Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 603 Wu Li Returns, A Desolate Village
A few days later, while inspecting the expanded and massive factory, Natsume gradually noticed some strange phenomena.

Beside the assembly line, villagers actually got into a dispute over who should "start work" first.

"I'm an old person, you should give way to me!"

"You've been working for three days straight! It's time to let me have a turn!"

"You young people should just go home and lie down!"

"No! I feel I can dedicate one more day to the factory! I...I love my job!"

Several villagers who should have been resting during their shift clung tightly to the conveyor belt railing and refused to get down.

Especially that old man, even though his shift was over, he insisted on continuing to work.

The tense atmosphere only subsided when Natsume appeared.

"Boss! We're willing to work overtime! Really! We...we can't stay idle!"

Talebagos perched on Natsume's shoulder, its beady eyes filled with confusion:

"Are they... are they mentally unstable?"

Natsume's brows furrowed slightly beneath the mask.

He approached discreetly, amplifying his telekinetic perception.

They observed the changes in each villager's condition before and after passing through the platinum beads with greater care.

A few days later, through continuous observation and energy sensing, he finally discovered the key.

"I see."

Natsume talks to himself.

He watched as an old miner, who had been coughing incessantly, suddenly became breathing steadily and smoothly after a "job," and a knowing glint flashed in his eyes.

Everything in this world is made up of Giratina's energy.

Things that Natsume damages, such as rocks and soil, will quickly recover after a period of time.

This is Giratina feeding energy into the reverse world.

Aside from non-living entities, these living entities are also composed of energy within the other party's body, but in a different way, which Natsume cannot discern at the moment.

The Giratina energy within these life forms will dissipate over time, slowly losing its original properties, much like it has deteriorated.

Similar to aging in the real world.

But it's not quite the same as aging, because ultimately, they are just energy bodies.

As long as decaying energy is continuously eliminated and new energy is replenished, there will be almost no aging.
Replenishing its energy, the Giratina continues to operate spontaneously.

All that's left is figuring out how to expel the decaying energy from the body.

Now, Natsume's ability to extract energy from his body's "workstation" perfectly fills this gap.

The older, weaker, and more injured a person is, the more they crave the comfort and improvement brought about by this "blood transfusion".

This has led to an even greater rush to take on the task, with some even willing to "work overtime without pay."

"This is no different from being reborn!"

Natsume carefully scanned the area and discovered that many locals were even more "dead" than before after the two-week construction period!

Having figured out the reason, Natsume stopped interfering.

He even extended the production line again, improving the efficiency of "on-the-job" operations.

There was nothing he could do; he felt that the main world within him was like a bottomless pit that could never be satisfied.

As the number of people increased, Natsume now has to collect the Giratina energy from the platinum beads every half hour.

Despite having dozens of beads injected into his body every day, Natsume's main world remained largely unchanged.

The grayish-white gas was rising, while the oily-green gas continued to sink.
"Wow, where did you take all that energy?!"

The little turtle came crawling over.

As the factory expanded, Natsume finally had a change of heart and decided to use four masks, along with a simple device, to precisely control the size of the channel, thereby controlling the suction force.

Finally, we don't need it to act as a "buffer" all the time anymore.

"How do you feel when you absorb it?"

Natsume didn't answer, but instead asked about the little turtle that had also absorbed Giratina.

"Feelings?"

Talebagos stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"I feel that I have a better balance of the eighteen attributes than before."

"If I go back now, I'm sure I can achieve the goals I didn't get to!"

Talebagos stood tall and proud.

It can go back by walking.

However, Natsume stopped him, saying that if they were to leave, they would leave together, and that the one who left first was a bastard.

It's definitely not a turtle.

It must be Natsume.

Talebagos stayed. Of course, that was only a secondary reason.

Wandering through many worlds, Taleborgs relied on nothing more than an incredibly curious heart.

At this moment, it was incredibly curious about what was happening to Natsume.

How could anyone eat even more than it?
One afternoon, after this vigorous "production" and "filling" had been going on for about three weeks—

At the desolate entrance of Green Emerald Town, a staggering figure drifted by.

It's a black chestnut!
He was dressed in rags, his face haggard but his eyes burning, accompanied by a female trainer with a sharp aura, dressed in Unova region attire.

He looked toward the village, clenched his fists, and his eyes burned with a resolute flame.

"Folks, hang in there a little longer. I've brought back some help, this time for sure!"

The trainer beside him nodded slightly, his gaze calm and focused, already in a state of combat readiness.

She could feel the determination of the boy beside her to save their home at all costs.

The two of them strode confidently into Green Town.

Then, they both stopped in their tracks.

Dead silence.

An unprecedented, suffocating silence enveloped the entire village.

There was no smoke from cooking fires, no lights, no children playing, and no villagers talking.
Even the ghost Pokémon that always seemed to appear and disappear elusively vanished without a trace.

The streets were deserted, and a thin layer of dust covered the cold stone pavement.

The doors and windows of the houses on both sides were tightly closed, and many doors even had rusty locks on them, as if the owners had been gone for a long time.

A cold, drafty breeze swept through, swirling up a few withered leaves and making a rustling sound, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

"What's going on?"

The hope and determination on Wu Li's face froze instantly, replaced by a profound unease.
"Where is everyone? Where did everyone go?!"

He staggered toward the nearest house and pounded on the door.

"Open the door! It's me! Wu Li!"

There was no response from inside the door, only an empty echo.

He rushed to another house, his voice filled with panic:
"Teruno, Teruno, are you home?!"

There was still only deathly silence.

One house after another. All the houses were empty, as if the entire village had vanished overnight.

Wu Li's face grew paler and paler, and his breathing became rapid.

He ran and shouted frantically through the village, but received no response.

Fear, like cold vines, quickly coiled around his heart, tightening ever more.

"Sister, yes, sister!"

As if he had just remembered something, he frantically drifted towards his home.

The female trainer followed silently behind him, her sharp gaze sweeping over the dusty doors and windows and the desolate courtyard.

Her brows furrowed more and more, and her expression gradually darkened.

Finally, Wu Li collapsed helplessly to the ground in front of her house, clutching her hair tightly with both hands, her body trembling slightly with fear and despair.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

He muttered to himself, his voice broken.

"I've only been gone for three weeks, and everyone... has been... bothered by that 'person'?"

That most terrifying conjecture almost consumed him.

A warm and steady hand gently pressed on his trembling shoulder.

It was that trainer.

She crouched down, looking directly at Wu Li, her eyes filled with a barely perceptible pity, but more so with a warrior-like solemnity.

“Wu Li,” she said in a low, calm voice, trying to soothe the boy’s teetering emotions.

"Calm down. Grief and panic won't solve anything right now."

She looked around the desolate, seemingly abandoned village and continued, her voice heavy:
"If what you say is true, then all of this was done by that 'person'."

The female trainer's voice turned cold and firm.

"Then the heinousness of his actions far exceeded our initial imagination."

"This is no longer slavery, but an act that is close to extermination."

"We must act now."

The female trainer stood up, placed her hand on the Ultra Ball at her waist, and exuded an imposing aura.

"No matter how powerful he is, he must pay the price for his crimes."

(End of this chapter)