Chapter 12. Another SSS-Class Long-Term Project
"Huh?"
Natsume let out a soft sound of surprise and looked at the green Pokémon beside Ash Ketchum.
"Metapod.
Caterpie evolved?"
"Yeah.
It evolved during that battle with Team Rocket just now."
Ash froze for a moment, then proudly picked up the Metapod at his feet to show it to Natsume.
Natsume didn't speak.
He only frowned a little, picked up the Rotom Phone at his side, and scanned Metapod.
"Metapod.
Level 6.
Ability: Shed Skin."
Sure enough, Natsume raised an eyebrow.
If he remembered correctly, Caterpie evolves into Metapod at level 7, then into Butterfree at level 10.
Faced with this Metapod whose level was off, Natsume's eyes lit up.
"System, does this Metapod count as a special specimen?"
"+1."
Feeling that one more Pokédollar had appeared in the system inventory, Natsume was speechless.
"What's wrong, Natsume?
Is there something up with Metapod?"
Seeing Natsume go silent after scanning Metapod, the pride on Ash's face vanished in an instant, replaced by sincere concern.
"Huh?
Did it get hurt in the battle just now?"
At the side, Misty also leaned in with concern.
Although she hated bugs, as a companion she had watched Caterpie and Ash fight; it would be a lie to say she wasn't worried.
"It's nothing."
Natsume scratched his head and turned away, diving back into studying the battle-rules system in his mind.
Watching Natsume zone out as usual, Ash's mouth twitched.
"It's getting late.
Let's set up camp for the night.
We'll probably reach Pewter City tomorrow."
Misty offered the suggestion from the side.
"Okay!"
The two of them enthusiastically started building a campfire and took out their sleeping bags, leaving Natsume standing there in a daze.
No other reason—
The system had just sent a message.
"Ding!
Battle-Rules Module enabled.
SSS-Class Long-Term Project: Gamified Rules and Reality Adaptation Data Collection has been posted!"
"Today's data collection complete.
Scratch-off card +1.
Next battle cooldown: 23 hours."
So this was a daily task?
After receiving the system's message, Natsume came back to himself.
This so-called SSS-Class long-term project was for Natsume to use the Battle-Rules Module to pull a wild Pokémon or a Trainer into a game-style battlefield and conduct one battle.
Win or lose, Natsume would earn one scratch-off card.
But there was only one opportunity per day to fight using the game rules.
"System, what do you want to collect this data for?"
Natsume asked in curiosity.
As always, the system did not answer.
He shrugged and turned around.
Ash and Misty had already gotten the campfire going.
On both sides of the fire sat a pink and a blue sleeping bag, with a large empty space in the middle that looked like it had been left for him.
"Natsume, where's your sleeping bag?
If you forgot it, I've got a spare!"
When Natsume looked over, Ash waved and reached to pull out a second sleeping bag.
"No need."
Natsume reached out and tossed a small cube onto the ground.
In the next moment, an inflatable tent expanded and popped up in the open space.
Seeing this, both Ash and Misty showed a bit of envy on their faces.
"Natsume, got another one?
I want to sleep in that too."
The instant he saw the inflatable tent, Ash's eyes sparkled.
He tried to dive into Natsume's tent—
Three seconds later, he backed out with a blank expression.
Watching Ash act like that, the envious Misty grew even more curious.
She poked her head into Natsume's tent for a look—
Three seconds later, Misty also backed out with a blank expression.
"Alright, I'm pulling an all-nighter on my paper.
Unless it's something special, try not to disturb me."
With that, Natsume ducked into the tent.
Once Natsume was gone, Misty covered her face with both hands and complained, exasperated:
"Who puts that many anatomical models in the place they sleep?
Wouldn't you get scared waking up at night?"
"If it were me sleeping in there, I'd definitely have nightmares."
Ash shuddered.
He felt like he wasn't going to sleep well tonight.
Soon, night fell.
The forest at night was always quiet.
Now and then a few insect calls blended into the crackling of the campfire, creating, oddly enough, a sense of safety.
"Pika-pi—"
By the fire, Pikachu was already fast asleep, mumbling something in its dreams.
Beside it, Metapod sat on a wooden stump, silently looking up at the sky.
The wavering firelight shone on its emerald shell.
In those tiny, beadlike dark eyes, there seemed to be a boundless yearning for the sky.
Snap.
A faint crunch of a footstep came from behind—
It was Natsume, holding something like a small blanket in his arms.
"Total newbie.
Not enough travel experience.
You can't just leave your Pokémon outside like this."
Looking at the sleeping Pikachu and the silent Metapod, Natsume gently laid what he was holding over them.
"Pika—"
Sensing something, Pikachu rolled over, tugged at the "blanket," and slept even more soundly.
Pulling his gaze away from Pikachu, Natsume looked to the Metapod beside it.
Could a Pokémon's desire to evolve drive it to evolve before reaching the usual level?
Natsume quietly wrote this sentence down in his little notebook.
The system didn't classify this under-leveled-yet-evolved Metapod as a special specimen.
That suggested it was an objective fact.
And in Natsume's memory, as for the relationship between desire to evolve and early evolution, he had almost never seen papers on the topic.
Natsume—
A Pokémon researcher not yet twenty years old who already had the qualifications to choose Professor Oak as his advisor—
If he hadn't seen a paper, that basically meant no one had published one.
Come to think of it, there was also Dawn's Piplup, which could suppress evolution…
Natsume's gaze grew distant as he recalled the Diamond and Pearl arc he'd watched in his previous life.
Mm…
If he dug in this direction and produced results, he might land a Special Journal publication.
There was no helping it.
If Natsume wanted to realize his Mecha Rotom plan, he needed a lab where he could do whatever he wanted.
But a "deification-grade" lab like that, plus the research-assistant team to go with it, would at least require reaching the rank of Pokémon Professor before he could apply to the League.
And to become a Pokémon Professor, there were two necessary conditions:
First, another Professor's endorsement—he could ask Professor Oak for that.
Second, the relevant research reports or papers published must include at least five accepted by Special Journals.
At present, aside from his earlier Rotom-related research report that had been accepted by a Special Journal, all the rest had been rejected.
"Ah~ One step at a time."
He yawned and returned to his little nest.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning—
"Pika-pi——!"
Pikachu's scream split the sky, laden with intense terror.
Ash snapped his eyes open, feeling that something was very wrong.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?!"
Ash jolted up from his sleeping bag and turned toward Pikachu.
Huh?
Who put a blanket over Pikachu?
No—
That wasn't a blanket.
It was a thick chart.
A Pikachu muscle-and-skeleton distribution chart.
And that chart was exactly what had terrified Pikachu.
A jump scare to the face first thing in the morning.
"This looks like something from Natsume's tent?"
At the side, Misty looked over too.
"What are you kids yelling about?
Don't you know to respect your elders?"
Natsume came out grumbling in his blue-and-white striped pajamas.
The instant he saw Pikachu, he paused.
Mm…
In the pitch dark last night, he might have grabbed the wrong thing to use as a cover.
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