Looking up.
It was Lance, who had just gotten used to his cloak, full of smiles, with a hint of surprise.
"Lance?" Natsuhiko was also somewhat surprised.
Although he knew Lance had been staying at the Poke Center in Goldenrod City recently, he didn't expect to encounter him suddenly.
Lance was actually a bit shocked too. He had just returned from outside and saw Natsuhiko sitting in the corner, quietly reading a book.
With Natsuhiko's outfit at that time, it was hard not to notice him. In Lance's eyes, only Natsuhiko could surpass him in looks at this venue.
Naturally sitting beside him, "Reading a book?"
"Yes." He nodded, closed the book, and put it away.
He wasn't just seeking experience for nurturing Pokémon but also wanted to use information from different books, combined with his advanced knowledge, to publish papers on aspects of Pokémon unknown to this world.
Moreover, gathering information is his professional habit.
"Is Weedle okay? Injured?" Lance continued to ask.
"No, it just had some minor upgrades; I'm here at the Poke Center for a checkup."
"Oh?" Lance narrowed his eyes, leaned closer, and whispered, "Is it that?"
Natsuhiko nodded again.
Lance's red eyes darkened, and his expression became complex, "I see."
Natsuhiko glanced at him and explained, "The process is not as you think. I obtained the materials through other channels."
He knew Lance might misunderstand him as wanting to cultivate Weedle's Poison Attribute by hunting Poison-type Pokémon deliberately.
Although he wasn't opposed, it was too time-consuming, and the strength of toxins might not meet Weedle's needs.
"Phew—"
Hearing Natsuhiko's explanation, Lance let out a long breath, worried that Natsuhiko might go on a spree slaughtering innocent Pokémon.
Lance wasn't opposed to Pokémon battling, given that quite a few had perished under his hand, but he was somewhat against unnecessary slaughter.
A smile floated back to his face, "It seems Weedle made more than just a minor upgrade this time."
Not delving further into that, Natsuhiko changed the topic, "Weren't you going to challenge the Goldenrod Dojo? How did it go?"
Then he saw a hint of helplessness emerge on Lance's face.
He awkwardly tugged at the cloak behind him, "Ahem... I..."
Crack!!
Before he could finish his sentence.
Suddenly, all the lights in the Poke Center went out, and various instruments stopped functioning.
For a moment, chaos erupted in the already crowded Poke Center.
"Hmm?" Lance frowned, stood up abruptly, and strode toward Miss Joy.
Natsuhiko couldn't help frowning as well, following him.
Weedle was still under checkup.
"Miss Joy, what happened?"
Miss Joy seemed acquainted with Lance, who calmed the somewhat panicked trainers in the hall and softly told Lance, "Mr. Lance, it should... be a power outage."
"Power outage?"
Natsuhiko, following Lance, also heard Miss Joy's words, somewhat shocked.
How could a vital medical institution like the Poke Center experience a power outage?
"Is there no backup power?" Natsuhiko asked.
Indeed, such crucial institutions like the Poke Center would surely have backup power reserves, enough to last a day or two until the circuit is repaired.
Miss Joy looked at Natsuhiko with some confusion, but she helplessly responded, "The backup power was already used up two days ago."
Natsuhiko and Lance exchanged a glance, seeing uncertainty in each other's eyes.
Miss Joy explained, "Two days ago, there was an outage at the Poke Center, and the backup power was activated until the power supply resumed. We thought it was fixed, but suddenly, it went out again today, indicating that not much energy remained in the reserve, so..."
"So, the Poke Center is completely out of power!"
A power outage means Pokémon in need of urgent treatment may not receive timely aid, potentially leading to their demise.
Natsuhiko suddenly recalled a few days back when he returned to the club; the club had an outage, forcing it to close.
Moreover, on the way here, he noticed several places seemed to experience power outages as well.
Could the outage phenomena, instead of arising from issues with specific power lines, be due to...?
At the source?
"Have things become this serious?" Lance suddenly said in a deep tone.
"You know?" Natsuhiko looked at him.
Lance replied dryly, "To explain that, it's a long story..."
Near Goldenrod City, Lance was not merely here to challenge Nancy.
Natsuhiko quietly pursed his lips, contemplating.
"Miss Joy, is my Pokémon ready?"
Miss Joy recognized Natsuhiko, given that his Weedle was relatively special.
"Just a basic checkup, it's ready, was about to inform you."
With that said, she handed over a Pokeball.
Through the red glass, Weedle was seen sitting quietly inside, looking energetic and well.
Weedle wasn't affected by the power outage; Natsuhiko felt relieved.
And by Miss Joy's expression, the checkup should have shown no issues with Weedle.
"Just in time, Natsuhiko, would you like to come with me for a look?" Lance suddenly asked upon seeing Natsuhiko retrieve his Pokeball.
"A look?"
"I suspect the problem might be at the power station to the east." Lance's expression turned a bit serious.
Previously, the emergency outages within Goldenrod City revealed some line issues, but with such frequent outages, Lance suspected that the primary issue might be at the power station.
"The east..." Natsuhiko lowered his head, eyes flashed, softly murmured.
Then he raised his head, nodded, "Okay."
Lance was delighted.
"Let's go."
The two maneuvered through the increasingly hectic crowd and strode out of the Poke Center.
Taking a cab directly to Goldenrod City's far east.
As the largest city in the Kanto Region, Goldenrod City is also considered the most prosperous city, with daily power usage reaching terrifying numbers.
Fortunately, Goldenrod City's power supply is well-maintained. At the city's eastern edge, deep within the forest, lies the famous Goldenrod City Power Plant.
The choice to build it away from the city lies in minimizing radiation and preventing large-scale accidents at the power plant.
Given the scale of Goldenrod City's power plant, an uncontrolled explosion would wield destructive forces, possibly causing annihilation across Goldenrod City, impacting it severely.
Neither Natsuhiko nor Lance spoke during the journey until they reached the eastern limit of Goldenrod City; ahead lay the outskirts leading into the forest teeming with Wild Pokémon.
Preparations made, neither hesitated, diving into the forest.
Natsuhiko released Weedle, while Lance summoned a Dratini.
Dratini resembles Snake-type Pokémon, its body covered in light blue scales, belly bright white, eyes purple, forehead having a white protrusion, white fins on both sides, and a large round white nose adorning its face.
It was Natsuhiko's first time witnessing a Quasi-God Pokémon from the Kanto Region; Dratini's appearance radiated vibrant energy, affectionately spiraling around Lance.
"I've only just captured this little one, initially intending for it to battle your Weedle," Lance gently stroked Dratini's slick scales, introducing.
Natsuhiko deeply gazed at Dratini.
Admittedly, merely the title of Quasi-God Pokémon made Dratini exceptionally enticing.
From Lance's current standpoint, traces of his potential as the future Dragon-type Elite and Champion emerged.
Suppressing strange thoughts in his heart, he focused on Lance, his expression turning somewhat serious.
"Lance, your trip to Goldenrod City isn't simply for challenging the Goldenrod Dojo, challenging Nancy, right?"
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Additional updates later tonight; thank you for your generous rewards!