Liza, Tate, their mother Rachel, and Misty were all shocked by the bright white light.
They quickly covered their faces with their hands. The strong light from the Flash Cannon lasted for seven or eight seconds before it started to fade. They looked back at the field quickly. They saw that another fake planet on the ceiling was broken and fell down. Even Solrock and Lunatone were now hurt and had many marks on them!
The battle was very fast and difficult. They did not even have time to use Light Screen!
Fortunately, the two Pokémon were in bad condition, but they had not fainted yet.
This was a lucky thing.
Anyone could see that their bodies were very strong and hard! This was not because of their type. It was only because of the way their bodies were made. That is why they could keep fighting until now!
Liza and Tate looked at Milotic and Metang. They pulled their eyebrows together and looked worried.
They are so strong...
This was the main feeling Liza and Tate had about Natsui.
It was not that his Pokémon were extremely powerful alone. They could see that these two Pokémon could still grow more. Right now, they were about as strong as Lunatone and Solrock. This man's real strength was his plans, his orders, and his understanding of the battle!
Under his control, those two Pokémon worked well together. They followed every order from their Trainer perfectly, even though they did not usually work well together. This made them much stronger than normal!
The two children felt this man was very hard to beat. He was different from any other trainer they had fought. However, the match was not over yet. They still thought they could win.
They called the two Pokémon back to their side of the field. The Pokémon were shaking as they floated in the air. This time, the twins decided to attack from far away. This would make their aim better. If Milotic used Surf or Twister again, they would have time to move. They would not be stuck like before.
Their plan was good, but they had a big problem with their teamwork.
They were twins who worked at the gym together for a long time. People said they could read each other's thoughts. But they were confused from the fight. When they tried to attack again, the moves of their two Pokémon actually hit each other in the middle of the field!
The attack did not hit Milotic or Metang. It was not a threat at all.
When this happened, Liza and Tate immediately started to argue.
"You got in my way!!"
"You were the one who got in my way!!"
"Nonsense! Your direction was wrong!"
"What are you talking about!? I was supposed to attack Milotic while you watched Metang. You're the one who changed targets on your own!"
"I never heard about that! Whoever is closest should be responsible for attacking!"
"Are you joking? Didn't we agree on this before!?"
The battle was still happening and other people were watching. However, the two did not care. They argued until their faces were red!
Natsui and Misty were surprised. Rachel, who was standing nearby, put her hand on her head and sighed.
"Here we go again... Can you two please stop arguing? Haven't you made yourselves look bad enough? This is a Gym battle!!"
Their mother scolded them, so they became quiet. But it only lasted for a short time. When they gave the order to attack again, the two Pokémon's moves hit each other once more!
Now Natsui could see the problem.
These twins were fine during the first half of the match. He thought their teamwork would last until the end. He did not expect their teamwork to completely fail in the middle of the fight!
Even how they were thinking was badly affected!
This was very unexpected...
Rachel's reaction showed that this was not the first time this happened.
The rumors about them were not entirely true. Liza and Tate's teamwork would break quickly when they fought an opponent stronger than them.
When they fought new trainers, you could not see the problems. But the more they fought a strong opponent like Natsui, the faster they showed their mistakes!
It made sense why the Pokémon League let these two be Gym Leaders at the same time.
The League knew the truth. Using "Psychic Twins" was a good way to get attention. On the outside, Liza and Tate were stronger than most people their age. But the League also knew they were still too young. If one of them was alone, they could not manage a large Gym. They had to work together to fight strong challengers.
Natsui was tired of listening to them argue. He stopped watching. While the two were arguing again, he told Milotic and Metang to attack directly.
Liza and Tate only looked at each other. They did not see what was happening on the field. Their two Pokémon were already very tired. Both Pokémon were knocked to the ground immediately.
Rachel was their mother, but she shook her head. She had a headache because of this. Still, she raised the colored flags.
"Solrock and Lunatone are unable to battle. The winner of this Gym match is the challenger, Natsui!"
Natsui and Misty heard that he won, but they did not feel very happy.
The battle ended in a boring way!
The two played well at first. But when they started to lose, they played very poorly. This made Natsui feel disappointed. He was interested in the fight, but it ended too suddenly.
He sighed. That was not satisfying.
It was a pity, but Natsui now had the badge. He defeated Liza and Tate. He was now only one step away from the Ever Grande Conference!
Soon...
When he got the last badge, his time in the Hoenn region would end...
Liza and Tate finally saw that their Pokémon had lost. They looked at Lunatone and Solrock on the ground. They stood there quietly for a long time. They were shocked, but they stopped arguing.
They just stood there, so Rachel coughed. The two remembered what they had to do.
