Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 425 List of Top Four
"A stunning reversal! Is the match about to end? The two Acodors are still... wait, Gardevoir and Blaziken are still standing!"

Narusuke's shocked scream was like a fuse that ignited the entire arena!
Countless gazes were drawn to the battlefield as if by a magnet.

After being struck by that insignificant flash of lightning, Mega Gardevoir and Mega Blaziken shook violently, as if they were about to be completely extinguished in the next second.

However, just when everyone thought the dust had settled—

"woo"

"Chamo!"

Two suppressed screams of immense pain rang out.

Gardevoir's slender arms plunged deep into the ground, forcibly supporting its limp body; Blaziken used its claws, still burning with its last raging flames, to plow deep furrows in the scorched earth, managing to stabilize itself!
Their eyes burned with a resolute light!
"Oh my god, how did you do that?"

"Absolutely incredible"

The audience gasped in amazement, whether from lamenting the immense damage caused by the two Acrodora Pokémon or from being moved by the two Pokémon managing to stand up simultaneously.

Natsume frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

As expected, Ye Yue's instructions came one after another.

"Blazing Chicken!!"

Ye Yue instantly understood the will in his partner's eyes. A surge of joy and determination, both contained within his roar, erupted suddenly:
"Double Kick! Breaking through Cocodora's sturdy nature!"

"Chamo—!!!"

Blaziken roared in desperation, dragging its collapsing body, and transformed into a burning red afterimage. With its last bit of strength, it kicked the dark gray metal lump hard!

"Coco Dora, get out of here!"

Xiao Mao's pupils constricted sharply, the command stuck in his throat.

From the moment Blaziken stood up, he knew he was going to lose.

"Dora." CocoDora hesitated in place, instinctively feeling afraid and clumsily trying to get away.

However, the huge level difference resulted in a crushing speed advantage.

Blaziken's double kick is unavoidable.

boom!boom!
Two heavy thuds! The double kicks hit precisely! Cocoa's small body was kicked away like a broken sack, crashing out of the field, where it was caught by Shigeru.

Looking down, Coco Dora's eyes were darting around, completely losing its fighting ability.

"Shigeru's Cocoa Doraemon is unable to battle! Ye Yue's Blaziken wins!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Narusuke's verdict finally arrived.

"Well done, Blaziken!"

Ye Yue clenched his fist excitedly, but his smile froze instantly.

After completing this desperate counterattack, the Blaziken's flames went out, and with a satisfied smile, it collapsed straight forward, also losing consciousness.

A Pyrrhic victory!

"One of the four finalists has already been decided. Could Mr. N pull off a spectacular comeback like Ye Yue did?"

In an instant, the entire screen was filled with images of Ash and N's battleground.

"Sigh, I knew you were unreliable." A buzzing voice came from the tablet.

Professor Oak's expression recovered from the initial shock.

When he saw both Coco Dora flash with electricity at the same time, he thought he had already won.

Because as long as all three representatives from Kanto make it to the semifinals.

Even if Wataru wins the championship, the second and third place winners will both be representatives of Kanto, meaning the Kanto region will still win.

"That's hard to say," Natsume shook his head slightly.

Through the battlefield, Natsume could clearly see that N's Gardevoir did not have any continuous attack moves, nor did it have any status skill lock-on.

As expected, the battle between N and Ash was another cycle.

"Gardedoll, get out of the way!" N's anxious shout came too late.

Ash's loud shout descended like a judgment:
"Hold on!"

[Cocodora's stubbornness struck Gardevoir, and Gardevoir collapsed!]

"woo"

Gardevoir let out a mournful cry. Its already swaying body could no longer support it. Its elegant figure, like a puppet with broken strings, slowly collapsed to the ground, its skirt spreading limply on the ground, and it lost consciousness.

"N's Gardevoir is unable to battle! Ash's Acrocodile wins!"

"The other player to advance to the semifinals is—Xiao Zhi!"

As Narusuke's voice faded, no one in the entire venue cheered for the regional representative they supported.

The dramatic turn of events plunged the entire venue into an eerie vacuum. The audience gaped, their expressions slightly bewildered, completely unable to process the sudden and unexpected outcome.

There's nothing we can do; it all happened too fast.

within the venue.

Shigeru looked at his Cocoyora, which had lost its ability to fight, and then at Blaziken, which had also fallen to the ground, and silently closed his eyes.

His expression didn't change much, but his tightly pursed lips revealed a hint of resentment.

"Xiao Mao, you..."

Ash approached, intending to offer some comfort, but Gary pressed down on his shoulder.

"Ash, you have to do your best!"

As he spoke, Xiao Shi turned around and gave Natsume a pitiful look.

What are you looking at me for?

Natsume looked completely bewildered.

If you lose, you lose. As long as you don't lose both of them, it's not a big deal.

With one player from each side making it to the semifinals, the outcome was fairly average.

Natsume yawned and quietly reclaimed the battleground.

In the VIP section, a glass of red wine swirls gently.

As the wine glass is gently swirled, the dark red liquid rotates lazily.

The curved surface of the cup perfectly captured a glint of cold light on the owner's chest—a colorful "R" badge embedded in his suit.

The distorted glass surface elongated and deformed the logo.

It was as if a strange, metallic pupil, stained with red wine, was silently gazing through the wine glass at the boiling and fragmented arena below.

A low, soft sigh escaped from the shadows, accompanied by the subtle ripples of red wine in the glass.

"The authority to fight is truly eye-opening."

There was no discernible emotion in that voice, only a cold, amused quality, as if weighing chips.

On the glass, the distorted reflection of the "R" appeared even more profound and unfathomable amidst the swirling liquid.

As the competition ended, the audience dispersed like birds and beasts.

That evening, Natsume understood the meaning behind Shigeru's look during the day.

"Natsume-nii, I want to do research with you!"

In Natsume's room, Shigeru suddenly bowed deeply.

"I don't accept apprentices." Natsume took the fruit from the girl and shook his head decisively.

"Huh?!" Xiao Mao was completely stunned.

He had already prepared his answers, anticipating all sorts of questions Natsume would ask—what direction should he choose? Is he too young? And so on.

But he never expected that Natsume would refuse so directly!

"Why?" Shigeru looked at Natsume speechlessly, his heart filled with confusion.

It was Natsume who ignited the spark of scientific research in his heart.

"Go find Professor Oak, why are you looking for me?"

Natsume waved his hand, saying that one prodigy was enough and he had no intention of taking on more students.

Moreover, the first strange saying in the scientific research community is that you can't mess with your mentor's grandson.

“But Grandpa sent me to find you.” As soon as Shigeru finished speaking, Professor Oak, looking travel-worn, appeared behind him, clearly having just rushed back from the research institute.

“Natsume,” Professor Oak said with a smile:
"Think about your research institute. With more staff, wouldn't it be much more convenient to go out in the future?"

“Hmm,” Natsume frowned and fell silent.

Now that you think about it, it seems to make some sense.

His research institute is about to open, but his next step is to go to the Unova region and revitalize the abandoned Blueberry Academy.

"Mr. Natsume, will you agree?"

Upon seeing this, Jiaozi immediately grabbed Natsume's arm and gently shook it, her voice carrying a hint of coquetry.

She was quickly making her own plans.

If Xiao Mao doesn't come, the task of staying at the research institute will most likely fall to her.

The hardship is secondary; the key issue is that if that happens, she will have to separate from Mr. Natsume!
(End of this chapter)