By the roadside, thin wisps of cooking smoke curled into the air as three people took a rest break.
"Mr. Natsume, why does the Steel Reagent require magnetite powder + Oran Berry extract as the base?"
"I dunno. Go read my notes."
"Mr. Natsume, what's the function of 0.3 karats of Thunder Stone fragments per dose?"
"How should I know?"
"Mr. Natsume, what exactly is this energy carrier compound?"
"Told you—check my book."
"Seriously, how can he treat such an eager learner like this?" Misty sighed as she stirred the soup pot, face in her hands.
Not far away, Natsume rubbed his forehead and glanced at Jiaozi.
"I gave you a clear task: 'How a Pokémon's willingness to evolve affects its actual evolution level.'"
"I finished most of today's section already."
Jiaozi held in her hands a huge, coverless tome and was frantically flipping through the pages.
Natsume suddenly regretted giving her a probationary internship.
Her learning ability far exceeded his expectations.
But even so, he didn't want a zero-experience assistant—it was too much of a hassle.
These past few days, Jiaozi had been clinging to him like a ghost, constantly asking questions. He hadn't had any time to work on his Super Ball circuitry project.
Fed up, Natsume compiled his years of research, important notes, and annotated materials into a collection and tossed them all at Jiaozi in one go.
Whatever. At most, this will last a month.
The topic he assigned her wasn't one that could ever be accepted by a top-tier journal. Its ceiling was too low.
So, in a month's time, he could legitimately kick her out.
"Mr. Natsume, you're amazing!" came Jiaozi's heated gaze from nearby.
In just three days, she had realized the book Natsume gave her was nothing short of a Pokémon research encyclopedia.
And more impressively—it wasn't just one book. He gave her nine of them!
Even more shocking? Natsume wrote them all himself.
Beyond the "General Knowledge of Pokémon" volume in her hands, the others were filled with years of Natsume's insights, methodologies, and rare experimental data.
Some of the research topics in those books were downright breathtaking.
And especially those seemingly nonsensical problems—after reading Natsume's explanations, they revealed an ingenious clarity.
For someone like Jiaozi who held theory in the highest regard, these books weren't just materials—they were scripture.
Through them, she saw the deity of theory.
And she would be his most devout follower!
Feeling the intensity of his intern's stare, Natsume silently reached over and pressed her head back down toward the book.
"Don't call me 'teacher.' You're an intern assistant now."
Natsume always found it weird when someone barely a year younger than him called him teacher.
As one of Professor Oak's assistants, even among researchers, they rarely used mentor-student titles.
Research was more of a collaborative field.
I teach you things. You help me get stuff done.
"Okay, Mr. Natsume! I'll do my best!"
Jiaozi lit up with joy. Steam practically rose from her head.
You're blushing like a teapot, Natsume thought.
He'd noticed the way her attitude had changed these past few days.
Looks like standard adolescent fan-crazed behavior...
Even though Jiaozi had long met the graduation requirements, she probably stayed at the academy too long. Her mental age still seemed stuck in her teenage years.
This was a crucial developmental stage—a time for rapid emotional growth, and proper psychological guidance!
So Natsume made a mental note: Take more embarrassing photos to send her later when she's normal again.
"Dinner's ready!"
Misty called out, carrying over a pot of steaming soup.
"Thanks, Misty. By the way, have Brock and Ash come back yet?"
"Nope. Who knows what they're doing... Ash can be so—ugh."
Misty shook her head in frustration. They were on the way to Vermilion City, but on the road, Ash had spotted a Bulbasaur.
He shouted something about it being his dream Pokémon and ran off after it. Brock had gone with him just in case—but neither had returned.
"Wait—Pikachu's back!"
Misty spotted a yellow figure running toward them.
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu thumped its chest proudly, as if to say: Don't worry—they're fine!
"You three are lucky, you know—getting to try my cooking!" Misty said proudly as she ladled meat soup for the two humans and one Pikachu.
Natsume took his bowl and, without even looking, slurped a mouthful.
"WHUMP!"
Natsume collapsed to the ground.
"Ahh! Mr. Natsume, do you need CPR!? I saw a tutorial just the other day!"
Natsume suddenly shot upright.
Hmm… my poison resistance may have just increased by 0.1 IQ points?
In that case, this stuff really was a rare ingredient.
He stared intently at the bubbling, purple, suspicious-looking soup in his bowl.
"Pika—"
After the meal, Pikachu trotted over to Natsume and lifted its tail.
Coach, time for the dose!
"Mr. Natsume, can I do it this time? Please?"
Jiaozi suddenly appeared, clinging to his arm and pleading with big, sparkling eyes.
"Stop pawing at me."
Natsume swatted her hand away and handed her a syringe and vial.
"You said it. From now on, injections are your job."
"Okay! No problem!"
She missed the brief glint in his eyes.
"Mr. Natsume, why do you inject the Steel Reagent at the second coccygeal vertebra?"
As she worked, Jiaozi continued her questioning.
"Because from the third vertebra onward, the current pathway starts to clog," Natsume replied—this time, without deflecting her to the books.
While the injection was technically simple, doing it wrong could cause... well, some pretty serious side effects.
"Why not inject at the first vertebra, then? Doesn't it have an even better current flow?"
Jiaozi didn't just nod along—she questioned him.
"You already finished the Comprehensive Guide to Pikachu?" Natsume looked at her in surprise.
Guess your parents named you right, he thought.
"Well, you can try injecting at the first vertebra. That way Pikachu will end up with a steel butt."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Pikachu, tail already in hand, snapped to attention—clutching its rear, eyes full of suspicion.
"Pika pika!!"
He protested loudly, clearly demanding that Natsume do the injection himself.
"Don't worry, Pikachu. Jiaozi may not have experience," Natsume said, patting Pikachu's ears with a grin.
"But then again, I didn't either when I started."
"Pi?!"
"Alright, Jiaozi—remember this. For a safe injection of the Steel Reagent, it must be divided into 24 doses, one every hour."
Natsume yawned as he gave his instructions.
"That sounds exhausting…" Jiaozi looked thoughtfully at the syringe in her hand.
"If that's too much for you, you're not cut out for this line of work."
Natsume used Sharp Gaze!
He glanced at the sky—it looked like Ash and Brock weren't coming back tonight. Pikachu probably just returned to report they were safe.
Might as well get some rest. We'll regroup tomorrow.
If Natsume remembered correctly, this should be the episode where Ash catches Bulbasaur.
Shouldn't be a special one.
He wondered if the abandoned Charmander would show up soon…
Natsume pulled out his inflatable tent, crawled inside, and got comfy for the night.
But no sooner had he lain down than a voice called out from outside:
"Mr. Natsume, I want to sleep in the tent too! Even if I don't sleep well, I want to be energized tomorrow!"
Outside, Jiaozi peeked her head inside.
After a long pause… she slowly pulled her head back out, expressionless.
Forget it. In a place like this, she didn't dare close her eyes.