Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 173 The Fire-Passing Ceremony (1400)

“It’s over there,” Natsume pointed to the corner of the wall.

Looking in that direction, there was a Pikachu with a uniquely shaped head, holding a small cell phone.

Zapdos's eyes immediately turned red, and it walked over step by step.

"Gah!" Zapdos roared.

"Pica-"

He turned around with his middle-parted hair, facing away from it, his eyes fixed on his phone.

On the phone screen is a bird-shaped Pokémon that appears noble and elegant, with flames emanating from its body.

“Gana—”

"Pikachu—" The man with the middle parting turned around again, his backside facing Zapdos.

"If you leave them like this, won't they start fighting later?"

Xiaoxia, holding Togepi, said with some concern.

As Xiaoxia said, a fight did indeed break out.

But it's unlikely that he'll be able to retaliate with a middle parting.

After a while, a bald chicken lay panting on the ground.

On one side, the person with the middle-parted hair was still intently staring at the small phone, completely unharmed.

"Alright, let them talk to each other for a bit, let's go to the Fire-Passing Ceremony first."

Natsume waved his hand and made a suggestion.

Just as everyone was about to leave, Zapdos called out to them.

"Gana—" I want to go too—

Natsume immediately understood what Zapdos was trying to convey through telepathy.

Zapdos finally understood why this Pikachu could ignore its attacks.

It's because of that thing called clergy.

The firebird that might appear at the Fire Linking Ceremony might have a divine authority. If you lie on its body and sleep, you might be able to let that divine authority enter your body!

After sensing Zapdos's inner thoughts, Natsume's lips twitched.

What did you and the other person say to each other?
Natsume silently looked at the middle-parted hair who had jumped into the prince's arms, while the prince remained engrossed in holding his small phone.

"Pikachu?" The man with the middle parting tilted his head.

It said one thing: "Other birds can do it, why can't you?"
Below, Zapdos followed behind the group with a proud and arrogant air.

Now, in order to achieve its great goal, it is preparing to strategically form an alliance with this Pikachu.

Once I possess that thing called a divine office, the first thing I'll do is pluck all the fur off this damn yellowish-brown rat!

The group arrived at the Quartz Plateau race site, where many vehicles were coming and going.

"Natsume-nii, what are these vehicles for? Why are they bringing in ice and rocks?"

Xiao Zhi found it strange.

"Because the Indigo League is different from our usual Pokémon battles," Brock's voice came through.

"Yes, only the top eight trainers compete based on their overall training abilities, and only then can they field six Pokémon to battle."

Natsume pointed to the passing vehicles and continued:
"Before this, the battlefields were all randomized, including rocky terrain, water terrain, grass terrain, and so on."

"Different battlegrounds offer advantages to Pokémon of different types."

"Oh, is it to increase the strategic aspect?" Ash nodded, seemingly understanding.

The venue for the start of the torch relay is the quarterfinals, located at the very back.

Originally, Natsume thought that his group was one of the earlier arrivals and that there shouldn't be many people around.

When they got inside, they found it was packed with people.

"Wow, so many people! It's Gary!" Ash glanced around and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Many trainers here are accompanied by a Pokémon, and Gary is no exception; a giant Blastoise stands behind him.

"Water rocket—"

As soon as Natsume approached, two cannons emerged from Blastoise's shoulder armor and automatically aimed at him.

"Xiao Mao, your Krillin evolved! That's awesome!" Xiaoxia rushed over with shining eyes.

"Hahaha, of course!" Xiao Mao couldn't help but laugh when he saw everyone. "Xiao Mao, you really didn't go on vacation, you went to secretly train! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Ash gave Gary a thumbs-up, and the latter immediately blushed.
"What do you mean by 'secretly training'? I'm just going on vacation, and I'll evolve Squirtle while I'm at it. Simple, simple!"

"Hey Gary, why is everyone bringing out their Pokémon?" Brock asked curiously, looking at Blastoise.

From a breeder's perspective, this Blastoise shows signs of training, and it's been training recently.

"You guys don't know this? Because the Clash of the Flames selects long-distance runners, who need to participate with their Pokémon."

"Look at Natsume-san, he has a little dog called Dudu. Natsume-san, why doesn't your Dudu have any fur, and why does it only have a head?"

Shigeru looked at Zapdos with curiosity.

"Gah!" Zapdos glared at him angrily.

"The voice doesn't sound right either; it sounds stupid."

Xiao Mao thought about his own Doduri and, comparing the two, couldn't help but nod in approval.

Zapdos remained silent, simply adding one more member to its list of vengeful creatures.

Xiao Mao shrugged and said nothing more.

Natsume has too many strange Pokémon on him.

Dudu, who only has one head, doesn't seem to be making a fuss about anything.

Natsume did not reply, a faint blue light emanating from his eyes.

His mind had already sunk into the laboratory of the other world.

Inside the laboratory, a chibi version of Natsume is studying the Master Ball circuit.

Unfortunately, the Masterball is much more difficult.

Natsume anticipates the research will take a while, so he'll make the most of every minute and try to understand as much as he can.

"I'll be the one to pass on the flame! I'm sure I'll be selected!" Ash declared loudly.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu gave him a high five.

"Hmph, it's not that simple." Xiao Mao shook his head with a smile.

"The sacred flame being passed on is a feather from the legendary Pokémon Moltres, and the competitive spirit within it will never be extinguished!"

"Moreover, I heard that outstanding torchbearers will be blessed by the appearing firebird, and the competition is fierce every year."

As he spoke, Shigeru pointed to the surrounding area, which was full of trainers, all brimming with energy.

"It will never go out?" Natsume suddenly looked up, giving Shigeru a strange look.

"Uh, that's what the league officially said, they wouldn't lie, would they?" Xiao Mao pointed to a high platform.

That's where the league administrators are supposed to appear, but it's empty now, clearly it's not time for the Fire Linking Ceremony to begin yet.

Natsume nodded without asking any further questions, and simply turned his gaze to Zapdos.

Natsume collected all the needle-like feathers that the Zapdos had plucked from the bird with the middle parting.

Natsume also studied these feathers in his spare time.

Aside from the fact that it can contain some electric current and has excellent conductivity, there is almost nothing special about it.

Why do Moltres' feathers never go out?
Natsume doesn't believe in the existence of unlimited energy.

The only possibility is that the feather the Alliance obtained came from the Cleric Moltres.

Human competition is the best fuel.

However, based on the League's recent research on the frequent appearances of Moltres populations at various arenas, the Moltres dominating the Indigo League is just an ordinary Moltres.

Yes, it's about taking over. A few years ago, that Moltres even fought with another Moltres that appeared here.

In recent years, the Moltres population has divided up almost all the places where humans regularly hold competitions in a manner similar to territorial division.

Why is that?
Natsume was somewhat puzzled.

Even the most advanced Pokémon behaviorists struggle to analyze this phenomenon.

So far, Natsume has seen many speculations, but none of them can withstand scrutiny.

However, the most noteworthy finding in the survey report is that areas with traditions of torch burning are more favored by the flamingo.

The powerful Moltres will also be the first to contest these areas.

Based on the fact that the flames of the sacred fire originated from the feathers of a divine firebird, Natsume makes a reasonable guess:
Perhaps something went wrong with the Cleric Moltres, and now a successor bird with the authority of fire and arena is needed?

(End of this chapter)