With the arrival of the Lunar New Year and following Touran's holiday schedule,
Natsume-sensei shamelessly entered full-time slacking mode.
Cynthia, ever the dutiful partner, stayed in Kanto with him for two days.
At least, that was how Natsume saw it in his mind.
In reality, apart from some... benefits on New Year's Eve after their long separation,
Their daily routine had returned to:
Listening to shower sounds during meals
Lucario standing guard outside the bathroom
"Dammit... I didn't even get a proper look last time!" Natsume glared at Sirfetch'd.
"Sirfetch'd! " Sirfetch'd wisely kept silent.
How is this my fault?!
Still, after the "Affection Level UP" incident, their interactions had become more relaxed.
Natsume no longer needed to go easy on her in battles.
"3:0."
Natsume set down the controller, grinning at the "WIN" on-screen.
"Want to try again with a Perish Song team?"
A chilling gaze cut through him.
Cynthia, seated cross-legged on the carpet with her black hair accessory, tightened her grip on her controller and smiled sweetly:"Or... would you prefer a real match at Saffron Gym?"
"Garchomp!" Garchomp brandished its twin scythes, eyes gleaming. Absolutely!
Ever since the Galar trip, when Natsume revealed his true strength to Cynthia,
She no longer worried about losing to him.
If he could predict her every move... then she'd just overpower him with raw levels!
The golden-haired beauty's gentle smile contrasted with the dark aura rising behind her.
Natsume & Gengar: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
"O-One more round! I'll switch teams!"
"Don't you dare hold back~"
Thirty minutes later...
Natsume wiped his sweat and sighed in relief.
"2:3... A close loss!"
"Mmm~" Cynthia hummed triumphantly.
That afternoon,
They ate ice cream on the couch while watching movies.
Rotom, reluctantly serving as a projector, clung to the wall.
"Good work, little Rotom," Natsume said solemnly.
"System Overload, Rotom! o(TヘTo)"
The holidays flew by.
In faraway Sinnoh, Lucian pushed up his glasses with trembling hands after finishing a mountain of paperwork.
"...Wait, I'm the Sinnoh Champion now?"
Meanwhile, the long-awaited Pokémon LEGENDS officially launched on all platforms.
On February 14th—Valentine's Day—
Red challenged Blue Oak to yet another duel at Mt. Silver.
Yellow waited outside Pallet Town with Pikachu, nearly turning into a statue.
"Senior Red! "
Gold helped Crystal at the Trainer School,
Joined later by Silver for an impromptu performance for the kids.
"Hey, I'm the hero who saved Johto!" Gold boasted, wiping his nose.
"Big Brother is so cool!" The kids' eyes sparkled.
Silver: "...Idiot."
"Wanna say that to my face?!"
Crystal stood helplessly on the sidelines.
The only couple in the group chat, Sapphire hugged Ruby and uploaded a selfie to the group album.
Lorelei: "Can we kick out the couple showing off?"
Brock squinted: "Another day spent with the younger siblings…"
Lance sighed, joining in: "Another day of overtime arresting criminals."
Steven wiped his forehead and smiled: "I'm mining. Anyone wanna join?"
"Didn't Master Wallace have free time today?" Ruby teased.
"Oh, right! I dragged him along!" Steven laughed brightly.
For teachers Roxanne and Erika, today wasn't particularly special.
Except that the perfume shop's sales had skyrocketed. Erika even hummed a tune during class.
Old Man Wattson, struggling to keep up with the youngsters, scratched his head before suddenly perking up:
"@Gold, quit cuddling with your girlfriend! Natsume-sensei's new game is live—get online now!"
Gold: "On my way!"
Natsume's activity for the day was playing cards with Cynthia at home.
"648 Pokémon Coins is so expensive…" Cynthia lay on the sofa, propping her chin on her hand as she lazily scrolled through her tablet.
"That's expensive to you?"
Cynthia shot him a look. "You'll gift it to me?"
"Done!" Natsume declared grandly.
"!"
Somehow, she's so easily pleased…
Natsume wiped his sweat.
A few million Pokémon Coins was pocket change, yet she hesitated over microtransactions…
No, wait—that's just being frugal!
"Togepi, lend me your finger~!" Cynthia called out.
"Togepi doo-eeヽ(￣▽￣)ノ" (Here I come)
Togepi scampered over, hopping into Cynthia's arms to help her open the card pack.
[Whoa, a golden legendary!]
"Thanks, Togepi~!" Cynthia smiled.
"Togepi doo-ee~(′▽｀)"
Natsume's eye twitched as he left the bizarrely cheerful living room.
He yanked Rotom, who was floating mid-air, and used it as a tablet.
"Connect to the company database and check the sales figures. Thanks, little Rotom~"
"Beep…System Overload, Rotom! o(TヘTo)"
But Rotom obediently opened the browser anyway.
On major platforms, reviews for Pokémon Company's new game were mixed.
