Even the principal had spent her days in fear while Jiaozi was still attending the Academy.
"So, what kind of 'Whip' are you?" Natsume leaned in curiously toward Jiaozi.
"Reporting to First President-sama! I am the fourth president—The Whip of God!" a voice from the crowd quickly responded.
"Huh. That's… quite a name."
Natsume nodded with a slightly amused expression.
He genuinely hadn't expected the club he casually founded back then to evolve into such a grand spectacle.
At this point, Jiaozis face was as red as a ripe cherry, and steam seemed to be rising from her head.
"You all—go back!"
Jiaozi stiffly raised her hand, pointing toward the academy building behind them.
"But President, why?"
"Surely this meeting between the First and Fourth President must be for some grand strategic decision!"
"If that's the case, then we really shouldn't be here…"
A murmuring wave of speculation rolled out, making Jiaozi even more embarrassed. She stood frozen, steaming like a broken processor.
Thankfully, despite all the murmuring, the members of the club still respected her authority and began backing away as ordered.
"You don't seem to get along with them too well?" Natsume raised a brow, glancing at the recovering Jiaozi.
"Hmph!" Jiaozi lifted her chin arrogantly.
"I only joined that so-called club to challenge the Academy's strongest. That's all!"
To be fair, despite the club's eccentric behavior, its members were actually among the top students in the Academy—nearly all were advanced-level trainers.
"And one more thing!" Jiaozi fixed her eyes on Natsume.
"I'm going to prove that theoretical calculation is far more important than brute-force battling. I've already defeated every single combat-style member of the Whip!"
Huh?
Natsume's brow raised slightly. The situation didn't quite match the mental image he had.
"So how did you become their Fourth President then?" he asked, shifting the topic.
Jiaozi froze, caught in a clearly awkward memory. Her face flushed bright red again.
It wasn't like she asked for it! Before she even had the chance to make some biting remarks, the members hoisted her up on the so-called "Throne of Inheritance" in a loud, chaotic show of celebration.
She had defeated the last president just that morning—and by that evening, news had spread across the campus: Jiaozi was the new leader of The Whip.
"…Let's not talk about that right now! Bottom line—I challenge you, Natsume, and once I win, I'm disbanding the Whip!"
"I object!"
Ash's voice boomed out.
"Everyone's having so much fun together, full of energy and loyalty! And now you want to disband it? What a joke!"
"Pika!"
"Pi!"
Even Middle-Part Pikachu—usually uninterested in worldly matters—started cheering him on.
"Hmph. And what gives you the right to lecture me, newbie? You've only got two Gym Badges."
Jiaozi looked away with an air of superiority, completely dismissing Ash.
"Well then."
Before Jiaozi could react, Natsume gently tapped her on the head.
"You and Ash. One-on-one battle. If you win, I'll accept your challenge."
"…Him? Really?"
Jiaozi glanced at Natsume, clearly unimpressed. Her voice turned threatening:
"You're a researcher, right? If you go back on this, I'll have my father buy out your entire lab!"
"Sure, no problem," Natsume nodded casually—and began wondering if he should preemptively sell the lab to drive the price up.
"I won't lose!"
Ash gave Natsume a confident thumbs-up.
Soon, the two stood on the Academy's battlefield.
"Let's go, Pikachu!"
Ash shouted.
Pikachu leapt into the field, sparks crackling around its cheeks as it stared cautiously at Jiaozi.
"I seriously don't get what kind of person picks a Pikachu as their starter…"
Jiaozi shook her head in disbelief.
"Let's not waste time. Go, Rhyperior!"
BOOM!
With a seismic thud, a massive Pokémon landed on the field, its rock-crusted arms flexing as it let out a deep roar.
[Rhyperior – Rock/Ground Type]
Drill Pokémon.
*The evolved form of Rhydon. It can load rocks into the holes in its hands and fire them using powerful muscle contractions.
"Ash, watch out! That Pokémon has the same typing as my Onix!"
Brock called out from the sidelines.
"I got it! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachuuuuuu!!"
Crackling lightning burst forward, striking Rhyperior directly—
—but the massive beast simply shrugged and scattered the electricity with a casual flick of its arm.
"Tch. Just as I thought. Clueless rookie."
Jiaozi scoffed, raising a hand.
"Rhyperior, use Earthquake!"
"Pikachu, jump!"
"Pika!!"
In a split second, Pikachu launched itself high into the air, dodging the quake that cracked the ground below.
"Let's go, Ash!"
Misty cheered—rarely on his side.
"Don't lose, Kō—OW!"
