Pokémon：Trainer's Gambit Chapter 577 0578: The Lily of the Valley Conference

The distant river of Michina Town glittered under the sunlight.

Regigigas stood dormant behind Natsu, like an ancient, colossal statue.

A gentle breeze swept across the wilderness, rustling the wheat fields—peaceful and full of life.

"So..."

Cynthia fell silent for a long mont after hearing about Natsu's exploits in the Hall of Origin.

"You actually fought Arceus head-on?"

"That was just an avatar."

Natsu looked up at the sky.

The fear of facing Arceus, Gold's reckless charge, the resolve behind Gengar's ga Evolution...

Giovanni shielding Silver, the Trio rushing forward, Sirfetch'd slashing at Arceus...

All of it had lted into exhaustion, washed away in that earlier embrace.

A massive airship disappeared into the sea of clouds, its engines roaring as the winds carried the mist apart.

"But I proved sothing to it..."

Natsu exhaled, smiling.

"My conviction—and my bond with Pokémon."

"Gengar~~!" Gengar popped out of the shadows, flashing a peace sign and a toothy grin.

The Premier Ball at Natsu's waist trembled slightly, Sirfetch'd shivering inside: "Sirfetch'd!!~(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)"

Stop talking! What if Arceus holds a grudge?!

Cynthia turned slowly, her golden hair swaying as her eyes locked onto Natsu.

Last year, in snow-covered Wyndon, he had bared his heart to fulfill a child's wish.

Now, he must have carried the hopes of many, choosing to beco a Champion.

Her gaze softened into a beautiful smile as she asked:

"Are you planning to enter the Lily of the Valley Conference next?"

Natsu nodded. "Didn't you say you'd be the one presenting the Champion's award?"

"That's true..." Cynthia mused. "But with your current strength..."

"Don't worry."

Natsu smirked confidently. "When it cos to tournants, Gengar and I are professionals!"

"Gengar~（o(^▽^)o" Gengar waved its tiny fists.

Cynthia blinked, then chuckled, recalling the public's opinion of Natsu.

Perhaps... this was the unique charm of a true Champion.

"I need to report this incident to the Sinnoh League..."

Cynthia gazed at the revitalized Michina Town, her lips curving upward.

"Don't worry, I'll be ho soon."

"Then we'll watch the fireworks together."

Natsu grinned. "Looking forward to seeing you with your hair up and in a yukata."

Cynthia froze for a second.

mories surfaced—childhood firework festivals with her grandmother.

Carolina's image overlapped with the young man before her.

She smiled. "You'll need Garchomp's permission first."

"Garchomp!!" A pair of crimson eyes glead behind her as Garchomp glared down at Natsu.

Carolina lifted its chin with a proud huff.

"Carolina!"

Fine, since you actually pulled off sothing heroic this ti... I'll allow it!

"Looks like Garchomp gave the green light." Natsu grinned.

"Then I don't mind either." Cynthia's eyes curved in amusent.

The fireworks festival would be held around the sa ti as the Lily of the Valley Conference.

With Cynthia busy overseeing preparations, she wouldn't have ti to spare.

But she could always delegate the work to Lucian...

After all, the Sinnoh Champion had just quelled Arceus' rampage—she deserved so rest.

As for the other Elite Four mbers... Granny Bertha was nearing retirent, Aaron was just a bug-obsessed kid, and Flint was a battle-crazed hothead.

Lucian, as the most competent of Sinnoh's Elite Four?

Forcing overti on him was completely justified!

Natsu gazed at the sky, suddenly feeling a mix of pity and lancholy.

The roar of the massive airship faded into the distance.

The regal golden-haired beauty soared away on Garchomp, leaving a trail of scattered clouds in her wake.

Natsu still needed to return Regigigas to its rightful place.

anwhile, Gold was busy boasting about their earlier exploits.

"Old man, Natsu-sensei and I totally tead up to take down Arceus!"

Leaning on his pool cue beside Pryce's wheelchair, he wiped his nose with a smug grin.

"That's the real power of a Pokédex Holder!"

Pryce sat motionless, his expression icy, though his mind churned with thoughts.

He'd always believed Gold could achieve anything if he put his mind to it.

But right now, the kid's obnoxious smirk was really testing his patience...

Silver returned from the cliffside, calm as ever after his confrontation with Giovanni.

Natsu greeted him curiously. "What'd you two talk about?"

"I'll defeat him myself." Silver said flatly.

Natsu blinked.

I thought you two had finally made up...

Then again, maybe this was just their twisted way of showing affection.

Giovanni's greatest wish was for Silver to surpass him.

