"Finally, we've arrived in Mossdeep City! Let's hurry to the Mossdeep Gym. I can't wait to get my seventh gym badge!"
Ash exclaimed excitedly as soon as they disembarked from the ship.
After the incident on Mossdeep Island, Lance helped them secure a ship to Mossdeep City. Following a night of sailing, they finally reached their destination.
Having rested on the ship overnight, everyone felt refreshed. So, they agreed with Ash's suggestion and followed the map towards the Mossdeep Gym.
When they reached the entrance of the gym, they saw a woman rushing out. She wore glasses, had a bag slung over her shoulder, and was muttering to herself as she hurried away, not noticing them.
"Excuse me, are you the gym leader?"
Ash called out loudly, seeing her about to leave.
"No, the gym leaders aren't here. They should be at the Space Center."
Hearing someone call out, the woman stopped and explained.
"The Space Center?"
Max exclaimed upon hearing the name.
"Yes, today is the day the space shuttle rocket is being launched, so the gym leaders went there!"
"Sorry, I have to go now!"
The woman quickly departed, clearly in a hurry.
"So, there's a rocket launch today!"
Max's eyes sparkled with interest.
"That's right. The travel guide mentions a Space Center here in Mossdeep City."
Brock confirmed after checking the guidebook.
"The weather satellite 'Sunflora' and the manned space shuttle rocket 'Ho-oh III' are launched from this Space Center."
Max confidently added, adjusting his glasses.
After a brief discussion, they decided to head to the Space Center to find the gym leaders. Max, of course, was eager to see the Space Center.
Upon arrival, they were greeted by the sight of a massive space shuttle rocket standing tall on the launch pad. The impressive view filled them with awe.
After watching for a while, they entered the Space Center. Surprisingly, the main hall was almost empty, likely because everyone was busy with the rocket launch preparations.
With no one around, they began to explore the first-floor hall, which was filled with various astronaut training facilities. Ash, feeling playful, jumped into a spinning training device and turned it on.
As the machine started, Ash and Pikachu were soon dizzy from the rapid spinning. Fortunately, Pikachu managed to press the stop button with its tail, bringing the ride to a halt.
Ash staggered out, looking like he'd had one too many drinks, and collapsed after a few steps.
"Ash, you really act like a child sometimes. How could you just turn on that machine?"
May scolded, seeing Ash's condition.
"But it looked like so much fun!"
Ash replied pitifully.
"Hey, what's that?"
Ash pointed to a glowing glass window, looking puzzled.
They approached the window and saw a man and a woman engaged in a Pokémon battle. The man used a Solrock, while the woman used a Lunatone. The power of their moves indicated their strength.
Both wore traditional outfits, with their hair in buns, looking quite adorable. Floating around the battle arena were several Baltoys, their eyes glowing as they used their abilities.
After a fierce battle, the woman's Lunatone used Ice Beam to freeze Solrock, securing victory.
With the battle over, they decided to introduce themselves and entered the room, only to find themselves floating in a weightless environment.
This was Rex's first experience of weightlessness, and he found the sensation of floating quite liberating.
"Are you all right?"
The girl floated over, helping Ash upright and asking with concern.
"We're fine. What's going on here?"
Ash asked curiously.
The girl explained that the weightless environment was created by Baltoys' powers to simulate the feeling of being in space.
Through introductions, Rex learned that the girl's name was Liza, and the boy was her twin brother, Tate. Their father, Jin, was the director of the Space Center and an astronaut on the space shuttle.
However, the twins seemed to have a strained relationship, often bickering during their explanation. Liza was frustrated by her brother's defiance, while Tate was upset about always losing battles to his sister.
In their conversation, the twins revealed that they were the Mossdeep Gym Leaders. They agreed to a gym challenge after the rocket launch.
Rex and Ash had no objections, as they were eager to see the rocket launch.
Led by Tate and Liza, they toured the Space Center and eventually reached the rocket launch control room, bustling with activity.
In the control room, they met the woman from the gym entrance, who turned out to be Tate and Liza's mother, Ray, a staff member at the Space Center.
"Who's that?"
Ray suddenly noticed two suspicious figures heading towards the shuttle.
Rex recognized the figures in spacesuits and couldn't help but sigh. Team Rocket's persistence was unbelievable; they were always causing trouble.
Things took a strange turn when Team Rocket boarded the shuttle and prematurely activated the launch, causing it to take off.
Surprisingly, Tate and Max were inside the shuttle. However, Baltoys used their psychic powers to halt the shuttle mid-air and eject Team Rocket.
The Baltoys' psychic strength was remarkable, as they managed to stop a launching rocket.
Following Jin's instructions, Tate and Max maneuvered the shuttle back to the runway at the Space Center.
Rex found the situation bizarre but had grown accustomed to such surprises after traveling with Ash. Encountering Groudon and Kyogre made minor incidents like this seem trivial.
The technology in this world was indeed advanced. Despite the launch mishap, the shuttle was merely inspected and then launched as scheduled in the evening.
Due to the delay, their gym challenge was rescheduled for the next morning.
(End of Chapter)