Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 457 I Want to Recognize It as Its Mother
When Natsume quietly returned to the bell tower, the scene that came into view made him pause slightly.

The crowd and Pokémon that had been defeated by the Guardian Dragonite were now enveloped in a warm and gentle golden holy fire.

The flames, like the gentlest caress, quietly nourished their bodies.

The unconscious slowly awoke, the exhausted were refreshed, and the square was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and gratitude for the miracle.

Without disturbing the crowd immersed in joy, Natsume quietly walked around and stepped back into the tower gate that had been violently broken open and now looked exceptionally empty.

Inside the tower, Dragonite and Hoopa's sister were still deep in sleep, and it was unknown when they would wake up.

"Middle parting?"

Natsume's gaze swept across the empty tower, instinctively searching for Pikachu.

He looked up in astonishment.

The small, yellow figure with the middle-parted hair was now lying comfortably on the Phoenix King's magnificent, dazzling back feathers, which were shimmering with golden divine flames, fast asleep, its little belly rising and falling slightly with its breath.

"Ok?"

Natsume glanced at the small figure with a questioning look in his eyes.

"It was my permission."

A languid female voice rang directly in Natsume's mind.

Phoenix King did not fully open its eyes; only its golden phoenix eyes slightly parted, revealing an indescribable curiosity.

At the tip of her tail feathers, a wisp of extremely fine, yet uniquely scented, white-gold hair was currently wrapped around it.

The fur was pure and flawless, containing a power fluctuation that was completely different from Ho-Oh's own, yet equally profound and vast.

"How did this Pikachu obtain this thing?" Ho-Oh's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible curiosity and confusion, a strand of platinum-gold fur gently swaying in the flames of her tail feathers.

Natsume's pupils suddenly contracted.

He instantly recognized it as the gift that the man with the middle parting had managed to "obtain" when he took him to Silver Mountain to deliver flower petal cakes to Peace Dog.

"Hmm," Natsume thought to himself, quickly organizing his thoughts.

Obviously, I can't tell the truth; that would be too beneath me.

“You are unaware of this,” Natsume said, a perfectly timed expression of pity appearing on his face, “this child has a tragic past, having been orphaned since childhood.”

"Pikachu???"

As the second wave of the storm hit, the middle-parted-haired boy, who had been sleeping soundly on Ho-Oh's back, suddenly woke up with a start, raised his little head, and looked at Natsume with a blank expression.

Its eyes were full of doubt.

Its parents were only recently taken back to Natsume's home from Ooki's lab for research.

“So!” Natsume ignored the bewildered look in the man with the middle parting and continued with a heavy-hearted certainty:
"That being, perhaps moved by compassion, saw its loneliness and took it in as its adopted son!"

"This single hair is the token!"

"Pee?!" The man with the middle parting stared wide-eyed at his small face.

Isn't this just Natsume spouting nonsense unilaterally in the Peace Palace?

When did the peacedog admit it?

However, before Natsume could finish speaking...

A warmer and softer pale golden flame, like the most comfortable velvet blanket, instantly and gently enveloped the small body with the center-parted hair.

The flame carried a calming and soothing power.

With his hair parted in the middle, he felt his eyelids were as heavy as mountains.

So comfortable
Never mind, I'll just take a nap.

With his hair parted in the middle and his eyes closed, a soft snore began to sound.

Natsume keenly noticed a subtle change in the way Ho-Oh looked at the man with the middle parting.

The languidness and scrutiny that had been lingering in those golden phoenix eyes had quietly faded, replaced by an indescribable gentleness.
"Keep this."

A languid female voice broke the brief silence once more.

A rainbow feather, shimmering with iridescent light and brimming with vitality, slowly drifted down in front of Natsume.

"If you ever need my help in the future, you can come here."

Ho-Oh's voice carried the weight of a promise.

"Thank you, senior!"

Natsume was overjoyed, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

On the way back, he was already planning the upgrade scheme for the next Rotom machine.

If we could use Ho-Oh's magical powers of "divine and flesh" to "activate" the machines to some extent.

I wonder what kind of amazing chemical reaction will occur?
He instinctively reached out, his fingertips about to touch the beautiful feather.