And Silver's goal was to defeat his father—

Now that's what you call a heartwarming father-son bond!

"w~~"

Nearby, w was playing with Togepi, the two darting through the tall grass.

The feline Mythical levitated just out of reach as Togepi chased after it, only to trip on a rock: "Doo-ee!"

As Togepi tumbled downhill, w caught it with Confusion, giggling behind a paw. "w~~"

"Togepi doo-ee~~ヾ" Togepi bounced eagerly, begging for another round.

Soon, they were playing a ga of "leap off the hill and get caught midair."

Natsu watched nervously—though with w around, there wasn't much danger.

w rarely got to go out, so it was making the most of playti.

"w~~o(￣▽￣)ｄ" "Togepi doo-ee~~ヾ(^▽^)ノ"

Despite being thousands of years old...

Who says legends can't be playful?

Darkrai hovered within Natsu's elongated shadow, its dark ribbons fluttering in the wind.

It gazed at the clear sky—the earlier battle felt like a distant dream.

Still... it had kept its promise, standing by its partner.

Even against Arceus.

Darkrai closed its eyes with an air of cool detachnt.

Then its brow twitched.

The more it thought about it, the angrier it got!

This guy actually managed to piss off Arceus?!

I agreed way too easily!!

Darkrai shook its head with a sigh.

But... Natsu had truly saved the world from Arceus' wrath.

That courage and conviction were why Darkrai had taken a liking to this human.

Arms crossed, it ditated peacefully—

Until Natsu's footsteps approached.

Darkrai's eyes snapped open. "This isn't getting settled without a whole truckload!"

Natsu paused.

Your appetite's smaller than my Larvitar's...

"I'll have it delivered to Alamos Town."

Natsu chuckled, then raised a hand as The Power of One's glow shimred.

"But first... let set a marker!"

"What's this?"

Darkrai stared as Natsu's telepathic voice echoed in its mind.

"Now we can stay in touch whenever."

Darkrai looked surprised.

It had helped Natsu for the food—no, the bond.

But now, The Power of One deepened their connection, letting Darkrai sense Natsu's presence.

"Fine..."

Darkrai sighed, recalling Natsu standing against Arceus.

Since Alicia... this might be the second human it could trust.

Besides.

If they'd already fought Arceus, what other Legendary could possibly—

Darkrai's expression suddenly twisted into sothing complicated as it muttered:

"...Actually, let's not."

...

anwhile, Team Rocket's trio was exploring Giovanni's aerial battleship, poking around curiously.

"So many advanced instrunts, ow!" owth's eyes sparkled like he'd found treasure.

"So that's how it works..."

Jas examined the battleship's main engine while stroking his chin.

"Maybe we three should try building one next ti..."

Replicating an aerial battleship wouldn't be difficult for the trio technically.

The real issue was funding - the engineering challenges were trivial by comparison.

In the main cabin, Giovanni tended to his wounds with bandages, glancing at surveillance footage of the trio.

"How did they get aboard..." he muttered.

Rembering they were essentially Natsu's subordinates, and needing to maintain his ntor's secret identity by departing early, Giovanni sighed in resignation.

Suddenly, the corner of his mouth curved upward as an idea struck him.

It had been Natsu who suggested the "Rainbow Initiative" that helped reconcile with Silver.

And when facing Silver directly, Giovanni realized his son had his own convictions.

Therefore... designating reserve leadership for Team Rocket beca necessary.

Perhaps no one but Giovanni himself could truly bear the title of "Team Rocket's Boss."

But after this battle, his mind had settled on potential candidates.

Giovanni stroked Persian while watching the trio on surveillance.

Just as Koga, Sabrina and Lt. Surge had once been his three executives...

Natsu too would need his own inner circle.

Not diocrities, but individuals of exceptional capability, agility and strength.

Giovanni's eyes glead thoughtfully.

Images flashed through his mind - the grinning faces of Jessie, Jas and owth.

"Perhaps not quite matching the dignity of the Three Executives..."

Rubbing his temples, Giovanni muttered:

"Ah well, let Natsu deal with that headache himself."

Having settled on candidates for both leadership and executives,

Giovanni leaned back on the sofa, wrinkles smoothing as he exhaled in the quiet cabin.

That day when Silver defeats ... and we can finally vacation together.

Closing his eyes, Giovanni chuckled wryly.

Perhaps... it won't be too long now...

...

Sinnoh Region, Snowpoint Temple

Brandon stared blankly at his ringing phone displaying Natsu's caller ID.

"You want to deliver the Imprison Stone orb to Michina Town?"

"It's... a long story."

