Chapter 177. Go, Big Egg!
Just as Natsume was pondering, a female reporter in professional attire, microphone in hand, walked over.
"Mr. Natsume, as a researcher, what is your goal in entering the tournament?"
The microphone was pushed to Natsume's lips.
"Is it the dream of your youth, or have you decided to give up scholarship for battle?"
She seemed to be from the Kalos region, and a chubby Chespin was helping her carry the camera.
Meanwhile, far away in the Kalos region.
In a living room, Delia Ketchum sat on a sofa, smiling as she watched the live interview from the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Beside her, a girl with long chestnut hair sat very stiffly.
Which was odd, because this was supposed to be her house.
Serena held a plate of Viridian honey pancakes, her gaze flickering toward Delia.
This auntie was traveling in the Kalos region and had booked the family's ranch for a homestay.
Only… she was so enthusiastic that she'd even brought many specialties from Kanto.
Now, they were watching Kanto's big event—the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Indigo Plateau Conference.
Serena's eyes went unfocused, and honey seeped through her fingers without her noticing.
"Ah, that's my Ash!"
Delia suddenly exclaimed in delight.
"Ash?"
Serena jolted and snapped her head up, but on the TV she saw only a blurry figure flashing past.
"Wait, Auntie, you said you wanted to watch Ash's son, your match—ah, pff, pff, pff!"
Serena babbled, face bright red as she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Yes, well, what do you think, isn't my son adorable?"
Delia said this as she took out a photo of herself and Ash.
Serena stared in a daze.
He really is.
After a moment, she came back to herself and focused on the TV.
Just then, the reporter walked toward Ash, and Serena's eyes lit up.
But in the next second, the screen was filled by a very clean-cut, extremely honest-looking young man.
"This is Ash's traveling companion, Natsume," Delia said with a smile. "He's a researcher and a competitor."
"Is it the dream of your youth, or have you decided to give up scholarship for battle?"
The reporter's voice carried, and she lifted her eyes, a flash of anticipation in them as she looked at Natsume, hoping something philosophical would pop out of his mouth.
After all, every other Trainer interviewed had been 'dream' this and 'dream' that, and the audience was already sick of it.
"Because of the prize money," Natsume nodded.
The reporter froze, her mind going blank.
"I mean, as a researcher, to set aside your research for now and enter the League… is because—?"
"Because of the prize money," Natsume repeated.
"Er, I mean, aside from material concerns… Mr. Natsume, do you think your experience as a researcher helps you in this tournament?"
Thinking for a moment, she switched tack and tried to guide him to a smooth answer.
"For example, your Pokémon receiving more scientific training and tactical instruction."
"Specifically, which Pokémon do you plan to send out first?"
"Yes. After careful consideration, I've decided to have it take point."
As Natsume spoke, and under the reporter's bewildered gaze, he lifted up a Pokémon Egg.
The patterns on the shell flickered, as if in response.
"But…" The reporter hesitated, pointing at the Zapdos Egg.
"Do you mean you're going to spot your opponent a Pokémon?"
"No. I plan to use only this Pokémon Egg to win the tournament," Natsume said earnestly.
"Are you joking?" The reporter was dumbfounded.
"No. I've conducted precise measurements. There's absolutely no problem," Natsume answered seriously.
After last night's testing, Natsume had found that the Zapdos Egg actually knew quite a few moves.
And the key point was that it seemed able to use Flamethrower and Thunderbolt at the same time, with the power multiplying.
"But… but it's just an egg, it can't even see what's outside!" The reporter was on the verge of tearing her hair out.
"You're right. That's an oversight in my research."
Natsume took out a marker and drew three wobbly circles on the Zapdos Egg.
Two eyes and a mouth, perfect.
The reporter: "…"
"Auntie Delia, is he really a researcher?"
In front of the TV, Serena turned her head, tiny eyes full of big doubts.
The reporter stared blankly for quite a while.
Only then did she belatedly realize that asking Natsume about his own arrangements might have been a mistake from the start.
"What are your thoughts on some of the Indigo Plateau Conference policies? For example, the restrictions on stall tactics."
She changed her line of questioning.
"Thoughts… The League adopted the advice of a certain Kanto researcher this time and changed the rules to an open team sheet—both sides reveal six, then each picks three."
"This change added a selection phase to choosing Pokémon, greatly increasing the mind games, and it has allowed the Conference's battles to form a sustainable new ecosystem that's bursting with fresh vitality."
"As for stall-team Trainers, I strongly oppose them. They're the ones who stink up the tournament environment."
Natsume spoke righteously.
The reporter nodded slightly, a light coming into her eyes.
"Then, Mr. Natsume, what is your specific tactical plan?"
"Stall," Natsume said, deadpan.
He couldn't help it. The League had categorized his team as stall, requiring move counts to be limited to the four registered ones.
"…" The reporter choked.
She regretted it completely now and should have interviewed the kid next to him.
Finally, under the pitiable influence of Ash's "Look at me, please," the reporter walked over to him.
After a while, the reporter wiped the sweat from her brow and stepped out of the prep bench.
She would never again think that interviewing people with mouths full of "dreams" lacked highlights.
"The first match, Grass Field: Competitor Natsume versus Competitor Bloom!"
Right then, the announcer's voice rang out.
The reporter blinked, then instinctively signaled the chubby Chespin to swing the camera toward the battlefield.
Suddenly, she froze.
How could that be—surely that researcher had been joking.
Who throws a Pokémon Egg onto the field to battle!
On a field covered in ice, Natsume stood atop the raised platform.
Opposite him was a tight-faced young man who looked fifteen or sixteen.
Screens lit up beneath both platforms at the same time.
"Poké Ball Rotom, Pikachu, Dragonite, Rotom, Diglett, Pokémon Egg."
"Victreebel, Growlithe, Wartortle, Onix, Sandslash, Magneton."
On both screens, each side's battle roster was revealed in full to the other.
"This is a Round of 256 match, with the rules set to three-on-three!"
The host's voice sounded, and the young man opposite was so nervous he kept gulping water.
His gaze couldn't help drifting over Natsume's six-Pokémon lineup.
Dragonite.
At the sight of that name, his face went pale.
This is a late-bloomer species that only evolves to its final stage at a very high level.
If it's fully evolved, then the level must be high.
Why did I get matched with this kind of opponent right from the start!
Across the way, Natsume looked at the youth in mild puzzlement.
Sure, you had to consider both sides' lineups and guess or predict the three the opponent would send.
But even if you were analyzing, did you have to go white as a sheet?
Natsume waved a hand and casually tapped three choices on the console.
In an instant, the three slotted Pokémon under his name turned into question marks.
A chill ran down the young man's back, and he suddenly didn't know what to do.
That Pokémon Egg was probably just to make up the numbers, surely the other side couldn't—
"Go, Pokémon Egg!"
With a grand sweep of his arm, Natsume tossed a Pokémon Egg streaked with blazing lightning patterns onto the Grass Field, where it bounced as it landed.
"Hm?"
Seeing this, the youth's face flashed with delight.
This opponent is underestimating me.
"Hmph, go, Victreebel!"
He quickly finalized his three choices, sending out Victreebel first.
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