Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 460 Cattleya, An Encounter on a Flight

Ten days later, in the Kanto region, at Rainbow City International Airport.

At 10 a.m., the sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the terminal building. Busy crowds dragged all kinds of suitcases, walking hurriedly. The sounds of announcements, conversations, and the rolling of luggage wheels intertwined to create a familiar prelude to travel.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, one figure stood out as remarkably calm and composed.

Natsume was dressed in simple casual clothes, her fair face showing a hint of pre-trip relaxation. She held only her phone and boarding pass in her hand and walked briskly.

With the system space, a storage method that can be described as cheating, he naturally doesn't need any cumbersome luggage.

"Flight CA1737 to Osaka City, Unova Region, is now boarding."

An announcement came on, and Natsume followed the flow of people toward the boarding gate, successfully passing through security and the boarding bridge.

Upon entering the spacious cabin of the passenger plane, Natsume quickly found his seat—located on the window side of the business class.

He noticed a strange phenomenon: long queues had formed at the economy class entrance, and the seats were almost full. He could even see flight attendants patiently explaining something to several anxious passengers.

"I'm very sorry, sir, this flight's economy class is severely overbooked. We are doing our best to arrange a later flight for you." The faint voice drifted over.

Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly. While a full economy class wasn't particularly rare, encountering it on a non-holiday period still felt unusual.

Without thinking much, he stepped aside to let a passenger carrying large and small bags pass him and walked to his seat.

His seat was a window seat in business class.

The seats next to the aisle were already occupied.

She was a tall and slender woman, whose good posture was evident even when she was sitting there.

She wore a wide-brimmed, off-white sun hat with the brim pulled low, and a pair of large, dark sunglasses that almost covered half of her face, along with a pure white medical mask, completely obscuring her features except for her beautifully shaped chin and a small patch of fair skin.

Most striking was her long, wavy golden hair, as dazzling as molten gold, cascading down from the brim of her hat and flowing smoothly over her shoulders.

She seemed very tired, her head tilted slightly toward the porthole, as if she were resting with her eyes closed.

As Natsume approached, a faint yet undeniable fragrance wafted over.

It wasn't a strong perfume, but rather a blend of an expensive fragrance and one's own body scent, crisp and clear like a pine forest after the first snow, with a subtle sweetness, like a lily of the valley blooming in a secluded valley, cool and noble.

Natsume politely turned aside, carefully avoiding touching the other person, and sat down in his window seat.

The atmosphere in business class is relatively quiet and comfortable.

In the front row was a couple with a little girl quietly reading a book.

A gray-haired old gentleman sat diagonally behind me, engrossed in reading a newspaper.

Further away, there were several people in police uniforms.

The flight attendants, with professional smiles and soft voices, offered passengers welcome drinks and blankets.

Everything seemed harmonious and orderly, a perfectly ordinary prelude to flight.

Natsume fastened his seatbelt, casually opened the League News app, and switched the region filter to Hoenn.

Although I don't plan to actively seek out Daigo for the time being, it's always good to keep an eye on this key figure's movements.

However, the pop-up news headline surprised him for a moment:
"[Hoenn News Flash] The identity of the mysterious female hero who retrieved three starter Pokémon has been revealed! She is none other than the daughter of Senri, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City!"

Natsume touched his nose.

It seems that the three Poké Balls that Ash "put" back in his backpack were ultimately taken back by May.

According to later communications from Ash, the owner of the Thousand Mile Pavilion in this world seems to have expanded his business scope quite extensively.

Besides his famous hyperactive monkey moving company, he also bred a large number of raccoon dogs and ventured into almost every manual labor industry in Petalburg City.

He continued to scroll down.

"[Breaking News] According to Professor Odori himself, the person who attacked him was a member of Team Magma! Photos have been released as proof!"

Natsume clicked on it out of curiosity, only to find it was a typical clickbait title.

The so-called "exposed photo" is actually a blurry image that is severely overexposed, completely white, and almost devoid of any details.

"[Follow-up Report] Is there another culprit? Dr. Oda Birch recalls hearing mysterious conversations before falling into a coma."

Natsume scrolled through the screen, and before he knew it, he had spent a lot of time on these news items, some true and some false, all of which were eye-catching.

Until a soft but clear female voice came over the cabin intercom:

"Dear passengers, our plane will be taking off soon. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened and your electronic devices are in flight mode or turned off."

Natsume belatedly realized what was happening.

"Oh no!" he muttered to himself, "I'm wasting my precious time on this junk information without even realizing it."

