Chapter 178: Top Eight
"There it is! Contestant Natsume has sent out a Pokémon Egg, and the Pokémon Protection Association is already knocking on the door!"
Miles's voice rang out, his eyes blazing as he looked down, expecting Natsume to deliver the reversal everyone anticipated. A Pokémon Egg stood on the grass, and countless spectators fixed their gaze upon it.
"Doesn't this count as breaking the rules?" Agatha turned back and gave Officer Jenny a puzzled look.
"Uh, Mr. Natsume's Pokémon only looks like an egg," Officer Jenny replied.
Last night, when Natsume ran tests, he had specifically called them over. After watching for a while, everyone was astonished. This wasn't an actual Pokémon Egg at all—this was a Pokémon that could understand commands, use moves, and even dodge.
"Mr. Natsume, this isn't very proper."
Gavin didn't make the first move. He stared straight at Natsume, and even in the stands, people had already started cursing Natsume. He had a hunch that if he ordered Victreebel to attack, he would be cursed right along with him.
"Flamethrower!"
The lightning patterns on the Zapdos Egg flared. A jet of flame wreathed in lightning roared out and slammed into Victreebel. Victreebel fell onto the grass at once.
"You—!"
Gavin froze. He had never expected the opponent to be this… unsporting.
"Yes. My Pokémon Egg can use moves." Natsume nodded.
"Victreebel is unable to battle. Contestant Gavin, please send out your next Pokémon!" the referee announced.
"Go, Growlithe!" "Growlithe, Quick Attack!"
Gavin no longer hesitated and struck first. Yet just as Growlithe was about to collide with the Pokémon Egg, the latter actually hopped—hop, hop—to dodge. In the sunlight, those crooked eyes were reflected on the big screen, as if mocking someone.
"Thunderbolt!" Natsume called.
In an instant, fiery red electricity erupted like spouting lava and crashed hard into Growlithe.
"Growlithe is unable to battle!" the referee declared crisply.
"You—!" Gavin's eyes went wide, his finger pointing straight at the Pokémon Egg.
"Yes. This Pokémon Egg can dodge." Natsume nodded.
"Who asked you!" Gavin snapped. "Go, Onix!"
"I get it now. This weird Pokémon of yours uses Electric- and Fire-type moves, but against my Onix—"
"Flamethrower!"
"Roaaar—"
Onix crashed down in pain.
"Onix is unable to battle. Contestant Natsume wins!"
"What???" Gavin stared at Natsume in disbelief.
"Incredible! Contestant Gavin has been defeated by an egg!" Riding on his Magnezone, Miles circled the field once. His voice rippled out like an echo.
He was beaten by an egg. He was beaten by an egg.
What is this—beating an egg?!
"You—what even is this!" Gavin pointed at Natsume in disbelief.
"Yes. The power of its moves also far exceeds the norm." Natsume answered himself.
Saying that, Natsume recalled the Zapdos Egg. A crowd of reporters was already waiting for him outside.
"Mr. Natsume, is this some kind of specialized training method?" "Mr. Natsume, how did you teach a Pokémon Egg to use moves?" "Mr. Natsume, do you think this behavior violates the researcher's code of ethics?"
Countless microphones surged forward and surrounded Natsume so tightly that not even water could get through.
Over the next few days, Natsume was unstoppable. Almost every spectator was left with a deep impression of this strange Trainer. His first Pokémon would definitely be a Pokémon Egg. If you did your homework and, by a stroke of luck, managed to defeat that Egg, next you would face a Pikachu that slept soundly and would not wake no matter how you attacked.
If that Pikachu did not feel like playing along anymore, then the most outrageous one appeared.
"Cloyster, use Harden!"
On the Ice Field in the Round of 16, a young Trainer watched Natsume across from him with nerves taut. He had done his homework these past few days, terrified he would run into this researcher named Natsume halfway through. It was simply that those few Pokémon were too weird, and he could not think of any effective countermeasures.