Compared to previous single-player titles that scored at least 9/10, this one hovered around 7–7.5—barely passable.
"Too pay-to-win! My pack was all commons!"
"It combines the pros and cons of trading card games but lacks innovation."
"Whatever. You give me UR, I give you money. Simple!"
Of course, compared to physical TCG collecting, the digital version was far cheaper.
With an online release, multiplayer battles became more accessible, expanding the game's reach.
Natsume had expected the polarized reception.
But trading cards were inherently monetization-heavy. His real goal was funding his next project: Pokémon: FireRed.
For this classic RPG, Natsume could easily secure collaborations with Kanto's Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and even the villainous Boss Giovanni.
Licensing and likeness rights—usually the biggest hurdles—were trivial for Natsume.
With approval from the group's heavyweights, reputation and hype would follow naturally.
"The real priority is promoting physical card sales."
Rotom's screen lit up with Oleana's report.
"The Sinnoh expansion pack is a hit. Unova and Kalos expansions are in development."
Natsume gazed upward.
Before heading to Sinnoh, he'd finally built some wealth.
But compared to Giovanni's Silph Co., Rose's Macro Cosmos, or Lusamine's Aether Foundation…
He still had a long way to go.
Natsume, even the villains are richer than you! How can you, the behind-the-scenes mentor (traitor?), afford to slack off?
"Also, the ranked mode is in testing. The first top-ranked player has emerged."
"Who grinds that hard?" Natsume blinked.
"They didn't even sleep on launch day?"
"Well… according to the registered name,"
Oleana hesitated for a moment.
"It's Tobias from the Sinnoh Region."
(Note: Tobias is based on the 2009 Pokémon TCG World Champion, whose deck featured 'Darkrai' cards.)
...
Sinnoh, Canalave City, Newmoon Island
"Sir, are you really heading to that island?"
The sailor trembled as he stared at the mysterious man in a cape, his long gray hair flowing ominously.
"From what I've heard, the people there suffer from endless nightmares every night!"
Tobias—his hair swaying dramatically—flipped his locks and subtly revealed a Poké Ball beneath his cloak.
"Just steer the boat. I'll handle the rest."
"Y-You're a Pokémon Trainer!" The sailor's eyes widened.
"Are you going to Newmoon Island to catch that nightmare monster?!"
"Hmph." Tobias smirked coldly, saying nothing more.
"Thank goodness!" The sailor grabbed the wheel eagerly. "I'll take you there right away!"
Newmoon Island
The gloomy, silent island rustled with the sound of leaves.
Tobias arrived at the lone village, where the residents, hollow-eyed from sleepless nights, huddled in fear.
"Y-You're here to catch Darkrai?" The village chief, leaning heavily on his cane, begged:
"Please… you have to save our town!"
"I've heard…"
Tobias paused, then continued: "You possess an extremely rare 'Darkrai' card."
"Let's duel for it." His gaze sharpened.
The chief's weary eyes suddenly gleamed with determination as he tossed his cane aside.
"I'm the strongest player in this village!"
Hidden in the shadows, Darkrai stared blankly.
…Wait, he's not here to catch me?
Being ignored like this hurts my pride!
Should I just fight him instead?
The world's most disrespected Darkrai watched Tobias, completely absorbed in his card game with the chief, and fell deep into thought…
...
"Tobias?"
Natsume blinked in surprise.
That's Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon man!
Though the character was officially based on a TCG champion…
Remembering Tobias's fabulous, windswept hair, Natsume suddenly understood.
Ohhh, so that's why!
Regardless, Pokémon LEGENDS was a massive commercial success.
Gold and Wattson spent Valentine's Day pulling an all-nighter, theory-crafting ranked decks.
Steven, however, showed little interest in the new game.
Gold Miners' Longest Playtime Record Holder · Grinding King · Steven smirked to himself.
If I joined, first place would be mine in no time!
Promotions were left to Oleana and Rotom.
As for Pokémon: FireRed, Natsume planned to consult the big shots after his break.
The moment he received his share of the profits, his first move was—
Paying Rotom's annual electric bill upfront. "Eat as much as you want!" he declared.
"All hail, Rotom! ヽ(≧▽≦)?"
The reception for Pokémon LEGENDS remained divisive—players loved and hated it in equal measure.
"Let's sacrifice a dev for good luck!"
"What, the dev is Rotom?!"
"Damn it, Natsume-sensei! All ten of my packs were trash!"
Amid the chaos, Natsume's vacation finally came to an end.
Cynthia stretched lazily. "Time to go relieve Lucian."
"Wait, you weren't even on leave?!"
"Nope."
"Classic Cynthia move!"
Suddenly, Rotom buzzed. "Beep! Incoming call, Rotom!"
The Trio? Natsume checked the screen. "What's wrong?"
"Executive, save us! (｀Д｀)" they wailed.
"We're trapped in the pyramid near Pewter City!"
"It's so dark, so scary—hate this feeling!"
"Wobbuffet!"
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