Pokémon: Who told him to come out of Pallet Town!

Chapter 30: The Blue Badge

"Middle parting, use discharge!"

"Um?"

On the shore, Natsume, who was fiddling with the Super Ball in his hand, looked up at the middle-parted hair on the foam board.

It actually learned how to discharge electricity; its middle-part hairstyle must be at least level 32.

Wow, no wonder he's a battle maniac; he can improve so quickly even with two Pikachus.

Level 30 and above... you'll need to build the third-tier Carnival Chair.

"Bang!"

Five minutes later, the man with the middle part landed gracefully, and the starfish opposite him was blasted away by a violent bolt of lightning, losing its ability to fight.

"Pi! Pi!?"

For some reason, even though he had won, the man with the middle part still felt a chill down his spine.

"Alright, let's go all out... What are you doing back here, you middle-parted hair?"

"Pikachu".

The guy with the middle parting yawned as he returned, high-fived Pikachu, and then stood on either side of Ash behind him.

"Okay, I understand..."

Xiao Zhi tugged at his hat with a hint of helplessness.

Natsume's Pikachu is too lazy. Unless Natsume forces it to, it will never fight continuously when asked to battle.

Even Pokémon need rest, so take it easy.

With his middle parted hair, he was well-versed in the art of health preservation. He pulled a small blanket out of Ash's backpack, rested his head on Pikachu's tail, and started snoring.

"Hmph, without your middle-part hairstyle and Pikachu, let's see how you win now!"

That's right, Misty throws another Poké Ball:

"Go, starfish!"

"just--"

A five-pointed starfish with a chest resembling an Ultraman timer appeared on the water's surface.

Starmie: Water/Psychic, the evolved form of Staryu, is a hermaphroditic Pokémon.

"The evolved form of Staryu, huh? In that case, let's go, Butterfree!"

Ash's voice rang out, and Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly, looking towards the battlefield.

"Rotom..."

Rotom understood and aimed at the Butterfly on the field:

【Bartholin, LV16】

After glancing at the general level of the giant butterfly, Natsume rubbed his temples.

I almost forgot, he also has a thesis proposal on the relationship between Pokémon's desire to evolve and their evolution level.

Oh well, there will be plenty of opportunities if I follow Xiaozhi.

The fact that the opponent has so many Pokémon that suddenly evolve during battles suggests that many of them are driven by the will to evolve due to the fighting spirit.

What Natsume finds regrettable is that a paper of this caliber, even if done well, would only be good enough to be published in a second-rate journal.

Moreover, he compiled Rotom's theories into an article and published it, and he didn't have any free time for a long time.

It is a pity that it is tasteless.

Thinking this, Natsume turned his gaze to the fallen Kogoro.

"Xiaogang, nurturing and research are inseparable. Are you interested in becoming a researcher?"

Natsume leaned closer, though his prediction was only at the level of being published in a second-rate journal.

However, if you've published a few articles in second-tier journals, getting a job at a municipal research institution will be a breeze.

"Oh, this..."

Xiao Gang glanced at Natsume, then quickly stood up and solemnly shook his head, saying:

"I only want to become a breeder, and my father is getting old. In a few years, I will have to go back to take over the dojo. I'm afraid I won't have the energy to become a researcher."

"I see..." Natsume looked down and then turned his gaze to the Super Ball in his hand.

Hmm... maybe he should take on a student?

Natsume felt he had a lot of inspiration, but most of it was neither here nor there, so he lacked the motivation to study it. It was just right to pass it on to his students.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the wall of the Cerulean Gym was smashed open, and a huge, tank-like machine roared in.

"It's the Rockets!"

Ash and Misty, who had just finished their battle, immediately became tense.

"To prevent the world from being destroyed..."

......

"Musashi!"

"Kojiro!"

"That damn researcher isn't here, is he, meow?"

"Meow, don't ruin our lines!"

