February 8th, Monday. Sunny.
With the Semifinals concluded, the Indigo Plateau Conference approached its final full battle.
Takao, a seeded contestant from Johto, had advanced to the Finals with a dominant 6-1 record.
Rumors suggested this well-traveled trainer already possessed the strength to compete in the Master League.
Forum discussions buzzed with anticipation.
A clash between him and Natsume-sensei would undoubtedly be legendary.
As hype built, group chat members began arriving at Indigo Plateau.
Under clear skies, the festival atmosphere grew electric—
Even boosting Green's struggling merchandise stand.
(Though Team Rocket's profits still dwarfed hers.)
Yet despite their earnings, the trio remained diligently... themselves.
In the bustling crowd, a sunglasses-and-mask-clad James sidled up to an unassuming passerby.
"Hey pal, interested in some premium cards?"
The pedestrian's companion—a brown-haired youth in purple—clicked his tongue in annoyance.
But the trainer himself accepted the pack.
"Put it on my tab."
"...Unbelievable."
The brunet tapped his phone with a beep.
James stared. Then gasped.
"Y-You two are—!"
But they'd already melted into the crowd, leaving only an aura of legend.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
"I CAN make better cards!" James declared, eyes blazing.
"Master Blue! Senior Red!"
An excitable teen in a blue jacket charged over, Pikachu perched on his shoulder.
"Long time," Red smiled, scratching Pikachu's chin.
"You too, Pikachu!"
"Pikachuuu~" It purred happily.
Blue gave a curt nod. "Everyone's at the Village. Let's go."
Contestant Village, Indigo Plateau
"Welcome to Professor Oak's Lecture Hour!"
Chairs circled the professor in a makeshift classroom.
"Question!"
The white-coated elder cleared his throat, rapping a blackboard.
"Excluding undiscovered egg groups, how many pure Flying-type Pokémon exist?"
"Gold." Professor Oak's gaze sharpened. "You're our egg group expert. Thoughts?"
"Pfft—I could name ten!" Gold counted on fingers. "Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Pidove—"
"Absolutely wrong!" Professor Oak rapped Gold's head with a rolled-up newspaper.
Natsume's lips twitched. "Those are all Normal/Flying dual-types, right?"
"Wait, seriously?" Gold's eyes bulged.
Crystal adjusted her round hat with a sigh. "I distinctly told you... Excluding undiscovered egg groups, only two pure Flying-types have been confirmed."
"Rookidee and Corvisquire, correct?"
The crimson-caped man crossed his arms. "Leon mentioned them during my Galar visit."
"Wow! As expected of Mr. Lance!" Yellow clapped enthusiastically.
From a nearby table, the red-haired Lorelei rested her chin on her palm:
"To think you all have time for such obscure trivia..."
"Looks like Auntie Lorelei didn't know either~" Gold whispered to Silver.
"..." Silver silently scooted his chair away.
"Gold." Lorelei smiled sweetly. "Lovely weather for a battle, don't you think?"
"Too bad the arena's already occupied."
Natsume glanced at his phone. "Red and Ash are going at it pretty hard."
Brock blinked. "Ash can hold his own against Red?"
"No restrictions."
"Ah. That explains it."
An awkward silence fell until Professor Oak cleared his throat.
"Regardless! Let's all cheer for Natsume to win the championship!"
"Isn't that biased coming from the tournament committee?!" Lance wiped his brow.
"It simply proves my judgment in selecting Pokédex holders!" Professor Oak chuckled.
Dexholders shared a unique magnetism—
Their devices even beeped when near each other.
More than tools, they symbolized their owners' convictions.
To Oak, both Natsume and Ash embodied that ideal.
Natsume pondered for a moment.
Doesn't this feel... rigged?
Also—
Wasn't this supposed to be my strategy meeting?
How did it turn into Professor Oak's trivia hour?
He massaged his temples while Sylveon squirmed in his lap.
Whatever. Prepping won't change anything anyway!
The group's Pokémon played nearby.
Gold's Togebo waddled desperately after Togepi, sweating bullets:
"Togepi!"
