Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 409 Dragon Scales of War

"Battlefield? Then you're absolutely right."

Watari's figure appeared.

Xiao Mao turned around, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:
"Mr. Wataru, the Dragon King, Mr. Wataru!"

Suddenly, Xiao Mao noticed that Du was wearing a preliminary round uniform with a large number 26 on it.

Behind Lance were six Pokémon.

"Are you done?" Natsume looked at the other person strangely, not understanding why he had called out all the Pokémon.

"I advise you to call out all your Pokémon," Lance said, frowning as he looked at the three people in front of him.

"Why? Hasn't it started yet?"

Xiao Zhi and Xiao Mao asked in confusion.

"The battles here are unregulated; the trainers are the ones eliminated," Lance said, then paused, adding:
"If your opponent finds your clothes, he will attack you."

"This means the game has started, and only then will the referees enter the field."

"Huh?" Ash and Gary's eyes widened.

"The trainers were eliminated, what does that mean?" Natsume frowned.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a violent explosion rang out.

"boom!"

A dark figure collapsed in front of the three.

"Number 0 vs. Number 1 is paused! Joey Jungsa!"

The referee blew his whistle, lifted the figure up, and tossed it to Officer Jenny and Joey, who were carrying a stretcher not far away.

"Is this the one that's going to be eliminated!?"

Ash and Gary both widened their eyes at the same time.

"Who made this rule?"

Natsume looked at Watari in astonishment.

"These are the rules from many, many years ago. Back then, the competition system wasn't as standardized as it is now," Du said, glancing subtly towards the mountaintop.

Natsume frowned.

He felt that this divine beast, perched atop Silver Mountain, was an old-fashioned creature unwilling to accept new things.

Natsume had only ever seen this kind of battle in history books.

That was over a thousand years ago, when the league was first established. The competition, which originated from the military, was far more brutal and unscrupulous than the current competition system.

"I know what you're thinking. But just get through the preliminary rounds, the round of 64 is the normal format." Watari patted Natsume on the shoulder.

“I get a bye.” Natsume waved his hand, and Wataru then realized that the other person was not wearing the preliminary round uniform.

"Come out, Blastoise, Eevee, Umbreon, Sylveon!"

Beside him, Shigeru was so frightened that he summoned his army of Eevee.

"Just a heads up, there's no limit to the number of Pokémon you can send in; you can bring six at once." Lance waved his hand and turned to leave.

"Ash, you idiot, hurry up and call your Pokémon out! What if you get ambushed!"

Xiao Mao glanced around in fear, as if an attack could spring up at any moment.

This feeling is just like playing video games, no, it's just like being on a real battlefield!
Xiao Mao was so excited he was trembling all over.

"Why did you ambush me?" Ash still doesn't understand what's going on.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu stood on Ash's hat, looking around warily.

"Satoshi, please take good care of Gary. I'll be leaving now."

Natsume plans to leave.

"Oh."

"Natsume-nii, aren't you doing it backwards?"

In the distance, the two figures disappeared from sight.

Natsume arrived at the entrance of the temple where he had come from. Standing there, he could see the entire preliminary round venue below.

After observing for a moment, Natsume noticed that there were almost no incidents of sneak attacks.

Despite the brutal format, most trainers will spontaneously communicate amicably with their opponents and adopt a normal competition format.

They were all one-on-one.

However, those who lack solid skills are the most likely to be eliminated, since not everyone adheres to martial ethics.

"Mr. Quixes, may I ask what brings you to see me?"

Far away, at the end of the path, came the monk's conversation.

Natsume was taken aback, golden light flashed in his eyes, and he flew into the sky.

Below, Quixote and the monk walked side by side into the temple.

"I heard that after each preliminary round, you go to the top of Mount Baiyin to pray for that important person on the mountain?"

"Yes. But as I said, I can only go alone."

The monk shook his head, a troubled look on his face.

"Of course I know this."

As Quixes spoke, he took out a piece of scale armor from his wide robe.

It is only the size of a palm, but at first glance, it is an exquisitely crafted auspicious symbol.

The edges are cleverly polished into soft curves, and the surface is engraved with intricate cloud patterns symbolizing "good fortune, longevity, health and peace." It is even inlaid with a few small gemstones that shimmer with a warm light, giving it an image of holiness and blessing.

A golden light flashed in Natsume's eyes, instantly seeing through the exquisite disguise.

The scales themselves were a deep, dark black, as if they could swallow light.

But beneath this deep blackness, a chilling dark red, like congealed blood, faintly peeks out, like embers burning at the bottom of an abyss.

Even from a distance, Natsume could sense a cold and violent aura emanating from its depths, silently distorting the surrounding light and making the auspicious carvings appear particularly ferocious in the shadows.

The monk was not Natsume; he only saw a tribute symbolizing peace.

“Mr. Quixes is very kind. I will give it to that person along with everyone’s offerings.”

