Chapter 80. Return to Saffron Gym
The next day, the group returned to the Saffron Gym.
"All right, let's give it our all!" Ash Ketchum cheered Sage Hart on.
"Sir, step forward bravely!" Misty blew a whistle to encourage him.
"Sir, don't hesitate. Trust Haunter!" Brock added.
At the gym entrance, Sage Hart's shoulders trembled at their words, unsure whether he was moved or quietly crying.
After a long moment, he suddenly turned back.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't just talk big while standing so far away!"
Across the street, the three were visible, perched on the curb a safe distance away.
"Natsume said Sabrina was dangerous and told us to keep away," Brock shouted through a megaphone.
"Yeah! Sir, you're such a so-called weakling, yet your psychic powers are that strong, so Miss Sabrina must be truly extraordinary," Misty echoed.
After a few days with Sage Hart, the trio had clearly come to see him as a companion.
Accordingly, his psychic abilities had left a deep impression on them.
Right now, all three were a little shaken, thinking that without Agatha's Gengar, they might never have made it out of the gym that day.
"…" Sage Hart fell silent.
Who said he was a weakling?
When it came to training in telekinesis, his talent was at least that of a minor prodigy.
"Sigh." He heaved a breath and prepared to use Teleport, when footsteps sounded behind him.
Sure enough, these kind kids couldn't bear to see him face danger alone!
Sage Hart was moved, yet still turned around, intending to persuade them not to go in.
"What are you doing here?"
Sage Hart's face changed, and he looked at Natsume as if facing an enemy.
"Obviously, to help you," Natsume spread his hands.
"No. Absolutely not," Sage Hart shook his head, and continued, "I'm going to draw Sabrina out from the Main World. If you go in, you'll provoke her."
"Sabrina's level of autism shouldn't be easy to provoke," Natsume said as he handed Sage Hart a book. "This is my conclusion after self-studying psychology for a night yesterday. I'm sure I can help."
"One night?" Sage Hart's mouth twitched, but he still gave Natsume the courtesy of taking the book.
He glanced at the cover: Abnormal Psychology.
Sage Hart: "…"
He didn't think his daughter deserved that.
Following Natsume's instruction, Sage Hart flipped to the last page, where Natsume had written his summary.
In bold, flowing strokes: "Just give her a beating and she'll be fine."
"…"
"So? I've really got a feel for it now," Natsume said, placing a hand on Sage Hart's shoulder, ready to hitch a ride with Teleport.
Sage Hart shook off Natsume's hand and vanished without a word.
At this point, he really didn't dare let Natsume go in.
Natsume placed his hand against the gym's telekinetically sealed doors and probed them.
He found the seal even tighter than before.
Clearly, Sage Hart had layered on another telekinetic lock before leaving, afraid Natsume would slip inside.
"Sigh…" Natsume let out a long breath.
Why?
Why was he, a helpful, kindhearted, sunny, and cheerful good guy…
…guarded against by so many people?
Chilling!
A faint, ghostly blue light glimmered in Natsume's eyes.
He carefully felt the terrifying psychic force emanating from within the Saffron Gym.
Before coming to the door, Natsume only had a paper-level concept of Sabrina's power.
Now, feeling it firsthand, he shuddered, and an illusion flashed before his eyes.
It was as if he were on a vast ocean, poling a lone skiff.
"Hiss… Is the Main World realm really this strong?"
After only a short while, Natsume felt a stabbing pain in his head.
Shaking it off, Natsume summoned his Rotom Phone.
"Rotom, Teleport."
Natsume's figure vanished from the spot.
A second later, Rotom brought Natsume right back to the same place.
"What happened?" Natsume looked at it in puzzlement.
"Roto, roto!" Rotom shook itself.
"You're saying the psychic intensity inside suddenly doubled, so you can't move freely?" Natsume was taken aback.
After stepping into the Outer World, Natsume could perform simple Teleportation.
