Thud, thud——
Shortly after Ann Ci left, the villa door was suddenly knocked.
Natsuhiko, deep in thought, was startled by the knock, and slowly walked to the door without speaking.
"Open the door."
A hoarse, sharp voice came from outside.
Hearing this voice, Natsuhiko was visibly stunned.
After a moment's hesitation.
He opened the door.
What he saw next was a sinister face that could easily make children cry at midnight, along with a cane and a familiar apron.
The Elite Four, Agatha!
At the first sight of Agatha, what flashed through Natsuhiko's mind was the absurd rumor he heard at the Trainer Guild.
He just wanted to leverage Agatha's name to quickly complete the identity verification and didn't know how the rumor spread like that.
Could she be here to hold him accountable?
But Natsuhiko quickly dismissed that thought.
Even if she was really going to reprimand him, it shouldn't be at this time. Uncle Liu was still out there alone dealing with the wild Pokémon rampaging the area. As one of the Elite Four, she wouldn't come to him over such a "trivial matter."
But upon further thought, given Agatha's eccentric nature and her tendency to hold grudges.
It's not impossible!
Agatha glanced at Natsuhiko's changing expression without guessing what he was thinking.
She simply asked, "Have you been to the Dark Ruins? I'm not talking about the ruins themselves, you know what I mean."
Hearing this, Natsuhiko was stunned once more?
Then he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
At least she wasn't here to hold him accountable.
Then he furrowed his brows slightly.
He did visit the Dark Ruins with Flint and Hilona, but at that time, the two didn't fall as he did, nor did they enter the intricate underground tunnels.
And Agatha was clearly asking about those tunnels.
Was it the Little Monk Ann Ci?
But during their previous exchange, Natsuhiko had subtly asked Ann Ci if he had informed the alliance about him along with the tunnels.
Ann Ci stated that he only mentioned himself and Aerodactyl and did not bring up Natsuhiko.
Though Ann Ci sometimes seemed unreliable, he was indeed a monk, and had never lied so far.
Even the seemingly absurd Buddha Beads, he hadn't lied about; it was just that his account was so real that others thought he was lying.
So how did Agatha know?
Seeming to notice Natsuhiko's confusion, Agatha twitched her facial muscles into an even more grotesque smile.
"Don't think about it, I heard it from an 'old friend.'"
When she mentioned "old friend," there was a hint of gritted teeth.
"Though an old bastard, he's famous for treating everyone the same."
Agatha saying this, Natsuhiko knew that there was no denying it.
"Yes."
"Good." Agatha nodded contentedly, "Come on a trip with me."
Saying this, she directly turned and left.
Natsuhiko lingered at the door for a moment.
He shook his head helplessly, packed up a few Pokémon, took the backpack hanging at the door, and followed her in strides.
What is all this?
After jogging a few steps, he caught up to Agatha.
Despite Agatha's age and reliance on a cane, she walked surprisingly fast.
The two left two trails of footprints in the snow.
"Have you been to the Spirit Realm?"
Suddenly, Agatha asked without turning her head.
Soon, from her shadow emerged a round head with mocking eyes.
Agatha's Gengar!
"Yes, I was accidentally swept in, just returned," Natsuhiko replied honestly.
In regards to the Spirit Realm, likely, no one was more knowledgeable than the Ghost-type Elite Four.
"Gengar says you have a unique aura on you, but now it's very faint; something must have followed you out from the Spirit Realm."
"Unique... aura?"
Natsuhiko recalled the Black Mist that helped them block Haunter's Black Gaze.
Agatha chuckled softly, "Seems like you're aware of it, which is good, alertness is good, so I don't have to remind you."
But Natsuhiko wasn't as optimistic as she was.
He hastened for Abra to take them back from the Spirit Realm, just to escape the owner of that Black Mist.
Unexpectedly, it seemed to have followed them out?
"Thank you for the reminder, Ghost-type Elite Four Agatha."
Anyway.
Agatha did give him a helpful reminder out of goodwill.
Now it seemed, although Agatha appeared unapproachable and difficult, full of sinister thoughts, her temper was not as bad or hard to get along with as imagined.
At least.
In Natsuhiko's two encounters with her, though he wasn't shown much friendliness, each time he gained something.
Last time he was able to certify his trainer level directly, and this time she gave a reminder.
Perhaps it wasn't of significant use to Natsuhiko, but at least it was a gesture of goodwill.
After all, Agatha once played along with Professor Oak, although they later had a fallout, and she still held a grudge against him to this day.
Her grudge against Professor Oak was because he later diverted his attention to Pokémon research, and his prowess significantly declined, making her feel betrayed.
But for someone who could once associate with Professor Oak, even with an eccentric personality and different thinking patterns, their nature ought to be not bad.
"No need." Agatha said plainly, "After all, having such vigilance barely qualifies you to be called my 'disciple,' or perhaps 'nephew'? Or..."
Natsuhiko's expression froze.
He retracted his earlier thoughts.
"Heh heh——" Agatha's eerie laughter reached his ears.
Natsuhiko chuckled dryly, quickly explaining, "Ghost-type Elite Four Agatha, that's all others' imagination, I never said that..."
"Is that so?" Agatha halted, half-turned around.
Rumble!!
Before Natsuhiko could explain, the ground of Goldenrod City suddenly issued a tremendous rumble, and the earth shook violently.
Even the ice blockade of Uncle Liu was broken.
Immediately following, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, and the rising heat evaporated a large hole in the Water Type clouds in the sky.
Whish——
With the whizzing wind, a red-eyed Aerodactyl burst out of the ground.
And Natsuhiko recognized this Aerodactyl.
It was the same one he and Ann Ci encountered in the large underground cavern of the tunnels.
Only it seemed to be in an unusual state now.
Agatha also saw this Aerodactyl soaring into the sky, her expression remained unchanged.
But she didn't stop moving, and her speed was even faster than before, so much so that Natsuhiko noticed she seemed to be floating in the air, not leaving any more footprints.
Reluctantly, Natsuhiko could only jog to keep up.
"Even the Aerodactyl is out, looks like it's time for them to make their move." Agatha said to herself.
But what reached Natsuhiko's ears caused a chill in his heart.
Indeed.
Uncle Liu and Agatha were waiting.
Waiting for the opponents to act at the crucial moment, then capturing them all at once.
Otherwise, finding them one by one, no matter how strong they are, they can't completely find every one of the opponents; if they are not eradicated, they will eventually make a comeback.
Rather than wasting time doing so, it's better to let them expose themselves voluntarily.
Confident that no matter how things develop, with their capabilities, they can handle it.
That's the confidence of the two veteran Elite Four of the Kanto Region!
And also their pride!