After saying goodbye to Morty, Xia You and Erika wasted no more time and strode out through the Gym's front doors.
Once on the stone steps, before they had even left the Gym grounds, Xia You raised a Poké Ball and summoned his Charizard, having it carry him and Erika straight to the tea party venue.
Watching them leave, Morty stood there for a long time. Only after Charizard finally disappeared into the horizon did he let out a helpless sigh.
Sigh...
Today's battle had truly shaken him!
A Crystal Steelix, a talking Gengar...
Both had opened his eyes, but most importantly, the Pokémon he took such pride in had been defeated so easily!
This man was clearly about his own age, yet he was so powerful!
He could only say that there really were always people better than you out in the wider world. It had been a long time since he had felt this powerless after becoming a Gym Leader...
Charizard swept swiftly over Ecruteak City, casting a small shadow on the ground.
Noticing that shadow, pedestrians in the city looked up at the sky, just in time to see an orange Pokémon flash past.
They shook their heads. In an old city with such a slow pace of life, it was rare to see a Pokémon Trainer in such a rush.
They had no idea what could be so urgent.
The tea party Xiaomei had mentioned was being held in a courtyard on the western side of Ecruteak City.
At 10:17 a.m., Charizard slowly landed in front of the courtyard entrance.
Although they were more than ten minutes late, through the open gates, they could see that while there were quite a few people in the courtyard, almost everyone was strolling around, and no activities were