Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 298 The Bell Tower and the Scorched Tower

Pokémon Center, Locust City.

"We have an urgent message to share."

The Pokémon beauty pageant pre-show that was playing disappeared, and in its place was a scene of the incident.

A large number of police officers came and went, and one person after another was handcuffed and put into the escort vehicle.

"Mr. Natsume, how did you manage to create your Pikachu like that?!"

"Mr. Natsume, I heard you're here to apply for a judge position at the competition."

The man with the middle parting jumped onto Natsume, followed closely by a group of reporters who shoved their microphones at him.

"I think the credit for this also goes to these kind-hearted citizens."

Natsume pointed, directing the attention to the Team Rocket trio.

The trio quietly pressed themselves against the wall, preparing to slip away.

"Bang!"

Dozens of flashes came from above.

"No, no, meow!"

"Damn it, this is not honorable."

The Rockets' trio wasn't as happy as many had expected.

"Haha, you three have reformed and made such a great contribution this time. I will award you honorary medals on behalf of the mayor of Yuanzhu City."

Officer Jenny came over and presented the trio with the badges of honorary citizens of Yuanzhu City.

"No, meow!"

"We're doomed! Will Boss Sakaki misunderstand us?!"

"It's so embarrassing!"

The trio screamed and ran away.

In front of Natsume, the man with the middle parting stuffed the badge into his mouth and chewed it in confusion.

"Pooh!"

The badge, still dripping with saliva, was spat out by the man with the middle parting. It rolled several times on the ground before finally landing at Natsume's feet.

"let's go."

Natsume picked up the badge and hugged the man with the middle parting.

Instead of returning to the Pokémon Center, he went straight to Bell Tower in Orb City.

During the interview, he was told that the training location was at the Bell Tower.

"What kind of training can you do in just one or two days?"

Natsume muttered to himself.

When he arrived, he realized that the training was quite necessary.

"Judges, since you're all here, let's get straight to the point, mainly about a few taboos."

In front of the Bell Tower, a young man wearing a wool sweater and with a somewhat gloomy demeanor stood, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

Below the steps were six judges.

There were three men and three women, all of whom were relatively old. Natsume stood out among them.

The six judges are talking.

"Hey young man, are you a breeder? This Pikachu is pretty good."

A middle-aged man was chatting with Natsume.

"Yeah, you could say that." Natsume didn't deny it.

"Sigh, you're taking this way too lightly."

A chubby middle-aged man nearby said.

"Yes, we have to dress more formally, so that the audience doesn't think we're unprofessional."

Another middle-aged woman chimed in.

Natsume looked around for a moment and found that everyone else was dressed appropriately, except for himself, who was dressed casually.

The middle-aged man who was talking to him was wearing a bright red suit.

"Let me tell you, this suit was carefully selected by me. What do you think? Doesn't it suit you well?"

The middle-aged man straightened his clothes.

Natsume smiled but didn't say anything.

It doesn't matter. A white lab coat and the Oki Labs logo are more formal than anything else.

"Gengga—"

Gengar moved among the six people, distributing booklets with instructions printed on them.

"The person in charge is Matsuha, and there's also a Gengar."

Natsume glanced at the names on the booklet.

As he expected, the person in charge of this Pokémon beauty pageant was Matsuba, the Gym Leader of Orb City.

Meanwhile, the opponent is a descendant of a priest living in the Bell Tower. The rooms that were originally intended for the priest to live in have all been converted into gym battlegrounds by the opponent.

"Sir, please stop playing with your Pikachu."

Matsuba stared intently at Natsume, her half-open eyelids giving her a somewhat weak appearance.

Natsume held up his middle-parted hair like a treasure detector, constantly changing its position, hoping that the nose of his middle-parted hair could sense the scent of Ho-Oh.

"Oh."

Natsume let his middle-parted hair down.

The person with the middle parting didn't react at all, it seems that Ho-Oh really has been away from Pearl City for a very long time.

Otherwise, given his sensitivity to clergy, he would have noticed something immediately.

