Wednesday, February 25th.
Just another ordinary day.
Everyone, as usual, opened Nico Dou to find something to watch while eating.
As they unwrapped their takeout, a notification popped up: Natsume-sensei had just uploaded a new video.
Fans' eyes lit up, their excitement beyond words.
"Good guy, serving up a feast right at mealtime!"
"Finally! Natsume-sensei remembered he's a foodie content creator!"
Yet, when fans eagerly prepared to enjoy their meal with the video…
They froze at the title and thumbnail.
"W-wait, Natsume-sensei is world number one now?!"
"That guy actually made it to the top?!"
"My youth is over… I strongly suspect Natsume-sensei hired a stand-in!"
As everyone knew, whenever Natsume-sensei was on the verge of reaching the top, some "unforeseen circumstance" would always knock him down.
Like "four Hydro Pumps in a row missing," "controller dying mid-battle," or "opponent pulling off a classic double Protect."
But this time—
Natsume-sensei's day of triumph had finally arrived!
"He crushed Steven! (Sobbing)"
"Rejoice! He is the ultimate Strategist, combining all the dirtiest tactics and the worst luck into one!"
"Holy crap, this is a faith-based team comp?!"
When everyone assumed Natsume-sensei must have pulled some new trick to obliterate Steven…
He had instead relied on pure, solid Pokémon battling skills.
Using a team considered weak by meta standards, he reversed the tide against Steven.
Sure, Steven was also using his favorite team, not a competitive one.
But compared to an Onix, a trash-tier Pokémon… Steven's shiny Metagross was downright terrifying.
And despite this massive team disparity—
Natsume-sensei pulled off a faith-powered triple KO with "Helping Hand Earthquake"!
"Onix is going berserk!!"
"Helping Hand Earthquake doesn't discriminate!"
"Even his own teammates got wrecked? Natsume-sensei, have some mercy!"
Even seasoned trainers—including International Police officers and Team Rocket executives—were left speechless watching the video.
"He outplayed Steven with pure skill?"
"No wonder it's called a 'faith team'… I'm not learning anything from this!"
"I tried it. Onix got one-shot. What else is there to say?"
This near-showoff-level team composition left fans in awe.
But as Natsume-sensei himself said in the video—
A trainer must have dreams.
Even a weak Onix can slaughter a pseudo-legendary.
Even the most useless Magikarp might clear a no-death run.
So what if you're not Natsume-sensei?
Your opponent isn't Steven either.
Just go for it… What if this is the match where you ascend to glory?
"Guys, stop copying this! I've faced ten Onix teams in a row—my rank is bloated!"
"What kind of cursed team comp is this?!"
"Lose and queue again. Win and ride the high for a year!"
Natsume-sensei's climb to the top sent shockwaves across video platforms.
While fans celebrated, interpretations varied wildly.
Battlers saw elite techniques; passion-project fans saw unwavering dedication.
Like some Edwards use guns, others use leaps of faith… and then desynchronize.
At its core—
This was the perfect answer Natsume-sensei delivered upon reaching the summit.
Sites reposting the video highlighted popular comments:
[Wanting to Hatch a Gardevoir Egg]: From his early SubProtect Toxic strats to this faith-based team now, Natsume-sensei's command skills have visibly leveled up. Maybe it's because he's raising a Togepi. (Whisper)
[Elite Four Bruno]: Onix? Natsume-sensei knows Onix better than I do.
[Definitely Not Lucian]: As we all know, the Dragon-type Champion loves Flying-types, the Fighting-type Elite Four loves Rock-types… This circle's too small. Brb hiding.
After posting, Lucian adjusted his blue-rimmed glasses—then panicked.
Oh crap, Nico Dou doesn't have an anonymous mode!
Lucian replied to his own post: "Stop liking this! If this blows up, Champion Lance will come for me! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Within a day, Natsume-sensei's video skyrocketed to the top of trending lists.
Natsume himself saw Lucian's reply and blinked.
Good guy, Lucian's a pro at farming likes!
Clearly, Cynthia hasn't been working him hard enough—needs more overtime!
Maybe it was the precision from [Flawless Commands Lv3].
Or the thrill of overturning Steven's advantage.
But Natsume-sensei felt his psychological warfare skills had leveled up.
Like… landing every single Ally Switch prediction against his opponent.
For any competitive battler, that was borderline broken.
Of course, his "Heaven's Scourge" title wasn't just for show.
Plus, with a patch update coming soon—
Natsume had no plans to stream for now.
