In a daze, Natsui opened his eyes and found that he had just fallen asleep!
Maintaining one posture for a long time made his shoulder a little stiff. Turning his head to look, he saw Misty hugging one of his arms, also sleeping soundly.
On the other side of Misty, Bea also had her eyes closed, breathing evenly, obviously also in dreamland.
Looking at the time, it was already 3 PM.
Looking out of the cave again, the rain had stopped sometime ago. Only the howling strong wind blew past from time to time, seeming to remind Natsui that the typhoon had not gone far.
But no matter what, once the rain stopped, they could finally leave this place!
Just as he wanted to wake up the two people beside him, he had just pulled out his arm when Misty, sensing his movement, woke up.
"Eh?" She rubbed her eyes and said blankly, "Why did I fall asleep?"
Her speaking also woke Bea up at the same time.
Bea opened her sleepy eyes. Compared with her usual expressionless face, she looked a bit goofy at this time, unexpectedly showing a kind of gap moe!
Although there was no campfire in the cave, under Dragonite's body temperature, they didn't feel cold at all. Instead, listening to its strong heartbeat, they all fell asleep unknowingly.
Thinking of this, he looked back at Dragonite and saw it smiling honestly at him, seeming not to mind sitting here motionless for a long time.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Misty got up and stretched greatly. It was also at this time that she realized the rain outside the cave had stopped, and couldn't help asking in surprise, "Is the typhoon over? I thought we would have to stay here for a night!"
Natsui glanced at her sideways. "Why does your tone sound a bit disappointed?"
"No way~"
Misty stuck out her tongue.
But to be honest, she was indeed somewhat reluctant. Although the three were trapped here and extremely bored, it was indeed a rare memory. Moreover, after staying in this cave for a long time, it was like being isolated from the world. She had indeed slowly gotten used to it. Obviously, returning to human society made her somewhat unaccustomed.
But no matter what, she also knew that they couldn't stay here forever.
Cleaning up the garbage and completely stepping out the embers of the campfire, the three left this cave that left a deep impression on them.
The wind was still blowing outside, but it wasn't as strong as before.
Looking at the distant sky, they saw the boundless dark clouds had drifted away. This time, it seemed that it had indeed moved away from the range of Dewford Island and could no longer affect this place.
"Let's go back to the town first."
"Eh?" Misty turned to look in the direction of the gym and asked in surprise, "Now that the typhoon is gone, aren't we going to check out the gym?"
"Forget it. Let's come back to challenge it tomorrow." Natsui shook his head. "It's already this late. I don't think the gym people will open the door immediately after the typhoon leaves. Besides, although our clothes are dry, we still look a bit disheveled. Let's go back to the Pokémon Center to clean up first."
Misty thought about it and agreed. After all, having been caught in the rain, their bodies inevitably smelled of rain. Although they were dry, the smell was still a bit bad.
Coming down from the mountain and walking for more than ten minutes, the group soon returned to Dewford Town.
Looking at it now, Dewford Town looked completely washed.
Just as Natsui said before, Dewford Town indeed has an excellent drainage system. Even though it rained so heavily for so long just now, apart from being a bit damp, there was basically no residual rainwater visible in the whole town at this time.
However, although the town as a whole was fine, some billboards and trees were crooked, and a lot of debris from unknown places had accumulated on the road, looking dirty and messy.
Countless residents also walked out of their homes and began to clean up spontaneously.
When they returned to the Pokémon Center, they also found dozens of trainers gathered here. These people were usually scattered throughout the town. If it weren't for this heavy rain, they wouldn't have known there were so many trainers in Dewford Town!
Seeing Natsui and the other two return, Nurse Joy at the front desk also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where did you go just now? Your luggage was in your rooms, but you were gone. I was worried to death!"
As the person in charge of the local Pokémon Center, if trainers had problems during their stay, Nurse Joy would naturally be implicated. Therefore, after counting the number of people just now and finding three people missing, she was indeed quite anxious.
"Sorry to worry you." Misty smiled apologetically. "We were trapped outside and didn't dare to come back until the typhoon passed."