Matsuba gave Natsume a strange look. How odd, how could there be such a young judge?
Clearing his throat, Pine Leaf began to recount the taboos surrounding the Pokémon beauty pageant:
"First of all, don't wear red clothes, and it's best not to wear a tie either."

The lazy sound of pine needles rang out.

"why?"

The middle-aged man in the red suit exclaimed in surprise.

"There's no why, unless you want to fly."

Pine Leaf glanced at him, and at the same time, Gastly behind him held up a large sign with a photo on it.

The photo shows the venue of a previous Pokémon beauty pageant, where a judge wearing a red shirt is being lifted high by a Tauros.

"Uh"

Logically speaking, the Kentirotope is not directional.

However, the Tauros that participate in the competition are all trained by their trainers to perform bullfighting shows or similar acts in order to showcase their strength and beauty.

"In addition, avoid wearing colors that are too eye-catching, as other Pokémon that are sensitive to colors may participate in the tournament."

"Okay, the second taboo is not to wear any perfume, especially those containing natural plant ingredients."

Song Ye explained clearly that it was already dark.

Natsume's notebook filled an entire page.

"There are so many strange rules in this kind of competition."

Natsume's lips twitched slightly.

But behind every rule, there is an example that is hard to refute.

The streetlights came on, and Natsume walked out of the gym area, preparing to return to the Pokémon Center.

"Judge Natsume, wait a moment."

Behind me, Song Ye's voice rang out.

"Gengga—"

The chubby Gengar lurked in the other's shadow, watching Natsume from afar.

"Mr. Matsuba, is there something you need?"

"Yes, that's right."

As Pine Leaf spoke, he looked down at the Gengar beneath his feet.

"Geng Ga!"

Gengar understood and jumped out of the shadows, put its hands on its hips, and stood in front of Natsume, patting its arms and raising its thighs as if it were performing something.

Natsume looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

“Mr. Natsume, my Gengar also wants to participate in this Pokémon beauty pageant.”

"Oh~"

Natsume nodded in sudden realization.

"Pickup!"

Before he could speak, the man with the middle parting swaggered over, held up his phone, and showed Natsume's Alipay QR code.

"Pikachuo!"

Natsume punched the guy with the middle parting and pulled him back.

He's a gym leader, after all, and one of the people in charge of this tournament.

How can you accept money from people?
"No problem, leave it to me. I just need you to tell me one thing."

Where do you usually go to pay respects to your ancestors?

Natsume rubbed his hands together, looking at Matsuba with anticipation.

Matsuba: "?"

Why ask this?
Matsuba couldn't understand Natsume's thought process, and simply shook his head, saying:
"I'm the person in charge, not here to curry favor or anything."

"Well, my Gengar really wants to participate in this competition, but..."

Songye scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly:
"But I have to avoid suspicion, that's secondary. The most important thing is that I don't know how to dress it."

As Pine Leaf spoke, he winked at Gengar.

"Geng Ga!"

Gengar nodded blankly, rushed up to Natsume, and started patting his arms and raising his thighs, beginning to promote himself.

"Mr. Natsume, I saw your job posting. You're a Pokémon PhD candidate now, you must have a way, right?"

Matsuba looked at Natsume with anticipation.

"Tell me first where you usually go to pay respects to your ancestors."

Natsume persevered.

"Uh, it's in the charred tower inside the dojo; my ancestors' memorial tablets are all there."

scorch tower?
Natsume paused, looking towards the opposite side of the bell tower.

There is a charred tower that is on the verge of collapse.

The charred tower stands askew, its blackened wooden beams supporting it, the remaining soot stains resembling splashed ink.

The roof had mostly collapsed, and charcoal ash fell in a rustling sound when the wind blew.

"That's it"

Natsume stared at the charred tower and nodded thoughtfully.

"Actually, the Burnt Tower is the original Bell Tower; the current Bell Tower was built later."

Song Ye stepped forward and slowly began to speak:

"People's greed angered Ho-Oh, and the Bell Tower was destroyed in a great fire."

"Later generations built a new bell tower opposite the original location, hoping that Ho-Oh would one day return to Pearl City."

(End of this chapter)