"Togepi doo-ee! ヾ"
The chaotic sprint sent other Pokémon scrambling.
One scratch, and Togebo might just Aura Sphere someone!
(Post-evolution, Togekiss retained tiny feet for tiptoeing—Normally elegant as a ballerina's pose.Gold's Togebo? Less so.)
"Pfft!" Gold snorted. "Togebo, you look ridiculous!"
"Togekiss! (╬◣д◢)"
Air Slash charged with murderous intent.
CRACK!
BOOOOM!
The explosion rattled the restaurant.
On the distant battlefield, Red paused mid-match, glancing back.
Why's there an explosion over there?
"Here I come, Senior Red!"
Ash's battle cry snapped his attention forward—
Just in time to dodge a tackle worthy of a rampaging Tauros.
Nearby, a certain purple-clad trainer's eye twitched.
Well. He's certainly mastered unrestricted battles...
...
The restaurant was in complete disarray.
Gold and Togebo were left to handle the cleanup.
Silver, Crystal, and Yellow stayed behind to help.
The rowdy group members, completely disregarding their status as Pokédex holders, wandered around aimlessly.
"What kind of field do you want for the Finals?" Lance asked casually before leaving.
Natsume: "Wait, I can actually choose that?!"
"Just kidding, haha! I'll be handing out the awards—good luck in the Finals!" Lance flew off on his Dragonite.
Natsume stared at the sky, watching the plump-bodied Dragonite, and scratched his head.
Dragonair was so elegant… shouldn't it have evolved into a Milotic?
How did it suddenly get so chubby?
After the day's chaos…
Everyone reported their experiences in the group chat.
Ash: "I pulled Senior Red's UR card! [Image]"
Gold: "Damn, that's sick!"
"Why didn't you come to my stand?!" Green grumbled through clenched teeth.
Yellow patted her overalls' pockets, pulled out her meager allowance, and blushed.
I'm gonna try my luck too!
Natsume grinned so wide his face might split.
Keep it coming—I love having a lucky magnet like you around, Ash!
Night fell.
Professor Oak turned in early, but the group chat remained active well past midnight.
Natsume lay on his pillow, staring at the ceiling in the dark, listening to the faint buzz of his phone.
A strange feeling settled over him.
You guys aren't actually here to cheer me on—you just came for a group vacation, didn't you?!
Couldn't sleep.
"Gengar, lights on!"
"Gengar~(￣▽￣)／"
It's only 1 AM… still early.
Natsume glanced at the gaming console in his room and sent a message to the ice cream avatar ID.
"Wanna play a round?"
"No."
Natsume was shocked: "???"
"Didn't want to disturb your rest."
"Don't worry, Gengar's handling things tomorrow."
"???"
After gleefully crushing Cynthia twice…
Cynthia smiled gently, her knuckles turning white, then decided to let it go.
She'd deal with him properly once he reached Sinnoh!
Satisfied, Natsume prepared to sleep.
Then, in the darkness, his phone screen lit up again.
An unknown number…
Natsume hesitated for a second before answering.
"Tomorrow's match."
The man's voice was rough and low, like amber whiskey, with the faint sound of a purring Persian in the background.
"Good luck."
Natsume froze for a long moment before realizing where he'd heard that voice before.
"Boss Giovanni?!"
But the call had already ended.
Natsume scoffed.
Father and son—both total tsunderes!
Then, it hit him. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
This is bad!
Even if it's a guaranteed win, with this much jinxing, I might actually lose!
"Even if it's just the Baby Cup, I should—"
Suddenly, Natsume locked eyes with the round, shadowy figure standing on the floor.
"Gengar?" The Gengar scratched its butt and grinned.
"Never mind…" Natsume chuckled helplessly.
Lately, he'd been too fixated on winning.
Letting the little ones enjoy the battle—that was the real reason he'd entered.
So, for the next match…
Natsume patted Gengar's head.
"Let's bring smiles through battle, Gengar!"
"Gengar! ヾ(≧∇≦*)ヾ"
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