He posted a Pidove meme in his livestream chat and went on hiatus.
"Oh no, Natsume-sensei's going AWOL again!"
"The tragedy… My meals won't taste the same!"
"Look on the bright side—maybe next time he'll stream in person?"
"A Rotom-cam Baby Cup stream? Now we're talking!"
Natsume skimmed the comments and muttered:
"What Baby Cup? I never play Baby Cup."
It was still early.
With the System points earned from the video's traction, Natsume exchanged them for rare Berries.
Say what you will, but the Berry quality was impeccable—
Plump, glistening, peach-like Pecha Berries with an exquisite texture.
Chewing on the juicy Berry, Natsume stood on the second-floor balcony, gazing out.
Fields stretched endlessly, breeze rustling through silvergrass, a distant white windmill spinning—
BOOM!!
A sudden explosion erupted from Professor Rowan's research lab.
Black smoke billowed into the sky.
Natsume glanced around the empty house, recalling his team was out training.
He wiped cold sweat.
"Ha… Pokémon wouldn't cause trouble on purpose! Must've been an accident!"
By nearly six, the countryside was already dark.
After five days in Sinnoh, Natsume had grown familiar with the area.
Sandgem Town was peaceful, but even a wealthy patron needed exercise.
Originally, he'd planned a Sinnoh tour with his team.
Then a quick return to Kanto to film an MV for Pokémon's promo.
The song was ready—a classic from the original series.
As for the singer?
No way they could afford Red, so Ash it was!
(Note: Ash's VA, Rica Matsumoto, also sang the original OP.)
Dusk settled.
"Gengar! (￣▽￣)／" Gengar led the team back from Professor Rowan's lab for dinner.
Sylveon returned slightly later from Oreburgh City, bringing an extra Gym Badge.
Natsume stared at the Coal Badge, emotions mixed.
Hang in there, Leader Roark!
In the group chat, Ruby and others discussed the upcoming Wallace Cup.
"I heard lots of top Coordinators will be there?" Green asked excitedly.
Ruby nodded. "Yeah! Master Wallace's influence is huge!"
"Oh!" Green's eyes turned to '$' symbols—another business opportunity!
"Wallace invited me too," Steven admitted. "But I'm clueless about contests. Ruby's the expert."
Ruby suddenly gasped, clasping her hands starry-eyed:
"@Natsume-sensei, you'll enter with Sylveon, right?!"
Natsume-sensei: "I refuse."
"Nani?!"
No appearance fee? And they expected him to work for free?
Natsume smirked.
Dream on!
"Um…" Jasmine blushed, speaking softly. "When exactly is the Wallace Cup?"
"I'm… kind of interested in contests too…"
"Probably mid-March," Ruby said. "Winners get direct entry to Grand Festivals in other regions, so it's super competitive!"
Jasmine nodded.
This ordinary girl just wanted to push herself, to shine a little brighter…
Like star Sabrina, model Elesa, or lady Erika…
Jasmine glanced down at her modest figure and drooping twin braids.
E-eating more doesn't help at all!
The chat lacked many Coordinators.
Erika was busy teaching.
Misty's sisters dabbled in contests, but Misty herself was a battle veteran.
Finally, Ruby slumped in defeat, fist trembling.
She needed to see Natsume-sensei perform!
The topic shifted to Gold and Old Man Wattson's grudge match.
Gold barely won with his beloved Baton Pass team against Wattson's Raichu squad, laughing wildly: "Too weak, old man!"
"Grrr—rematch!" Wattson's beard twitched in fury.
"This… is the power of faith! Hahaha!"
More like the power of being a glutton for punishment.
Given Gold was the guy who'd fistfight Arceus…
Natsume wiped sweat as his Rotom Phone suddenly buzzed.
Natsume: "Huh? If you vibrate, I vibrate too."
"Beep…" Rotom glitched, then announced:
"Incoming call—Rotom!"
The screen unlocked automatically, revealing Cynthia's face.
"Meeting in Eterna City tomorrow?"
Her golden hair half-covered her face as she smiled, eyes crescent-shaped.
"Need to escort a museum artifact to Celestic Town."
"How many people?"
Cynthia blinked. "Were you planning to bring helpers?"
Natsume shook his head.
"Not on my end."
"Then just the two of us." Cynthia chuckled. "See you in Eterna City tomorrow?"
Natsume paused, then grinned.
"See you then."
Dating or not didn't matter—he just really wanted to carry stuff!
"Gengar, go out and look for Moe-Moe tomorrow!!"
"Gengar! (`▽′)"
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