Tracey (now localized) was cut off mid-sentence as Misty grabbed him by the collar.
"Whose side are you on?!"
"Hmph." Jiaozi sniffed dismissively.
"Only weaklings need cheers from their teammates."
But before she could finish her gloating—
CLANG CLANG CLANG—BOOM!
A full-on brass band suddenly exploded behind her.
"Go, Fourth President!! You got this!!"
"Yo yo! Kid! No way you beat our President!"
Turning around, she saw that the same eighteen club members had returned—with drums, horns, maracas, even freestyle rapping.
Jiaozi froze. Her knuckles turned white. Another bright red flush crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks.
"Wow, looks like you've got a deep bond with your club," Ash said with a grin.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"I DO NOT HAVE A BOND WITH THEM!"
Despite yelling, Jiaozi quickly switched into battle mode.
"Rhyperior, dodge it!"
But Pikachu's speed was too fast—CRACK!!
Its Iron Tail slammed straight into Rhyperior.
A loud boom and a cloud of dust followed. Jiaozi's expression remained calm.
"Steel-type moves are strong against my Pokémon, sure, but Rhyperior has the Solid Rock ability!"
"What's that?" Misty turned to Brock.
"Solid Rock weakens super-effective moves."
"Huh? Then Ash is at a disadvantage!"
"Don't worry. Pikachu's Iron Tail has been upgraded—thanks to Natsume."
As the dust settled, Pikachu's tail was lodged between Rhyperior's shoulder plates.
"Just give up. My Rhyperior still needs energy to battle Natsume," Jiaozi said, glancing at Natsume with hope—
—only to see him crouched off to the side, engrossed in sanding a Great Ball with a file.
"…Natsume?"
"Pika!!"
Pikachu's cry snapped her back to the fight. Its tail sparked with golden electricity—then BOOM, the Iron Tail landed with enhanced force!
"Rhyperior!"
The massive Pokémon staggered, dropping to one knee.
Jiaozi's eyes widened.
"How is your Pikachu maintaining Iron Tail continuously!?"
She hadn't realized until now—Pikachu's tail had been glowing with a strange aura this entire time.
But it wasn't just Iron Tail anymore…
Sparks of gold electricity and dark metallic energy crackled along the tail's edge, thickening it until it looked like a giant sword strapped to Pikachu's back.
"This is it!"
Ash grinned.
"Pikachu, you've finally mastered the Steel-Alloy Tail Natsume taught us!"
"Pika!!"
Pikachu nodded with pride.
"Pi…"
Middle-Part Pikachu curled up with mixed emotions.
So cool.
But… the training was hell.
It silently tucked itself into its blanket.
"Not doing it. Not in this lifetime. I'll just live off my trainer like a good freeloader."
"…Natsume?"
Jiaozi caught the name and turned back to Ash in disbelief.
"I don't care who trained him! Type advantage is type advantage!"
"Rhyperior, Stone Edge!"
With a roar, jagged rocks exploded from the ground and flew toward Pikachu in all directions.
"Pikachu, use Thunderblade Tail Form!"
Ash shouted another term Jiaozi had never heard before.
"Pika!"
Eyes narrowed, Pikachu moved.
Its whole body flowed like a leaf in the wind, led by the enormous glowing tail. It twisted and slipped through the wall of stones with dancer-like grace.
"No way!"
Jiaozi gasped.
"Even agility-trained Pikachu shouldn't be able to—"
Before she could finish, Pikachu leapt above Rhyperior's head.
"Now! Thundersteel Slash!"
Thunder surged down the enlarged sword-tail—
CRACK!!
The Thundersteel Slash struck squarely between Rhyperior's horns.
It's super effective!
Natsume finally glanced up from his Great Ball.
[Thundersteel Slash — Electric + Steel / Physical]
Power: 150 / Accuracy: 90 / PP: 10 / Priority: 0
Electric and Steel, huh?
So it's possible to give a move dual types...
Even though all known moves in the Pokémon world were single-typed, Natsume had once seen those flamboyant move combos in Contest battles and had begun theorizing about dual-typed skills.
Looks like he was right.
Of course, it required some minor biological modifications to the Pokémon…
Which was taboo.
In fact, anything close to "Pokémon modification" was immediately labeled as evil science.
But Natsume didn't see it that way.
Technology isn't good or evil—people are.
As long as you stick to your principles, science can do a world of good for Pokémon and people alike.
Take Magneton, for example. If it lost its magnetic balance but still generated electricity, he could restore it with this exact principle.
Most importantly—
He just scored another publishable breakthrough.
If only he had more time and energy to write all this up…