Chapter 113: Almost Letting the Mecha Rotom Take Over the World
*Pika, pika—*
Midchu, clutching his little blanket, dragged itself wearily out of the workshop.
He had noticed his trainer's psychic powers were becoming more and more terrifying.
Controlling so many car parts and tools at once, giving Rotom commands out loud, and still finding the spare focus to put him through an entire night of Jeep training?
Midchu shivered.
He had a feeling that before long, Natsume wouldn't even need to pull anyone into his mental world anymore. By then, Natsume might be able to control several Jeeps all on his own.
"Is that Natsume's Pikachu?"
Outside, Gary and Ash were coming over.
Gary, too excited to sleep the night before, had dragged Ash out early in the morning, eager to show off the Mecha Rotom he was about to obtain.
*Pika.*
Midchu glanced at the two, then kept walking with his blanket.
No, he had to finish his training for Divine Authority and Divine Exclusive. Only then would Rotom's healing no longer work on it. That way, for the sake of his health, his trainer would have no choice but to ease up on the training.
"What's with it?"
Gary was confused.
"Uh, Midchu must be going to find a comfy spot to nap," Ash said with certainty.
"Anyway, let's head inside. It's gotta be super cool!"
Gary's face lit up, tugging Ash into the workshop like a child desperate to show off his new toy.
"Ah!!"
A pig squeal came from behind.
Natsume turned around. It was Gary.
"Gary, Ash. What are you doing here?" Natsume asked.
"Natsume, this… this isn't right, is it?"
Gary pointed at the grotesque humanoid machine clumsily pole-dancing in the corner.
"Shh!"
Natsume raised a hand, face stern, and pointed at the laptop in his other hand, signaling silence.
The two immediately caught on and held their breath.
Then, under Gary's gaze, Natsume closed the laptop, tucked it under his arm, and calmly walked out of the workshop.
At the door, he turned back and gave Gary a serious nod.
Gary blinked, then nodded back.
Three minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes passed, but Natsume never returned.
Finally, Gary realized and bolted after him.
"Ah! Natsume, you owe me a sports car!"
This time, though, Natsume hadn't slipped away as usual.
Not long after, Gary saw him walking back, carrying a cup of hot milk, with two slices of bread hanging from his mouth. Clearly, he'd just gone to the cafeteria for breakfast.
"Natsume, that wasn't my sports car in there, was it?"
Behind him, the grating screech of metal echoed. Gary asked again, refusing to give up.
"That was your sports car." Staying honest, Natsume nodded.
Gary collapsed in despair.
He really was stupid. He'd known Natsume's gift for invention was top-notch, but he'd forgotten—so was his talent for disaster.
"But don't worry. The Mecha Rotom may be ugly, but it works. You'll just need a high-level Rotom to use it properly."
Natsume tore off a piece of bread and chewed.
The Rotom gifted to him by Reginald could only fuse for thirty seconds before being forced out.
So, he'd tried his strongest Rotom.
Though the transformed Mecha Rotom looked crude, the fusion went unexpectedly smoothly, and even his movements turned out surprisingly fluid.
This proved that his circuit design actually had no issues.
But why, once transformed into a humanoid shape, did it look completely different from what he expected?
Did the head and backside really have to swap places after transformation?
Natsume fell into deep thought.
"You don't get it, that's not the problem at all!" Gary broke down, bawling.
"It is hideous!"
"You could spray-paint it, add some panels, do some harmless cosmetic modifications," Natsume suggested. "That would make it look much cooler."
"Really?"
Gary looked up at him warily.
"Natsume, come quick! Something's wrong with Rotom!"
Ash came running out of the workshop, panic on his face.
Natsume froze, drained the last of his milk, and walked in.
Could it be that even his high-level Rotom couldn't maintain a permanent fusion? He had thought his own level 53 Rotom had been forced out.
But stepping inside, he realized it wasn't that.
The entire room was filled with a thick, oily-smelling mist. Covering his nose and mouth, Natsume backed out.
*Gen!* A red flash lit at his waist, and Gengar popped out.
*Hiss—ha!*" Gengar eagerly dove into the black fog, taking a deep breath.
*Gen—! Cough, cough, cough!* Gengar gagged, covering its nose in disgust before retreating into its Pokéball.
"Ash, did you drink gasoline?" Gary asked, stepping closer.
"No, no! It's coming from the top of the Mecha Rotom!" Ash waved quickly.
Natsume looked up. From the head of the Rotom-fused Robot, black mist gushed out, coalescing into a pitch-black stone tablet.
In the center of the tablet, a glowing white crystal took shape.
It looked like a heart. With every pulse of the swirling black mist, it beat with a metallic thrum, as if blood were being pumped into it.
*What is that?*
Natsume froze, but before he could inspect it further, the tablet sank into the Mecha Rotom's body.
*Roto!*
Rotom was forced out. Natsume caught it with telekinesis.
"How do you feel, Rotom?"
His chest tightened. It had been only for a moment, but he caught the faint flash of that same white glow across Rotom's body.
*What was that crystal?*
The system's scan showed no record.
"Rotom, are you okay?"
Ash and Gary rushed over.
Gary, forgetting his car, quickly pulled out a bottle of Hyper Potion.
*Roto?*
Rotom opened its eyes, its golden inverted-triangle pupils shining brightly.
"It's fine. Just tired."
Natsume exhaled in relief, returning Rotom to its Pokéball for rest.
But the black mist was still spreading. Even without Rotom as the source, it quickly filled the entire supply plaza.
Luckily, dawn had just broken, and few people noticed.
*Clank!*
Through the haze, faint noises stirred.
The three turned, spotting a shadowy figure dancing in the mist.
"Natsume, I meant a Mecha Rotom! Not a dancing Robot!" Gary groaned.
"Actually, I think like Natsume said, spraying it with bright colors would suit you, Gary," Ash added.
"What do you mean *bright colors*? That's tacky! I have taste!" Gary huffed.
"At the very least, it should be *bold* reds and purples. Only those match me!"
"Ash, did you notice? Natsume hasn't said a word since just now."
Natsume's eyes stayed locked on the ugly figure dancing in the black mist, confusion flickering within them.
"I'm wondering… why is it still moving after Rotom was forced out?"
In an instant, the air went silent, leaving only the creaking grind of the Mecha Robot's movements.
Ash and Gary exchanged looks, both wearing expressions as if they'd seen a ghost.
*Why was it still moving?*
*Without power, how could it move?*
To Natsume, it suddenly felt like a philosophical question.
It wasn't until he noticed that the air pump he had unplugged earlier was now flailing about in a grotesque humanoid shape—after inhaling some of the gray mist—that realization dawned on him.
"Could it be… this gray mist can bring machines to life?"
Gary broke the silence first, staring at the air pump robot thrashing its hoses around.
"I remember… outside in the parking lot… there are a lot of cars," Ash said, his voice growing smaller and smaller.
Even he had realized the seriousness of the problem.
You can read more (around 100+ 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.