On Route 24, the group hurried along.
*Rumble—*
A sudden clap of thunder split the sky, lightning dragging a massive shadow that flickered before them.
"It appeared—it's the giant Pokémon Natsume wants to study!"
Ash stopped in his tracks, staring in shock at the looming shadow.
"Idiot, over there!"
Misty smacked Ash on the head and pointed ahead.
There, on a tree stump, lay a small, round-headed, flame-tailed, bright red Pokémon.
"It's a wild Charmander!" Brock exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, it's a Charmander!" Ash's eyes lit up as he excitedly threw a Pokéball.
*Char!* With a flick of his tail, Charmander smacked the Pokéball aside.
"Hey, shouldn't you at least battle first?"
Beside them, Giselle—carrying several bags—walked over. Behind her, Natsume yawned, looking utterly relaxed.
"Alright then, let's battle, Pikachu!"
Ash swung his arm forward, but Charmander turned his head and pointed his backside at him.
"This Charmander doesn't seem to want to fight," Brock observed thoughtfully.
"Diplomats, go!" Misty grabbed both Pikachu and Midchu by the scruffs of their necks and set them on the stump.
*Pika pika pi?* *What are you doing?*
*Pika—pi* *Is it comfy sleeping here—*
*Char char!* *I'm waiting for my Trainer.*
*Char~* *It's pretty comfy.*
*Pika pika?* *Waiting for your Trainer?*
*Pika!* *Get up and let me sleep.*
*Pika!* Pikachu suddenly knocked Midchu on the head, and the latter jumped down from the stump, clutching his head.
*Pika pi?*
*Char char!*
Watching the Pokémon communicate, Natsume rubbed his chin.
Hmm. He had considered making a universal Pokémon translation program.
But there were simply too many Pokémon species. Translating every one would take enormous effort.
Unless… there was someone who understood every Pokémon language and human speech to help him.
He suddenly thought of Meowth—who, come to think of it, still had an outstanding B-rank project tied to him.
After a while, Pikachu hopped down from the stump and gestured toward the group.
"Oh, you're saying he's waiting for his Trainer here!"
"What? So this Charmander already has a Trainer."
Natsume couldn't understand how Ash and the others were able to interpret Pikachu's motions as a full conversation.
He reached behind Charmander in silence.
"Natsume, put down that brick—he already has a Trainer!"
Ash suddenly grabbed Natsume's arm.
"What if his Trainer abandoned him? It looks like it's going to rain soon."
Natsume looked at Ash, who stopped him.
"Natsume makes a good point. That could be possible," Brock nodded in agreement.
"But… taking someone else's Pokémon like this doesn't feel right. If the Trainer comes back and doesn't see Charmander, they'll be worried," Misty said, concern written on her face.
"Forget it. Let's do this instead." Natsume pulled out two small pills from his pocket and set them in front of Charmander.
*Char?* Charmander tilted his head at Natsume.
"Listen carefully." Natsume pointed to the blue pill. "If you follow this road, there's a Pokémon Center. If you want to live, swallow this blue pill, then come find us there."
"But if you don't want to live…" Natsume's gaze darkened, his delicate face taking on a strangely persuasive air:
"…then swallow this red pill."
*Char?* Charmander looked at Natsume curiously.
"Alright, let's go. He'll make his own choice."
Natsume clapped his hands, stood up, and prepared to head to the Pokémon Center on Route 24.
"What's with you, Natsume? You're making it sound way too serious."
Misty couldn't help but complain from the side.
Natsume just waved his hand and walked ahead.
Following the principle of *if the experiment works, don't complicate it with emotion*, Natsume ultimately chose not to forcibly take Charmander away.
...
**Route 24, Pokémon Center.**
The group sat at a table, resting.
"Here's your dinner."
Natsume carried several meal sets, distributing them one by one.
"Brock, what's wrong? You've looked troubled ever since we came in."
"I'm worried about that Charmander. From what I saw, it still looked injured."
Brock's expression was heavy as he absentmindedly sipped his soup.
"Also, it looks like it's going to rain soon."
Natsume pointed out the window.
"That's right. The flame on Charmander's tail must never go out. If it does, his life will be in danger."
Giselle gracefully held her teacup, sipping slowly as she explained.
"Come on, I don't think we need to be that pessimistic. Maybe Charmander's Trainer already came back to get him."
Misty took a sip of her orange juice, though there was still a trace of worry in her eyes.
"Bwahahaha!"
A burst of arrogant laughter came from a nearby table.
The group turned to see a gang of rowdy young men making a ruckus, not caring about anyone else.
"Hey, Damian, catching that many Pokémon is amazing!"
"Hmph, of course. Rattata, Pidgey—I've got plenty!"
In front of Damian sat a plate full of Pokéballs.
"Hey, Damian, what about that Charmander? Why isn't it with you?" someone asked curiously.
"That Charmander?" Damian's face turned dismissive. "His talent was garbage. I don't want a Pokémon like that!"
"But Damian, wasn't that Charmander really obedient?" someone asked with a hint of regret.
"Hahaha, yeah, it was obedient!" Damian suddenly smirked, remembering something amusing.
"I told that Charmander, if it waited in one spot, I'd come back for it. I bet—"
Damian laughed so hard he could barely breathe before finishing:
"I bet it'll wait there until it dies! Hahahaha—ugh, hey, what are you doing?!"
Before he could finish, Brock grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up.
"You bastard! Charmander could actually die!"
"What the hell does that have to do with me?!"
Damian slapped Brock's hand away, only to be lifted up again the next second.
"You scum! You don't deserve to have Pokémon!"
This time it was Ash, who grabbed him single-handedly. With too much force, the sound of fabric tearing echoed.
*Riiip!* Damian's collar tore apart, and he crashed to the floor.
"You looking for a fight?!" Damian got up in a fury, reaching toward the table for his Pokéballs.
"Huh?"
His hand came up empty. He looked at the table.
"Who stole my Pokémon?!"
Damian shrieked—every last Pokéball from the plate had vanished.
*Pika!*
Pikachu jumped in front of Ash, making Damian's face pale with fear.
"You'll pay for this!"
He spat out the threat, then scrambled on all fours to flee the Pokémon Center.
Not far away, Nurse Joy looked troubled as a cold-faced girl blocked her path.
"Miss Giselle, disputes aren't allowed inside the Pokémon Center. I should be stepping in to stop this."
"It's not like I could really stop you," Giselle glanced at her.
"Heh." Joy covered her mouth, then added:
"But don't forget, Miss Giselle—you promised me reimbursement for the medicine."
Joy was in a good mood. Those punks always abused their Trainer status to mooch off the League's treatment subsidies, which had long annoyed her.
Now that someone had taught them a lesson, she couldn't be happier. And on top of that, Miss Giselle had promised her a year's worth of free medicine.
"I think you should hurry and save that Charmander," Joy reminded the group from behind Giselle.
"Right, let's move out!"
"Okay, Natsume, we'll need your help—huh? Where's Natsume?"
Ash froze for a moment, realizing Natsume was gone.
"I'll go look for Mr. Natsume. You all head out first." Giselle waved to the others.
You can read more (around 50+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.