But with Sabrina's psychic lockdown, unless one had reached the peak of the Inner World like Sage Hart, there was no way to go in and out at will.
Right now, Teleport wasn't getting him inside.
Natsume thought it over and conceded that Sage Hart had a point.
He really wasn't suited to appear in front of Sabrina, but there was no way Natsume was passing up a System task.
So he decided to use the most primitive method.
"What's Natsume doing?" Far away, Ash watched Natsume.
"Oh no, how embarrassing! Why is he taking his clothes off!" Misty covered her face.
"What he changed into… why does it look so much like Team Rocket's uniform?" Brock squinted until his eyes were slits.
"Click—click—click!" A rapid string of crisp sounds rang out nearby.
The three turned to find Honora aiming her phone at Natsume, frantically hammering the shutter.
Seeing them look over, Honora calmly set her phone to silent, then kept tapping.
"…"
Once Natsume had changed into a high-grade counterfeit Team Rocket admin uniform, he called out Gengar.
"Gengar, see that skylight?"
Natsume pointed to one of the few spots high above the Saffron Gym where sunlight could shine in.
"Hiss—haa!" Gengar nodded, indicating no problem at all.
Inside the gym.
A purple Pokémon with two small hands circled Sabrina, trying to make her laugh.
But sadly, Sabrina's face remained expressionless.
"What do you intend to do?" the doll asked, staring straight at Sage Hart.
Darn it.
Does nothing work?
Sage Hart sighed inwardly.
Over there, Haunter was confused too.
How odd.
It had never met a human it couldn't make laugh.
It had tried everything, yet Sabrina hadn't spared it so much as a glance.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Haunter's face rippled and shifted, finally settling into Natsume's appearance.
"Natsume," it said with a gentle smile.
Refined and courteous, like a spring breeze.
Seeing Haunter suddenly turn into Natsume, Sage Hart felt disaster incoming.
Last night, Natsume seemed to have given her a physical exam…
Sure enough, Sabrina's placid face showed a flicker of emotion, and her gaze turned razor sharp.
But clearly, it was anger.
"Boom—!" A violent psychic wave burst forth, shattering every pane of glass in the gym.
Clinging to the skylight, Natsume plunged inside as a result.
Fortunately, before he hit the floor, a purple fatty drilled up from the ground and butted him up with its head, keeping him from getting hurt.
"Haunter!" Haunter was startled by Sabrina's outburst.
Seeing the sudden appearance of a powerful Gengar, it instantly ducked behind Gengar's back.
The two people present also turned their eyes to the falling Natsume.
He wore a mask, so his features were hidden, but through the Gengar, both Sage Hart and Sabrina recognized him.
"You're with Team Rocket?" Sage Hart stared at Natsume's outfit in shock.
"That's right. I'm Giovanni's right-hand man, Hundred-Eyed!" Natsume blurted without a pause.
Sage Hart: "???"
Come on, at least change your voice!
He was about to speak when Natsume blinked meaningfully at him.
At the same time, two words echoed in Sage Hart's mind.
"Reporters. Outside."
Sage Hart froze and instantly understood how serious this was.
The Saffron Gym's oddities these days had attracted a lot of reporters.
They'd wanted to break Sabrina's situation to the public for ages, but the League had been exerting constant pressure.
Lately, with more and more Trainer complaints, even the League was finding it hard to shield Sabrina.
Natsume even suspected that some of the "reporters" were former Trainers whom Sabrina had "disciplined" years ago and had since switched careers.
Because, to his astonishment, he discovered several reporters with cameras already lying in ambush on the gym roof!
Fearless, every one of them, not retreating even at the sight of a supposed Team Rocket admin.
They looked determined to expose Sabrina's "cruelty" to the world.
What grudge could be so deep?
Thankfully, he'd had the foresight to put on the Team Rocket admin uniform early.
Otherwise, tomorrow's headlines would probably feature him as well.
"Shocking! A certain starry-eyed researcher, in order to save a hollow-hearted Gym Leader, actually…"
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