Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 187 Phoenix King Appears, You're Going to Be Stalked for Life

"Natsume-nii, what are you doing following us?"

Ash noticed that Natsume had seen him off from a distance that was quite far.

They had all reached the forest outside of Pallet Town, but Natsume was still behind!

"The feeders in this area are malfunctioning, and Professor Nishino asked me to come and take a look."

As Natsume spoke, he pulled a broken, disc-shaped object from behind a clump of grass.

"Is this also part of Oak's lab?" Misty asked curiously as she approached.

"Yes, from the snow-capped mountains behind Pallet Town all the way to this forest, that's the area where Oak's Pokémon are kept."

Natsume examined the crumbs of the feeding device in his hand.

This area is mostly populated by Bug-type Pokémon, with a few Flying-type Pokémon.

However, Natsume checked and found that only the feeder for Flying-type Pokémon was damaged.

"Oh, then we'll be going now."

The group nodded blankly and continued walking forward.

Natsume collected all the broken feeding vessels.

Soon, a large pile of feeder debris floated around him.

Finally, on a piece of broken water that still had some water left, Natsume found a suspicious bird feather.

"This is a Bobo? No, this is just down feathers, it should be a Big-billed Finch."

Just as Natsume was making his judgment, a loud bang came from afar.

From afar, Natsume saw Ash take flight.

"Ok?"

In a few steps, Natsume arrived at the site of the explosion.

Ash and Pikachu are gone; the middle-parted hair is nestled on Misty's head.

"It's Team Rocket! They stole Pikachu!"

Xiaoxia shouted loudly.

Natsume: "."

"Fine, I'll accompany you one last time since we've all gone this far."

He took out the Rotom phone, and Ash's location was immediately displayed on it.

Unexpectedly, things were not as Natsume had imagined in the high altitude of the hot air balloon.

Ash was very close to them, extremely close.

You can see it in just a few minutes by turning around.

Even more strangely, Ash stopped moving.

As they got closer, everyone realized what had happened.

"This is terrifying, meow! Why do all sorts of strange things always happen every time I succeed in getting my hands on something, meow!"

Meow Meow clung to Kojiro and Musashi's legs, and the two of them barely dared to breathe.

All around them, countless Fiery Finch, led by a Big-billed Finch, were confronting many Pidgeys and Pidgeys!

And they and Xiaozhi fell right in the middle of the standoff between the two sides!
"Gah!"

"Compare—compare!!"

The birdsong was incessant, sounding menacing.

"Meow, quickly translate what they're saying!"

Musashi lifted Meow Meow by the scruff of its neck, speaking in a very low voice, because the large-beaked bird that looked fierce was watching them all the time, as if it might lead the Pidgey clan to pounce on them at any moment.

"Popeye said we were Pidgey's helpers, and Pidgey said we were Popeye's helpers."

"After a final discussion, we decided to deal with us first, meow." Meow waved her hand.

Ash, holding Pikachu, felt a chill run down his spine.

He recognized the big-billed sparrow as the same fiery sparrow he had thrown a brick at before. The other bird's gaze kept sweeping over him, intentionally or unintentionally.

“Pied eagle, go and talk to them.”

Ash released Pidgeot, and after a brief conversation, Pidgeotto led Ash to join its ranks.

In an instant, the big-beaked sparrow's eyes turned murderous, and the remaining sparrows all stared intently at Meow Meow and the others.

It seemed as if they would immediately launch an attack the moment they made any move.

Why are we so unlucky?

The trio clung tightly to each other, gazing at the hundreds of fiery sparrows, without a single thought of resistance.

Suddenly, Meow Meow spotted Natsume and was overjoyed.

"It's Natsume, meow! He's a researcher, maybe he can help, meow!" "Natsume, please save us!"

Kojiro and Musashi turned their heads simultaneously to look at Natsume, who was chewing on a black cube below.

"Huh?" Natsume looked up at the three of them, including Meow Meow.

Under their hopeful gazes, Natsume shook his head.

"No, I have my principles. Researchers should minimize their interference with wild Pokémon populations in the wild. This is a normal territorial dispute."

As Natsume spoke, he spat out the black cube from his mouth.

It seems the problem wasn't with the food, but rather that some wild Pokémon were angered.

It's highly likely that the Finch was deliberately causing trouble by fighting with Pidgey and the others for territory.

Natsume remembers that originally only Pidgeotto and Pidgey were distributed here, while the more irritable Spearow were distributed at the other end.

"Bi Diao!"

"Galie!"

The atmosphere grew increasingly intense. Pidgeot and Finch exchanged a glance, then flashed into view and began their battle in the air.

"Don't give up, Pidgeot!" Ash shouted, encouraging him.

"Use Gale Force!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why should a brat be allowed to interfere!"

The trio disagreed.

"He's not a researcher."

Natsume said matter-of-factly.

The trio exchanged a glance, and the next second they were swept away by the storm.

"Damn it, I failed again!"

"Never mind, meow. The brat is going to a southern island this time, and Natsume won't be there. We have a great chance of succeeding, meow!"

Clearly, Meow Meow blamed all of Natsume for the previous failure.

Below, after a series of exchanges, the Pidgeot was ultimately no match for the Pidgeot and was forced to retreat in defeat.

"Galie!"

The big-mouthed sparrow glanced unwillingly at Pidgey and the Pidgeys behind Pidgeotto, then turned and flew away with its group of followers.

"Wow, a huge flock of finches flew across the sky, it looked quite spectacular."

Xiaoxia looked at the horizon and sighed.

“Yes, it’s sunset.” Xiao Gang said, then suddenly paused.

"What is that? It looks like another big-billed finch?"

As he spoke, Xiao Gang pointed in the direction where the sun was setting.

There, a bird-shaped Pokémon flew by, its form blurry, resembling a large-billed sparrow.

I don't know if it's because the sunlight is reflecting off the feathers, but the other person is radiating a rainbow-like halo.

Colorful light lingered in the path it flew through.

"Natsume-nii, I helped the Pidgey protect their territory!"

Ash ran back excitedly, with Pidgeot gliding overhead.

What are you looking at?

Ash looked up and spotted the Pokémon that looked very much like a Finch.

In the dim light, everyone seemed to see the Pokémon turn around and glance at them from afar.

By the time they came to their senses, the other party had already vanished, leaving only a trail of rainbow light on the ground.

"That's..." Ash muttered to himself, staring at the spot where the other had disappeared.

To be honest, I think I saw Pikachu around here when he took it to the Pokémon Center.

"That's the legendary Pidgeot, a Pokémon. You're doomed, Ash. You're going to be followed by it for the rest of your life."

Natsume suddenly spoke.

"what--"

Xiao Zhi was taken aback, somewhat confused.

"But... judging from the rainbow light, that should be the legendary Pokémon—Ho-Oh, right?" Brock asked suspiciously.

"Legend has it that if you encounter Ho-Oh during your travels, the rest of your journey will be smooth sailing," Misty added.

"That's fine, that's fine."

Xiao Zhi patted his chest.

(End of this chapter)