Dawn broke over the forest. Dew clung to the leaves, and cold mist soaked in the morning light.
Natsume stepped out of the tent, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure lying by the campfire.
It was Jiaozi—her hair a mess, clearly having slept for a while. Frost sparkled on her eyelashes.
She seemed to be shivering from the cold and had curled tightly around a still-sleeping Misty, wrapped in a sleeping bag.
"Pii—ka."
Natsume followed the voice and spotted Pikachu under a nearby tree.
One little paw gripped a syringe, its tip aimed at Pikachu's tail. With the other paw, Pikachu held a cotton ball.
He braced the plunger against the tree trunk and slammed his tail into it.
"Pika-chu!"
In an instant, Pikachu jumped back, clutching his tail while pressing the cotton ball firmly against the injection site.
"Pikachu, your dose control is nearly perfect now. You're right on target with the theoretical value."
Natsume picked up the Steel Reagent and held it to the sunlight, reading the calibrated marks.
Not bad at all. Under the rigorous training of Natsume's forgetful "coaching," Pikachu had now learned to self-administer doses.
"Pika!"
Pikachu pointed angrily toward the campfire, where Jiaozi still slept soundly.
Apparently, she'd dozed off halfway through the night.
Worried about ending up with a steel butt, Pikachu hadn't dared sleep a wink since then.
He had injected himself every hour and even added firewood to the fire during the night.
"You're right, Pikachu. We should cover her with a blanket."
"Pika pii?"
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu waved furiously in protest at Natsume's shameless translation.
"Alright then, go check my tent—see if you can find her a blanket. I'll go look for Ash and the others."
Natsume gently patted Pikachu's ear.
"Pika!" Pikachu's eyes lit up with an idea and he dashed into Natsume's tent, rummaging around inside.
Natsume glanced at his Rotom Phone—just after 6:00 AM.
Normally, everyone got up around 8:00.
So Ash was probably still asleep…
Natsume paused, then shrugged—and made a video call instead.
Elsewhere, by a small river in a nearby village—
Two sleeping bags—one blue, one green—lay like caterpillars along the bank.
"Natsume, what are you doing! Natsume, what are you doing!"
A booming voice roared repeatedly.
"…Huh? Is that Professor Oak yelling?"
From inside one bag, Ash pushed aside the mushroom haircut lying on his forehead and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Must be dreaming…"
He flopped back down.
"Wait, Ash—this isn't a dream."
Next to him, Brock emerged from his sleeping bag, pointing at Ash's backpack.
"The sound's coming from in there."
"Huh?" Ash blinked, then rummaged through his pack until he found the source:
His Pokédex!
"Natsume, what are you doing! Natsume, what are you doing!"
On the screen, a huge image of Natsume's face accompanied Professor Oak's audio loop.
"It's… a video call?" Brock said, surprised. "Ash, I thought standard Pokédexes don't support video."
"I didn't know mine could do this either," Ash muttered, scratching his head as he tapped to answer.
Sure enough, Natsume appeared on screen, feeding a few logs into the fire.
"How about it, Ash? Pretty cool Pokédex I gave you, huh?"
"Wait—you gave it to us?" Ash caught the key word.
"Of course! I coded the software for the latest batch of Pallet Town Pokédexes. How's that?"
"Oh! That means Gary can video call me too!"
Ash's eyes lit up. Gary had mocked him relentlessly for not getting a starter Pokémon.
"Perfect! I'll video call him and show off my new partner—Bulbasaur!"
"Totally. Just check the instruction manual—all the Pallet Town trainers' contacts are in there."
"…Manual? What's that?" Ash blinked.
"The little booklet I gave you at the start."
"…Booklet…"
Ash thought for a second, but then Natsume added casually:
"Oh wait—I forgot to give them to you guys."
Ash: "…"
"Anyway, next time you see Gary, check his Pokédex. You'll find each other's numbers."
"Now hurry back—Pikachu needs you."
With that, Natsume ended the call.
That Charmander was abandoned along Route 24. If they didn't act soon, it might be too late.
They had already lost time at the Pokémon Research Academy.
If Natsume didn't get there in time and something happened… it'd be a disaster.
That Charmander—initially weak, underdeveloped, even small for its species—would go on to become one of Ash's most powerful teammates.
Natsume had a hunch. There was something system-worthy about it.
"Maybe under Ash's protagonist aura, Pokémon gain hidden potential. Right, System?"
[+1]
Natsume earned one Pokédollar. Nice.
"AHH!"
Suddenly, a shriek rang out behind him.
Natsume turned—and saw Jiaozi standing in horror, clutching the blanket wrapped around her.
It wasn't a blanket.
It was… an anatomical diagram of a Rhyperior.
"Pihihihi~"
Beside the tent, the mastermind was covering his mouth, giggling uncontrollably.
"Mr. Natsume, was that you?" Jiaozi asked, looking around. Other than Misty, now groggily waking up, only Natsume was tending the fire.
"Yeah." Natsume nodded, taking the blame for Pikachu's prank.
Ever since he'd given Jiaozi those ten "life's work" volumes, her attitude toward him had been… off.
In his original plan, Natsume intended to pressure her until their relationship soured, so she'd either quit or be easily dismissed at the end of the month.
This little prank—though done by Pikachu—might help lower her opinion of him.
Good. Lower affection is a win.
But then he looked at Jiaozi again—and paused.
Her fear was gone. In its place, a red blush had swept across her cheeks. Steam rose from her head like a boiling kettle—hotter than the actual fire in front of her.
Natsume: "…???"
"Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Natsume! I promise that while I continue my studies, I won't neglect my Pokémon's training either!"
With great care, she rolled up the Rhyperior diagram and gave Natsume a deep bow.
Natsume: "…"
At this point… her imagination alone might actually make her a decent researcher someday.
"Natsume-bro! We're back!"
Voices echoed from the trail—Ash and Brock had returned.
"Pika!"
Pikachu leapt to Ash's other shoulder.
"Natsume-bro, I caught a Bulbasaur!"
Ash excitedly pulled out a Poké Ball and released his new partner.
"Dream come true, huh?" Natsume clapped with a smile.
He remembered how, before his journey began, Ash would often help care for Pokémon at the lab.
Out of all of them, Bulbasaur had always been his favorite.
"Great timing! There's still some of the amazing meat stew I made yesterday—wait, where's my stew?"
Misty's puzzled voice called out—she was holding a pot.
An empty pot.
"Pikachu got hungry and snuck some last night," Natsume said, signaling frantically at Brock.
"Pika?"
Pikachu scratched his head—he was pretty sure Natsume had tossed that weird concoction into the bushes during the night.
Still, if Natsume was taking a hit for him…
He'd return the favor.
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu patted his belly, proudly declaring it was delicious.
"Really, Pikachu? I'll make you a batch just for you next time!" Misty beamed.
"Oh, Pikachu, you little glutton," Ash chuckled, rubbing his head.
"Aha! In that case, I'll make breakfast today!" Brock jumped in, having picked up on Natsume's cues.
"Great! Once we eat, let's head straight for Vermilion City!"
"Dummy, we're supposed to go to Route 24 first!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin