Flannery's third Pokémon was released: a Camerupt.
Natsui had just recently battled Courtney's Camerupt from Team Magma, so the Pokémon was still fresh in his mind. He had a decent understanding of its abilities, which made this battle much easier to handle.
However, just because he had battled one before didn't guarantee a win.
Facing the Camerupt was his Scizor.
Honestly, this was a terrible choice.
Scizor is a Bug/Steel-type, and as everyone knows, Fire-type Pokémon have a four-times super-effective advantage against both types.
If a Flamethrower hit it, Scizor would be lucky to survive with just severe burns.
Even Ash, a master of type disadvantages, rarely used a Pokémon with a four-times weakness against an opponent.
Seeing Natsui send out such a Pokémon, Flannery frowned, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
She didn't understand why Natsui would make such a choice.
She wanted to ask if he was confused, or just overly arrogant. But when she looked up and met his calm, clear eyes, she knew this must be intentional.
Either he has extreme confidence in this Pokémon, or he's up to something else.
And based on Tyranitar's and Dragonite's performance, Flannery was more inclined to believe the former.
Could this Scizor be his strongest Pokémon?
She was puzzled. But once the battle began, she realized she had overthought it.
In a way, this Scizor was indeed very strong. Its attack power and mobility were excellent. Especially against a slow opponent like Camerupt, it dodged and weaved, found many opportunities, and used Double Team and Agility to evade many of Camerupt's attacks. It truly tried its best.
But the type disadvantage was insurmountable.
You can succeed a thousand times, but you cannot fail even once.
Although Camerupt wasn't Flannery's ace, it was still strong. And as skilled as Natsui was, how could Scizor not show an opening in such a fight?
Sure enough, as Scizor kept moving, its stamina rapidly depleted, and its speed naturally dropped.
Flannery immediately seized the opportunity. She predicted Scizor's landing spot and commanded Camerupt to unleash a wide-area flame attack on that spot.
A wall of fire swept over!
Scizor, unable to dodge, was instantly enveloped in flames and cried out in pain.
This blow was clearly fatal.
Having landed a hit, Flannery, finally seeing hope for a victory, grasped the opportunity tightly.
Before Scizor could escape, she commanded Camerupt to spray another jet of fire. The intense heat knocked Scizor to the ground.
A win!
Seeing this result, Natsui just shrugged helplessly.
It wasn't that he intentionally threw the match. It was simply Scizor's turn after Tyranitar and Dragonite. Besides, he wanted to see if Scizor could win despite the four-times weakness.
But clearly, it still needed more training.
On the other side, Flannery, having finally won a round, jumped up and down excitedly, not even considering her opponent's feelings.
Seeing her act like this, Natsui couldn't help but smile.
She really wears her heart on her sleeve...
Her personality might be a bit much for some, but it was also quite endearing.
Of course, the "liking" he felt was purely appreciative, not romantic.
He recalled Scizor and looked at the Camerupt on the field again.
Compared to Courtney's Camerupt, Flannery's was just as strong; the two were likely evenly matched. This also gave him an idea of the depth of organizations like Team Magma and Team Aqua.
Just one of their admins had the strength of a Gym Leader. No wonder they had been running rampant in Hoenn for so long.
His fingers hovered between Dragonite's and Tyranitar's Poké Balls. In the end, he chose Dragonite, which had expended more stamina.
That's right, the more tired Dragonite.
His current thinking was that the more disadvantageous the situation, the more they needed to fight. That was the only way to truly train his Pokémon.
Flannery was surprised when Dragonite reappeared.
Huh? This is the final battle. He still has the healthier Tyranitar, so why send out Dragonite?
After a moment's thought, she understood Natsui's intention.
I see! He's using me as a training partner!
Although she was a new Gym Leader, she knew that most trainers challenging a gym would plan their team specifically for the type matchup and ensure their Pokémon were in peak condition before even showing up.
But this man in front of her showed no such tension. It felt like he was treating this gym battle as just another ordinary, everyday match. He was even thinking about training his Pokémon!
He's got a lot of nerve...
Being treated this way, an ordinary person might feel looked down upon, and a prideful one might get upset.
But Flannery didn't feel that way. Instead, she became even more curious about Natsui.
No wonder his Pokémon are so strong. He really doesn't waste a single opportunity.
Curiosity aside, she didn't want to lose so easily. Seeing Dragonite was ready, she quickly pushed aside her distracting thoughts and focused on the battle.
But unlike before, this time, without worrying about a type disadvantage, Natsui's offense became relentless. For Flannery, the situation deteriorated rapidly, and her good mood vanished.
Air-to-ground combat was an obvious advantage.
Although Dragonite was injured, Camerupt had also used up stamina in the previous match. Dragonite, on the other hand, had rested in its Poké Ball. All things considered, neither was in much better shape than the other.
But Camerupt, unlike Magmortar, didn't have the overwhelming firepower to restrict Dragonite's attacks.
Under Dragonite's fierce assault, although Camerupt released a lot of smoke and spat a considerable amount of lava in resistance, it was futile.
It didn't last long before it was hit by a Dragon Rage. Its massive body swayed and then crashed to the ground.
THUD!
Camerupt smashed onto a large rock with a dull sound.
