Chapter 13. Good Thing Natsume Doesn't Have Your Lousy Eye
Viridian Forest, on the road leading out.
"Pewter City is just up ahead."
Ash Ketchum stared at the distant high-rises, eyes blazing with motivation.
"After living like a wild man for so long, I can finally take a proper bath!"
At his side, Misty's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Need a guide, folks?"
A steady voice drifted up from a small dirt slope below.
They looked over and noticed a scruffy, bearded middle-aged man at the base of the slope, minding a stall piled high with rocks.
The middle-aged man wore a thick red cap pulled low over his eyes, hiding his face.
He looked straight at Natsume, the only adult in the group.
"I'll give you ₽50 Pokédollars to be our guide."
Natsume held out his hand.
"Fifty is way too little. I usually charge ₽500 Pokédollars—"
Halfway through, the man realized something felt off, shut his mouth, and looked silently at Natsume.
"How about this. I'll buy a few stones from you, and you guide us for free for two days. Deal?"
Natsume recognized the man as Flint, Brock's father.
If he remembered right, the "Pika-god" getting stronger was inseparable from this man.
This concerned an S-rank research topic, so Natsume couldn't afford to be sloppy.
If he could avoid disrupting the plot, he would.
"Haha, of course, no problem—provided you buy enough."
Flint laughed heartily, stepped aside, and presented the stones on the counter behind him.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you really buying? He looks super unreliable."
Misty leaned in to whisper by Natsume's ear.
"Hey, kid, don't bad-mouth me in secret."
Flint glanced at Misty.
"Who are you calling kid!!"
"Uh, Misty, let it go."
Ash tugged at Misty to keep her from blowing up.
Meanwhile, Natsume was already up at the stall.
Pewter City produces stone in abundance.
Besides pieces with collection value, it also yields item stones related to Pokémon.
He stood before the display case, swept his gaze over it, and felt something was off.
Many of these stones had multiple fine cracks, as if they'd all been cut by lightning.
"What I sell here are raw stones. There's a good chance something good is hidden inside!"
Seeing Natsume begin to pick through them, Flint explained with an air of authority:
"These at ₽1,000 Pokédollars might open into things like a Fire Stone or a Leaf Stone.
I recommend these at ₽5,000 Pokédollars. With good luck, you could crack open a Fossil!"
"Fossils? Aren't those only valuable as collectibles? How could they be better than evolution stones?"
Misty asked, puzzled.
"You sell 'em to those idiot researchers. Without exception, you make a killing!"
Flint said it without the slightest embarrassment.
Natsume: "…"
"What are these little stones?"
Natsume keenly noticed that beneath the raw stones priced in the thousands were some small pieces pressed under them, each tagged very cheaply—mostly ₽50 to ₽100.
They were practically being given away.
Even a standard Poké Ball only costs ₽200 Pokédollars.
"Hahaha, those? Just for fun. There's nothing inside."
"Really?"
Natsume scanned with his Rotom Phone and arched a brow at Flint.
Seeing Natsume's doubt, Flint laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and guaranteed:
"If you can find anything valuable in there, I'll be your guide for free!"
"Deal."
Natsume said it and started digging through the bottom pile of fragments.
"Young man, don't say I didn't warn you. These are all my leftovers. Unless your eye is as ruthless as mine, you won't find a thing."
Natsume didn't answer.
He wasn't sure how ruthless his eye was, but the Rotom Phone's "X-ray" was definitely sharp enough.
"This one."
No sooner had Flint finished than Natsume fished out a palm-sized stone.
"Come out, Geodude.
Use Rock Smash!"
Flint didn't waste words and sent out a Geodude.
"Relax.
My Geodude is professionally trained.
It won't damage whatever's inside."
Flint added.
"Boom!"
With a soft tremor, the stone burst into powder, and within the dust, a faint blue gleam appeared.
"A Water Stone!"