Meow Meow took a punch on the head from Musashi.

"Meow, Musashi, don't..."

Before Meow Meow could speak, her body was absorbed into a burst of red light.

"Come back, meow!"

Natsume threw a red and white ball that hit Meow Meow perfectly, catching it inside.

Watching the red and white balls fall to the ground and shake, Kojiro and Musashi felt their minds go blank.

After a moment, the two realized what was happening and yelled at Natsume, who had thrown the ball:

"You brat! What are you doing?!"

"Meowth is a member of Team Rocket!"

"Huh?" Natsume shrugged. "I know, it's a wild Pokémon too."

"Finally out, meow!"

The red and white ball shook wildly, and Meow Meow suddenly darted out from inside.

The moment Natsume saw her, Meowth bristled and clung to Musashi's leg:

"Let's run away, meow!"

"Meow Meow, don't embolden others! Don't forget the purpose of our trip!"

Musashi grabbed the cat and pulled it off.

"That means we're going to rob all the Water-type Pokémon here and hand them over to Boss Giovanni!"

Kojiro pulled out a rose from somewhere and said wistfully.

"Yes, meow, start it now!"

As Miao Miao spoke, she pressed a button on the machine beneath her.

Soon, a huge pipe extended from the back of the machine and was inserted into the water pool in the battlefield, where it began to frantically suck up water.

"Oh no! Stop them!"

Just as Ash was about to grab the ball, Brock grabbed his shoulder from behind.

"Huh? What are they doing?"

"Apart from the Pokémon I'm using for the performance, the rest are at the Pokémon Center."

"So they're just sucking up water?"

The three Hua Lan sisters walked over.

"I feel like that thing is about to explode; it looks like it's made of very poor quality."

Xiaoxia, clutching her backpack, moved back a little in fear.

"Actually, this machine is not bad." Natsume looked at the water pumping tank under Team Rocket and couldn't help but think of the old water pipes and the stolen water pumping engine that he encountered this morning.

The Rockets have done a great job in less than a day, which shows they have a strong ability to get things done.

"What's wrong with you? You always encourage others." Xiaoxia glanced at Natsume.

Natsume didn't reply, but stared intently at Team Rocket.

Oops—how could he have forgotten about that mistress?

Judging from the anime, these three are extremely skilled in practical work; they're practically born with superhuman abilities!

"What...what is he doing staring at us, meow?"

Meow Meow's eyes kept glancing at Natsume, as if she had some kind of psychological trauma.

"Meow, something seems wrong, stop the machine quickly!"

Musashi and Kojiro also noticed something unusual about the pool; there didn't seem to be any Pokémon in it!

"Okay...okay, meow!"

Due to excessive tension, Miao Miao pressed the wrong button, and instead of stopping, the machine started pumping water at an even faster rate.

"Oh no, meow!"

"Bang!"

A loud roar rang out, the water tank exploded, and Team Rocket used Fly!

"Oh no! My bag is all soaked!"

"Ugh! I didn't wake you up... Natsume-nii, that guy with the middle parting bit me!"

"Strange, where did Natsume go?"

Xiao Gang noticed that Natsume seemed to have disappeared, but his attention, as if out of control, returned to the three Clarin sisters.

Cerulean City, outskirts.

Three people dressed as Inferno Monkeys are hanging from a tree branch.

"Meow, it's all your fault for pressing the wrong button!"

"What the hell, meow? It was clearly you, Kojiro, who connected the wrong pipes to the engine."

"Huh? Then why don't you mention Musashi? She didn't do anything!"

"What did you say! Who drew the design drawings?"

Musashi grabbed Kojiro by the collar and spat in his face.

In Kojiro's pupils, Musashi seemed to see a figure.

"Alright, stop rewarding him. Look at me."

Natsume's voice came from behind.

Looking back, a benevolent face bathed in holy light came into view.

"Would the three of you like to become my researchers?"