"Return, Rotom."
Rotom went back into the phone as Natsume stepped out of the lab.
Outside, he noticed everyone looking a little dejected.
Behind them stood a very familiar chubby purple figure, scratching its head in confusion.
**Gengar, Lv.85.**
*A Gengar this high-leveled? Where did it come from?*
Natsume froze for a moment.
He remembered that the strongest Pokémon Bill had was only a Blastoise at level 48.
"Bill, what's going on?"
He ignored Gengar, who seemed friendly enough. As soon as he came out, it silently drifted into his shadow.
"Sigh!" Bill let out a deep sigh before explaining:
"We contacted Professor Oak, but only Agatha was available. Unfortunately, she's too far away."
"So, after discussing with her, Oak decided to use the Pokémon Transfer System to send over a few of Agatha's main battlers. That way, at least we'd have some firepower."
"But…" Bill's face twisted with anger.
"Some bastard cut all my lines! Just as Gengar came through, the machine went dead!"
He looked lost, muttering to himself:
"It's over… If that giant Pokémon gets offended and refuses to communicate with me, what will I do?"
"Hey, hey, hey! You should be glad if it doesn't beat you up—you still want to *communicate* with it?" Misty snapped, trying to shake Bill out of his delusions.
At her words, the others felt a chill of fear about the unknown.
Especially Brock—he still hadn't forgotten the impression Rotom's Dynamax form had left on him.
And according to Bill's research, this giant Pokémon was at an extremely high level.
That made it even scarier.
"Come on, don't be so gloomy." On the other side, Natsume was already getting along well with Agatha's Gengar, feeding it treats.
"Look at this Gengar," he said, patting its head. Gengar turned its glowing red eyes to him.
"It's been trained very well—its level is extremely high. Must be Agatha's ace."
As he spoke, he strapped a Dynamax Band onto his wrist.
"Wasn't that thing supposed to be useless?" Misty asked curiously. Professor Magnolia had warned them about it before.
"It looks good."
"…"
"By the way, Gengar, where's your Pokéball?"
Natsume turned to it.
*Gen-gaa—* Gengar stretched out its long tongue and rolled out a red-and-white Pokéball, placing it in front of him.
ITS Trainer had already told it to follow whoever seemed the most reliable for now.
After some SERIOUS observation, Gengar decided the one who gave it *Black Sludge* to eat was the best choice.
Natsume picked up Gengar's Pokéball and synced it with his Dynamax Band, tinkering with something.
"By the way, Natsume, did you finish developing Great Ball Rotom?" Ash suddenly asked.
"Oh, that." Natsume spoke, and Rotom, understanding instantly, appeared before everyone in its newest form.
"It worked!"
Bill looked even happier than Natsume.
"How strong is this Rotom? Can it stop the giant Pokémon?"
"No." Natsume shook his head.
Bill's brief flicker of hope vanished again.
*Gehehehe—* the purple figure laughed heartily, clearly enjoying the gloomy mood.
*Woooo—*
From the top of the lighthouse came a deep, flute-like bellow.
"It's starting. Let's head up."
Bill pulled himself together, wearing an expression of grim resolve.
Soon, with everyone helping him carry equipment, they reached the top of the lighthouse.
After some adjustments, all the instruments brought up were aimed at the foggy ocean ahead.
Ash couldn't understand what they were for, but he knew they were recording. He quickly pulled out his Pokédex, switched on the camera, and pointed it at the sea.
*Pika!*
Pikachu appeared in the frame, then immediately climbed up Ash's arm to his shoulder.
"Wow, I'm so jealous your Pokédex has that function," Misty leaned over behind Ash, amazed that the image quality was clearer than many professional cameras.
If her Pokédex had that feature, she'd take hundred pictures a day.
Beside her, Giselle glanced at Ash's Pokédex, then turned to Natsume with sparkling eyes:
"Mr. Natsume, I want one too."
"Page 458 of **Researcher's Guide to Wilderness Survival** has a DIY tutorial," Natsume said flatly, sitting cross-legged on Gengar's head as it carried him, eyes fixed on the horizon without even glancing around.
Suddenly, the waves on the sea began to swell.
*Woooo—*
A faint cry echoed from the far side of the ocean.
"It's coming!"
Bill's face lit up with excitement. Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
"It's coming!"
Meanwhile, inside a cliffside cave, Team Rocket's trio were just as excited.
"Hahaha! We'll catch that giant Pokémon and present it to Boss Giovanni!" James said passionately.
"Yeah! Then Team Rocket will monopolize the Dynamax system in Kanto!" Jessie was already fantasizing about the future.
"Strange… Meowth, why aren't you saying anything?"
The two suddenly noticed Meowth trembling.
"W-we should run, meow…"
"Why?" James and Jessie looked at him in confusion.
"She… she said she's going to kill us, meow! It's all that stupid researcher's fault, meow!" Meowth babbled incoherently.
"What?" "What are you even talking about?"
Their expressions grew stranger.
"This… this sounds like Dragonite's language, meow!"
A giant Dragonite!?
Jessie and James felt their scalps go numb.
If that was true, then they had no right to interfere at all.
"Maybe we could just follow those kids and pick up the scraps?" James suggested, but Meowth clutched his head, looking more terrified.
"She also said she'd destroy everything in sight, meow!!!"
"Oh—so you actually understood what it was saying?" James suddenly realized.
"Still, sneaking a few photos shouldn't hurt, right?" Jessie was unwilling to give up.
"No, meow! She's talking about that stupid lighthouse researcher, meow!!"
What did this have to do with the lighthouse researcher?
Jessie and James were more confused than ever.
But before Meowth could explain, a white beam struck the ocean surface before them.
*BOOM!*
A colossal Hyper Beam blasted through the mist, slamming into the sea and raising towering waves.
The cave was instantly flooded, and the trio were swept up into the air by the torrent.
"What's that?"
Natsume's eyes flashed as he patted the chubby purple figure beneath him.
"Gengar, help me save that Meowth."
Gengar nodded, its scarlet eyes glimmering faint blue.
In the sky, Meowth thought maybe getting blasted away wasn't so bad.
But soon he realized he was getting closer and closer to the ground—heading straight toward the lighthouse.
Meowth glanced fearfully toward the mist.
"No, *nyah*!"
Meowth fell into Natsume's hand, caught firmly by the scruff of his neck.
"So it's you, Meowth."
Natsume shook his head slightly. He had thought it might be some kind of flying Meowth.
Still, Team Rocket's Meowth was special—able to understand nearly every Pokémon language.
You can read more (around 70+ 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.