"What are you doing here?"
Just after Gary finished explaining things to the little boy in the straw hat, a somewhat weathered voice came from behind them.
When Gary and the others turned around, they soon saw a brown-haired middle-aged man in a suit enter their view.
Unlike the puzzled Ash and Max, the little boy in the straw hat recognized the newcomer from his voice, and a delighted expression appeared on his face.
"It's Curator Stern!"
That was right. As the little boy had said, the newcomer was Kusunoki, the curator of Sea Mauville.
"So it's you, Yosuke!" The man had clearly recognized the little boy as well, and there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Are these your friends, Yosuke?" After recognizing Yosuke, Kusunoki looked at Gary, Ash, and Max beside him.
"I just met them. They came here to visit Sea Mauville," Yosuke explained in response to Kusunoki's question.
"Visit the museum?" Upon hearing that Gary's group had come to tour the museum, Kusunoki turned his gaze toward them.
"That's right, Curator Stern. We originally planned to visit Sea Mauville on a weekday, but when we arrived, we found that the museum was closed."
Facing Kusunoki's gaze, Gary stepped forward and explained.
"So that's what happened!" After hearing Gary's explanation, Kusunoki quickly understood the situation and explained why the museum was closed that day. "Something came up today, so we temporarily closed the museum."
"I see..." After hearing Kusunoki's explanation, Max immediately looked disappointed.
"By the way, I still don't know your names."
Only then did Kusunoki realize that he did not know Gary and the others' names, so he promptly asked them.
"I'm Gary, from Pallet Town."
"I'm Ash, also from Pallet Town."
"I'm Max, from Petalburg City!"
"Pika, Pikachu!"
In response to Kusunoki's