Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 594 We should bravely take the first step.

"Are you...a human?"

Dr. Yew pointed at Natsume and stepped back slightly.

At the same time, the researchers who had been resting on the spot also stood up one by one.

Natsume instantly understood the purpose of these anklets.

"I understand. You're strapping weights to your feet to resist the abnormal gravity of this world?"

Only the locals of the reversed world don't need to bind themselves like those with middle-part hairstyles.

Realizing he had caused a misunderstanding, Natsume didn't explain further, but instead handed over his business card and gave a brief explanation.

"The new champion of Unova?" Dr. Yew caught his breath slightly, his tone filled with surprise.

"Aldeck quit. Wait!"

Suddenly, Dr. Yew looked up at Natsume:
"Does that mean the Alliance has come to our rescue?"

Natsume could sense that as soon as he said those words, many researchers looked up at him.

It's clear that these researchers aren't in a good mental state and need encouragement.

"No," Natsume denied directly.

"Ah—" Dr. Yew stared blankly at the business card in his hand and took a half step back.

The metal ring on his foot slammed against the wall behind him with a clang.

"However, I am here to find you on behalf of my future colleagues."

Natsume rubbed his hands together.

Future colleagues?

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what Natsume was talking about.

Did the Yew Research Institute expand its recruitment during the six months they were away?
Dr. Yew gripped the business card tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

She leaned against the cold wall, the heavy metal rings on her ankles scraping against the ground with a soft "thump," breaking the brief silence in the cellar.

"So, you just accidentally wandered in here and, like us, are trapped?"

Her voice carried an undisguised disappointment and a deeper weariness. Her light green eyes were lowered, her gaze fixed on the tangled mess of electrical wires.

Natsume did not answer directly, but his gaze once again turned to the depths of the cellar, to the corner that provided a faint light.

This time, he looked even more carefully.

That is not a simple battery or generator.

Several irregularly shaped crystals, emitting a dark greenish-black luster, were roughly embedded in a simple metal frame.

Extremely thin, oily-green wisps of energy constantly seep from the crystal surface, which are captured and absorbed by a rusty reed device that vibrates slightly above the frame.

The device emitted a continuous, low hum, occasionally interspersed with subtle, unsettling crackling sounds, as if it were about to overload and break down at any moment.

The absorbed, oily-green energy was transmitted through a few crudely welded wires, barely enough to light the dim lamp and support the operation of several core instruments.

The form and transformation of this energy are completely different from any technological system that Natsume knows, carrying a primitive, dangerous, and extremely unconventional aura.

Stab it!

A flash of platinum-gold light passed by.

The stone slab of Giratina rioted, but Natsume pressed it back down.

"This energy device..." Natsume frowned slightly, pointing to that corner, "was it made by you?"

The energy that was broken down into electricity seems to originate from Giratina.

Dr. Yew followed his gaze, gave a wry smile, shook his head, and his voice carried a complex emotion, a mixture of relief and deeper unease:

"No, it wasn't us."

“We, we are just ‘borrowers’.”

She took a deep breath, as if recalling the chaos and despair she felt when she first arrived.

“When we first ‘fell’ into this terrible world, we were completely disoriented.”

Her voice lowered, tinged with lingering fear.
"The gravity here is erratic! If you're not careful, you could drift high into the sky and disappear somewhere."

"We could only cling desperately to rocks and trees, and use any heavy objects we could find to tie ourselves to move with great difficulty."

“We’ve tried all sorts of methods, but we can’t connect to the real world. All the equipment we brought has malfunctioned.”

"Just when we were almost in despair."

She looked up and pointed to the top of her head.

"We saw the light."

"In this desolate and dark world, that steady, man-made light is like the only lighthouse."

Her voice still carried a hint of the lingering emotion she felt at the time. "We strained our bodies, followed that glimmer of light, and found this building, discovered this hidden entrance, and this existing shelter."

