The cooperation with the Giant Dragonite was fully taken over by Professor Oak's team.
Now, Professor Rowan handled Mt. Moon, while Professor Oak was in charge of the mysterious island.
The communications at Bill's Lighthouse were restored, and that same night, Natsume contacted Agatha.
"Oh—you mean Gengar? Just keep it with you for now. I heard it's Gigantamaxed."
On the screen, the stern and dignified old woman paused before continuing:
"Professor Oak mentioned you're going to compete in the League Conference, right? I'll be the Elite Four member in charge of maintaining order this time. Just bring that child to me then."
With that, Agatha hung up.
"…Got it." Natsume roughly understood.
She wanted Gengar to experience Gigantamax several more times beforehand.
If pushing Dynamax in Kanto once seemed like a distant dream… now, with Giant Dragonite involved, the chances of success were much greater.
Agatha had surely heard the news too.
*Gengaa!* A chubby hand stretched toward Natsume.
He understood immediately, handed over a spicy sludge, and Gengar happily puffed away.
"…" Natsume was speechless.
This stuff did attract Poison-type Pokémon, but maybe not that much…
If Agatha found out later, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.
The next day, Natsume and the others said their farewells and continued toward Vermilion City.
This time, the journey was smooth. Two days later, they arrived safely at the Vermilion City Pokémon Center.
"Finally Vermilion City! If only we could go on a luxury ocean liner like that once in our lives!"
At the battered cafeteria table, Misty's eyes sparkled as she gazed at a poster of the S.S. Anne on the wall.
"Not until we clear the Gym first." Ash mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"But those tickets are expensive… we can't afford them." Brock reminded, snapping Misty out of her fantasy.
Nearby, Giselle carried a tray over to Natsume. Hearing their conversation, she glanced back thoughtfully.
"Mr. Natsume, your lunch." She set down the food, curiosity in her eyes.
At that moment, Natsume was holding up a complicated blueprint.
It was his concept sketch for *Mecha Rotom*. Most of it was just simple lines—clearly unfinished.
The only detailed section was the head, drawn in the likeness of a Master Ball Rotom.
A long road ahead. Materials and funding aside, he'd need at least five top-tier Rotom.
But before that, he had to finish building the detachable motorcycle-computer to test his theories.
"What is this, Natsume?" Giselle asked, eyes burning with interest.
She had always thought him indifferent to desires, but when he looked at the design, there was a rare spark of longing.
"Nothing." Natsume yawned, shifting his gaze to the Pokémon devouring their meals nearby.
Midchu, Squirtle, Charmander—and this time, a newcomer joined their table.
*Snort!*
Blood-red steam hissed from Dragonite's nostrils, sharp with an iron tang.
Beads of crimson sweat seeped from her skin, tracing the rugged lines of her face, giving it a vicious look.
The mismatched large-and-small wings only added to her unsettling aura, scaring the nearby Pokémon.
They all kept their distance, even Pikachu, who regarded her with caution.
After all, though Giant Dragonite's child wasn't as gifted, she was still high-leveled:
**Dragonite, Lv.60**
That fierce glare, combined with the blood-sweat, even made nearby Trainers slide their seats away.
Except Midchu—reckless as ever, snoozing soundly on top of Dragonite's head, curled under a blanket.
*Uuuh…* Feeling lonely, Dragonite stomped toward Natsume.
*Grrr!* Raising a leg, she planted herself right on the cafeteria table in front of him.
Sitting down with her own bowl, she looked at Natsume as if he were a side dish.
*Crack—Thud!*
The table creaked, then collapsed under the weight.
"Natsume, this is the third set already."
Nurse Joy approached, ledger in hand, adding another line to Natsume's bill.
He didn't bother telling Dragonite to move. If it would've worked, Joy wouldn't be on the third table by now.
Natsume looked at the Dragonite before him with mixed feelings.
The good news: *he had captured a Dragonite, and at a very high level*.
The bad news: *her natural talent was practically zero*.
The worse news: *her brain hadn't fully developed and was stuck at a toddler's stage*.
It seemed all of her Gigantamax energy had gone into building muscle.
Massive body + extremely low intelligence.
Natsume felt a headache coming on.
*Uuuh…"*Seeing him upset, Dragonite reached out and patted him.
*Crack!* The chair beneath Natsume shattered, and Nurse Joy added another note to his bill.
"…"
At least the child was kindhearted.
*Pika—* Midchu woke up, patted Dragonite on the head, and said something. Dragonite shuffled off the broken table and sat aside to quietly eat from her lunchbox.
Watching this, Natsume glanced at Midchu thoughtfully.
Over the past few days, he'd noticed that other Pokémon were all terrified of Dragonite.
her strength was too great, too uncontrollable. Even when she meant well, she often caused unintentional harm.
Because of that, no Pokémon wanted to accept her at first. Even Pikachu, usually warm and friendly, was afraid of it.
Dragonite grew lonely. Days had passed, and she still hadn't made a single friend.
Until yesterday, when Midchu discovered Dragonite's head was the perfect spot for a nap.
Now, Dragonite took Midchu's words to heart.
As for Natsume, her Trainer? The part of her brain that handled language seemed underdeveloped—Dragonite barely understood a word he said.
Looking at Midchu curled under a blanket atop Dragonite's head, Natsume fell into thought.
It was, perhaps, Midchu's way of *waste utilization*.
"All right, we're full. Let's go challenge the Gym!" Ash announced after the meal.
Seeing that, Natsume recalled Dragonite, who had been sitting quietly after eating.
Midchu, still napping on her head, dropped to the floor.
He groggily sat up, rolled over, and went back to sleep under her blanket.
"C'mon, Midchu, time to go!"
*Pika!*
Ash scooped him up with practiced ease, Pikachu urging him on as well.
"Wait!" Natsume stopped Ash.
"What is it, Natsume?" Ash turned back.
"These two—have them wear them." Natsume pulled out two golden beads, faint thunder flickering inside.
"They're called Light Balls. If Pikachu holds one, his Attack and Special Attack rise sharply."
He tossed both beads to Ash.
"How do we even make them wear these?" Ash turned the smooth bead over in his hand, puzzled.
Maybe have a necklace made and hang it?
"The usual way is to swallow it. Also—" Natsume's eyes shifted toward Pikachu's rear.
*Pika!*
Pikachu flinched, quickly shook his head, grabbed one bead, and gulped it down.
"Midchu, you too." Ash fed the other to him.
"All right, good luck with the Gym battle." Natsume clapped his hands and remained seated.
"Huh? You're not coming, Natsume?" Brock asked, surprised.
"Ash, you handle the battle for me. Giselle wants to talk to me." Natsume waved them off.
"What? Someone else can fight a Gym on your behalf?" Misty groaned.
"No problem! Leave it to me, Natsume!"
"You actually agreed?!"
"Why not? Midchu's still Natsume's Pokémon, isn't it?"
The group bickered as they walked off into the distance.
Natsume turned his head toward Giselle.
"You're saying… your home is here? Your father wants to meet me?"
"Uh… well…" Giselle's face suddenly flushed red, steam practically rising from her head.
Her eyes drifted away into the distance.
"Yes, my home is right here."
Seeing this, Natsume narrowed his eyes.
By now, he understood his assistant well enough—most of her stress reactions only appeared when she was embarrassed or lying.
You can read more (around 80+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.