Pokémon: Who told him to come out of Pallet Town!

Chapter 3: Don't worry, Pikachu only suffered a minor, fatal injury.

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and the sky suddenly darkened.

It seemed like it was going to rain. The girl pushing her bicycle glanced at the sky with some concern, then turned to look at Natsume, who stood motionless to the side, and asked again:

"Hey, do you know where the nearest Pokémon Center is?"

Natsume remained silent, his eyes vacant, as if he were deep in thought.

Seeing this, Xiaoxia was a little stunned.

The young man in front of me was fair-skinned and had a very kind face. He didn't seem like the kind of person who was difficult to talk to.

"that......"

When he spoke for the third time, Natsume came to his senses.

Whose child is this?

Natsume lowered his head, looking at the ten-year-old girl in front of him as if he didn't recognize Kasumi.

"..."

Xia was speechless; she hadn't expected Natsume's first words to be like that.

"Um, I just wanted to ask for directions. My name is Xiao... wait a minute!"

Just as Xiaoxia was about to introduce herself, she was interrupted by Natsume reaching out his hand.

"Don't tell me your name yet."

"what?"

Xiaoxia looked at the strange older brother in front of her with a puzzled expression as he took out paper and pen.

Natsume carefully observed Kasumi, who was writing something on a piece of paper.

Hmm, the girl in front of me has hair color and hairstyle very similar to Xiaoxia's.

Oh my god, even their appearance is exactly the same as Xiaoxia's!

After some deliberation, Natsume concluded on the paper that the girl in front of him was Kasumi.

"System, I have deciphered the identity of the girl in front of me. She is one of the main characters. Isn't this a research topic, a huge breakthrough?"

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for deciphering the custom non-level-required topic. Reward: 1 yuan in paper currency.]

Feeling the extra dollar in his backpack, Natsume shrugged.

Today's attempt to get something for free failed.

The system doesn't seem to really approve of the topics it defines itself.

Over the past few years, Natsume has also tried to create his own research projects in hopes of earning rewards from the system.

But it's clear that he doesn't have a strong scientific research sense.

Aside from a few Rotom development projects being rated as B or C, which Natsume received as an award.

Other topics, such as "Can plant Pokémon be produced and sold on their own?" and "Can three Digletts impersonate three Digletts to engage in Pokémon battles?", were topics that Natsume felt were quite imaginative.

All of them were rated as failures by the system and were deemed unacceptable.

The final reward for these kinds of failed projects is only one dollar.

"You're acting weird, what are you doing?"

Xia looked at Natsume, whose facial expressions kept changing and who was muttering to himself from time to time. She couldn't help but take a half step back and looked at the strange young man in front of her with some fear.

Could this person be possessed by a ghost?

"mound--"

Suddenly, a loud electric shock came from the woods not far away, drawing their attention.

"Could it be some kind of Pokémon?"

Xiaoxia looked in that direction and murmured to herself.

Beside him, Natsume had a look of utter dismay on his face, and he suddenly slapped his forehead.

broken!

Xiaoxia has run into him now, but hasn't met with Xiaozhi. If it weren't for the bicycle's contribution, Xiaozhi might not have been able to get Pikachu to the Pokémon Center in time.

What if Pikachu dies?!

A sense of crisis suddenly rose in Natsume's heart.

Pikachu is not only Ash's first Pokémon, but also an S-rank research subject!

"I know where the Pokémon Center is, I'll take you there!"

Natsume quickly recovered, grabbed Kasumi's hand, and ran wildly in the direction they had come from.

......

"Pikachu!"

On the forest path, countless Spearow were frightened away by the strong electric current, leaving only Ash, charred black, holding the unconscious Pikachu and crying uncontrollably.

In order to protect him, Pikachu and the flock of Spearow both suffered heavy losses.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the light rain began to fall, and in no time, it turned into a torrential downpour.

"Clatter!"

Warm raindrops pattered on Pikachu's cheeks, and his red electric sac emitted wisps of electricity.

The dazed Pikachu slowly opened its eyes a crack, and faintly heard Ash's sobbing:

"Pikachu, please don't be hurt! I'll definitely take you to the Pokémon Center for treatment!"

Holding the dazed Pikachu, Ash stood up and prepared to run to the Pokémon Center on foot.

Just then, a shout came from behind him, stopping him.

"Ash!"

It was Natsume's voice. Ash turned around hopefully and looked at Natsume running towards him from not far away.

Natsume is a Pokémon researcher, so he should be able to tell how badly Pikachu is injured. He might even have some healing spray on him!

Ash ran towards Natsume with high hopes.

"Spray? Oh! I forgot to bring it."

Faced with Satoshi's eager question, Natsume paused for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

Everyone takes their first trip.

"Ah... what should we do? The Pokémon Center seems to be very far away."

Ash's face showed obvious disappointment.

Seeing this, Natsume could only pat him on the shoulder and comfort him:

"Don't worry, Ash, it's just a minor fatal wound."

"Oh, but what exactly do you mean by a mere fatal wound?"

Ash became even more frightened after hearing Natsume's words of comfort.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu, I didn't take good care of you."

Ash looked down at Pikachu with self-reproach.

"Pika-pi".

Pikachu mumbled something indistinctly, seemingly responding to Ash.

Seeing Zhipi's clingy behavior, Natsume nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that Ash and Pikachu's relationship will improve considerably in the days to come.

His research can finally get started!

Ash, holding Pikachu, was about to charge forward headlong when Natsume stopped him again.

"I think this young lady would be happy to lend you her bicycle."

Ash was taken aback when he looked in the direction Natsume was pointing.

He then noticed that behind Natsume, there was a girl pushing a bicycle.

"Huh? What? Me?"

When she saw that the two people's eyes were on her, Xiaoxia was stunned for a few seconds.

Anyway, thank you!

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiaozhi jumped onto Xiaoxia's bicycle in a great hurry and pedaled away as fast as he could.

Xia panicked when she saw her bicycle being taken away.

"Hey, what's the difference between you and a robber—smack!"

Before Xiaoxia could finish speaking, Natsume slapped her hard without hesitation!

He tossed a thick wad of banknotes into Xiaoxia's hand.

"deposit!"

After Natsume finished speaking with an air of dominance, he turned around and activated Rotom's flight mode on his phone, following in Ash's footsteps and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Xiaoxia stood there, holding her umbrella, seemingly bewildered by the sudden series of events.

Looking down, she stared with some confusion at the thick stack of banknotes in her hand.

A face value of one thousand.

That's enough to buy several bicycles, right?

Xiaoxia was a little suspicious. She counted them and then froze.

The stack of banknotes that Natsume threw at him consisted of one-dollar bills, except for the top one which was worth one thousand.

Forget about buying several bicycles, it wouldn't even be enough to buy a single wheel.

Through the rain, a red line was visible on the girl's face.

Xiaoxia, your face is flushed.

"You two shameless robbers! Stop right there!"

Xiaoxia threw down her umbrella and, like a ferocious Gyarados, raced through the rain, chasing after Natsume and the other person.