"So that's it." Nurse Joy nodded. "I'm relieved to see you are fine. Go back and rest quickly. I prepared ginger soup in the restaurant, just right to drive away the cold for you!"
"Thank you then."
Leaving the front desk, the three separated and returned to their respective rooms.
The first thing Natsui did when he returned to the dormitory was to take a hot bath to wash away the smell of rain, throw the dirty clothes into the washing machine, and then change into a new set of clothes and come to the restaurant.
From a distance, he saw Bea sitting alone in the corner, while Misty had not shown up yet, obviously not finished cleaning herself up.
Without hesitation, Natsui walked straight to her side and sat directly opposite her.
Bea just glanced at him simply and didn't pay much attention. It seems that after experiencing the cave incident, she had tacitly accepted the fact of becoming friends with Natsui and the others.
However, the two didn't have any common topics for the time being. They just waited for the Chansey helping out to serve the ginger water, then sipped it silently together.
Aside, seeing Bea sitting there alone originally, a few bold trainers wanted to strike up a conversation, but seeing she had a male companion now, they all sighed in disappointment.
Until a bowl of ginger water was finished, Misty arrived late.
It seemed she had just taken a bath too, and her hair wasn't completely dry yet. When she came to the restaurant and saw Natsui sitting opposite Bea from a distance, her gaze narrowed.
Why does this feeling seem familiar?
It seems I am the third wheel?
But on second thought, although Brother Natsui is excellent, not everyone likes him. Moreover, with Bea's cold personality, she definitely won't end up like Sabrina and Erika before.
Hmm... probably not...
Resting for a night in the Pokémon Center, early the next morning, after Natsui and Misty had breakfast, they set off for the Dewford Gym again together with Bea.
At this time, the impact of the typhoon on the town had completely disappeared, and not even a shadow of the disaster could be seen.
Leaving Dewford Town and following the mountain road, the group passed the cave where they sheltered from the rain yesterday again. A trace of nostalgia appeared on Misty's face, and even Natsui and Bea couldn't help glancing there several times.
Continuing up the mountain, the three arrived at the strange signboard in front of the gym.
But to their surprise, the signboard had vanished into thin air!
Obviously, yesterday's strong wind blew this thing away!
The group looked at each other. A trace of schadenfreude flashed in Misty's eyes. It wasn't that she had a bad heart, but precisely because the gym didn't open yesterday, they lost their haven and were trapped in the cave, so how could she have a good face?
Instead, a trace of regret appeared in Bea's eyes.
As a trainer who loves Fighting-type Pokémon and possesses Machop, Machoke, and Machamp at the same time, she actually appreciated that signboard quite a bit, and it fit her aesthetic quite well.
Passing through the signboard "ruins," the three came to the main entrance of the gym. Unlike the closed door yesterday, the gym door was open today, which meant someone was definitely presiding over the gym at this time.
This was good news.
At least they didn't come in vain again.
When they entered the gym, they saw at a glance that beside the battlefield where they fought the day before yesterday, more than a dozen young girls wearing sexy swimsuits were sitting. The older ones were twenty-three or twenty-four, and the younger ones were eighteen or nineteen. They had curvy figures, each with a surfboard beside them, and their skin was also a wheat color, obviously from surfing in the sea all year round and getting tanned by the sun!
And among these girls, a man surrounded by them was particularly eye-catching!
This man had blue spiky hair, wore a pair of sunglasses, a sports T-shirt, and shorts. His skin was also wheat-colored, and he looked somewhat handsome.
Having such treatment and staying here with peace of mind, one doesn't need to think to know that he must be the Gym Leader of Dewford Gym—Brawly!
Being surrounded by so many girls, although most of them looked very ordinary, there were many of them after all. It really makes people feel envious!
If Brock saw this scene, he might cry directly.
Wait, Ash has already challenged here before, so it seems Brock must have cried already!
Seeing the three enter, Brawly couldn't help saying, "Oh? Someone came to challenge the gym so early? I was thinking that since the typhoon just passed yesterday, today is perfect for surfing. It seems I have to go a bit later."
"Surfing!?" Misty got angry hearing this. She put her hands on her hips and questioned loudly, "We clearly won the reservation match the day before yesterday. Wasn't it agreed to accept our challenge yesterday? Why didn't you open the door? Causing us to run here in vain, not only getting soaked by rain but also trapped in a cave!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as her voice fell, Brawly was confused instead.
