"Ancient ruins are damp and slippery. Water stains are normal." Natsume said.
"GengarGengar! (⊙~⊙)"* Gengar nodded vigorously, licking its lips for good measure.
Carolina gave them a suspicious look before examining the cube-shaped [Spear Key], muttering:
"Whatever… shouldn't affect research."
"Do you know its origins?" Cynthia asked curiously.
"Need to analyze its composition first."
Carolina adjusted her reading glasses. "Legends say ancient civilizations mastered borrowing divine power… This might be tied to those myths."
Cynthia's eyes widened slightly. "Borrowing… divine power?"
Carolina pushed her glasses up, gaze distant.
"Sinnoh once had a kingdom called Michina. Its king supposedly wielded Arceus' power."
"Then there's time, space, and the abyss—the three lake guardians…"
Her voice lowered. "A triangle is the most stable structure… and the most intriguing aspect of Sinnoh's legends."
Cynthia crossed her arms, resting a hand on her chin. Her gray eyes narrowed in thought.
"Ah, I see!"
Natsume nodded sagely, wearing an "I totally understand" expression.
"You actually followed that?" Cynthia and Carolina spoke in unison.
Natsume froze—like a slacker caught dozing off.
Truthfully, he did recall Sinnoh's legendary trio from movies.
Time and space dragons, Giratina, Arceus… It matched Carolina's explanation.
But explaining that wasn't an option.
"Got it." He coughed into his fist. "Mostly."
"Right."
Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. "Ancient civilizations are your specialty."
"Ho!"
This was the first time Carolina heard her granddaughter praise someone so highly. She chuckled.
"Natsume, let me study this for a while."
Natsume had expected this—fewer flags meant fewer disasters. "Be my guest!"
Carolina's approval grew. "While I research, you can stay here with Cynthia—"
"Huh?!" They both blurted out.
Carolina tapped her cane. "Objections?"
Cynthia stiffened, glancing at Natsume. "But I need to return to the Sinnoh League…"
"Three days. That's all."
Carolina waved a hand. "Enough time to crack this thing's secrets!"
Natsume's brow twitched.
His eyes met Cynthia's—her gaze flickered with embarrassment, warning, and something else.
They were already under the same roof.
But this "living together" suddenly felt… different.
Was… was her grandmother approving of him already?
Cynthia bit her lip, torn between relief and fluster.
Meanwhile, Natsume smoothly chatted up Carolina.
"Your academic reputation precedes you. Professor Oak often mentions your work."
"Oh? Samuel always did have taste!"
"By the way, heated Moomoo Milk tastes better. I've got some recipe ideas…"
"Ohohoho! Next time Cynthia's out, I'll show you her room—"
"Grandmother!" Cynthia's voice sharpened.
"Fine, fine."
Carolina took the [Spear Key], storing it in a case. She turned to Natsume.
"Cynthia and I need to talk. You should wash up and rest."
Natsume nodded. Reunions warranted private chats.
As he headed outside for air, Carolina added:
"This artifact affects spatial energy—it's incredibly rare."
"As compensation, you may train near the Lustrous and Adamant Orbs while I study."
She smirked at Cynthia. "Though I doubt you need my training advice."
Natsume: ???
Losing the [Spear Key] gained him access to two legendary orbs?!
Three days might be enough for his team to—
"Gengar! (`▽′)"
Gengar pumped its fists.
Leave the training to me!
"I'll assist too." Cynthia smiled. "To prevent… accidents."
Private lessons from a Champion and legendary artifacts?
Natsume paled.
Next thing he knew, Gengar would spam Spacial Rend and bankrupt the Pokémon Company!
Worse—this wasn't just for Gengar.
Cynthia seemed intent on tutoring his entire team.
Et tu, Moe-Moe?!
Sweating, Natsume stammered:
"Professor, your expertise is compensation enough—"
"Nonsense! Every day counts for a trainer."
Carolina frowned. "Three days of lost training must be repaid."