But it seems like there's nothing else to do on the plane?
Pokémon cannot be brought on the plane; they can only be transported to the destination airport by a Poké Ball transfer device at the boarding airport.

Some mischievous Pokémon might suddenly emerge from their Poké Balls, especially some that are too large—which isn't a good thing on an airplane at 10,000 meters altitude. Of course, smaller Pokémon like Pikachu can still be brought on board, placed in a secure enclosure.

Unfortunately, the fat rat is counted as Growlithe.

The guy with the middle parting was seriously overweight, so he had no choice but to be teleported to Shuanglong City.

Just then, the woman next to Natsume seemed to be awakened by the broadcast and moved slightly.

She slightly raised her head, without removing her sunglasses and mask, and simply reached into her small, elegant bag to take out a tablet computer.

The screen lit up, and she skillfully opened a video file.

Natsume's gaze inadvertently swept over her screen, and he paused slightly.

The video playing on the screen was a classic match recording of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.

An exhibition match?
Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly.

Cynthia's rival is none other than the Unova Region's Elite Four member, Cattleya.

In the video, Gadria's signature long golden hair flies wildly amidst intense energy clashes, and her powerful telekinesis controls the symbolic bird and Gothic Lady as she battles Cynthia's Garchomp.

Natsume calmly withdrew his gaze, already understanding the situation.

The blonde woman next to her, who is wrapped up tightly, exudes a unique cool fragrance, and is currently focused on watching "herself's" battle video, is obviously none other than Unova's Psychic King, Cattleya herself.

She seemed extremely tired. She forced herself to watch the video for a while, but her head began to nod slightly uncontrollably. Her thick, long eyelashes trembled gently behind her sunglasses, as if she were about to fall asleep at any moment.

A side effect of telekinesis training: excessive sleepiness. Natsume recalled the rumors about this Heavenly King.

The aircraft engines began to emit a deep roar, and the fuselage slowly glided toward the runway.

The business class was quiet, with only the sound of engines and the faint sound effects of battles coming from the video.

Cattleya's head finally rested against the porthole. The tablet computer slipped from her unconsciously loosened fingers, but Natsume caught it quickly and gently placed it on the table in front of her.

She seemed completely unaware, her breathing becoming even and long, as she fell into a deep sleep.

Natsume also looked out the window at the scenery rushing past.

However, just as the plane was about to lift off the ground, he caught a keen glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye:

Behind the curtain at the economy class entrance, a seemingly ordinary male passenger in a plain jacket was looking down, his fingers moving extremely fast in his pocket as he operated some small electronic device, the screen flashing by in an instant.

His movements carried a deliberately suppressed tension, which contrasted sharply with the relaxed passengers around him who were waiting for takeoff.

Further away, near the rear lavatory, another flight attendant's expression seemed to have a slight, almost imperceptible stiffness as her gaze quickly swept over several specific seats.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, masked by the roar of the engines and the acceleration of the plane.

Inside the cabin, most passengers either closed their eyes to rest or looked out the window expectantly.

Cattleya was fast asleep beside him.

The safety instructions were still being broadcast over the loudspeaker.

The plane soared into the sky, leaving Rainbow City behind.

"Strange?" Natsume muttered to himself.

The seemingly harmonious and peaceful cabin was actually filled with an indescribable sense of unease, like a pebble thrown into a lake, quietly creating ripples in Natsume's heart.

After the aircraft reached a stable cruising altitude, the Wi-Fi signal light in the cabin illuminated.

The surrounding passengers seemed to relax as well, and conversations gradually increased.

"Honey, listen to me! I've found it! Our team may have actually found a new way to alleviate ALS!"

An excited voice, barely contained, came from the diagonal front; it wasn't quiet.

Natsume looked in the direction of the voice and saw a well-dressed middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, excitedly making a video call on his phone, his face beaming with the elation of discovering a major breakthrough.

Sitting next to him was an elderly man with gray hair and an upright posture. He looked very energetic and was carefully stroking an old photograph—a photograph of him in his youth with a woman with a gentle smile.

The old man's eyes were focused, with a hint of barely perceptible nostalgia, clearly indicating that he was a retired police officer.

"Hello sir!"

The flight attendant brought some fruit and handed it to Natsume.

"Hmm, the free fruit has already been given out," Natsume said strangely.

"This is our captain's last flight before retirement. He's treating us. Have a pleasant journey!"

Natsume: “???”

Natsume silently accepted the two portions of fruit, his unease reaching its peak.

(End of this chapter)