"Reservation match? What reservation match?"
Misty frowned. "What are you playing dumb for!? Of course, it's the reservation match where we fought your Acting Gym Leader, also your top disciple and girlfriend, to get the qualification to fight you!"
Hearing this, Brawly understood everything, and then couldn't help smiling bitterly.
He turned to look at the crowd and whispered, "Shauna!"
Among the crowd, Shauna, who had long felt that something was wrong, seeing the matter exposed, showed an embarrassed look on her face. Immediately, she turned around and ran away to another room like a puff of smoke!
Without any hesitation, she ran really fast!
Seeing this, Misty was completely confused, not knowing what tricks they were playing.
Sighing, Brawly turned back to look at Natsui and the others, apologizing slightly, "I'm really sorry. Actually, there is no so-called qualification battle here at all..."
"Ah?" Misty was dumbfounded on the spot. "Then the day before yesterday..."
Brawly smiled apologetically again. "Shauna is not my Acting Gym Leader. In fact, there is no Acting Gym Leader in Dewford Gym. She just acted on her own initiative and secretly guarded the gym while I was away."
Regarding this, Natsui could only sigh that Shauna was really something.
Clearly without permission, she actually fought a match with them seriously and spoke as if it were true!
He wasn't angry. After all, Shauna did this for the person she liked. He just felt slightly teased.
She did this probably to show off in front of Brawly.
It's really hard for her deep affection.
And with such a thing happening, Brawly was also very embarrassed, so he didn't mention going surfing anymore. Instead, he whistled, signaling those girls to clear the battlefield.
After doing this, Brawly looked at the three Natsui, and asked, "Are you all here to challenge the gym? Or only one of you?"
Natsui glanced at Bea, and Bea happened to look over at this time too.
Smiling slightly, he fully displayed his gentlemanly demeanor and gave the first challenge opportunity to Bea.
"Ladies first."
Nodding to Natsui, Bea didn't say anything but went directly to the trainer command area on the other side.
Instantly, pairs of hostile eyes focused on her.
Compared to those girls around Brawly, Bea's appearance was undoubtedly much higher, making them feel a strong crisis!
If this girl also likes Brawly, or Brawly likes her, then they can't compete at all!
However, the man with her is also very handsome. At least judging from age and appearance, he is younger and much more handsome than Brawly!
The combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman is really enviable...
And with such a male companion, this woman probably won't fall for Brawly, right?
Thinking of these, they were both happy and somewhat disappointed in their hearts.
Standing opposite Bea, Brawly looked her up and down, his eyes showing obvious appreciation.
This is a person with an aura similar to his own.
Although the battle hasn't started yet, he already knew that the girl in front of him is definitely also a trainer specializing in Fighting-type Pokémon!
The oldest among the girls came outside the field to act as the referee for this battle.
"The Dewford Gym battle will begin now! Now announcing the competition rules: the number of Pokémon used in the match is two. The Gym Leader cannot change Pokémon at will during the battle. When both Pokémon of either side are unable to battle, the battle is over!"
This is the most ordinary battle rule, nothing special.
After the referee announced the rules, Brawly showed a smile he thought was very cool and said to Bea, "Although you already know, I still want to introduce myself. I am Brawly. Besides being the Gym Leader of this gym, I am also an excellent surfer!"
After speaking, he also showed a brilliant smile to Bea, but in exchange, he only got Bea's calm face without any expression change!
Brawly met a soft nail (was ignored) and stood there awkwardly.
However, he didn't mind and asked, "I still don't know your name?"
But after waiting for a long time, Bea still had no intention of speaking.
Now, he couldn't hold it anymore. Most importantly, the girls beside him also cast complicated glances at him.
In the past, they had never seen Brawly so attentive to anyone. Unexpectedly, today, he really made them "look at him with new eyes"!
Only Misty couldn't help snickering.
Having spent a day together, she could say she knew Bea's personality best. If this man named Brawly thought he could communicate with her using such a way of striking up a conversation, he was really asking for trouble!
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