Suddenly, she leaned in. "Relax. As long as you don't remove the orbs, training near them is safe."
"And if I do?"
"Research accidents happen." Carolina shrugged. "Cynthia can write your apology letter."
"Grandmother!"
"Kidding." Carolina sobered. "Use these three days wisely."
Her eyes gleamed. "Cynthia's quite strong, you know."
The unspoken message: "Catch up to her."
But Natsume had already confessed—he sought bonds, not power.
Still, he couldn't refuse her kindness.
With a sigh, he turned to Gengar.
"Pace yourselves. No overtraining!"
"Gengar~ " Touched, Gengar licked him.
Paralysis inflicted!
As Cynthia sighed (and Carolina gaped), Natsume ate a Johto Rage Candy Bar to cure it.
Cynthia blinked. "New flavor today?"
"Mmm… (￣～￣)" Natsume chewed. "Gengar's got extras. Want one?"
"Sure!"
"You two—"
Carolina's cane thwacked the floor.
"Stop ignoring me!"
...
The clock struck half past ten.
The sight of the [Spear Key] ignited Carolina's scholarly passion, and she promptly dragged her granddaughter to the adjacent research institute to begin analysis.
Cynthia was equally enthusiastic.
For the paper she was co-authoring with Natsume—
The unearthing of the [Spear Key] provided yet another invaluable case study!
Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of the impending crisis, Natsume stepped out of the house.
He took in the slightly damp night air, gazing up at the star-studded sky.
Too early to sleep.
Unlike bustling Saffron City, the small town had already fallen into silence by ten.
The thought of Moe-Moe personally overseeing Gengar's training tomorrow made Natsume's expression twist with complicated emotions.
At this rate, Elite Four-level strength wasn't far off!
If he ended up facing Lucian or Flint in the Champion League—
"Wait… why am I even worried?"
Natsume muttered to himself:
"I'll just keep entering the Baby Cup."
As everyone knew, Natsume-sensei never participated in the Baby Cup.
Sure, it was technically a League Tournament—but with powerhouses like Ash and Tobias competing…
No shame in losing to legendary spammers!
With that thought, Natsume's steps lightened as he strolled toward the outskirts of town.
About twenty minutes later, he found the Team Rocket trio still shivering in their makeshift camp.
Natsume blinked. "I told you to stand by, not freeze to death."
"W-We're used to it, meow!" Meowth wiped his snotty nose, grinning weakly.
"There's a family inn in town. Should still be open."
The trio exchanged glances before hanging their heads. "Well… we're kinda broke."
Natsume-sensei: "???"
"We forgot to mention, meow."
Meowth peeked nervously at Natsume. "The money from selling cards went into building a robot… which Pokémon Hunter J blew up."
"But don't worry!" Jessie declared grandly. "We'll earn it all back—for you!"
"This museum job's our big chance!" James rubbed his hands excitedly.
"..." Natsume sighed, pulling out a bank card and handing it to Meowth.
"Huh?"
"Go stay at the inn. Pay me back after you get your salary."
He scowled. "Take care of yourselves first, you idiots."
The trio stared at each other before suddenly lunging at him.
"EXECUTIVE!! (｀Д｀)"
"Fuck, I said I'd pay it back... Wobbuffet, why are you jumping on me? Wait a minute!"
...
With time to spare, Natsume introduced the trio to Professor Carolina as "reliable workers (who can do anything except catch Pikachu)."
"Hmm."
Carolina adjusted her reading glasses, eyeing the eager trio. "The job will take about a week. Can you handle it?"
"Leave it to us!"
Carolina nodded in approval before turning away, muttering:
"Am I seeing things? Since when do Meowth talk…"
As the trio celebrated, Natsume opened his chat group.
He drafted a private message to a certain "justice-loving dragon master."
"Senior Lance, could you send me intel on poaching syndicates in Sinnoh?"
Natsume attached a "bloody knife" emoji.
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