Natsui and Misty left the small island with the Sky Pillar. They flew on Dragonite through the night. First, they arrived at a green island. They put up a tent and rested for the night. The next morning, they ate breakfast and set out again.
Natsui thought about where to go next.
After a moment, he decided to go to the Mossdeep Gym in Mossdeep City.
Shelly and Courtney had not sent any news yet. This meant Maxie and Archie had not moved yet. Natsui was ready, so he did not want to wait for a long time. He decided to go to the Gym to try to get another badge.
Mossdeep City was on the ocean. It was closer than Fortree City.
Plans often change.
It seemed he was following Ash's path again.
Natsui thought about the time. Ash probably finished his fight at the Mossdeep Gym and left already.
Dragonite flew fast over the big sea.
They were very close to the water. Dragonite wanted to show a trick. It suddenly rolled in the air. Natsui and Misty were not ready. They almost fell off!
"You rascal..."
Natsui hit its head, but it did not hurt the strong Pokémon. Dragonite smiled. Then it flew carefully and steadily.
Some Mantine jumped out of the water. They flew with Dragonite for a while. Then they went back into the deep sea.
The wind was on their faces. It felt very good and comfortable.
Yesterday, Natsui traveled here with Zinnia. Now, he felt much happier. The sky looked bluer, and the sea water looked clearer.
The place was the same. But catching the Shiny Rayquaza changed how he felt about everything.
He liked everyone right now. If he saw a Team Rocket member fall down, he might even help them get up!
Mossdeep City is in the northeast sea of the Hoenn region.
It was on a big island, like Sootopolis City. It was far from the main land. it was the furthest city in the east of Hoenn.
It was not as busy as big cities. But it had green hills and clear water. It was a very nice place by the sea.
People liked to see Wailmer and Wailord there. People stood on the beach to watch these big Pokémon very closely.
Also, the Mossdeep Space Center was famous around the world.
This place studied space and launched rockets. Many researchers worked there. It was a very important place in the Hoenn region.
They launched the Sunflora satellite and the Ho-Oh 3 rocket from there. But the researchers mostly studied Pokémon from space. Humans had not found these Pokémon before. Natsui's Deoxys was one of them.
People chose this place for the Space Center because the weather was good.
The sea around it usually had clear weather. Because of where it was, the sky was usually clear and the wind was light. Hard wind and rain were rare. This was perfect for launching rockets.
But Natsui did not care about those things. He only wanted to go to the Mossdeep Gym!
The Gym in Mossdeep City was very special. It had two Gym Leaders!
The Leaders were Tate and Liza. People called them "The Mysterious Combination." They were twins. Tate was the brother, and Liza was the older sister. They were young, but they were very talented. So, they were allowed to lead the Gym together.
They were experts with Psychic-type Pokémon. People said they had a special psychic link. They could understand each other without talking. They could even read other people's minds!
It seemed all Psychic-type Gym Leaders had special powers. Sabrina was like that, and these twins were too. Even Phoebe from the Elite Four said she could talk to Ghost-type Pokémon!
If a Trainer defeated the twins, they got the Mind Badge.
Natsui landed on the island. He did not go to the Gym first. He called Kuroda, the secretary of the Devon Corporation.
He wanted help with something small. He asked them to make his Meteorite Key Stone into a piece of jewelry he could wear.
He decided this yesterday when he held the stone.
He did not know if it had "space energy" to make Pokémon stronger during Mega Evolution. But the name "Meteorite Key Stone" sounded very special. That was enough reason to change it.
Kuroda said yes immediately. He did not even ask President Stone.
Natsui had helped them a lot before. This was a small favor. Kuroda told his workers to make the stone look like a perfect piece of art.
Natsui said thank you and hung up. He found a courier company to send the stone to Kuroda.
Now he just had to wait. He was sure he would get a new Key Stone bracelet in a few days.
After that, he and Misty went toward the Mossdeep Gym.
They walked through the streets. They heard people talking about a recent event.
Yesterday morning, another rocket went into space.
Even after one day, people were still excited. Everyone was talking about it while they ate.
