Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 176 Zapdos Turns into an Egg

That evening, at the Pokémon Center in Indigo Plateau.

"Um, Mr. Natsume, are you sure you want to bring this egg into the competition?"

In front of Joey were five Poké Balls, and—an egg?

This Pokémon egg is about the size of a basketball. Upon closer inspection, the eggshell is covered with dense lightning patterns.

These patterns cluster together, and at first glance, they look like clusters of yellow flames.

“Yes, that’s my lineup for the competition.” Natsume nodded seriously.

After Zapdos was burned to a crisp, Natsume found the Pokémon egg inside.

Without time to consider why the other party had turned into an egg, Natsume immediately rushed to the Pokémon Center.

"Miss Nurse Joy, I'd like to ask you to take a look at this Pokémon egg and see if its physiological indicators are normal."

After Joey registered Natsume's battle information, he spoke again.

"Okay, sure." Joey was taken aback for a moment, but didn't refuse.

The competition is tomorrow, and Natsume is registering now, which is considered quite late. There probably won't be many people left, so she has some free time.

"sorry to bother you."

Natsume nodded and went to the dining area of ​​the Pokémon Center.

As Natsume approached, Ash and the others looked up at him.

"Natsume-san, how's Zapdos doing?"

Xiao Zhi looked up, chewing heartily.

He's been exhausted these past two days.

"There shouldn't be any major problems." Natsume's expression was strange.

Well, Natsume had already inspected the Pokémon egg himself when he first discovered it.

Unlike ordinary Pokémon eggs, the Pokémon egg that Zapdos had transformed into gave him a very strange feeling.

Active, incredibly active.

Logically speaking, Pokémon eggs accumulate power before hatching, and then unleash their full potential the moment they break through the shell.

But this egg, which was transformed from a Zapdos, was completely different; it looked like a living Pokémon.

Natsume thought of how Zapdos used all its strength in the first half of its sprint, and couldn't help but rub his temples with a headache.

Being too impatient is sometimes not a good thing; you might end up with the hatching failing.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from behind the Pokémon Center.

"Team Rocket!?" Ash and the others stood up instinctively.

"Hey, hey, hey, watch out or I'll sue you for defamation, meow!"

In the distance, Meowth, who was trying to sell souvenirs to its trainer, was jumping up and down in frustration.

"If it's not them, then who is it?"

Xia looked curiously at the passageway leading to the backyard, where smoke was constantly billowing out, along with a pungent, burning smell.

Natsume's nose twitched; he was extremely familiar with this smell.

“This is the smell of burnt-out electronic equipment,” Natsume said confidently.

"Ahem, Mr. Natsume—"

Through the smoke, Nurse Joy emerged, coughing and clutching a trembling Pokémon egg.

"Mr. Natsume, aren't you a Pokémon?"

Joey looked at Natsume strangely.

At the same time, the patterns on the eggshell surface suddenly lit up.

Startled, Nurse Joy dropped the Pokémon egg, which fell straight to the ground.

Fortunately, just a second before landing, Natsume used his telekinesis to lift it up.

When it reached the crowd, the light on the eggshell had reached its peak.

"Mr. Natsume, watch out!"

Joey's voice came through.

The next second, a burst of flames carrying lightning shot out and headed towards Natsume.

"Hmm?" A ghostly light flashed in Natsume's eyes, and the surging lightning and fire suddenly turned and headed towards the middle-parted hair.

"Pikachu???"

The man with the middle parting was stunned for a moment, then immediately fell asleep. The lightning and fire that struck his body instantly dissipated.

"Mr. Natsume, what kind of Pokémon egg is this? I've never seen a Pokémon egg that can use Flamethrower and Thunderbolt before."

Joey wiped her sweat and walked over, feeling a little uneasy.

"Wow, could it actually be awake already?" Xiaoxia whispered.

"Perhaps the eggshell is actually a constraint," Xiao Gang said, stroking his chin as he made a reasonable guess.

The group started discussing it.

But unlike them, Natsume is a man of action.

"No, Natsume-nii!"

Ash grabbed Natsume's hand that was holding the brick.

"咚咚-"

As if sensing the danger from the outside world, the Zapdos egg began to hop and jump on the table.

They are actually aware of the outside world.
Natsume silently noted it down.

Immediately, a Pikachu with its head parted vertically leaped up, its tail gleaming with a silvery-white light.

"Pickup!"

The iron tail struck the eggshell heavily. The moment it made contact, the hard eggshell seemed to turn into liquid lightning, enveloping the center-parted tail.

"Pickup?"

The man with the middle parting was strangely tugging at his own tail, but found that he couldn't pull it out no matter what he did.

"Its resistance to blows is also very strong."

Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly.

Rotom is too much of a bully, the middle-parted head is too much of a torture, the big Dragonite might accidentally hurt the audience, and the little mole is too low-level.
Natsume was originally struggling with how to win the championship while also generating enough buzz to make himself famous.

He hadn't forgotten that his main purpose in participating in Quartz Plateau was to make a name for himself and lay a foundation of public support for opening a college in the future.

At the very least, he needs to make most people aware of him and leave a lasting impression.

The "sleeping" tactic with a middle parting and the disgusting playing style of "Baby Ball Loto" can both make one famous.

But Natsume could foresee that it probably wouldn't be a good reputation.

Looking up at the Zapdos egg, which was being anxiously pulled apart by the man with the middle parted hair, Natsume fell into deep thought.

It seems like he could use this egg to compete?

It's just unknown how powerful the Zapdos egg is.

"Come with me, we're having special training tonight."

As Natsume spoke, he grabbed the man with the middle parted hair by the back of the neck, along with his tail, and dragged the Zapdos egg out of the Pokémon Center.

"Okay, I want special training too!"

Seeing this, Xiao Zhi stuffed two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth and chased after them.
The next day.

At dawn, the Quartz Conference arena was packed with spectators.

Amidst the clamor of voices, one could vaguely see many people holding microphones, wandering around the waiting area.

They are television reporters from various regions who will conduct pre-competition interviews with some of the more promising contestants.

"As Professor Oak's grandson, what are your insights into Pokémon breeding?"

"Hmph, that's a long story," Xiao Mao said, puffing out his chest.

"Damn it, why is no one visiting me? I'm a legendary warrior who received the blessing of the Moltres this year!"

Ash glanced sideways at the smug Gary not far away, his face full of resentment.

Natsume remained silent to the side; he knew more or less of the inside story.

Um.
It appears that a Pokémon was burned to death by the flames that fell from Moltres.

The scene where Ash passed the flame this year was cut from the official footage.

Most of these reporters arrived last night.

Aside from the trainers present, probably very few people know who this year's Firelinker is, let alone have interviewed him.

(End of this chapter)