Natsume narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Quixes leave.

He turned his head and continued to stare at the monk.

The other party put the dragon scale away and placed it in a large storage box.

Inside the storage box were many paper offerings, stone tools, and other items used for sacrificial rites.
Natsume lay in wait, and once the monk left, he darted to the storage box.

He removed the carefully concealed dragon scales from inside, and as compensation, Natsume stuffed a flower petal mochi inside. The dragon scale was icy cold to the bone, and with a burst of telekinesis, all the embellishments disappeared, revealing its true form.

Holding up this ominous dragon scale, even in the sunlight, it still exudes a chilling aura.

Natsume channeled his telekinetic energy into the dragon scales, and his eyes turned red the instant he made contact with them.

"Ouch!"

A flash of red light appeared, and the Great Dragonite appeared. It swung its claws, knocking the dragon scale from Natsume's hand.

"Ooooooooooo!"

The giant dragon roared at the dragon scale.

With its extremely keen control over energy, it sensed the malevolent energy flowing within the dragon scales.

The crimson in Natsume's eyes faded, and he stepped forward, wanting to pick up the dragon scale, but was grabbed by the arm by the Great Kairyu.

"Don't worry, I'm just taking a look; I won't use telekinesis to link again."

"Ouch?"

Seeing Natsume pick up the dragon scales again, Daikai Dragon tilted its head in distress.

"Judging from its shape, this dragon scale is probably located on the chest."

Natsume compared the scales on the Great Dragonite.

As if to verify something, Natsume took the scale and walked towards the preliminary round venue below.

Sure enough, as he approached, the scales gradually reacted.

It trembled slightly at first, then quickly turned red, with scarlet blood-like red lines spreading everywhere.

Seeing the scales' reaction, the answer became clear to Natsume.

These are scales of the war dragon.

Kyurem, Zekrom, and Reshiram are a trinity, their scales before they separated!

This thing should be given to the divine beast at the top of Silver Mountain.

It must be a bad intention.

Natsume reluctantly agreed to keep it safe for him.

Just as he tucked the scale into his pocket, a stream of purple light surged toward Natsume and entered his mind.

"Mewtwo! Did you pass the preliminary round?"

Natsume was stunned.

"No."

Chao Meng's words are concise and to the point.

"That shouldn't be the case. With your skill level, you could easily play yourself."

"Going on stage myself would expose me, and those guys are impossible to command," Mewtwo said helplessly.

Following the directions, Natsume looked towards a corner of the preliminary round venue.

There, Ash was fighting with a Primal Infernape that suddenly jumped out at him.

On the side, Ash's rival, Mewtwo's rival, became dumbfounded bystanders.

"."

"So these are the partners you mentioned."

Natsume remained silent.

"All my hopes are pinned on you. At worst, I'll step in," Mewtwo said thoughtfully.

"Actually, I've already found a shortcut."

Even the middle-part hairstyle seems to have gotten involved.
"What shortcut?"

"nothing."

Natsume shook his head.

Natsume couldn't be sure that the divine beast hadn't spoken to him at all from beginning to end.

"Speaking of which, the preliminary rounds here are really strange."

After saying that, Mewtwo submerged and disappeared into Natsume's inner world.

Natsume turned and walked toward the Pokémon Center, intending to study the scales of the War Dragon.

Unexpectedly, he encountered a familiar figure on the way.

"Hello, do you need the free gene-suppressing potion, and also the Mega Evolution Keystone?"

N was carrying a small box around his neck. He would grab any participant heading to the preliminary rounds and start selling it to them.

Although they were curious, they all stopped and asked questions when they heard about super evolution.

In just a few minutes, the other party skillfully delivered a set.

"Well done."

Natsume passed by and patted the other person on the shoulder.

“Mr. Natsume.” N nodded.

He suddenly realized that everything he had done was very meaningful.

The world is not as dark as Quixes described!

Mega Evolution is a true test of the bond between trainers and Pokémon.

As someone who has been through it, N is very aware of the difficulties involved.

But many trainers actually succeeded in getting the gene-suppressing drugs he sent out!
If Natsume knew what N was thinking, he would probably explain to him what survivor bias is.

Natsume glanced casually at the corner and noticed that several sages were staring at them.

Without exception, their faces looked ashen, as if they had eaten a dead rat.
"Hum hum"

Not far away, Quixes, in a very good mood, walked towards them.

By sending out that dragon scale, even if he didn't meet the guardian of Silver Mountain, his plan would be half complete.

But to his surprise, the arrival of a sage quickly swept away his good mood.

"Lord Quixes, we've found Lord N!"

"Really? How did his negotiations go? Did the kid return the funds?"

Quixote said casually, with one eye half-open.

“No.” Another sage pointed to the distance with a grim expression.

"It seems like Mr. N has been tricked into doing unpaid work."

(End of this chapter)