They put their Pokémon back in their balls. Then they walked to Natsui. They had strange looks on their faces.
Liza was the older sister. She spoke first. She sounded like she respected him. "That was truly an amazing performance. Compared to your two Pokémon, our teamwork did not show at all. We almost had no room to fight back."
"That's right..." Tate said. "You are probably the strongest challenger we've ever met. How exactly did you do it?"
Natsui shook his head. He spoke in a way that sounded humble but also showed his skill. "Travel more, see more. That's all."
Liza and Tate looked at each other.
People called them very talented children. At ten years old, they were already Gym Leaders. Many trainers never reach that goal. They started at the finish line, but now someone told them to travel more?
Natsui saw their faces. He knew they did not want to go.
It made sense. They were Gym Leaders, so people respected them. They could keep this job until they were old. They would always have a job. They did not need to go on a journey. Many trainers came to them every day. They could train without leaving home.
But Natsui thought people should do certain things when they are young.
He believed people should travel when they are young. After they learn a lot, they can come back to run a Gym. He did not think they should be stuck here forever.
But everyone has different ideas. He chose to travel, but others wanted to feel safe and comfortable.
However, this was not Natsui's business.
He only met them for a short time. They asked a question, so he gave an answer. He did not want to say too much to a stranger. That was his limit.
His words did not change how Liza and Tate felt. They did not hear the answer they wanted. They thought a powerful person would have a secret training method. They did not expect him to say "travel."
Is it just traveling?
They often walked near the Gym, but it did not seem to help them.
Rachel looked like she wanted to say something. She seemed to like the idea of the twins going on a journey. But she looked at them and stayed silent.
After a moment, Liza remembered something. She smiled at Tate. "I almost forgot. Hurry and take out the badge."
"Oh, if you didn't say it, I would have forgotten too."
Tate was looking for a way to keep talking. He heard his sister and immediately took a badge from his jacket. He gave it to Natsui.
"This is our Mind Badge. It is proof of defeating us. Please accept it."
Natsui said thank you and took the badge. He looked at it. The badge was shaped like a heart. The top part was pink and the bottom was yellow. There was a red cylinder in the middle. It looked very pretty.
He thought about who made it. Girls would probably like it a lot.
He held it for a short time. Then he put the badge into his case.
Misty came from the seats to his side. They both nodded to Liza and Tate. They did not stay. They turned and left.
...
The Mossdeep Gym was just a small part of the trip. It was one of the easier Gyms Natsui had fought.
After they left, the real main event started.
Shelly called him. At the same time, Courtney also sent news.
Both of them called him now, so it meant one thing. Maxie and Archie were not dead. They had been preparing for a long time. Now, they were moving again!
They were true rivals. They even started their plans at the same time.
Was this because they could read each other's minds?
Large black clouds were over Mossdeep City. They covered the whole sky.
The people in the city stopped working. They looked at the sky and were surprised.
The weather in Mossdeep City was usually sunny and beautiful. This was very strange for the people who lived there.
Only Natsui knew the truth. This was like the quiet time before trouble starts. Even the sky knew that something big was going to happen!
This would be the final battle. Everything with Maxie, Archie, Kyogre, and Groudon would be finished. Natsui was very careful. He took Misty to the Pokémon Center to change his team.
He sent some Pokémon that needed training to Cerise Park. He asked for his strongest Pokémon. They came back to him from Sabrina, Erika, and Chloe.
Misty felt the serious atmosphere. Her mood became serious too. She wanted to say something to make Natsui feel better. She tried to speak many times but said nothing.
"Don't be nervous." Natsui looked at her and smiled. He slowly put the Poké Balls into his bag. "Just be like you usually are. Don't forget, I'm here."
By chance, Shelly and Courtney sent coordinates for different places. But both were very close to Mossdeep City.
He checked the map. They were in the sea nearby.
This was good news. He did not have to travel for a long time. He could get there in a few hours.
Before they left, Natsui looked at Misty. She was still nervous. He smiled at her.
"Do you want to wait for me here?"
"No." Misty shook her head. She gave Natsui a big smile, even though she was worried. "Don't forget, I'm a Water-type Trainer. The sea is my home turf too. I can help!"
"Oh? You've got quite the spirit. As expected of my traveling companion!"
Natsui patted Misty's head. Then he called Dragonite. He and Misty got on Dragonite's back. They flew away from the Pokémon Center. In a few seconds, they were high above Mossdeep City!
A trainer was walking past the door. The sudden move of the Dragonite scared him. He was going to get angry. But before he could speak, the Dragonite was already hundreds of meters in the air. It flew into the dark clouds very fast!
"Honestly..." The trainer looked at Dragonite and spoke in a bad mood. "What's the big rush? Are you in a hurry to go save the world?"
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