to be friendly.
He looked at May and spoke with open malice.
"Since you showed up here, that must mean your Ribbon collection hasn't been going well."
"What, it's taken you this long and you still haven't collected five Ribbons?"
Harley traveled alone, so he could enter any Contest he wanted.
May had not had the same freedom.
"What does it have to do with you?" May snapped, rolling her eyes at him.
"You're here too, so doesn't that make you the same as me?"
May had been with Misty for a while now, and sometimes her tone was starting to sound a little like Misty's.
"The same as me?"
Harley clearly had not expected that answer.
He smiled smugly and pulled his coat open.
Inside were five shining Ribbons.
"I collected mine a long time ago."
"The only reason I'm here today is to watch you make a fool of yourself."
Harley was completely certain that May would come here.
And he was very pleased with himself, as usual.
May wanted to fire back again, but Natsui stepped forward first.
The moment Harley saw him move, he instinctively jumped backward.
"Wh-what do you want to do?"
He clearly did not want to look weak in public.
But Natsui had already beaten him before.
Harley was genuinely afraid that if he pushed too far, Natsui would not bother holding back.
Natsui only gave him a cold look.
He did not say a single word.
Then he simply took May with him and walked away.
Harley froze in place.
Then his face turned red with humiliation.
To him, that silent reaction felt even worse than an insult.
He felt as if Natsui was looking down on him.
Harley was furious.
He wanted to say something several times, but fear kept stopping him.
In the end, he could only watch Natsui leave while clenching his fists tightly.
He always liked provoking May because he knew she would never really hit him outside a Contest.
But Natsui was different.
Natsui would absolutely fight if he felt like it.
He was far stronger than Harley and did not care about Harley's games.
That was why Harley had swallowed his anger.
He had lied to May many times in the past.
But Natsui had already crushed him once before.
Now Harley did not dare say anything reckless to his face.
Still, Harley had no intention of letting it go.
In his mind, they were enemies now.
Revenge and Contests were the only things he really cared about.
As he stood there fuming, he suddenly spotted three more familiar faces nearby.
Team Rocket.
Last time, Jessie had disguised herself as Jessiebelle and entered the Saffron Contest.
James and Meowth had also stolen Harley's Pokémon before, forcing him to chase them down and take them back.
They had clashed already, so Harley knew exactly who they were.
He also knew that Team Rocket was one of Ash's enemies.
And if they were enemies of Ash, then that naturally included May and Natsui too.
Since they all hated some of the same people...
A new idea quickly formed in Harley's mind.
His mood immediately improved.
With a sly smile, he walked over toward Team Rocket.
Jessie was still dressed as Jessiebelle.
She still wanted to win a Contest and make her performance dream come true.
James and Meowth were dressed like her manager and assistant, following close behind.
They had just stepped away from the registration area when Harley approached them.
"It's you!?"
Team Rocket looked genuinely alarmed when they saw Harley.
They still remembered how badly he had turned things around on them last time.
Their first instinct was to leave.
But Harley stopped them with a smile.
"Wait a minute."
"What do you want?" Jessie asked sharply.
"I'm here to enter the Contest. I don't have time to waste talking to you!"
"That's right, meow!" Meowth added.
"We didn't trick you out of your Pokémon this time!"
"You misunderstand," Harley said, still smiling.
"Actually, I came here this time to help you."
"Help us?" Jessie frowned.
"What do you mean by that?"
Harley took out two Poké Balls and showed them to the trio.
"Simple."
"Just like last time, I'll lend you Pokémon so you can win."
"What!?"
The three of them stared at him.
None of them understood what Harley was plotting.
"Lend us your Pokémon?" James asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Why would you do that?"
"What do you get out of it?"
Harley did not answer the question directly.
Instead, he asked one of his own.
"I heard that you and that brat named Ash are enemies, right?"
"That's right!" Jessie snapped.
"We're absolutely going to steal that brat's Pikachu one day!"
"And teach him a lesson while we're at it!"
"Then that means his friends are your enemies too, right?"
"Of course!" Jessie said.
"Then that's my reason," Harley replied with a dark laugh.
"Our common enemy is May."
"Oh, and Natsui too."
The moment they heard Natsui's name, Team Rocket went stiff.
Even though he was nowhere near them, just hearing that name was enough to send a chill down their spines.
Harley wanted to drag them into trouble with Natsui?
Was he trying to get them killed?
That was what all three of them thought immediately.
But of course, none of them said it out loud.
Instead, they kept smiling and asked another question.
"Even so," James said carefully, "didn't we trick you out of your Pokémon last time?"
"After something like that, you still want to lend us yours?"
"Of course I haven't forgotten," Harley said.
There was still anger in his voice, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"But if it means defeating our common enemies, I'm willing to make some compromises."
"Still, to make sure nothing unpleasant happens again, I do have one condition."
"Condition?" James asked warily.
"What condition?"
Harley spread his hands.
"To make sure you don't pull the same trick as last time, one of you stays behind as a hostage."
"A hostage?"
Team Rocket exchanged a look.
Then they quickly huddled together and began whispering among themselves.
Harley leaned closer, trying to overhear them, but he could not make out a word.
He frowned and was just about to interrupt when they split apart again.
All three of them were smiling.
James rubbed his hands together.
"So then... who exactly do you want to keep as a hostage?"
Harley did not like the feeling he was getting from them, but he still believed he could control the situation.
He looked over the three of them carefully.
Then his eyes settled on Meowth.
"Then I'll keep this Meowth."
Jessie had to enter the Contest, so she could not stay behind.
James was human, and Harley did not trust him not to play tricks.
Meowth seemed like the safest choice.
A talking Pokémon was extremely rare.
That made Meowth valuable, and Harley assumed Jessie and James would not just abandon him.
In Harley's mind, that would stop them from betraying him again.
But when Harley was not looking, Team Rocket exchanged sly smiles behind his back.
Harley wanted to use Jessie to eliminate May and bother Natsui.
But Team Rocket had already come up with a different idea.
Harley wanted to trick them.
So naturally, they would just trick him first.
Fight Natsui?
That was a joke.
In their eyes, Natsui was far too strong to challenge.
He was a Champion of three regions.
He had Legendary Pokémon.
Even Giovanni had no interest in confronting someone like that directly.
They also knew that Natsui did not even take them seriously.
As long as they behaved themselves, he would not waste time on them.
That meant they were actually in a safe position right now.
And because of that, there was no chance they would deliberately go provoke him.
Only an idiot would do that.
You want us to walk into our own deaths?
Then of course we'll trick you again, and we won't even feel bad about it.
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