"Wait a minute."

Phoenix King's slow, deliberate voice rang out again, carrying an air of unquestionable authority.

"I have a condition."

Natsume paused, understanding dawning on him.

As expected, the gifts from divine beasts are not so easy to obtain.

"Please speak, senior." He remained calm, prepared to handle any requests.

Who knows.

On the sacred fire nest, that incomparably noble figure, just like the guardian Dragonite not long ago, revealed a rare kind of awkwardness.

Phoenix King's long, graceful neck turned slightly to the side, and its dazzling tail feathers brushed lightly against the surface of its fiery nest.

The molten gold eyes seemed to avoid Natsume's gaze. "That's right...that's right."

Her voice no longer carried its usual languid ease; instead, it was tinged with a barely perceptible hesitation and shyness.

It was as if what she was about to say was something she herself found difficult to utter.

"What is it?" Natsume looked at Ho-Oh's unusual behavior and felt even more puzzled.

What's wrong with these guys today?
As if finally having made up his mind, Phoenix King quickly uttered the words, with a sense of recklessness:
"Yeah, could I ask this Pikachu to recognize me as its godmother?"

The words fell.

The tower was deathly silent.

The only sounds were the crackling of the burning Olympic flame and the faint snoring of the man with the middle parting.

Natsume froze completely, his face blank with a single, unsettling expression:

"?"

"No problem at all!"

Natsume sold his middle-part hairstyle without hesitation.

Just then, Dragonite and Hoopa's sister woke up.

In the afternoon, in Zhenxin Town.

"This is the weight loss plan for both of you."

Inside Natsume Research Institute.

Compared to these two "heavyweight" contenders, Natsume appeared exceptionally small.

"Awoo?" I don't understand.

Daikai Ryu was so busy staring at the middle-parted hair lying on top of her head with cross-eyed eyes.

"Ugh"

"Miss Ellens, could you please keep an eye on my Dragonite?"

Natsume sighed and turned to look at the chubby girl with a full head of ice-blue hair to the side.

"Take care, Mr. Natsume!"

The other person seemed a little reserved.

"Treat the research institute as your own home. If there's anything you don't understand, just go to them."

Natsume casually pointed, and Shigeru, who was not far away, felt a chill run down his spine.

"good"

The girl nodded blankly.

Natsume watched Allens's retreating figure, feeling a pang of sadness.

From Hoopa's words, we learn that the Pokémon world Ellens lived in had been targeted and destroyed by Team Rainbow Rocket, who used the destroyed materials to create a ring that could locate Arceus's true form.

The three of them, grandfather, grandfather, and grandson, can be described as wanderers in a parallel universe.

Natsume hired Allens because the research institute was short-staffed and his expertise matched that of the institute.

My sister is here. Hoopa can't run away either.

They plan to settle in this world, and their residence will be Natsume's research institute.

With Hoopa, I might be able to find out some clues about Team Rainbow Rockets on my own.

However, the other party went to another world to pick up Grandpa, and it's unknown when they will return.

"Mr. Natsume, your flight will depart in ten days."

A sweet female voice rang out from the AI, and Natsume was slightly taken aback.

We're about to head to the Unova region.

However, before that
Natsume's gaze was fixed on the complex and intricate blueprint on the computer screen.

He still needs to breed four Rotoms.

"Natsume-san, the information you asked me to find is roughly about these companies and research institutes that are cultivating Rotom and Polygon."

Shigeru approached and handed Natsume a thick stack of documents.

"Let me see."

Not a single one!?

Natsume suddenly looked up and stared at Shigeru with a strange expression.

The documents the other party handed him listed the names of many companies and research institutes.

But without exception, they were all marked with an "X".

"It's not that there aren't any, but every time I make a contact, someone immediately acquires these companies or research institutes."

Xiao Mao frowned.

Who acquired it?

Natsume felt something was off.

Is someone secretly competing with him?
"On the last page."

Xiao Mao opened the documents, and a familiar name jumped out at the top of the page.

"Daigo, Devon Corporation?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Natsume's eyes.

When did Gem Fan Champion become interested in Rotom?
(End of this chapter)