Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 475 The Evil Boss
With the minor incident over, Natsume began to carefully examine the place that was about to become his business—the Blueberry Academy.

Empty and desolate are the main themes here.

Before me lies a campus with grand plans, yet abandoned halfway through.

The skeletons of several main buildings stood in the dim light, their steel and concrete exposed, covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs.

In some areas, only the foundation was poured, and weeds stubbornly sprouted from the cracks in the cement, swaying gently in the night wind.

This place has clearly been abandoned for many years, leaving only traces of decay.

New residents have already taken over this ruin.

Natsume tiptoed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the shadowy corner.

He saw pairs of wary eyes shining in the darkness.

A purple trail darted through the pile of cement pipes;

Behind the broken wall, several thieving foxes were playing around a small pile of glittering shards of glass. Upon spotting Natsume, they instantly bristled, bared their teeth, and growled before disappearing into the shadows.
On the high steel beam, several black crows silently folded their wings, their scarlet eyes fixed on the uninvited guests below.

There are quite a few of these Dark-type Pokémon, and just as the Proud Child said, they seem to maintain a strange harmony among themselves.

Even more shockingly, Natsume saw the thieving fox and the pickpocket cat, who considered each other rivals in various cities, actually grooming each other.
Natsume watched everything unfold before him without showing any emotion.

Without the intervention of a powerful external force, he did not believe that these Pokémon would overcome their nature and coexist peacefully with other Dark-type Pokémon.

As time passed, Natsume toured the entire campus.

He keenly observed the distribution pattern of these Dark-type Pokémon on campus—the closer to the entrance of the ice cave in the back mountain, the more Dark-type Pokémon gathered there, and their levels seemed to be higher as well.

The outer perimeter was only occupied by thieving foxes and dark crows, acting as sentinels.

As he approached the inner circle, he caught a glimpse of the burly figure blocking the way and Pokémon in their final forms, such as Blaziken.

They stand like loyal guards, protecting the source of the cold air layer by layer.

"Inside"

Natsume narrowed his eyes.

No, there won't be.
Natsume turned around and looked at the middle-parted hair.

The latter squatted on the ground, stretching out his hind legs and scratching his neck, looking listless and drowsy.

It seems that I am overthinking it.

Natsume shook his head slightly and continued to observe.

The academy's owners seemed to have known about the existence of the ice cave behind the academy for a long time.

However, when the other party was eager to get rid of the land, they did not raise the price. It was not until the prodigy encountered resistance that he revealed the existence of the ice cave.

Natsume glanced around and continued deeper into the area, the gravel beneath his feet making a soft crunching sound.

As we approached the ice cave, the air temperature dropped significantly, and our breaths produced white vapor.

The Dark-type Pokémon around him became even quieter, no longer growling, but silently lurking in the deeper shadows, with countless gazes focused on him, filled with cold scrutiny.

"Are there signs of artificial mining in this area?"

As Natsume arrived at the entrance to the ice cave, a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

All around were machine parts half-buried in the permafrost.

It seems that a long time ago, the academy's owners wanted to develop this place, but were forcibly stopped by something. Even the equipment was broken.

A barely perceptible spark flashed between Natsume's fingertips. The frozen soil melted, and Natsume pulled out a piece of rebar as thick as an arm, bearing a huge teeth mark.
Just then, a strange feeling crept up Natsume's spine.

It wasn't the chill emanating from the ice cave ahead, nor the overt surveillance around us.

He stopped abruptly and listened intently.

Besides the sound of the wind, the sound of water droplets falling in the distance, and my own faint breathing, there was also an extremely heavy and slow sound of footsteps.

Or rather, it is the almost imperceptible air movement and ground tremors caused by the extremely slight movement of some huge object in the shadows.
Natsume didn't turn around, but all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch the silhouette of the shadow on the roof of a huge abandoned factory behind him, which was darker and more solid than the surrounding darkness, with a rock-like bluish-gray texture.

The edge of the outline seemed to move slightly, like a huge rock adjusting its posture.

