Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 103: The P1 Fighting Tournament Concludes
In the following matches, Natsume and Ash fought their way through the competition and made it to the finals.

In the final

Two cloaks billowed in the wind.

Satoshi Natsume stood on either side of the ring.

What's striking is that their clothes, capes, and even hats are all covered in colorful logos and advertising slogans.

Both men stood with their arms crossed, hesitant to make a move, looking every bit the expert.

"Wow, my god, is this what a duel between masters looks like? I can already feel their aura!"

The host's passionate voice rang out.

"Natsume-nii, I never thought it would end up being a duel between the two of us!" Ash couldn't help but open his eyes and say excitedly.

"Shh—the ads I found are all paid by the hour," Natsume reminded her using telekinesis.

Suddenly, Ash closed his eyes and froze, just like Natsume.

"Alright, Ash is using the usual tactics. It seems Mr. Natsume is about to make his move!"

Immediately, the director turned the camera on Natsume.

Natsume closed his eyes and remained motionless, as did the Great Dragonite.

The entire arena fell silent, creating an awkward silence.

One minute, two minutes... until half an hour had passed, and the audience was already buzzing with discussion.

"Hey, is Natsume just trying to take advantage of those advertisers with Satoshi?" Misty guessed.

"Yes, I heard that the minimum advertising fee for the finals is 200,000 per minute, and under normal circumstances, it only takes ten minutes to finish."

Xiao Gang's voice came through, filled with envy.

"With so many ads, if those two stand here all day, wouldn't that be..."

Xiaoxia's eyes lit up; there was so much money, she couldn't even count it all.

"Uh, the two contestants," the host was at a loss, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

Oh no, there's going to be a live stream mishap!

The director was sweating profusely with anxiety; this was the final, and they could only broadcast footage of these two.

There's no way to cut the shot.

On the large screen, dazzling array of small advertisements shone brightly.

The discontent from the audience grew louder and louder.

The host's gaze kept sweeping over the two people below, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

Suddenly, the host's eyes lit up.

"I understand! Mr. Natsume is so smart!"

The host's voice rang out:

"As long as Dragonite isn't allowed to fight, it won't get exhausted! It will remain invincible."

"He can even observe Pikachu's weaknesses. Maybe Mr. Natsume will be the first player to find a way to break the deadlock!"

The host's passionate voice rang out, and the audience fell silent for a moment.

A thunderous applause immediately erupted.

Natsume: "."

This host is a real talent.

The battle ended with Natsume and Ash tied for first place – the judges couldn't stand it any longer, and if they hadn't intervened, the two could have stood there forever!
"Natsume-nii, I've already given you the advertising fee, all I want is the gold belt!"

Outside the arena, Ash excitedly spoke to Natsume.

"Here you go." Natsume handed the gold belt to Satoshi, who accepted it carefully as if it were a precious treasure.

"Great! Now I'll have a chance to challenge the Fighting-type Elite Four!"

Ash excitedly hung the gold belt around his neck.

"Congratulations, Ash," Brock said.

"Hey, hey, hey, so much money, you just gave it away like that?" Xiaoxia exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? But Natsume paid for all my food, lodging, and Pokémon supplies along the way." Ash scratched his head, feeling that there was nothing wrong with it.

"If I'm short of money, I can just ask Natsume for some." Xiaozhi recalled that he had always done this since he was a child.

"Money is just money in my hands, but in Natsume's hands, it has the potential to become even more money," Ash said seriously.

"What did Natsume-san say? Investment? Yes, this is called investment!"

Xiaoxia covered her face: "Did you give all your allowance to Natsume when you were little?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Xiao Zhi asked in surprise.

"Ahem, why don't we see how Mr. Airon is doing?" Natsume coughed twice and pointed to the distance.

Everyone looked over and saw Aaron sitting dejectedly on a rock not far away.

"Damn it!" A tear fell, and Aaron slammed his fist into the ground.

Sensing someone approaching, Aaron quickly wiped away his tears. Looking up, he saw Ash and Natsume, and Aaron was slightly taken aback.

"Why are you here?"

“Let’s kick someone when they’re down.” Natsume nodded.

"Natsume, Natsume-nii, stop joking." Misty and Satoshi pulled him away together.

"Mr. Elon, are you alright?" Xiao Gang asked, hesitating whether to tell him about Amy.

"I'm fine. Next time at the P1 tournament, Hitler and I will work even harder!"

Elon suddenly stood up and loudly announced to the sky.

"Still haven't given up, huh?" Xiao Gang's lips twitched slightly.

Even he could see that Aaron had completely abandoned reality and focused solely on preparing for the tournament, yet he had only achieved a barely passable result.

This is extremely irresponsible.

"Howawa!"

A joyful shout rang out, and everyone turned around to see that it was the Infernape, who was looking at Allen with a delighted expression.

Behind the fiery monkey was a hypnotic tapir.

"Grandma~" The hypnotic tapir moved slowly, stuffing tree fruit into its mouth.

"It's those two wild Pokémon that are competing!" Misty exclaimed, pointing excitedly at Primeape and Hypnos.

"I remember now, since you were eliminated, Mr. Airon, Primeape hasn't participated in any subsequent battles!"

Xiao Zhi added.

"Really?" Aaron was slightly taken aback, his eyes welling up with tears.

He crouched down and extended his hand towards Infernape:
"Come on, Incineroar, become my partner, and let's fight together in next year's P1 Fighting Championship."

"We will definitely win the championship, Intense Monkey!"

Airon's burning gaze fell upon Infernape, and at that moment, his heart was filled with hope once again.

Primeape paused for a moment, then walked towards Airon, looking like a human and a Pokémon living in harmony.

"Alas, it's a pity. We defeated Mr. Airon, but we still failed."

Xiao Gang lowered his head in disappointment, but he hadn't forgotten Miss Amy's request.

“That’s not necessarily true,” Natsume’s voice rang out.

Xiao Gang turned around and found Natsume looking strange.

"what--"

Suddenly, Elon let out a scream.

Xiao Gang turned around and saw a scene that seemed familiar.

Fiery Monkey grabbed Allen and slammed his fist, as big as a casserole dish, into Allen's face.

"Could it be...could it be some kind of trainer approval process? Come on, Infernape!"

As he spoke, Aaron did not resist and let Incineroar beat him until his face was bruised and swollen.

"Waaaaah!" Infernape fought even harder, its fists leaving afterimages.

Unfortunately, this was not a recognition ceremony.

When Aaron stood up, covered in bumps, Incineroar had already vanished.

Only the slow-moving hypnotic tapir had a flash of blue light in its eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a voice resounded in Elon's mind.

"Grandma, you'd be perfect to be a dojo trainer."

Airon: "???"

No, what's going on today?
Is someone offering a bounty on his head?
With a "whoosh," the hypnotic tapir vanished instantly, leaving Airon with nowhere to ask questions.
"father!"

In the distance, Amy's figure appeared.

"You clearly said that if you lost this time, you would come back and become a gym leader!"

"Ah, this?" Aaron's eyes darted away.

"Haha, let's go!" Xiaoxia laughed heartily.

"Yes, keep going, and we'll reach Black Cloud Town." Xiao Gang pulled out a map.

"Is there a gym in Black Cloud Town?" Ash's excited voice rang out.

“No, but there’s the largest power plant in the entire Kanto region there,” Natsume said thoughtfully after a moment’s recollection.

"Pickup!"

In the prince's arms, the boy with the middle parting suddenly perked up his ears.

Power plant. I think it's mentioned in the book.

Without disturbing Airon and his daughter, the group left the town and continued their journey with the crowd.

(End of this chapter)