That afternoon, Xia You and Erika walked out through the gates and left Charizard Canyon. They spent another day and night traveling back to Azalea Town.
Having left Charizard there, Xia You now had only ten Pokémon with him: Gardevoir, Gengar, Crystal Steelix, Jolteon, Dragonite, Scyther, Pupitar, Suicune, Raikou, and the Eevee he had received from the Ecruteak Five.
The two vacant slots also gave Xia You room to keep catching Pokémon in the future.
Of course, having room did not mean he would immediately catch new Pokémon. He would rather leave those slots empty than fill them indiscriminately; he had to find ones he truly liked.
After a long but far from tedious journey, the two stood outside the Azalea Gym's gates again on the morning of the third day.
Fortunately, the notice had been taken down this time, and the gates stood wide open. Clearly, Bugsy had returned to the Gym.
Looking inside, they saw that the circular building resembled a botanical garden, with towering trees everywhere, fragrant green grass underfoot, and bushes all around.
Standing outside the gates, Xia You called inside, "Excuse me, is anyone here?"
His voice echoed through the Gym, but even after a long wait, no one answered.
Exchanging a glance with Erika, Xia You stopped hesitating and walked straight inside.
A weedy path lay beneath their feet. As they ventured deeper, they looked around and found that the place was essentially no different from an ordinary forest outside.
The Azalea Gym had truly spared no expense to enclose a small forest within its walls. Otherwise, it would not have been built on the outskirts of town!
The only difference was the abundance of Bug-type Pokémon hiding in the forest, far more than in an ordinary woodland.
In just that short walk, they