Seeing this, Natsui felt that Flannery was right: this Camerupt's strength really couldn't compare to Magmortar's or Torkoal's. It was definitely weaker, making the battle less intense than the first two, and a relatively easy win for him.
"I lost. You're really strong."
Recalling Camerupt, Flannery walked over to Natsui with a cheerful smile.
Even though she lost, she was thoroughly convinced and held no hard feelings.
In this regard alone, she was better than most Gym Leaders. After other gym battles, even if the defeated leaders acted indifferent, you could still sense their unnatural stiffness.
There was none of that from Flannery.
"Your Pokémon are very strong too. I just got lucky this time."
Natsui said, being polite. After he spoke, they just stood there, staring at each other, as if both were waiting for the other to speak.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
Finally, Misty couldn't stand it anymore. She cleared her throat and said, "Um... Miss Flannery, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Forgetting what?"
Flannery turned to Misty, completely clueless, until Misty said the word "badge." Only then did it dawn on her.
"Ah! I forgot!" Flannery said, slapping her forehead. She began digging through her jeans pockets.
Watching her, Natsui and Misty were speechless, but after this much time, they were used to it.
Of course, it wasn't like they had a choice; they just happened to run into such a careless new Gym Leader.
Flannery searched for a long time, only to realize the badge wasn't on her. She quickly said an apology.
"Sorry, wait here a moment! The badge must be somewhere else. Let me go find it..."
Before Natsui could respond, she had already bolted from the room.
"Sigh..."
Watching her leave, Misty felt exhausted. She turned to Natsui, her voice full of concern. "Can this person really handle being a Gym Leader?"
"Probably... maybe... I guess..."
Natsui couldn't say for sure. But her enthusiasm was rare. He hoped she would keep it up.
They waited for a long time. Just as Misty was getting impatient and thinking about going to look, Flannery finally ran back, panting.
She stopped in front of Natsui, and before she even caught her breath, she held out her hand, opening her palm to reveal an orange-red, flame-shaped badge.
"Here, this is the Heat Badge from the Lavaridge Gym!"
Natsui took the badge and looked at it closely. It was also a gradient color, with a round red base and a blazing flame on top.
This badge looked really cool. It was probably the best-looking one Natsui had collected so far.
"Thanks!"
After thanking her, Natsui put the Heat Badge in his badge case. He and Misty then said their goodbyes to Flannery and left the gym.
Flannery saw them all the way to the main gate, waved, and turned back.
With that, this episode came to a close. Natsui had obtained his second badge, bringing him one step closer to the Ever Grande Conference.
He glanced at the time. Since it was already late, they decided to spend the night in Lavaridge Town.
Seeing Misty's expectant look, Natsui knew what she was thinking. "Alright, I know," he said. "Since we're in a hot spring paradise, we can't leave without taking a dip!"
Hearing this, Misty immediately cheered. "Yay! Hooray!"
Seeing her so happy, Natsui couldn't help but get caught up in her mood, and he laughed as well.
They left the gym area, first heading to the Pokémon Center to drop off their injured Pokémon for healing. Then, they went to the hot spring street and found a very clean-looking inn to stay for the night.
The inn had its own hot spring, and it just so happened to be the heart-pounding mixed-bathing type.
This made Misty extremely happy. Her face turned red as she thought about something, and she kept stealing glances at Natsui.
Natsui, of course, had no idea what the girl was thinking. After they ate a large dinner, they showered, wrapped themselves in bath towels, and went to the open-air hot spring in the inn's backyard.
Perhaps because there were so many hot springs, even though Lavaridge Town was full of tourists, this inn was currently empty, aside from them.
Natsui tested the water temperature, then stepped in, sinking his entire body in until only his neck was above water. He leaned back against the stone, looking up at the starry sky.
Misty, nearby, took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and slowly entered the water, sitting down next to Natsui.
Neither of them spoke. After moving a little closer to Natsui, Misty copied him, also looking up at the night sky.
Tonight's sky is really beautiful...
This scene couldn't help but remind her of the hot spring inn on Cinnabar Island.
Back then, just like now, she was in the same hot spring with Natsui, just as close as this.
So close, it felt like she could reach out and touch him.
What happened after that?
She thought back and suddenly remembered: they had met that pink demon, Jigglypuff, by the spring. It sang its song, and they both fell fast asleep.
When they woke up, both their faces were covered in marker.
Sigh, that's a nostalgic memory...
Right, how did Jigglypuff's song go?
I think it was...
"Jigglyypuff... Jiiiigglyyyypufff..."
Yes, yes! That's the sound. It's still so... comforting... makes you want to... just... fall... asleep...
Hearing the familiar sound, Misty nodded, the faded memory surfacing in her mind.
"Jigglyypuff... Jiiiigglyyyypufff..."
The song came again. In a daze, Misty felt her eyelids grow heavy, her consciousness fading. Just as she was drifting off, she heard a sudden 'SPLASH!' from beside her.
The sound startled her. She turned and saw Natsui had plunged his head into the water.
Before she could understand what was happening, Natsui shot back up, looking around frantically.
"Misty, wake up!" he shouted. "Listen! That sounds like Jigglypuff's song!"
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Note: I haven't been able to upload chapters because I didn't have internet
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