Misty recognized it immediately.
"Lucky pull."
Flint looked a bit embarrassed.
That raw stone was priced at only ₽60 Pokédollars, but a Water Stone goes for around ₽3,000 Pokédollars on the market.
Flint cleared his throat twice, just about to speak, when—thud—another fist-sized stone landed by his foot, tagged ₽50 Pokédollars.
"Open this one too."
"You sure? First stone opening is free.
After that it's ₽50 Pokédollars each."
Natsume said nothing, just kept rummaging through the fragment heap.
One after another, fist-sized stones piled up at Flint's feet.
Before long, more than twenty such stones were stacked by his boots.
"Sigh."
Flint shook his head, writing Natsume off as a hot-headed rookie.
After his prior selection, pulling even one Water Stone out of that scrap heap was already a massive fluke.
"Twenty-six total, huh?
That's ₽1,300 Pokédollars in fees.
Geodude, Rock Smash!"
Flint didn't stop him.
Natsume had just lucked into a Water Stone; now was the perfect time to earn some money back.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After several blasts, the ground was carpeted with rock dust.
In the powder glittered a riot of colors.
"So many yellow ones, red ones, green ones—no wonder it's Natsume!"
"Idiot, that's a Thunder Stone, a Fire Stone, and a Leaf Stone!"
Misty didn't have time to scold much more.
Her eyes were glued to the rainbow pile of stones on the ground.
Mm… if she wasn't mistaken, there were four Water Stones.
"Huh?"
Flint was stunned.
These fragments were the offcuts he chipped off every time he put out stock, saved up over years.
And there were this many valuable items he'd missed!?
Looking at the colorful stones on the ground, Flint felt his heart bleeding.
"Good thing Natsume doesn't have the same lousy eye as you.
Otherwise, we would've missed all of them."
Ash offered heartfelt praise.
Flint: "…"
"Uh, I'm closing up for today."
Seeing Natsume about to pick from the heap inside, Flint's brow twitched.
He hurriedly rolled up his mat and covered his pile of stones.
Natsume found it odd.
He'd clearly noticed the little slope looked hollowed out, so there should have been plenty more fragments.
Beside him, Misty stood and clapped her hands.
"In that case, mister, you should keep your promise."
At that, Flint stiffened.
He'd nearly forgotten.
A total loss on all fronts.
"Fine.
First thing, I'll take you to the Pewter City Gym!"
Ash's voice rang out, brimming with excitement.
Hearing him, Flint paused, then looked up at Ash, and then at the Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pika-pi?"
Pikachu also looked at Flint, puzzled.
After a moment, Flint said solemnly:
"You can't beat the Pewter City Gym."
"You never know till you try.
I'm really confident!"
Ash thumped his chest, face full of confidence.
"I'll take you to the Pewter City Pokémon Center first.
Get some rest."
Flint shook his head and walked ahead.
"Let's go straight to the Gym—ow, Misty, why are you pulling my ear?"
"If you don't need rest, we still do.
Right, Natsume?"
Behind them, Natsume finished gathering the colorful stones, then looked forward.
"I think resting up first is better too."
This haul was a big one.
Water Stone ×4, Fire Stone ×3, Thunder Stone ×2, Leaf Stone ×3.
Likely because this was close to Mount Moon, Moon Stones were the most common—six in total.
Besides these familiar Evolution stones, there was also one Dawn Stone, one Oval Stone, and one Everstone.
The rest were several type-boosting Gems that increase move power.
After tallying the extra item stones in his system backpack, Natsume looked up.
The three of them were already far ahead.
Watching Flint's back at the front, Natsume tilted his head slightly.
If he remembered right, when Ash hit a wall at the Pewter City Gym, the way Pikachu got stronger… was something Flint taught him.
From what Natsume knew, cutting-edge research did have related reports.
But that kind of boost was limited.
It couldn't possibly reach the future height of the "Pika-god."
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