Kanto also had Pokémon Contests. They were a little different from the ones in other regions, but most of the rules were the same.
Natsui and his friends had never really talked about them before. That was because they had never had a reason to enter one, and no one around them ever brought Contests up. But now May was with them, and she was a Coordinator. That changed the situation completely.
Natsui took the flyer from Misty's hand and looked at it.
The event would be held in a forest park in Saffron City. It was not far from Saffron Gym. The event itself was fairly large, but there were still a few days left before it began. That gave Natsui enough time to challenge one or two more battle facilities first.
Even so, he still wanted to ask what May thought.
"So, do you want to travel to a few more places with us first, or do you want to stay here for a while?"
May did not hesitate at all.
"Of course I want to travel with you."
"Oh?" Natsui looked at her. "Don't you need some time to prepare?" He pointed toward Sabrina beside him. "Actually, if you want to stay here, you can. You could stay with Sabrina for a few days. You wouldn't have to worry about food or a place to sleep, and there's a battlefield here for training too."
"I really don't need to," May said, shaking her head. "I'd rather keep traveling with you. Besides, Misty will help me along the way."
Since she had already answered like that, Natsui did not say anything else.
He had only been thinking of May. But if he pushed the topic any further, it might sound like he was trying to send her away. He did not want her to misunderstand him.
So he chose not to bring it up again.
That was fine too.
Seeing more of the world was never a bad thing. It was better than staying in one place and training the whole time.
Of course, the downside was that she would have less time to prepare.
That evening, the four of them had dinner together at a Western restaurant.
During the meal, Natsui also explained to Sabrina why he had returned to Kanto this time.
When Sabrina heard that Natsui would be leaving again tomorrow, she felt disappointed. Still, she understood that Natsui was someone who always moved toward his goals, so she did not say much.
Most importantly, she knew one thing.
The Pokémon Contest would begin in only a few days. That meant Natsui would return here again soon.
Because she knew that, she did not feel too upset.
They would meet again very soon.
That night, they returned to Saffron Gym.
Since they both knew they would be separating again the next day, they naturally spent even more time together.
For Natsui, that was a real test of stamina.
They had already spent time together earlier that same day. Going through several more rounds in only a few hours was not something an ordinary man could handle.
Fortunately, he had ordered oysters at dinner. At a crucial time like this, they turned out to be very important.
Morning came again.
When Misty saw Natsui, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and immediately started to worry.
But Natsui only waved a hand and smiled.
They were going to be apart for a while again. In comparison, feeling a little tired did not matter.
After breakfast, the group stood in front of Saffron Gym and said goodbye to Sabrina.
"Don't come out any farther," Natsui said with a smile as he looked up at the woman on the steps. She looked a little tired, but her face was bright. "You're a Gym Leader. It won't look good if people see you like this. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days."
Sabrina nodded gently.
Natsui waved one last time, then left with the other two girls.
Sabrina kept watching his back until he disappeared from view.
After leaving the gym, Natsui had only walked a short distance when a middle-aged man came walking toward them.
The two groups passed each other. After they had gone a few steps farther, Misty suddenly spoke, sounding uncertain.
"Why did that man just now look a little familiar?"
"Really?" Natsui asked. He thought about it for a moment, but he did not feel like he had ever met the man before.
"I remember now!" Misty suddenly said after thinking a little longer. "That was Sabrina's father! I saw him when I came to Saffron Gym with Ash!"
Sabrina's father?
Natsui turned and looked back. The man was already walking toward Saffron Gym. Natsui was a little surprised, but in the end, he shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's keep moving."
...
Celadon City was the closest major city to Saffron City.
And of course, everyone knew who lived in Celadon City.
But Natsui had no intention of going there just yet.
First, he had only just reunited with Sabrina. He needed some time for his emotions to settle down before going to see Erika.
And second...
The main reason was that his body was simply too tired.
So, Natsui chose to go to the second battle facility instead. That one was south of Lavender Town.
Actually, Misty could have left the group by now. She could have returned to Cerulean City.
However, she was still not ready to leave. Or maybe she simply did not miss her three sisters that much. Either way, she had not said anything about separating from the group.
Naturally, Natsui was not going to bring it up himself.
He had traveled with Misty for a long time already and was used to having her around. If she suddenly left, he might actually feel a little strange.
The three of them left Saffron City and followed the main road east.
Along the way, Misty kept talking to May about the fun things she and Ash had experienced during their travels.
Hearing her voice beside him, Natsui found himself remembering his own early journeys around this place.
He missed those days a little.
To him, Kanto had been the starting point. It was one of the most important stages in a trainer's path. Thinking about it made him remember many people and many Pokémon.
After walking for more than half a day, they finally reached the area near Lavender Town.
There was not much to say about this town.
It was famous for ghost stories and Pokémon graves. In that sense, it was similar to Mt. Pyre in Hoenn. Most of the mourning and memorial rites here centered around Pokémon Tower.
The three of them were not especially interested in that.
They only entered town for lunch and planned to keep moving before it got dark.
