"Kid, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Darn it, Team Rocket always steals other people's Pokémon, but no one has ever stolen a Pokémon from us!"
"Who's your Pokémon? We're teammates, teammates!"
Meowth, lifted high into the air, didn't forget to correct James and Jessie's misunderstanding.
"Enough about that, let's teach this unruly kid a lesson first!"
James finished speaking, and he and Jessie jumped down from the hot air balloon, chasing after Natsume.
They had asked their superiors, and the organization hadn't sent any inspectors at all.
As for how the kid knew that the Poké Ball contained a Koffing...
James simply assumed the kid was just guessing.
"Stop right there! We won't stand by and let this happen!"
Ash pulled Misty aside, blocking the two of them.
"You stop them, I'll rescue Meowth!"
Jessie waved her hand, signaling James to chase after Natsume.
For Team Rocket to have their Pokémon—wait, no, their teammates—stolen was an extreme humiliation.
With old grudges adding to new ones, James quickly caught up with Natsume.
"Meow! There's a weirdo here, meow! Come save me!"
Just as James had blocked Natsume, he heard Meowth's distressed cry.
Looking ahead, Natsume was pawing at Meowth's back legs, seemingly observing something.
"Hm, from the remnants of the waste near the steel door, it looks like this Meowth isn't being fed well."
"Also, both its size, strength, and fur's luster seem to be below the average for its age."
"This shouldn't be because of its diet, though."
Natsume muttered to himself, then pulled out his Rotom Phone, launching the evaluation software, and pointed it at Meowth.
The screen displayed Meowth's horrific stats.
"You're a failure among Meowths!"
Natsume concluded, diligently writing it down in his notebook.
"Meow, what nonsense are you talking about, meow!"
Meowth was enraged. This lunatic not only started poking it around, but now he was even insulting it.
"No matter what you're doing, let go of Meowth!"
James arrived just in time to stop Natsume, who was about to pull out a syringe to test Meowth's blood.
"Huh?"
Natsume turned in confusion, looking at James.
"Go, Koffing!"
Without hesitation, James threw his Poké Ball.
A battle, huh?
Seeing the Koffing floating before him, Natsume suddenly realized. He had almost forgotten; he hadn't yet used the so-called battle arena.
This was the perfect opportunity to get familiar with it.
"Field expansion!"
With a loud command from Natsume, a sharp, powerful BGM began to play.
"What? What's that sound?"
James looked around, confused, but couldn't find any speakers.
"Go, Center-parted Pikachu!"
Natsume threw out another Poké Ball.
A Pikachu with a distinct middle-parted hairstyle, sporting some hair gel, appeared on the battlefield.
[LV20]
A string of numbers appeared above Pikachu's head, showing its level.
"What's that?"
James was seeing this for the first time and couldn't help but feel curious.
He noticed that his Koffing also had a string of numbers above its head.
[LV32]
In that instant, James realized those numbers represented the Pokémon's level.
A system that could visually display a Pokémon's level? What kind of technology was this?
James was shocked. In this timeline, no such technology existed.
Trainers could only gauge their Pokémon's level based on their physical traits and overall status. To get a precise level, they would need to visit a lab for detailed testing.
"Whatever technology this is, I'm taking it for Boss Giovanni!"
James was feeling confident now.
His Koffing had a ten-level advantage over the opponent's Pikachu.
"Koffing, use Tackle!"
"Koffing!"
With a command, Koffing lunged forward and slammed into the middle-parted Pikachu.
It was a basic attack, but due to the significant level difference, Pikachu's health was nearly depleted.
On the sidelines, Meowth watched as the red health bar above Pikachu's head quickly drained.
"Meow? Is that like a health bar in an electric game, meow?"
"This tech is so interesting, meow! Boss Giovanni will love this!"
"James, this kid looks like a researcher. He must know what this tech is. We need to capture him and bring him to Giovanni!"
Breaking free from the clutches of James, Meowth found Natsume's Pokémon researcher ID card from his backpack.
Meowth was ecstatic and immediately used its ability to cheer James on.
"Don't worry, catching this little brat is no problem for me!"
James glanced at the health bar above Pikachu, which was quickly nearing empty. The visual health indicator made him even more confident.
"Go, Koffing! Use Tackle again!"
"Koffing!"
Just as James thought Pikachu was about to faint before his eyes, Koffing stood still, not moving at all.
"What's wrong, Koffing?"
James looked at his Pokémon in confusion.
"Koffing, Koffing!"
Koffing seemed agitated, turning to James and calling out.
"It says there's some strange force holding it back, preventing it from moving, meow!"
Meowth, playing the translator, offered an explanation.
A strange force?
It really was a turn-based game, wasn't it?
Natsume raised an eyebrow, hearing Meowth's translation.
In that case...
[Trainer Natsume used a Super Potion! Pikachu's condition has been restored!]
With a voice echoing in his mind, Natsume's body emitted a light sphere, which fell into Pikachu.
Immediately, Pikachu's health bar was restored, and it was visibly in much better shape.
"What's going on here?!"
James noticed the health bar above Pikachu's head change.
In real Pokémon battles, no one would use items during a fight.
Wait, this medicine worked too fast!
Seeing Pikachu's sudden energy return, James understood the key problem.
In real battles, Pokémon would not be treated to such fast-acting medicine. It would take time for the effects to show.
Of course, in reality, opponents wouldn't give you the time to heal.
But Natsume's view was different.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Having grasped the rules of the battle arena, Natsume wasted no time and issued the command.
"Pika!"
Pikachu became a streak of lightning and slammed into Koffing.
"Koffing!"
Koffing cried out in pain, but the health bar above its head only dropped slightly—about one-fifth.
Seeing this, James wasn't happy. Instead, a sense of foreboding started to grow in his heart.
PS: Read advanced chapter at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin