The arrival of Lance and Xiaochun completely disrupted Natsuhiko's plans.
Though it wasn't all bad.
The only thing that might affect Natsuhiko was the message Lance brought—that Agatha wanted to see him.
This brought back many memories for Natsuhiko of the time when he leveraged Agatha's name to throw his weight around at the Trainer Guild in Goldenrod City.
Afternoon.
Originally, Natsuhiko wanted to learn some Pokémon battle techniques from Kona, but he had to give up on that idea.
A battle with Kona would inevitably provoke thoughts from Lance.
Although Lance promised not to challenge him within half a year, a thief's mind could not be stopped, so Natsuhiko decisively turned the afternoon's battle training into regular training.
However, just because he didn't actively challenge others didn't mean others wouldn't challenge him.
For example.
Standing in front of Natsuhiko, showing a hint of hostility, was Xiaochun.
Faced with Xiaochun's enigmatic hostility, Natsuhiko looked bewildered.
Logically, Xiaochun should bear hostility toward Kona, right?
But unexpectedly.
Actually, Xiaochun's purpose for accompanying Lance this time was for him.
No choice.
Previously, Xiaochun remembered that one reason Lance insisted on entering the third cave of the Dragon Cave was to avenge Natsuhiko.
Originally, Xiaochun thought Lance would have settled the score after coming out.
Who would have thought that upon returning from the league trial, every other word Lance uttered was about this "Natsuhiko," his admiration even surpassing that for Kona.
This left Xiaochun puzzled.
Wasn't he dead?
How is he alive again?
And even able to earn such praise from her usually boastful cousin?
So upon hearing Lance intended to head to Sinnoh for final intensive training, Xiaochun volunteered to tag along.
She just wanted to see the person her cousin admired so much, after all.
How strong and capable was he?
The first impression Xiaochun got when meeting Natsuhiko was...
Ordinary.
Very ordinary.
By afternoon, she could hardly wait to challenge Natsuhiko.
Of course, Natsuhiko was unaware of the situation.
But looking at Xiaochun, he felt somewhat stirred.
Originally, he planned to test the waters with Kona that afternoon to get a feel for competitive battle.
Even though it's all combat, field battles and competitive battles are quite different.
Considering both Kona and Lance were present at the same time, he abandoned that choice.
But if it's Xiaochun...
Is Xiaochun's strength weak?
Of course not.
The future Gym Leader of Yanmo City, the Dragon Taming Race's designated "Dragon's Messenger."
Not attaining the position of Elite Four doesn't mean she's weak; it's just that at the time, the newly established Johto Alliance wouldn't allow more than one individual from the Dragon Taming Race to be Champion and one to be Elite Four.
If it were the case, the Johto Alliance might as well be called the Dragon Alliance.
Hence, as long as Lance doesn't step down, Xiaochun is destined to never become Elite Four.
The two young Trainers cultivated by the Dragon Taming Race aren't lesser, even if Xiaochun isn't quite as strong as Lance.
It's not that she's inadequate, but rather, Lance's talent is even more excellent.
Though Xiaochun might not be among the top tier of this competition, she absolutely represents a high level of skill.
A single battle against her would provide Natsuhiko clarity on his own strength and help him adapt to the competition's rhythm sooner.
Thus, after weighing the options.
Natsuhiko somewhat "reluctantly" said:
"Alright, is one-on-one okay? I'm not very familiar with the dynamics of Pokémon battles."
So he conceded.
His one-hundred-percent refusal to challenge others was broken.
Yet his record of declining future Champions and Elite Four still stood.
Lance and Kona were both surprised that Natsuhiko accepted Xiaochun's challenge.
Lance looked at Natsuhiko with a hint of resentment, expressionless, and said:
"I'll be the referee."
He had made so many challenges to Natsuhiko, all rejected, yet Xiaochun succeeded in one try. This disparity was hard for him to accept.
He felt targeted.
Kona, on the other hand, showed great interest, eager to see Natsuhiko's performance in the battle.
Soon.
In the spacious battle field behind the Poke Center, Natsuhiko and Xiaochun prepared at opposite ends.
"Was my timing just right?"
Before the battle commenced, another voice rang out.
Following the sound to the entrance of the Poke Center's backyard stood the tall beauty—Hilona.
She hadn't anticipated such a lively scene at Natsuhiko's end.
Upon Hilona's arrival, Natsuhiko quietly sighed with relief.
Luckily, he didn't opt to battle Kona. If he had set such a precedent, it would have been endless.
However, even the battle with Xiaochun needed to conclude swiftly.
It was enough just to understand the differences between real combat and competitive battles.
Kona beckoned the somewhat bewildered Hilona to the best viewing stand.
"Why is Natsuhiko battling Xiaochun?" Hilona asked.
Although she didn't interact much with Lance's cousin Xiaochun, Hilona did know her.
"He said he wanted to get a feel for competition," Kona explained.
The feel of competition.
Hilona nodded thoughtfully, her gaze focused on the battlefield.
"For this battle, each side will use one Pokémon until one loses its fighting ability," Lance announced from the center of the field.
He was quite formal in his role as referee.
"Now, please summon your respective Pokémon," Lance said, stepping aside.
Without hesitation, Xiaochun threw a Pokeball to summon her Pokémon.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Natsuhiko quickly decided as well.
In a flash of red light, two Pokémon appeared on the field.
"Togetic?"
Watching Natsuhiko summon his Pokémon, Hilona thought for a moment before summoning her own Togepi.
Holding it in her arms, she said softly, "Watch closely."
"Toge-pi!" Togepi nodded repeatedly.
In the field.
Facing Togetic was a deep blue Pokémon with a pair of dragon horns, fins on its head, and curled body resembling a seahorse.
Kingdra!
A Water and Dragon Type Pokémon.
A Pokémon evolved when Seadra's Dragon Scale activated its Dragon Type lineage, it typically resides in the deep ocean, ready to battle wild Dragonite without hesitation.
Natsuhiko was naturally familiar with Kingdra.
Since it was a staple Pokémon in Rain Teams, an excellent Special Attacker.
This Kingdra was Xiaochun's ace, a key reliance in the "Lily Youth Competition."
Seeing Kingdra, Lance became slightly serious as a referee, knowing Xiaochun intended to go all out.
But he was more curious about how Natsuhiko's Togetic would respond.
After all, Lance knew that Natsuhiko's Togetic had very strong control abilities.
"Kingdra, huh? Not an easy opponent," Natsuhiko remarked to Togetic with a smile.
"Toge-pi!"
Togetic showed no fear, even flexing its tiny arms to display muscle, only to realize there was none, promptly putting them down.
Its cute mannerism brought smiles to Kona and Hilona.
"Let the battle begin!"
With Lance's words, the battle finally started.