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

Chapter 29: Pikachu Refuses to Participate, Ash Sends Out Another Pikachu!

"What happened here?"

"I don't know, I heard it was stolen, an engine and a giant drain pipe or something."

"oh......"

Natsume instantly lost interest.

"Let's go, Xia... Hey? Why aren't you eating your ice cream? Why are you throwing it on the ground?"

"Ughhhhhh—"

Natsume successfully activated the Pursuer's Blood Rage Mode. He ran ahead, with Kasumi trailing behind in pursuit, the shopping cart wheels spinning rapidly.

......

......

Cerulean City Pokémon Center.

"Whoosh~whoosh—"

In the corner, two figures, one tall and one short, leaned against the wall to rest.

"Natsume... Natsume, you've really gone too far! I promise I'll never go shopping with you again!"

"It's you~ Heh—you're the one who said you'd help me carry my things... Whew..."

Xiaoxia is now filled with extreme regret.

She was so stupid, really. She should have realized it sooner. Even if she had nowhere to hide from her sister, she shouldn't have gone to Natsume.

She might as well go outside and hang herself on a tree and pretend she's a fiery monkey.

"Speaking of which..." Natsume took a deep breath, looked at Kasumi beside him, and reached out his hand to her.

"What are you going to do?"

Xia looked at Natsume warily, afraid that he was going to cause some trouble again.

Natsume slowly opened his palm, and a smooth, light blue pebble appeared in his hand.

"Here you go."

"The Water Stone? For me!" Xiaoxia's eyes lit up. Actually, she had wanted to ask Natsume for it a long time ago, but she had never been too shy to ask.

"That's more like it!"

Xiaoxia took the Water Stone and held it in her hands, feeling how hard-won it was.

"Clang—" Natsume took out a small bag, shook it a few times, and a few more water stones fell into Kasumi's hand.

Xiaoxia was slightly taken aback when she saw the three extra Water Stones.

"If you're going home, you have to give your family some explanation. You can't have gone away for months and come back empty-handed, can you?"

Natsume's voice followed immediately.

"How did you know? You investigated me!?" Xiaoxia looked at Natsume in shock.

"To confirm that a companion is trustworthy, you need to know their background, right? Besides—" Natsume pointed to Kasumi's face:

"Your feelings are written all over your face."

"But... are you really that good?"

Xiaoxia looked at the four Water Stones in her hand and then looked at Natsume with a puzzled expression.

How could a little brat not trust him?

Seeing this, Natsume shrugged his shoulders, his face seemingly glowing with divine light, and looked at Kasumi with a kind expression:

"After all, as the only adult, I can be considered your temporary guardian!"

After saying that, Natsume turned around and dragged the shopping cart away.

Xiaoxia's lips twitched as she stared intently at the Rotom phone with its automatic lighting.

However, she was still quite grateful.

This unreliable researcher seems more human than I imagined.

Yes, it means being perceptive and understanding of human nature.

Why aren't you moving?

Xiaoxia didn't leave, but looked at Natsume, who was pulling up the shopping cart and starting to pose, and asked in confusion.

"Hey, could you give me a push?"

Xiaoxia: "......"

After packing everything up, Natsume took Misty to the Cerulean City Gym.

When they returned to the Pokémon Center, Ash and Brock weren't there; they had probably already gone to the Cerulean City Gym.

Soon, Natsume and Kasumi arrived at a building that looked like a theater.

"Your three older sisters are quite beautiful."

Looking at the huge poster hanging outside the dojo, Natsume took a sip of his MooMoo Milk and sincerely praised it.

"Hmph, of course, doesn't she know whose sister she is?"

Xiaoxia nodded smugly.

Soon, the two entered the dojo.

Xiaoxia still seemed a little guilty, hanging far behind Natsume.

Reluctantly, Natsume went inside by himself first.

Natsume saw Satoshi by a pool filled with foam props.

Opposite him stood a beautiful woman with the same golden, blue, and pink hair as in the poster.

Beside the four, Xiao Gang collapsed to the ground, his eyes gleaming with desire, clearly having burned to ashes under the scorching sun.

"Huh? You're also a challenger here?"

The three Clarion sisters noticed Natsume.

"Natsume-nii!"

Ash waved to Natsume.

"You two know each other?" The blonde woman with cherry blossom-like hair smiled, then looked at Natsume somewhat shyly:

"I'm sorry, those three newcomers from Pallet Town were too strong. We don't have any Pokémon we can use for battles right now."

"Yes, yes, the rest of our Pokémon are going to participate in the water ballet and can't battle."

The third sister of Peony, with her pink hair, chimed in.

"So, we'll just give you the blue badges."

As she spoke, Sister Sakura took out two teardrop-shaped badges from her bosom and handed them to the two of them.

"Huh? That's way too perfunctory." Ash paused for a moment, then his gaze sharpened as he said:

"Natsume-san once told me that getting something for nothing is—"

"Thank you, I'll accept it."

Before Ash could finish speaking, Natsume stepped forward and took the badge.

"Natsume-nii, this isn't what you taught me!"

Ash looked at Natsume silently.

"We're all equipped with Electric Pokémon, which are very effective against Water-type Gym Leaders," Natsume shrugged and continued.

"And they really haven't been battling Pokémon."

"Oh..." Ash paused for a moment, then prepared to take the blue badge.

"Stop right there!"

Just then, a voice rang out, and Misty landed opposite Ash.

"I'll fight you!"

Xiaoxia took out her Poké Ball and looked at Xiaozhi.

"But why should I battle you?" Ash was completely confused.

"Oh, it's Xia!"

Sister Sakura went to greet her.

"You said the other day that you wouldn't come back until you became the number one Water-type Pokémon Master. Did you come back to us because you couldn't make it out there and were all down on your luck?"

"Hahaha!"

The three sisters laughed so hard they were shaking.

"I, I also gained something!"

As she spoke, Xiaoxia took out the four Water Stones.

"what?"

The blue-haired second sister, Ayame, stretched out her slender fingers and picked up a water stone.

"It really is a water stone?"

The other two sisters gathered around.

"Yes, Xia obtained all of these in Nibi City," Natsume added.

"Hmph, that's right, this is my future number one Water-type Pokémon Trainer, obtained through my exceptional eye!"

With Natsume backing her up, Kasumi transformed into Pinocchio and began to spout endless boasts.

"Wow, that's quite a haul."

"It seems that letting you go on the trip was the right thing to do; we were a little worried at first."

"That means, Xiaoxia, as you grow, we've also become the even more popular Hua Lan Three Sisters group."

"That's enough!"

Xiaoxia shouted loudly, stopping the noisy scene.

"Anyway, Ash, I will battle you as the Cerulean City Gym Leader!"

"Let's use this pool as our battleground! Go, starfish!"

Xiaoxia looked at Xiaozhi, who was not far away.

"Huh? Why don't you go find Natsume-nii?" Satoshi scratched his head.

"We can't beat them," Xiaoxia said bluntly.

"What?!" Feeling slighted, Ash immediately became indignant.

"Go, Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu tugged at Ash's trouser leg with a troubled expression.

"Huh? You said you really like Xia and don't want to play against her?"

"Pikachu, Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded in deep agreement.

"Hahaha, give up! My Pikachu is holding back and won't even go into battle, you can't win!"

Xiaoxia's loud laughter rang out.

"Damn it, don't get too excited, go for it, middle-parted hair!"

"Pikachu!"

Xiaoxia: "???"