“Everything here.” She looked around the simple cellar.

"This energy device, that lamp, and even this trapdoor—they were all there before. They look like they've been abandoned for a while, but the basic structure is still usable."

"We barely managed to repair and utilize them, just to prolong their existence."

"The people from before?" Natsume caught the key information.

“We don’t know who it is either,” Dr. Yew shook his head.

"But judging from the traces left behind, the other party seems to know a lot about this world and possesses technological capabilities that we cannot understand, and is able to utilize some kind of dangerous 'energy' in this world."

She pointed to the crystal that was constantly emitting an oily green mist, her eyes filled with apprehension.

"We initially thought we had found hope, but it was soon..."

Her voice trembled again, and she instinctively hugged her arms as if she were cold.

"We have discovered the 'inhabitants' of this world."

A flicker of barely concealed fear flashed in her eyes.

"They...they are not alive! Their bodies are translucent, and they move silently, like ghosts!"

“We can’t communicate with them at all! We don’t understand their language, and they seem to be extremely hostile towards us ‘living, breathing’ people.”

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

Natsume raised his hand to interrupt them.

"You just said that you can't communicate?" Natsume's expression was strange.

He could clearly understand what the indigenous people were saying.

"Yes, both the language and the writing system are completely different."

As Yew spoke, her brows furrowed.

"We are unable to communicate, obtain food and information, and can only hide in this cellar like rats, relying on the meager reserves left by the previous person and the risky modification of this dangerous energy device to barely survive."

Her account was fragmented and filled with helplessness and lingering fear.

The other researchers in the cellar also kept their heads down in silence, their faces filled with despair and trauma.

They are a group of top scientists, but they are trapped in a desperate situation with bizarre physical rules, unable to communicate with the natives, and regarded as monsters. This mental torment is far more devastating than the lack of resources.

Natsume listened quietly, his gaze sweeping over the haggard and fearful faces before finally settling on the dim, swaying light bulb powered by a dangerous energy source.

Reversed gravity. The villagers' rejection. Fear of the unknown.
Putting yourself in their shoes, it seems pretty tragic.

He suddenly spoke, his voice calm yet possessing a strange penetrating power, breaking the oppressive atmosphere in the cellar:

"Do you think those 'villagers' are scary? Unable to communicate with? Full of hostility?"

Dr. Yew and all the researchers looked up at him, bewildered and with a hint of bitterness, as if asking, "Isn't that right?"

Natsume did not answer directly, but slowly raised his hand, pointed to the lamp, then to the dangerous energy device, and finally his gaze fell on the heavy metal rings on their feet.

"You survive on dangerous technologies left by your predecessors that you can't fully understand, you imprison yourself on the ground because you can't adapt to the rules of this world, and you regard all the local inhabitants as incomprehensible monsters because of language barriers and physical differences..."

He paused, his gaze calmly sweeping over everyone.

"Is there a possibility?" His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"In the eyes of those 'villagers,' we were 'living people' who suddenly appeared, with 'solid' forms and strange behavior..."

"And who are the truly terrifying, incomprehensible, and needing-to-be-driven 'monsters'?"

The cellar was deathly silent.

Only the dangerous energy device continued to emit a low hum and occasional crackling sounds, with wisps of oily green mist seeping out.

Dr. Yew opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to refute, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

The other researchers looked at each other, their faces showing not fear, but a hint of bewilderment for the first time.
Natsume, observing their reactions, knew that the groundwork had been laid.

He took a step forward, his voice still steady:

"Perhaps what you lack is not just a way to leave here."

"It is not a 'bridge' that can truly communicate with the world."

His gaze returned to the dangerous energy device, his eyes deep and intense.

"And, someone who dared to step out of the cellar and get to know those 'villagers' in a different way."

Natsume scrutinized everyone.

If the Yew Tree team keeps holed up here, they will never get out.

Natsume's gaze subtly fell on the device.

(End of this chapter)