An invisible pressure, like a cold tide, quietly spread.

The aura of the Dark-type Pokémon that had been somewhat restless fell silent at this moment, and even their breathing seemed to disappear.

Something was there. A colossal figure was silently following behind him, like the very ruler of the shadows of this ruin, watching his every move quietly and oppressively in the darkness.

The hairs on the back of Natsume's neck stood up slightly.

There was no roar, no warning.

A gigantic claw covered in a hideous, bluish-black carapace, carrying immense power and a suffocatingly fierce wind, slammed down.

The claws scraped against the air, emitting a sharp screech, and shadows instantly enveloped Natsume.

Purely instinctive, Natsume's body lunged backward before his mind could process it, leaving only a distorted afterimage in his wake.

"boom--!!!"

Where the giant claw struck, the earth trembled violently.

The cracks spread wildly in a radial pattern, instantly forming a crater more than five meters in diameter. The shockwave, carrying chunks of frozen soil and ice crystals, exploded violently in all directions.

"Phew," Natsume let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I've been playing a "real-life soul journey" in the dragon scales every day. Even though my telekinesis isn't what it used to be, my physical abilities and sense of danger are far superior to what they used to be.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the terrifying figure appeared in the collapsed frozen crater.

"Bangilas?"

Natsume's pupils suddenly contracted.

He had never seen such a massive Bangila!

The giant beast before them, simply standing there, resembled a small black mountain rising abruptly from the ground.

It was hidden in the night, and Natsume had not noticed it at all before, thinking it was an abandoned little house there!

Conservatively estimated, the height is at least seven to eight meters, making an ordinary Bangalore appear like a child in comparison.

Its ferocious carapace, covering its entire body, is an unusually deep, dark blue-green color, thick and rough, like a natural rock wall formed by weathering over millions of years.

Its thick tail hangs casually behind it, the tip of which is covered with terrifying spikes. With just a slight sway, it plows deep furrows in the ground.

Its eyes were bloodshot, burning with pure rage and fury.

[Bangiras, LV100]

This is the third max-level Pokémon that Natsume has encountered, aside from the Giant Dragonite and the Guardian Dragonite.

And it's a wild Pokémon.
"Roar!!!"

Bangiras yelled at Natsume, his meaning clear—get lost or I'll break your legs.

"No wonder it's so harmonious, turns out there's a boss keeping things under control."

Natsume wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"Go, Dragonite!"

"Awooooo~" A red light flashed, and the figure of the Great Jaggi appeared.

She patted her chest, but soon, the Great Dragon's movements stopped.

"Woo?"

The giant dragon tilted its head, seemingly encountering an opponent it had never faced before.

"Buzz~"

With a gentle flap of its massive, pitch-black wings covered in unknown totems, the Great Dragonite lifted off the ground and hovered in the air, its perspective returning to the familiar overhead view.

Natsume watched this scene in silence.

Indeed, this Bangila is ridiculously large.

[Ding! Special Pokémon detected – Tyranitar! S-rank challenge posted!]

Suddenly, the announcement of the special Pokémon topic, which had been silent for a long time, rang out again. Natsume was stunned, and his gaze toward the Tyranitar suddenly darkened.

The brief standoff broke down instantly.

Bangilas jerked its massive head back with a silent roar, its enormous claws slamming heavily into the ground.

"boom--!"

In an instant, a whistling sound rang out.

"A sandstorm?" Natsume was somewhat surprised, listening to the sound of sand rubbing against each other in the air.

It thought this aggressive fellow was going to start an earthquake.

However, the sandstorm did not head straight for the Great Dragonite, but instead surged towards the entrance of the ice cave, instantly obscuring the already dim entrance with thick sand walls.

Immediately afterwards, a storm of sand and gravel, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, swept towards the massive tornado.

Natsume remained unmoved.

Dragonite was already physically powerful and had absolute control over its strength. With the baptism of Ho-Oh's sacred fire and the absorption of the power of the Unknown Totem, it was further strengthened.