Fortunately, his luck today was quite good. Natsume had swapped out two Pokémon, and for his second send-out, he had not used Pikachu but a low-level Diglett. Before it could even take a turn, his Cloyster had already knocked it out.
Now both sides were down to their last Pokémon.
"Mmm~" Dragonite lounged comfortably against a block of ice. So cool~
"Cloyster, keep using Harden!"
The young man did not waste a single chance, ordering Cloyster to keep hardening.
"My goodness, Cloyster has already used Harden several times in a row. Isn't Contestant Natsume getting anxious?" came the commentary from below.
Natsume glanced at the Cloyster that had withdrawn tightly into its shell and kept using Harden. Seeing Natsume make a move, the young Trainer called out again, "Harden—Cloyster, keep hardening!"
Facing a high-level Dragonite, he dared not be careless. The best strategy was to stack Cloyster's Defense to the limit—only then could it put up a fight.
"Dragonite!" Natsume suddenly called.
"Come on! My Cloyster is the strongest shield now!" "Cloyster, Withdraw!"
The young Trainer swept his arm out, then looked at Natsume with full confidence. With Defense maxed out, no matter what move this Dragonite used, he was sure he could withstand it.
"Kucha!"
Cloyster quickly withdrew into its shell. Its spiked shell gleamed with a silvery luster, reflecting on the ice like an impregnable fortress.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Dragonite walked up to Cloyster. Across the way, the young Trainer watched this scene with his heart in his throat. After all, this was a Dragonite. Its level was very high and it looked downright scary—one glance told you this was not a Dragonite to mess with.
Countless people watched the massive Dragonite take one step after another forward, curious what kind of move it would use. Even Natsume was a little curious.
At present, Dragonite was completely impossible to command in battle. Forget following Natsume's orders—even Dragonite itself did not know which move would come out. Apart from some improvement in raw physical training—thanks to sparring with Gastly—its control over moves had not progressed at all.
"Mmm~" Under the young Trainer's tense gaze, Dragonite raised its hand.
"Is it Mega Punch?" the young man's pupils shrank.
Dragonite extended a finger.
"Could it be Dragon Claw?"
The young man was baffled. Why wasn't Natsume giving any commands? Dragonite grabbed the Cloyster, now shaped like an iron barrel, and lifted it high.
"It's Seismic Toss—Cloyster, brace for the impact!"
Seeing Dragonite straining with a constipated look, the young man's heart jumped into his throat and he hastily warned his partner.
Whoosh—
Yet when Dragonite threw, Cloyster was only flung lightly. Whether the field was too slick with moisture, or because Cloyster followed its Trainer's warning and rolled with the impact, it tumbled out of the battlefield and crashed into the dais below the stands.
"Cloyster has been knocked out of the battlefield. Contestant Natsume wins!" the referee announced loudly.
Across the way, the young Trainer froze, speechless. Natsume was speechless as well.
"Who taught you that?" Natsume looked at Dragonite, at a loss for words. To build up a good reputation for himself, he had already been trying to hold back on certain cheeky tactics.
"Mmm~ The boss told me to!"
Center-parted? Natsume blinked.
Early this morning, while going down the stairs, Center-parted had tripped its left foot over its right and tumbled head over heels. Natsume had given it the day off.
"Natsume-bro, I'm done too. Let's head back!" Down below, Ash waved in this direction. Behind him stood Gary Oak, red with anger.
"What's with him?" Natsume looked at Gary in puzzlement.
"It's nothing. He was just outclassed—" Ash cut in first.
"Don't get too excited! I just didn't sleep well last night!" Gary snapped.
"Ash's opponent was Gary. Gary lost," Brock whispered.
"Can a Trainer's business even be called a 'loss'?" Gary stiffened his neck, refusing to accept it. He had just been unlucky, just like those poor souls who ran into Natsume early. His real strength was absolutely not as simple as "Top 16."
End of Chapter
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