At that moment, Natsui's phone rang.
The caller was unexpected.
It was Satsuki, the oldest of the Kimono Sisters from Ecruteak City in Johto.
Wait?
Why was she calling now?
Confused, Natsui still answered the call.
"Hello? Satsuki? Is something wrong?"
"It's like this..." Satsuki's voice came through the phone, and Natsui could hear her sisters talking in the background. "I was wondering if you were planning to visit Johto anytime soon."
"Go to Johto?" Natsui asked. "Did something happen?"
"It's nothing serious," Satsuki said, sounding as though she were smiling. "Eevee has been away from us for a long time. We miss it, so we were hoping it could come back for a visit."
So that was it.
Eevee had stayed with the Kimono Sisters for a long time. To them, Eevee was almost like family. It was perfectly normal that they missed it.
And since Natsui had gotten Eevee from them in the first place, it was only right to bring it back for a visit.
"That's a coincidence," Natsui said with a smile. "I just came back to Kanto. Once I finish what I'm doing here, I'll make a trip to Johto."
"Really? That's wonderful! Then we'll wait for you here!"
After they said goodbye and hung up, the phone rang again almost immediately.
At first, Natsui thought Satsuki had forgotten to mention something. But when he looked at the screen, he saw that it was Liza from Charicific Valley.
How strange.
What kind of day was this? Why was everyone calling him?
Natsui already knew there was only one kind of reason Liza would call, so he answered right away.
"Natsui," Liza said before he could even greet her. "Natsui, are you free soon?"
Natsui immediately asked, "What happened? Is my Charizard alright?"
His tone grew serious.
Liza smiled on the other end.
"It's good news. Your Charizard has been training very hard, and now it wants to challenge the strongest Charizard in the valley. If it wins, it will become the strongest Charizard here. Since you're its trainer, you shouldn't miss that, right?"
What!?
His Charizard was going to challenge the strongest one in the valley?
Had it already improved that much?
This was extremely good news for Natsui.
Now it seemed that he really had to go to Johto.
"Is it happening in the next few days? But..."
Before Natsui could finish, Liza cut him off.
"You're busy right now, so don't worry. I understand that. I called just to tell you in advance. Your Charizard doesn't have to fight in the next few days. Just come when you find time later. It will wait for you."
Liza was being considerate.
That gave Natsui enough room to arrange his schedule properly.
After thanking her, he hung up, feeling genuinely excited.
Once Charizard finished this challenge, it would return to his team. And if Eevee also went back to Johto, that visit might even help it evolve.
That would improve the strength of his team even more.
...
After leaving Lavender Town, they headed north.
Their next destination was the Battle Dome.
The name sounded different, but in the end, it was still another battle facility, not something especially strange.
Misty was a little disappointed.
With names like "Arena" and "Dome," she had imagined buildings with really special shapes. She had clearly overthought it.
By evening, they had finally arrived.
The group was tired, so they checked into a Pokémon Center for the night. After taking hot baths and resting, the exhaustion of the day finally faded away.
The next morning, the three of them felt much better and headed to the facility.
This time, though, it really did look unusual.
The Battle Dome was much larger than the Battle Arena. There were huge crowds gathered outside the entrance. At a glance, there had to be several hundred people there.
The place was packed.
There were also many reporters, and even helicopters could be seen overhead.
"So many people," Misty said in surprise. "Why are there this many people here? Is some kind of event going on?"
"I'm not sure," Natsui said. "Let's ask."
They moved through the crowd and soon learned what was happening.
Tucker was a superstar, and today was one of his battle days.
Tucker was the Frontier Brain of the Battle Dome.
"I see," Misty said. "So it's just a normal match. I really thought it was some special event because it's so busy."
Natsui shook his head.
"But this does show how popular Tucker is. Let's go inside."
They entered the Battle Dome and quickly realized it was even more popular than they had expected.
The stadium was almost full.
There were men and women, young and old, but most of the audience seemed to be young girls.
The three of them found seats so they could watch Tucker.
After sitting there for a short while, the lights dimmed and the giant screen lit up. A video introducing the challenger began to play.
A girl trainer then walked onto the stage.
Soon after, another video appeared on the screen, and a dramatic voice rang out through the arena.
"Pokémon battles are flowers blooming across the world! The artist of the Dome! Everyone gathered in this hall, feast your eyes on his brilliant tactics and elegant moves! The superstar of the Dome—Tucker is here!!"
A spotlight shone down, flowers scattered through the air, and a man in a black cloak descended from above on a wire. He circled around the entire stadium before finally landing on the stage.
The audience exploded into cheers. Natsui could even hear the high-pitched screams of Tucker's female fans.
"This guy is really popular!"
Misty covered her ears. The noise was too much.
May had it even worse. She lowered her head and practically buried herself against Misty.
Natsui could not hear what Misty was saying anymore. He only looked at the man in the black cloak, wanting to see the Frontier Brain properly.
Tucker landed, then dramatically threw back his cloak so everyone could finally see him.
Then he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"To my beautiful audience, welcome to the Battle Dome!"