Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 402 You're really climbing?

"Hey, is that Arcanine?"

As they walked, Jiaozi patted the head of the Arcanine.

"Yes, this Growlithe is significantly larger than the average size, and..."

Natsume looked at the fur on the other person's body with suspicion.

I hadn't observed it closely before, but now it's much more obvious.

The proud child's Growlithe has white-gold fur, not golden.

The flash doesn't seem quite right either.
“I didn’t know that my father brought this back to me from the family of Officer Jenny when I was very young.”

"Back then, it was still an egg; to be precise, it was my first companion!"

"Woof!" Arcanine jumped up and rubbed its forehead against Pride's cheek.

"Officer Jenny's family?"

Natsume nodded thoughtfully.

Pokémon like Growlithe and Arcanine symbolize peace.

Therefore, they are not only widely loved by Officer Jenny, but many families also prefer Pokémon with auspicious meanings when choosing their children's starter Pokémon.

Natsume didn't ask any further questions.

At least Officer Jenny has a Growlithe dog as a standard accessory.

Perhaps the family has some amazing methods for breeding Growlithe dogs.

"Actually, it's quite strange."

Natsume silently watched the big dog bouncing around.

Each region has many similar legends, and even more divine beasts with similar powers.

But without exception, all of them can symbolize peace, and that is this big dog.

Soon, as the number of steps increased, Natsume lost the energy to think.

"Pikachu."

The man with the middle parting leaned on a step in front of Xia Qian, yawning as he looked at her.

"Pikachu!" The man with the middle parting asked Natsume for the 36th time to use his telekinesis to fly him.

"No, we must climb up on foot."

Natsume waved his hand in refusal, sweat dripping from his chin and landing heavily on the steps, only to be quickly evaporated by the sun.

It's noon now, and these steps are coincidentally built on a sunny slope, as if to make it difficult for future climbers.

Noticing these details, Natsume climbed even more vigorously.

Even though the giant Dragonite, Loreton, had left him far behind and was waiting in the distance, and even though Ash had long since disappeared, Natsume's excitement remained undiminished.

"Mr. Natsume, you seem completely different from before." Koko was covered in sweat, but there was no sign of fatigue on her face. She followed behind Natsume closely.

"What's different?" Natsume asked, panting heavily.

Damn it, when will his physical abilities catch up with the world's average level?

"No, nothing." Jiaozi shrank back, but then heard Natsume's voice continue:

"If you still have the energy, go up first and wait for me at the destination."

Upon hearing this, Jiaozi not only did not quicken his pace, but instead took a half-step closer to Natsume.

She turned her head to the side, and the glistening beads of sweat on her forehead reflected the sunlight, her cheeks flushed with a healthy rosy hue from exercise, but her eyes were clear and bright, carrying a hint of unwavering determination.

“What are you saying, Mr. Natsume?” Her voice was soft yet firm, like a mountain stream gliding over pebbles. “We started together, so of course we should reach the destination together. Besides…”

She paused slightly, her gaze quickly sweeping over Natsume's slightly out of breath and labored steps, before casually looking away at the distant verdant mountains. "The scenery here can only be truly appreciated by taking your time."

Jiaozi subtly adjusted her pace, no longer light and swift as before, but slow and steady, each step perfectly in time with Natsume's rhythm, as if an invisible thread was pulling them forward in sync.

"Here, Mr. Natsume, have some water." Jiaozi magically pulled an unopened bottle of sports drink from her sports waist bag.

After drinking the water, the mountain path became steeper.

Jiaozi remained half a step behind and to the side of Natsume.

This position will not obstruct Natsume's view, and it will allow him to reach out his hand immediately when needed.

"It's getting dark, stop making those weird laughs."

Natsume turned around listlessly and met the smiling face of the proud prince.

He was covered in sweat, and almost every step he took left a wet footprint on the steps.

Jiaozi smiled, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the sweat from Natsume's forehead.

“Mr. Natsume, would you like to take a short rest?” Jiaozi suggested.

"It should be soon, let's keep climbing."

Natsume stood up and continued crawling forward.

"Pikachu, Pikachu!" At his feet, the man with the middle parting looked like he was about to cry but had no tears.

It was practically begging Natsume to kneel down, but the trainer was willing to suffer himself rather than let it suffer.

Pickup truck!
"Hum hum"

Jiaozi, carrying a water bottle, followed behind Natsume.

When she was with Natsume, Jiaozi felt somewhat ashamed of herself.

But she had never seen Natsume so disheveled before.

Finally, around 8 p.m., Natsume climbed to the halfway point of the mountain, the venue for the Silver Tournament.

"Natsume-san!"

From afar, Natsume heard Ash's shouts.

Beside him were Xiaoxia and Xiaogang.

"That's strange, Xiao Gang, why are you holding me up like that?"

Seeing that Natsume looked exhausted, Ash was about to go forward when he found himself being held down by Brock.

"And Xiaoxia, why did you message me and lie to me that there were lots of people playing here? There's no one here at all!"

As Xiaozhi spoke, he suddenly glared at Xiaoxia.

He rushed up immediately, only to find there was no one there.

The only person he could fight was a volunteer, who then accused him of obstructing official business.

"I'm very tired right now, so don't start yelling at me."

Xiaoxia punched, giving Xiaozhi an extra two centimeters of height for free.

Seeing Jiaozi helping Natsume walk over, she immediately held up the room key in her hand and said:

"I've already booked a room at the Pokémon Center here, let's go!"