"It's a bit of a pity..." Misty said as they walked. "If we arrived one day earlier, we might have seen the rocket launch. I have never seen one. It must have been great!"
"I am twenty years old and I have never seen a rocket launch either. It is a shame," Natsui said. "But there will be more chances. Also, I got something very good this time. It is worth missing the rocket launch for the rest of my life."
Natsui remembered something. He asked, "By the way, looking at the timing, although we missed the launch, Ash and the others probably didn't. I saw you contacted May earlier. Are they still in the city?"
Misty shook her head. "They successfully challenged the Gym yesterday and have already left."
"Is that so? Then we really did just miss each other."
The Mossdeep Gym was near the edge of the city. It did not look like a Gym. It looked like a science museum.
Natsui was used to this.
Most Gyms looked strange because of the Leader's hobbies or style. Only a few were traditional.
He had seen even stranger Gyms. The Mossdeep Gym looked almost normal to him.
They went inside. It was exactly as they thought. The inside was a big hall about rockets, space, and planets. There were many models and displays.
A woman was writing at the front desk. She stopped and looked at them.
"Can I help you?"
The woman was about thirty-five years old. She had blue hair and big glasses. She sounded kind. She looked like a worker, but she also looked like she owned the place.
"Hello," Natsui said politely. "I'm here to challenge the Gym. Are the two Leaders in?"
"You've come at just the right time. They've just returned. Come, I'll take you to them."
The woman led Natsui and Misty to the battle area.
This area looked even more like a science fiction movie!
The battlefield looked like the surface of the moon. The area around it was dark like space. There were holes in the ground. Big models of planets were hanging from the ceiling. They moved slowly around the field!
What a cool battlefield...
Natsui looked around. This was the most interesting Gym he had seen. It really felt like they were in space.
It was very impressive.
Two young people were practicing on one side. They wore blue clothes for martial arts.
They were about ten years old. They looked very similar. It was hard to tell who was who. The girl had a different hairstyle and her chest was a little different.
These were the Leaders—Liza and Tate.
"Liza, Tate, a challenger has arrived."
The twins looked over when they heard the woman.
"We're coming, Mom!"
Mom?
Natsui and Misty looked at the woman. They knew she was important, but they did not know she was their mother.
They looked at her closely. They could see she looked like the twins. They all had the same blue hair.
They walked closer. Liza spoke first. "Hello. Welcome to the Mossdeep Gym. I am Gym Leader Liza."
Tate spoke next. "And I am Gym Leader Tate."
"I'm Natsui, and I'm the challenger."
"I'm Misty, his companion."
They did not know each other, so they finished the introductions and started the battle.
Both sides went to their spots. The mother walked to the side to be the referee.
"My name is Rachel," she said to Natsui. "I will be the referee for this match. Before we begin, I would like to explain some of the special rules here. First, as you can see, our Mossdeep Gym is a bit different from others. In addition to the battlefield in front of you, the planets hanging from the ceiling are also considered part of the combat zone."
Natsui looked at the planets.
They were big. They could hide Pokémon or block attacks. Pokémon could jump or fly onto them to attack from above. This made the battle more difficult.
He had to worry about the ground and the air. It was a three-dimensional battlefield like space, Natsui thought.
Rachel saw that Natsui understood. She continued. "Secondly, regarding the match rules: this will be a Double Battle. The Pokémon used by Liza and Tate are the fixed pair of Solrock and Lunatone. Correspondingly, you must use two Pokémon simultaneously. Furthermore, neither side is permitted to switch Pokémon during the match. There is no time limit; the battle continues until both Pokémon on one side are completely defeated."
Natsui expected a Double Battle because there were two Leaders.
He nodded to show he understood.
"Very well. Now, both sides, please send out your Pokémon!"
Liza and Tate sent out their Pokémon at the same time.
They used Solrock and Lunatone. They are Rock and Psychic-type.
There were two flashes of blue light. A Pokémon like a sun and a Pokémon like a moon appeared. They floated over the field.
Natsui looked at them.
He did not know much about these Pokémon. They were strong, but they were rare and did not evolve. They looked very strange. In his games on Earth, he only caught them for his Pokédex. He never used them in a battle.
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