After the last lesson, I made sure to prepare plenty of medicines.
Ash, relieved, opened his backpack and took out a bottle of antidote.
Whether for his Pokémon or for himself, Ash had prepared several doses.
Soon, after taking two bottles of antidote, Natsume regained consciousness.
"Seriously, you're hard to kill."
Misty's voice came from nearby, her gaze puzzled as she looked at Natsume.
It was usually only a Beedrill swarm that could poison someone in the Viridian Forest.
But Natsume had, in fact, gotten poisoned by a solitary Weedle and nearly met his end.
"It was hiding in the grass!" Natsume's first words upon waking.
"Alright, we got it. Let's continue our journey," Ash said.
"Pikachu," Ash and Pikachu synchronized in covering their faces.
Natsume did a quick flip and stood up, looking as if nothing had happened, full of energy.
He glanced left and right and spotted a Bellsprout, but it disappeared in a flash before either of them could react.
"Hey, take some more medicine with you!" Ash called after him.
"Don't worry, it's in my backpack!" Natsume shouted back.
Ever since the addition of the new battle rule module in the game, Natsume had started stocking up on various medicines.
Although they were mostly for Pokémon, they could also be used for people in a pinch.
Now, Natsume had something more urgent to attend to.
From what he remembered, Ash and Misty's journey through the Viridian Forest didn't seem to involve any particularly special Pokémon.
As a Pokémon researcher, Natsume had to publish a journal every year.
And this year, he hadn't submitted his article yet.
Taking advantage of this trip to the Viridian Forest, Natsume planned to conduct a "Viridian Forest Plant Pokémon Resource Survey."
He would submit this quickly to get it over with for the year.
They expected to leave Viridian Forest and reach Pewter City in about a week.
He had about a week to "finish" a year's worth of research.
Natsume thought it was a good challenge, perfect for someone like him.
"Rotom, start recording!" he instructed.
"Rotom!" the small, agile Rotom responded, its tiny wings flashing as it darted through the grass.
After submitting his paper, the Pokémon League would send him a large amount of funding.
Natsume was particularly focused on this.
This funding would be critical for his next Rotom project.
While the potential for innovation in Rotom battle forms was vast, the materials required for such projects were incredibly expensive.
And speaking of his next project, Natsume was planning to study the motorcycle Rotom.
During his previous work on electric toy Rotom forms, he noticed an interesting phenomenon.
The performance and quality of different electric toys, when integrated with Rotom, resulted in varying stat values.
Similarly, even within Rotom's existing forms, like Lawnmower Rotom or Washing Machine Rotom, the performance of the machines they merged with could significantly affect their stats.
At his research lab, Natsume had experimented with attaching his Rotom to various appliances.
His highest-performing Rotom was one that had merged with a Pokémon transmission control center computer from Professor Oak's lab.
This computer was incredibly powerful, far surpassing the capabilities of ordinary consumer computers.
When Rotom fused with it, it took on Psychic and Electric typing, with its stats reaching a terrifying 630—surpassing even Mewtwo's stats.
However, the computer was massive, and Rotom couldn't move while attached to it, making it unsuitable for battles.
If Natsume had taken that computer, Professor Oak would likely put out a region-wide manhunt.
Nevertheless, it was still a significant breakthrough.
Natsume had already begun planning for an even more ambitious project.
He intended to combine a top-tier supercomputer with a motorcycle, allowing Rotom to merge with the motorcycle and control it, effectively turning it into a high-tech, transforming machine!
Transformers, roll out!
At least, based on Natsume's current research, this theory seemed entirely feasible.
As expected, Rotom's applications were as diverse as the Pokémon games, and not everything could be predicted by the games alone.
Natsume even coined his discovery—the "Rotom Natsume Theorem."
According to this theorem, the better the performance of the appliance, the stronger the Rotom fusion would be.
Natsume already had a modular motorcycle-computer system ready for testing; now he just needed a motorcycle.
Once the research grant came through, he could purchase a motorcycle and begin his experiments.
While he was pondering what kind of motorcycle to buy, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, Ash, over here!"
Natsume turned around to see Ash and Misty standing together.
Suddenly, Ash received a slap across the face from Misty.
"Tch, these two kids are behind my back doing this," Natsume muttered.
"Hey, why'd you slap me?" Ash asked, rubbing his face, looking confused.
"Idiot, you sent a Caterpie to battle a Pidgey!" Misty scolded.
"Pidgey is a Flying-type, which is strong against Bug-types. You should have sent out Pikachu instead," she added.
"Oh, is that so?" Ash asked.
"Fine, then. Pikachu, go!" Ash called, sending out his partner.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu responded energetically.
With Misty's correction, Ash soon managed to catch his future powerful Pokémon.
Looking at the Poké Ball in his hand, Ash couldn't help but grin.
Just then, a voice called from behind.
"Ash, come here."
Turning around, Natsume was there.
Ash, still rubbing his face, walked over, only to receive a slap from Natsume.
It was a perfect mirror image of what Misty had done.
"Brother Natsume, do you have any advice for me too?" Ash asked, puzzled.
"Nah, I just saw she was enjoying herself, so I wanted to join in," Natsume replied nonchalantly.
Ash blinked.
Before the atmosphere could settle into awkward silence, a familiar voice echoed from the sky.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
Looking up, the trio saw a familiar sight—Team Rocket's balloon, floating above them.
"It's those guys from the other night!" Ash and Misty said in unison, immediately pulling out their Poké Balls.
"White hole, a bright tomorrow awaits us!" James declared dramatically, striking a pose with Jessie, who mirrored him.
Misty frowned, confused. "What are they doing? Is this some sort of performance art?"
"Meowth, Meowth, where are you?" James called out, searching for their mischievous partner.
"Meow! Help! There's a weirdo!" Meowth's voice called from below.
Natsume glanced down to see Meowth being held high above the ground by none other than him.
James and Jessie: "???"