"Wait a moment."

Natsume called out to the two of them.

He took out his brick-like phone, intending to make a call, but his head was buzzing.

"Mr. Natsume, please go back and rest. We can come back tomorrow if there's anything else."

Jiaozi smiled and helped Xia Mu up, with half of Xia Mu's body leaning against her.

"no!"

A golden light flashed in Natsume's eyes, and he immediately dialed Sakaki's number. Strangely enough, he had climbed to this altitude of over 3,000 meters purely through his own physical abilities, without even having eaten dinner.

So devout!

What about rewards?
"What?"

"I've finished climbing, so what's next?"

"Oh? You really climb?"

On the other end, Sakaki paused, then said jokingly.

Natsume immediately realized what was happening.

“Sakaki, I thought you were an honest man.”

"Actually, it's better to have climbed."

"Stab~"

Before Sakaki could finish speaking, Natsume hung up the call without any expression.

Led by Misty and Brock, Natsume returned to the Pokémon Center.

He immediately went to shower and then lay down on his bed without hesitation.

"Natsume-nii, it seems like there's no dinner left?"

"How is that possible? The Pokémon Center doesn't serve dinner?"

"There really aren't any left, Mr. Natsume."

Jiaozi appeared at the door with a somewhat troubled expression.

"?"

Natsume got up with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's so secluded here. Not only are the buildings like they're from ancient times, but even the meals are served at fixed times."

Xiaoxia and Xiaogang popped their heads out and briefly told Natsume about what they had seen and heard here.

"An old building, enclosed, only has a Pokémon Center and a shop?"

Natsume was taken aback. He looked around and realized that his room was a completely wooden house.

The interior decoration has a very strong sense of the era.

"Beep beep!"

Ash's Pokédex plays, and Professor Oak calls in via video.

"Huh? How come you've already arrived at Silver Mountain? You're even faster than Xiao Mao!"

Professor Oak's astonished voice rang out.

"Professor Oak, is there something you need?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the mission for this tournament," Professor Oak said, glancing around Natsume's room and remarking with a sigh.

"Wow, the league is really shameless. I used to act all high and mighty when I participated in the competition."

"Not only that, according to Xiaoxia and the others, all the facilities here are like ancient buildings. People who don't know the area might think it's a movie set."

Xiao Zhi chimed in from the side.

"I heard that some high-ranking members of the League settled here after its founding. They might have gotten a bit nostalgic and gone astray. Ash, how's your Dynamax training going?"

"I wanted to find someone to fight, but it seems I'm a bit early."

Ash scratched his head; his Bay Leaf hadn't evolved into Meganium yet.

Natsume didn't reply, but instead raised his arm listlessly, curled his fingers, and typed "OK".

"That's perfect. Shigeru will be here tomorrow. Natsume, you can show them around Dynamax. Even if they can't beat Lance, they should at least get a top ranking."

"To put it another way, if you can secure second, third, and fourth place, we in Guandu might be able to put up a fight!"

After saying that, the call ended.

"Natsume-nii, the reason you mentioned meeting Wataru at the tournament is because he was also a participant!"

Ash realized what was happening and looked at Natsume.

"Yes, and this is not a simple competition. It concerns the future policy of whether to promote Dynamax or Mega Evolution between the two sister regions of Kanto and Johto."

"The three of us are the representatives of Dynamax in Kanto, and there are also three representatives of Mega Evolution in Johto, one of whom is Lance."

Natsume gave a simple explanation.

The room fell silent instantly.

"My God, is this even possible?"

Xiaoxia covered her mouth.

As a Kanto native, she naturally hoped that the Kanto representative would win.

After all, research on Dynamax is almost entirely concentrated in Kanto.

"But... putting aside the other two contestants, just take Mr. Lance as an example, his Pokémon are at a very high level!"

Xiao Gang said worriedly.

While many of Natsume's Pokémon can surprise you, it's hard to say what will happen when faced with a significant level difference.

"Didn't Natsume battle Wataru last time?" Ash recalled the duel between Natsume and Wataru at Mt. Tsukimi.

"That time, I was mainly a sparring partner."

Natsume yawned. At that time, Wataru hardly fought back; he mainly cooperated with Wataru to test the functions of the Baby Ball Rotom.

If a real fight broke out, Natsume felt that he would at most trade one for one.

But it doesn't matter, he's not the same person he used to be.

The only disadvantage is the difference in level.

On average, he might be about 30 levels behind Wataru.
Needless to say, the gap between Ash and Gary is only going to widen.

"Mewtwo, do you want to compete?"

"Yes, I'm very interested in the championship."

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes slightly; to be precise, he was very interested in the unknown divine beast lurking in Silver Mountain.

Despite Sakaki's repeated admonitions, the champion seemed to be on the verge of meeting his opponent.

That's perfect.

As soon as Natsume finished speaking, a stream of purple light shot out from the top of his head.

“I formed my own team and qualified for the competition.”

Mewtwo's voice rang out.

Natsume: "?"

what are you saying?
The only way to close the gap in levels was to leave Natsume, who silently lay back on the bed.

Moves can be acquired through skill machines, and even attributes can be acquired through stone tablets, but level differences can only be bridged over time.

Moreover, Lance also possesses the trump card of Mega Evolution Dragonite.

Oh well, at worst we can just have the Dragonite bring the item—a photo with the sun—to the battle.

Natsume was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he woke up.

Everyone silently left the room.

(End of this chapter)