Natsu scratched his cheek awkwardly before glancing back at the motionless Regigigas behind him. "Let's just say Regigigas is currently with ."

Brandon's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

So THAT'S why Snowpoint Temple keeps collapsing every other week!

At this point, just catch the damn thing and stop returning it!

"I'll teleport to the Pokémon Center near Michina Town," Brandon coughed into his fist. "The Imprison Stone orb operates similarly to a Poké Ball—teleportation systems can handle it."

"By the way," he added, "what happened in Michina Town yesterday? Spatial signals were completely jamd!"

"Minor incident." Natsu chuckled. "Already resolved!"

Since when is sothing requiring REGIGIGAS' intervention a "minor incident"?!

At least co up with a better excuse! Like suddenly running into Arceus or sothing!

Seeing Natsu had no intention of elaborating, Brandon could only sigh in resignation.

Hanging up, he turned toward the perpetually-under-construction Snowpoint Temple and muttered:

"This had better be the last ti... right?"

...

Michina Town, Arceus Temple

Using the Imprison Stone orb to recall Regigigas went surprisingly smoothly—

Mostly because Natsu gave it another round of "Aura of Ripple Massage Therapy" first.

He'd return the Stone orb to Snowpoint Temple when passing through Sandgem Town later.

anwhile, in the recently reconnected group chat...

"Arceus was spotted heading toward Sinnoh from the Ruins of Alph," Lance frowned.

Officer Falkner's ssage appeared grim. "Natsu-sensei and Gold were investigating those ruins days ago."

"Can't reach Silver," Green worried. "Natsu-sensei and Gold aren't responding either."

An ominous silence fell over the chat.

Everyone knew Natsu-sensei's capabilities from Alamos Town and the glacial crisis...

But this ti, they might be facing Arceus—the creator deity itself.

Even if just an avatar, no ordinary human could withstand that!

Atop Mt. Silver, Red furrowed his brow. Not even he felt confident about defeating Arceus.

Yet... he trusted his rival Natsu-sensei and the reckless Gold completely.

"Have faith in them," Red typed. "With Ash there too, they'll pull through."

Gold suddenly ca online, scratching his head at the flood of ssages.

"Whoa, you guys wrote a novel here!"

He grinned. "Just got back from the Hall of Origin—signal was dead up there!"

Lance exhaled in relief. "What happened?"

Knowing Gold's tendency to exaggerate, Silver gave a concise summary—

Arceus' awakening, Natsu leading sinnoh three gods into battle...

(He tactfully omitted Giovanni's involvent, since the Rocket Boss was still technically their enemy despite helping Red before...)

"So..." Lance blinked dazedly. "Natsu-sensei COMMANDED THREE LEGENDARIES against Arceus?!"

Even for a Champion fad for tactical genius, that was downright broken!

"Where are you now?" Blue Oak asked.

"Alive and kicking!" Gold laughed.

Just waiting for Natsu-sensei to grant admin privileges!

Red pondered. "And Arceus...?"

"Natsu-sensei totally wrecked it!" Ash chid in excitedly. "I saw it myself!"

Lance: "..."

Red: "..."

Blue Oak: "..."

The chat descended into tomb-like silence.

This felt eerily familiar... yet impossible to disbelieve.

Arceus' awakening was undeniable.

For Natsu-sensei's group to survive, only one conclusion remained...

Reading Ash's ssages, Natsu's eyelid twitched.

Kid, you're my number one hype man!

"It was mainly emotional bonds that moved Arceus," Natsu clarified.

"ga Evolution? You an that Gengar?" Blue Oak guessed.

Ash nodded vigorously. "Yeah! ga Gengar was aweso!"

Natsu: "..."

Pretty sure we're having two different conversations here...

Shaking his head, Natsu decided to brief Professor Oak properly later.

Now he'd be starting from scratch with Ash to prepare for the Lily of the Valley Conference...

Natsu stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Ash, my boy... the Lily of the Valley waters run deep. You're not ready.

Better let this sensei show you how it's done!

Temple guardian Sheena invited Natsu's group to a celebratory banquet in Michina Town.

Ash declined to continue training—determined to crush his rival Paul at the upcoming tournant.

Gold and Silver also begged off, eager to resu their Pokémon gaming sessions.

Pryce wordlessly began wheeling himself away.

"Where are you headed?"

Natsu grasped the wheelchair's handles with a smile. "Let escort you."

No ulterior motives—just Natsu's habitual kindness.

Pryce coldly studied the warm-eyed young man before him.

Both character and strength—this youth had earned the old master's respect.

"That Blastoise of yours..." Pryce said slowly.

"...Could theoretically learn Ice-type moves."

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