Ash's confident aura instantly deflated.
In fact, looking back on all his adventures, the only one who could roast him so mercilessly was Misty, the self-proclaimed "Number One Beauty of the Universe" with her somewhat bossy and willful personality.
"Damn it, how dare you look down on me!" Ash, of course, was not convinced and shouted, "Fine, then tomorrow I'll show you all how I get the Volcano Badge with my own strength!"
"Really?" Seeing Ash take the bait so easily, Misty chuckled, "Since you're so confident, we'll be looking forward to it!"
Late at night, Natsui returned to his room but couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning.
On the other two beds, Ash and Brock were sleeping soundly, their snores rising and falling in a deafening chorus, like a steel saw constantly cutting logs right next to Natsui's ear!
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. After thinking for a while, he took out his phone, logged into his messaging app, and opened the message he had yet to read.
Pink Dream: Brother Natsui, is everything going well?
The unchanged form of address, the calm tone—although it was just a short sentence, Natsui had spent several months with her and knew her temperament well. He also knew, naturally, that she clearly hadn't let go of that matter.
Looking at her profile picture, Natsui's mind could still recall the pitiful image of this seemingly strong girl crying her eyes out when he had rejected her.
And every time he thought of it, it was as if a cold knife was stabbing deep into his heart.
With a soft sigh, Natsui's fingers moved slightly.
It's All Bubbles: It's going okay, I guess. I've caught a few Pokémon, and Ralts has evolved into Kirlia.
Perhaps feeling his tone was too stiff, Natsui continued typing.
It's All Bubbles: Sorry for not contacting you for so long. Have you been well lately?
After sending the message, Natsui stared at the chat window in a daze.
Both of their profile pictures were actually taken from the same photo. But unlike the girl's, the main subject of Natsui's profile picture was himself. In front of the camera, a slight smile played on his handsome face, and at his side, a pair of fair arms were wrapped tightly around his own.
He had thought that at this late hour, she would already be asleep, and was about to turn off his phone. Who would have thought that just a few seconds later, the girl had already replied.
Adjusting his lying position, Natsui opened the message.
Pink Dream: Same as always. Mom still makes me practice with the Rhyhorn every day. [Wailing Crying JPG] It's really tough.
Although she didn't state anything clearly, from between the lines, Natsui could still feel the girl's excitement.
However, for a moment, he didn't know how to reply to her. He could only change the subject and tell her about some of his daily happenings. It wasn't until a dozen minutes later, when he started to feel sleepy, that he took the initiative to end the conversation.
...
When the sun was high in the sky, Natsui and the others came out of the Pokémon Center and finally got to truly experience the bustling town famous for its hot springs.
Everywhere, there were tourists from the mainland, and almost every shop on the street had people lingering and waiting in front of it.
And the goods for sale were mostly related to hot springs, such as traditional yukatas, onsen eggs, and the like.
Following the navigation on his phone, they passed through Cinnabar Town and arrived at the street where the gym was located at the foot of the volcano. But when they got closer, they discovered that the place where the gym was supposed to be had turned into a hot spring inn!
"Huh?" Misty said strangely. "A hot spring inn? Did the gym move?"
Hearing the voice, an old man wearing a red coat, a long mustache under his nose, sunglasses, and dressed like one of the Beatles, walked out of the inn and came before them.
Seeing Natsui and the others, before they could speak, the old man directly asked, "Head is cold, body is warm. What is it?"
"Huh? Is this a riddle?" Ash was stunned at first, then played along very cooperatively, "The answer must be someone sleeping with their head in the fridge and their body wrapped in an electric blanket."
This strange line of thought made the old man frown, and he said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, hey, what kind of answer is that! If you don't know, don't just guess randomly!"
Misty's gaze returned from behind the old man, and she said confidently, "I think you're talking about an open-air hot spring."
Seeing that someone had guessed the answer, the old man nodded happily.
"That's right, that's right, what a clever young lady! Then please listen to the next riddle. Between cake, eggs, and rice, which one does a puppy like to eat the most?"
Brock thought for a moment. Since it was a riddle, the answer couldn't be that simple. He asked tentatively, "Is it rice?"
"Wrong!" Misty shook her head. "I guess it's cake!"
"Come on," Ash said, shrugging his hands. "Only you like to eat cake, Misty. Things that are too sweet make you fat easily. How could a puppy be the same as you!"
Ignoring Ash, who was getting pummeled, Natsui had already guessed the old man's identity. He smiled and said, "I think the answer is eggs."
"Oh?" The old man turned his gaze to him and asked with a chuckle, "And why do you say that?"
"Because people often say, 'to find bones in an egg'!"
"Hahahaha! Correct!" the old man laughed heartily, looking quite pleased with himself. "How about it? Aren't my riddles very interesting?"
Ash, Misty, and Brock all sighed helplessly. To be honest, they really didn't get the punchline.
Only Natsui, who also suddenly became interested, "It's rude not to return a favor. In that case, how about I tell a riddle too?"
"Now this is rare!" The old man's eyes lit up. "It's always been me testing others, never has anyone tested me. Bring it on!"
Clearing his throat, Natsui asked, "Question: Two people fall into a trap at the same time. The one who dies is called a dead person. What is the living person called?"
"...Called what?"
Although the old man and Misty's group all guessed many answers, in the end, they were all rejected by Natsui one by one.
Finally, it was Misty who shook her head and asked curiously, "What is the answer?"
"Of course, he's 'calling for help'!" After saying that, Natsui began to laugh by himself. But as he laughed, he saw that the four of them all had speechless expressions, and he couldn't help but stop awkwardly.
"Eh?" he said in disbelief. "Don't you guys get the punchline?"
Punchline?
Ash, Misty, and Brock looked confused. What was the difference between this and the old man's riddles?
Was it really that funny?
The old man also said, "Kid, I thought my riddles were boring enough, but I didn't expect your joke to be even more boring than mine."
"Bo... Boring!?!?"
Natsui felt like he had just taken a million points of critical damage. Unconvinced, he said, "Fine! I'll give you another one! Listen carefully. Question: What is something that people know is fake, but they still willingly spend money to buy?"
Before anyone could guess the answer, Natsui had already pointed at the old man's hair and laughed loudly, "Of course, it's a wig! Hahaha..."
Misty: ...
Ash: ...
Brock: ...
"Sigh!" The old man sighed, walked closer, and patted Natsui's shoulder.
"Young man, I greatly admire your deadpan humor. On the path of riddles, from now on, I am willing to consider you my greatest rival!"
"Huh!?" Natsui was stunned, then slapped his hand away and shouted angrily, "To heck with your greatest rival!! When did I ever say I wanted to compete with you in deadpan humor!?
-------------------------------------
Featured projects:
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha 120 chapters (R-18 novel)
The Crime Value System 120 chapters (R-18 novel)
I Have Caught a Pokémon — 300 chapters (R-18 novel)
Goddess Training Manual — 620 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Second Generation Villain (Revised Version) — 90 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Detective Conan Fanfic — 380 chapters (R‑18)
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem — 1020 chapters
I Am the Villain's Father — 400 chapters
----------------------------------------------------------------
👉 Join and support these projects at: patreon.com/LEYI396
— Don't miss a single chapter or any manga translation done on demand!