Unless a quadruple super-effective attack comes, it can withstand all other attacks, even if this Tyranitar is of a very high level.

However, when the sand hit its body, the previously calm Dragonite suddenly let out a painful growl.

"Awwww~"

Natsume's eyes narrowed, and he quickly raised his flashlight, the beam sweeping across the yellow sand.

Amidst the light, countless tiny, irregularly shaped, hard ice crystal fragments, their edges refracting a cold, reflective light, were clearly mixed in with the rapidly flying sand.

ice!
How did you do it?
Natsume was slightly taken aback.

As expected, Pokémon that are identified as special individuals by the system all have something unusual about them.

"Wait a moment!"

The giant dragon instinctively retaliated, appearing in front of Tyranitar almost instantly, before Natsume could even call out to stop it.

It’s over.

Natsume had some medicine in his hand, but it was for Banjiras.

He knew all too well just how powerful the modified Dragonite was.

The opponent's Dynamax energy, generated continuously every day, is transformed into physical strength by the Great Dragonite after it gains absolute control over its own power. The energy that originally needed to be channeled is directly converted into physical strength by the Great Dragonite itself.

That slap would wake even someone with a middle parting in their hair.

"Bang—Crack!"

The expected sound of the shell cracking did not come.

Just before the dragon claw was about to strike, a thin, dense, pale blue transparent ice crystal barrier, like pure glass, unexpectedly appeared on the surface of the dark blue-green carapace of the part of Tyranitar that was being attacked.

A deafening thud and a strange, piercing cracking sound, like a giant block of ice being smashed, rang out simultaneously.

The ice crystals shimmered violently under the immense force of the dragon's claws, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the entire barrier.

Countless ice shards and crystals exploded and flew like shot, spreading a chilling aura.

However, after the barrier violently trembled and fluctuated, it actually held up?!

"Ouch?"

The intense shock from the dragon's claws made the Great Jaggi pause slightly, letting out a low growl of surprise.

Natsume was shocked. The brute force that the Great Dragonite had always been able to unleash was actually blocked by this strangely appearing layer of ice crystals.

Although it was covered in cracks, the ice crystals did not completely break.

"Roar—!!"

"Ow!!"

"Wow--!!"

Just then, a large number of Dark-type Pokémon suddenly surged out of the surrounding shadows, including Urshifu, Lizard, Arbok, and Houndoom.
They bared their teeth and let out sharp, low roars, forming a circle around them. Their eyes were fierce yet wary as they stared intently at Natsume and the Great Dragonite who had invaded their territory, intending to force them back with their imposing presence.

"Gahoo—!!!"

However, Bangiras let out a roar that was shorter and more agitated than before.

The roar carried an undeniable intent to drive him away, clearly not directed at Natsume, but at the underlings who were trying to step forward.

Its massive body was taut, its gaze shifting back and forth between Natsume and the Great Dragonite, its crimson pupils filled with a mixture of rage and urgency.

This Tyranitar was trying to avoid escalating the conflict. Natsume understood this perfectly.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the shock and countless questions in his heart, Natsume raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the tense atmosphere, directly meeting the warning and angry eyes of Banjiras.

“Listen,” his voice wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence of the confrontation, carrying an undeniable calm, regardless of whether the other person could understand:
"This is my place now."

"This academy belongs to me, and I know there might be some trouble inside."

As he spoke, his gaze swept meaningfully toward the entrance to the ice cave, which was obscured by the sandstorm.

"If what you're protecting needs help, perhaps I can do something."

No response was expected.

After saying these few words, Natsume turned around without hesitation.

"let's go."

He whispered to the Great Dragonite, no longer looking at the tense atmosphere behind him or the colossal beast standing in the night like a black mountain, and strode away.

It's easy to see that this Bangila is quite interested in something in the ice cave.

Moreover, a level 100 Tyranitar has absolutely, positively survived for a very long time.

It is very possible that the other party was already guarding this place before Blueberry Academy was even developed, and before this area was even a desolate wilderness.

Forcing your way in will only make the guardian more stressed.

Not in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)