Chapter 183: Champion!
"Flamethrower!"
For the fifth time, Natsume beckoned, and flames and lightning intertwined.
"Pika—"
Pikachu is unable to battle!
At long last, the broadcast was no longer that cursed "held on so the Trainer wouldn't be sad," and Natsume let out a breath.
The Egg is unable to battle!
The moment Pikachu fell, the Zapdos egg lurched, rolled, and fell to the ground.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, and the Big Egg is unable to battle!"
"The winner of this match is—Contestant Natsume!"
Only when the referee finished announcing the result did Natsume snap out of his daze. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Honestly, he'd thought he was at a programming contest. Good thing he still edged it out.
"You already tried your best, Pika—mmph!"
Before Ash could finish, Natsume covered his mouth.
Natsume, what are you doing? Ash looked at Natsume, aggrieved.
"Don't talk yet. Let me take it down first."
Natsume waved, and the battlefield was dismissed. He truly feared that if Ash finished speaking, the next second the "Pika-god" would stand up again on the power of bonds, memories of partners, and all that.
Human-and-Bond Divinity recording progress: 45%. Please provide more battle data.
Vzzzt—
A red light flashed from Natsume's belt. Center-parted appeared on the field, holding a half-eaten Oran Berry. Fuming, it circled the arena, then locked eyes on Ash.
"Pika!"
Center-parted hopped onto Ash's shoulder and gave him a sharp slap. After yanking its balled-up little blanket out of Ash's mouth, it walked to Natsume's side, tapped its Poké Ball, and returned.
"Friendship first, competition second—please shake hands, both contestants!" Right on cue, the commentator's voice came in.
"Natsume, congrats!" Ash held out his hand.
"I've decided—going forward, you're the Academy Director of Sunshine Academy, and I'm going to be the hands-off boss."
"Huh?" Ash stared, baffled.
"Let me offer my congratulations—Contestant Natsume is the champion of this year's Indigo Plateau Conference!"
Click, click—
All around, flashes burst, and the TV image froze on the moment Natsume and Ash shook hands.
"Natsume, do you have any thoughts about winning the championship this time?"
"I think a Pokémon battle must include at least one Pokémon," Natsume said with a deadpan face.
"Natsume, because you sent a Pokémon Egg to battle, rumor has it the Pokémon Protection Association plans to blacklist you. What's your take on that?"
"Blacklist me? Didn't they put out a wanted notice on me two years ago?" Natsume looked genuinely puzzled.
"Natsume, as both a Pokémon Trainer and a researcher, how do you view the relationship between these two professions?"
At last, a reporter asked something substantive, and Natsume's eyes lit up as he took the mic.
"In order to fully advance the high-quality development of the modern Pokémon enterprise and to maximize the synergistic effect of the two core professions—Trainer and Researcher—I propose the following to deepen cross-profession integration and build a new talent-training framework."
"First, long-standing barriers between the Trainer and Researcher tracks have hampered deep fusion of ecological research and practical techniques. Studies show that behavior data accumulated by Trainers through live battles is of great value to evolution-line research…"
He launched into a speech he'd long prepared, then suddenly shifted gears.
"These two professions should complement each other, and yet! I've found that the vast majority of related academies seem unaware of the advantages of combining disciplines and of the vital role in cultivating Trainers."
Natsume turned to the issue of academies and moved into his main point. "…Therefore, in the future, I intend to found a Researcher Academy with new models and new ideas."
"Natsume, can you be specific?" The drowsy reporters perked up.
Natsume took the mic again. "My Researcher Academy will follow a path of mutual promotion between disciplines. In concrete terms, we'll implement this starting with a shared data repository… This academy isn't just an innovation to traditional education models—it's also a key vehicle to realize the vision of 'humans and Pokémon thriving together.'"
When he finished, the reporters looked at one another. They didn't really understand it, but they still had to find angles.
"This isn't something one person can do. Have you secured any investment?"
"Great question. In terms of resource guarantees, we've already won strategic support from Professor Oak's Laboratory, Viridian Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., and the Viridian Rocket Company, among other institutions."
Natsume paused, then continued. "New students will be issued a custom Pokédex on enrollment, integrating battle data capture, move analysis, and Pokémon language translation."
He laid it on thick without blushing or losing breath. That steady gaze and clean-cut face made TV viewers feel, at a glance, that this was an idealistic and capable young man.
"Pokémon language translation?" A reporter hurried a mic forward.
"Yes. I'll roll the software out in the coming months—Kanto region first, then gradually adding each region's Pokémon language modules."
This time, Natsume wasn't bluffing. Meowth had actually uploaded nearly all Pokémon languages for Kanto. All Natsume needed was to build the app framework, hire folks to polish and prettify it, and it would be nearly ready for launch.
The reporters looked a bit disappointed; they could tell Natsume was using them for advertising. Dreams, inspiration, pep talks—Natsume hadn't said any of that. Suddenly, their eyes shifted to Ash. A kid this age would surely say something, right?
"Ahem. Hello, everyone, I'm Ash from Pallet Town. My dream is that one day I can test into Mr. Natsume's Sunshine Academy. Sunshine Academy is a—"
Ash didn't hide it at all; he pulled out his Pokédex and began a heartfelt recitation from the article Natsume had sent.
The reporters: ...
By the time the press conference ended, it was evening. Back at the Pokémon Center, Natsume found everyone gathered around the videophone. Leaning in, he saw Professor Oak's face on-screen.
"My, my, not bad—one champion and one runner-up!" Seeing Natsume step in, Professor Oak beamed. "It's just a pity about Gary. With a little luck, the top three might all have been from Pallet Town." He sighed and shook his head.
"Don't say that, Professor. Gary left right after the match. I bet he went back to train hard!" Ash chimed in.
"He might place well in the Johto League. If not, he can come back and do research with me," Professor Oak waved it off.
"Johto League?" Ash's eyes lit up.
"It's the Johto region's equivalent of the Indigo Plateau Conference," Natsume explained.
"Oh! I'm in!" Ash burst with excitement.
"It's still early. Help me with something for the next two months first." Professor Oak took a sip of tea and continued. "Professor Ivy of the Orange Islands has discovered a Poké Ball with great research value. Go pick it up for me."
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