Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 179
In the evening, Natsume and the others returned to their lodgings.

In the small room, Natsume spotted the middle-parted haircutter engrossed in looking at his phone.

So diligent?

Natsume was startled; he had thought that after he left, the guy with the middle part would be sleeping soundly in the room.

Feeling greatly relieved, Natsume took a closer look and discovered—one hundred ways to cleverly fool trainers and shirk their duties.

"What kind of crap are you looking at?"

Natsume snatched the small phone from the man with the middle parting and quickly set it to children's mode.

"Pikachu—" The man with the middle parting drooped his head.

Even if you're staring at an old man with a white beard lecturing, you need to relax for a bit, right?

"Relax?" Natsume was taken aback, then turned to look at the man with the middle parting.

“I have a great way of saying this.”

"Pickup?"

Just as the man with the middle parting was puzzled, the sound of an engine roaring rang in his mind.

I feel refreshed and energetic, like I'm in a great mood.

"After the quarterfinals, it will be a 6v6 match, and you'll have to play with me tomorrow."

Natsume grabbed the man with the middle parting by the back of his neck and led him to the dining area of ​​the Pokémon Center.

Ash and the others had been waiting here for a long time with their food.

"Natsume-nii, do you think we might run into each other in the next match?" Ash asked excitedly.

"I hope we'll meet in the finals," Natsume said, sipping his milk.

"Of course, I'm sure I can make it to the finals!" Ash said with high spirits.

Seeing this, Natsume casually poured the milk from his cup onto the Zapdos egg.

The milky white liquid came into contact with the eggshell, merged with it, and disappeared.

Natsume gazed at this scene, his thoughts drifting into the distance.

There were no particularly strong opponents at this Quartz Conference.

Furthermore, the information about the players in the upcoming quarterfinals has been made very public.

It was no challenge for Ash, but for me, the only thing that might be a little difficult was Ash.

Natsume didn't miss a single one of Ash's matches.

At least the other party possesses an authority called Humanity and Bonds, which is also a divine office that I need to recruit.

Unfortunately, few opponents could push Ash to the brink of defeat, and Natsume was also unsure of the exact function of this substance within Ash's body.

From what we can see so far, it seems that it's just a simple and crude way of strengthening Ash's power.

But Natsume felt that it must have more uses than just that. After all, it has the word "bond" in it, so it must have something to do with Pokémon, right?

"Okay, I'm full, I'm going to train!" Ash picked up Pikachu and ran out quickly.

Natsume finished eating and returned to the inn.

He also took the opportunity to check the review progress of those papers.

"Hello Researcher Natsume, your paper has passed the initial review and is currently being sent to the Alliance Academy of Sciences for final review."

It's been almost half a month, and it's only now that the initial review has been passed.

Natsume stroked his chin.

The alliance offers numerous benefits to researchers, but this also makes the review process extremely complicated.

I estimate that it may take more than a month before I can see my articles in some journals.

Only then can the application for doctoral qualification verification be submitted.
Only after passing the approval process can he submit an application for research institute funding and own his own research institute.
Natsume rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. It seemed he would have to stay at Oak's lab for two months after returning from this conference.
The following day, at the Quartz Conference.

The quarterfinals and semifinals ended quickly due to the limited number of participants.

Of course, it's also possible that the team was sanctioned by the league authorities, preventing a situation where they played all day long.

"Next up is the highly anticipated final battle!"

Narusuke's voice rang out from high above:
"Coincidentally, both of these trainers are from Pallet Town, and I heard they were even traveling companions!"

"They are—Ash and Natsume!"

The camera suddenly zoomed in and split in two, revealing the faces of Ash and Natsume.

"Natsume-nii, please use your full strength!"

Ash stared intently at Natsume, speaking with utmost seriousness. "To be honest," he said, "I fought my way to the finals, and while some of my opponents were formidable, they always seemed to lack something."

"Go, Pidgey, you go first!"

A flash of red light appeared, and a robust Pidgey appeared in the sky above the playing field.

"Gah-"

Pidgey looked at Natsume with a serious expression.

As a companion, it felt that the Pokémon Natsume had captured seemed to have some issues, but their strength was indeed not to be underestimated.

[Battle Zone, Open!]

Without hesitation, Natsume opened the rules-based battle arena.

There was no other reason than that Natsume wanted to take this opportunity to test something.

A powerful melody rang out, resounding throughout the conference via microphone and broadcast, igniting the passion of the listeners.

Wow, the league finals this year even have background music!

Many people were surprised.

Narutosuke looked completely bewildered in the sky.

That's strange, do they have a sound engineer?

"Go, Dream Ball Rotom!"

A red light flashed, and a spherical Pokémon with a narrow eye in the center appeared on the field.

"It's here! It's Rotom in its newest form developed by Natsume – the Poké Ball Rotom!"

"The ace who has never been used before has actually been sent out to lead the charge in the finals. Is Natsume feeling the pressure?!"

As Narusuke's passionate voice rang out, countless eyes were drawn to the Dream Ball Rotom with curiosity.

Their impression of Natsume was almost entirely that of a Pokémon egg that only used moves, and a Pikachu that could torment its opponents by using the Sleep move without limit.

They completely forgot that the other party was the founder of the new form of Rotom!

“Biga—”

In the sky, Pidgey, flapping its wings, almost fell headfirst to the ground.

Isn't it?

Pidgey looked at Natsume with a pitiful expression.

“Okay, I will respect your decision and give it my all,” Natsume replied earnestly.

"Pipika, get your spirit up and use Quick Attack!"

Xiao Zhi was so excited he was trembling.

This was his first time fighting Natsume-san in a fair and square battle!

And it happened at the finals of the Quartz Conference!
Ash's passionate voice reached Pidgeotto's ears, and the latter immediately became focused.

Pidgey is encouraged and its momentum is building!

[A divine role has been detected and is being recorded. Please provide more battle data, host!]

The sound of the battlefield report rang in Natsume's mind, and he was startled.

Sure enough, the thing inside Ash's body can affect Pokémon.

But why wasn't it used before?
In the previous battles, Natsume secretly set up the rules-based battle arena for Ash, but he didn't notice anything strange.

It's just a very ordinary collection of battles.

Natsume looked at the excited Satoshi.

It only works when the other party is emotionally agitated?

Pidgey used Quick Attack, striking a vital point!

With a thud, Rotom's body trembled slightly, and the green health bar above his head dropped by one point.

"Well done, Pidgeotto!" Ash shouted excitedly, clenching his fist.

Pidgey was encouraged, and its momentum further solidified.

Natsume looked strange.

Although it's unclear what the purpose of this aura is, it's obvious that it comes at no cost to Ash.

(End of this chapter)