Chapter 90: Midchu's Uncertain Path
With Ash starting things off, more and more food piled onto the table.
Many were local specialties from Celedon City.
"Look, Cerulean City's famous water honey!" Misty took out a small jar.
"And Pewter City's lava chocolate." Brock placed a large box on the table, each piece of chocolate as big as a fist.
"Mm… why are you all just buying your own city's specialties?"
Ash spoke with his mouth stuffed full of cake, words muffled.
"Hahaha." Misty laughed awkwardly.
"Well, seeing your hometown's specialties in a big city, of course you'd want to buy them, just to check if they taste authentic."
Brock chuckled, but when he turned back to hand out chocolates, he found only empty wrappers left inside the box.
He looked over and saw Natsume, mouth covered in dark smudges.
"I didn't eat them." Natsume shook his head, twisting open a sky-blue cap and downing the honey inside in one gulp.
"Ah, my Cerulean City specialty!" Misty cried out.
"Mr. Natsume, are you really that hungry?" Giselle tore open a Magikarp-yaki and handed it to him.
One bite burst with spicy crab roe, leaving a rich flavor.
"Mmh, Giselle, you have good taste." The savory flavor lit up Natsume's eyes.
"Really? I still have lots more in my room, I'll go get them!" Giselle ran upstairs, delighted.
"Natsume, what's with you today?" Misty and Brock stared at him together.
His eyes glowed faintly blue, food from the table flying into his mouth one piece after another.
By the end, to save chewing time, Natsume even used psychic power to crush the food beforehand.
He gave no answer, only kept eating.
"Whew—"
At last, he stopped, letting out a long breath.
The table was buried under piles of wrappers.
"Wow, what a shame you didn't come with us to the food street yesterday, Natsume." Ash sighed.
"Yeah, they even had an eating contest. If Natsume were there, the Snorlax owned by the shop might not have been the guaranteed winner." Misty nodded.
"Pokémon eating contests… humans can't enter, right?" Brock's mouth twitched. Looking at Natsume curiously, he asked:
"Did you make some breakthrough in your psychic power?"
Natsume wiped his mouth and nodded slightly.
Psychic power consumed energy from the body. Especially after stepping onto the threshold of the Inner Realm, his body's need for food had grown even greater.
On top of that, with his will shattered yesterday, his psychic power was nearly drained.
That he slept all the way until today—perhaps it had been pure exhaustion.
Natsume patted his face, suddenly realizing.
When he checked his status panel, he saw his mental strength had broken through the 300-Intelligence mark.
It seemed that after his will shattered, both his willpower and psychic force had become more solid while repairing themselves.
His path was indeed correct.
First shatter Midchu's mental body, then use psychic power to repair it!
*Pika!* Nearby, Midchu bit his tongue on the Magikarp-yaki.
After the meal, the group decided to stay in Celedon City for a few more days.
After all, you didn't get to visit such a metropolis every day.
"I'm heading to the Day Care. Anyone coming?" Brock asked at the Pokémon Center entrance.
"I'm going to Central Park to find some battles!" Ash couldn't wait.
*Pika!* Pikachu cheered with energy.
"Really… then I'll go with Gis—" Misty started, but stopped when she noticed Giselle winking at her.
"Ahem, I'll check out the aquarium instead. I want to compare it with our Cerulean Gym."
She changed her words quickly and was the first to leave.
Soon, everyone else left, leaving only Natsume and Giselle.
"Mr. Natsume, where are we going?" Giselle asked, tugging at his sleeve.
"There's a new cinema in Celedon City. How about we check it out?"
"I need to train Midchu."
"*ika pika!* Midchu, eyes brimming with tears, grabbed onto Natsume's pant leg.
Trainer, you've moved me too much—take a day off for yourself!
Through the mental link, Natsume twitched his mouth.
Ever since Midchu realized he could read his thoughts, all the little private musings of the past few days had turned into constant flattery.
Natsume walked on, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Giselle.
Giselle looked up, hopeful that Natsume had changed his mind, only to hear:
"By the way, Giselle, don't forget the multi-type move development assignment I gave you."
With that, Natsume carried the despondent Midchu back to the Pokémon Center.
"Fine, I'll stay at the Pokémon Center too." Giselle shrugged and followed right behind.
On the first floor of the Pokémon Center, Natsume found an empty seat and sat down with Midchu in his arms.
Giselle sat across from him, fuming.
"You seem free. Hold out your hand." Natsume said.
"Huh?" Giselle hesitated, then extended her hand. Natsume grabbed it in one motion, despite her instinct to pull away.
Before she could react, the scene around her shifted.
They were now in a vast open field. Not far off, Midchu hugged his little head, looking utterly defeated.
"Mr. Natsume, this is…?" Giselle asked, astonished.
"This is Midchu's mental world. This is where I train it." Natsume said, waving his hand. Blue particles coalesced, forming a jeep.
*Vroom!* The engine roared, and Natsume took the driver's seat.
"Huh?" Giselle tilted her head, curious.
Suddenly, countless blue particles gathered before her, forming a second jeep.
"You too. Our training goal is to shatter his will," Natsume said, pointing at Midchu.
He realized that one jeep alone wasn't enough.
Midchu's mental agility had increased significantly, and it was becoming harder to break through.
So Natsume decided to add a second jeep. Later, when Midchu got stronger, they could even bring Ash and the others here for team training.
*Pika!* Midchu clutched his little blanket, eyes wide, tears streaming down, looking pitifully at Giselle.
Could you bear it? Could you really?
"Mr. Natsume, isn't this a bit… extreme?" Giselle hesitated.
"Get in first. Experience it yourself."
Reluctantly, Giselle sat in the driver's seat.
The next moment, blue particles gathered and a black blindfold appeared in her hands.
"Shatter the will, then rebuild it. This is what Midchu must go through."
"If you can't bear it, wear the blindfold. Beyond a certain boundary, you'll return to the starting point anyway."
Natsume shook his head slightly, intending for Giselle to act as a random obstacle.
Careful Giselle noticed Natsume's reaction and shook her head.
"I can handle it, it's just…"
She blushed a little.
"My driving isn't very good."
"Perfect, that makes it even better!" Natsume gave a thumbs-up without holding back.
Midchu: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
*You really have no heart!*
You can read more (around 100+ 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.