The group quickly returned to the Pewter City Pokémon Center.
After dinner, Wuneng, looking troubled, pulled Natsume aside.
"What do you want from me?"
Natsume glanced at Wuneng, who was carrying a large bag of Berries.
"I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"No time."
Natsume waved his hand dismissively and was about to head back to his room to continue studying the follow-up S-rank mission.
"Wait! You might be interested in this!"
Wuneng called after him. When Natsume turned back, he saw that a fist-sized object was now floating above Wuneng's hand, emitting a faint glow.
"Huh?"
Natsume leaned in curiously, and only then did he get a clear look at what Wuneng was holding.
It was an irregular fragment of a meteorite, with a rough surface and sharp, crystalline edges. The main body shimmered gold, and a dim orange-red glow pulsed from within, resembling flowing lava.
Star-shaped patterns were faintly visible on its surface. It hovered in mid-air, surrounded by tiny particles of starlight, like a miniature star.
"A Wishing Star!? Isn't that a specialty of the Galar region?!"
Natsume's voice was filled with shock, as though he had just seen something extraordinary.
"Galar region? Hahaha, so it's not from Kanto. No wonder I didn't recognize it."
Seeing Natsume's interest, Wuneng looked at him earnestly and said straightforwardly:
"Help me out, and I'll give this to you."
Natsume stared at the Wishing Star in Wuneng's hand, thinking for a moment.
The Wishing Star is the key material used to craft a Dynamax Band. According to Professor Magnolia's research in the Galar region—and borrowing Professor Oak's lab—Natsume figured he could probably make one himself.
However, the ability to Dynamax Pokémon stems from the Wishing Star channeling Galar Particles through the band, granting Trainers the power to Dynamax their Pokémon.
Outside of Galar, that effect shouldn't work.
Wait a second—
Natsume's expression turned serious as he suddenly recalled several abnormally large Pokémon from the original storyline:
The giant Tentacruel, the massive Dragonite...
Could it be that the Kanto region has something similar to Galar Particles?
"Alright, I'll do it. But only if you give me the Wishing Star."
With that thought in mind, Natsume didn't even bother asking what Wuneng wanted—he agreed immediately.
As expected, the oversized Pokémon that the main cast would encounter later on would all be related to this system-generated quest.
If he followed the system's research direction, even if he couldn't popularize Dynamax across Kanto, at least he'd gain a method to use it himself—which was more than worth it.
"Deal. It's yours. Follow me."
Wuneng didn't waste words. He handed the Wishing Star to Natsume and turned to walk outside.
After safely storing the Wishing Star, Natsume called back toward the Pokémon Center:
"Kasumi, remember to wash my clothes. You're treating me to a meal next time."
"Hmph, now you're talking."
Inside, Kasumi huffed as she hugged a pile of laundry.
That night, on a small hill outside town...
Wuneng carried a large bag of Berries and moved swiftly, leading Natsume back to the stall from earlier that day.
"Pii?"
A small sound caught Natsume's attention.
Looking up, he saw a Pichu standing atop Wuneng's stall.
The moment it saw Wuneng, Pichu visibly lit up with joy.
"Come on, eat up."
Wuneng offered the Berries to Pichu, who began munching away while casting curious glances at Natsume.
When Natsume crouched down, the little guy flinched and scurried back, hugging its Berry from a distance.
"Come on out, everyone!"
Wuneng's voice rang out nearby.
Soon, Pokémon emerged from all directions—especially from the cave Wuneng had covered earlier in the day, which released the most.
Pikachu, Pichu, Magnemite, Voltorb, Electabuzz...
All of them were Electric-type Pokémon, without exception.
Curious, Natsume asked, "These are...?"
"These are all Electric-type Pokémon that were abandoned. Many of them found their way back here from memory. I took them in."
Wuneng fell silent after saying this, handing out Berries to the Pokémon one by one.
Standing behind him, Natsume couldn't help but feel a bit moved.
Much later, under the moonlight, Wuneng finally finished distributing the Berries. He stood up and looked at Natsume with a pleading gaze:
"I want to ask you to help me find a way to eliminate the side effects of Electric current training."
Looking at the cheerful Electric-types munching on Berries, Natsume didn't respond with his usual aloofness. Instead, he nodded seriously:
"Don't worry. Even if you hadn't asked me, I would've done it."
"Thank you. Here—these are my breeding notes. I hope they help with your research."
Natsume accepted the notebook, and just then, Wuneng felt a light pressure on his shoulder.
It was Natsume's hand.
"Do you really want to leave the Pewter City Gym in Brock's hands alone?"
"It'll give these kids a better environment—and Brock's siblings will be happy too."
"...Think it over carefully."
With that, Natsume vanished from sight.
Pokémon Center – Natsume's Room
Zing!
A faint blue light flashed as Rotom used Teleport to bring Natsume back.
He stored the Wishing Star in his system space for the time being and flipped open Wuneng's breeding notes, diving in eagerly.
The notebook was full—more like a diary, with pages of casual but detailed records. It would take a while to sift through all the useful information.
The Next Morning
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Outside, Satoshi's spirited training shout echoed faintly through the air.
Inside the room, Natsume stretched lazily. He hadn't slept all night, yet looked more refreshed than ever.
On the right side of his desk sat two notebooks, both filled with dense notes.
One was Wuneng's breeding journal. The other was Natsume's own extraction of valuable information.
Wuneng had subjected many different Pokémon—or even Pokémon of the same species but different talents—to Electric current enhancement training.
From all the scattered data, Natsume discovered a pattern:
For Electric-types of the same species, those with higher talent received greater enhancement.
But for different species, it was the weaker species that saw the most improvement.
As for the so-called side effects, Natsume had already formed a preliminary hypothesis.
It likely had to do with the frequency, intensity, and duration of Electric current exposure.
After all, Pikachu (a.k.a. "Pika-god") had also shown improvement after charging at the Pokémon Center. Yet after observing for several days, Natsume noticed no signs of level drop or damage.
So if he experimented with variable batches, intensities, and time intervals, he might just find a side-effect-free training method.
Of course, that would take a lot of time and repeated testing. As for his first test subject—
"Come out, Middle Part."
A flash of red light—and a Pikachu with hair gel and a middle-part hairstyle appeared in the room.
Unlike the hardworking "Pika-god" outside, his Middle Part was still wrapped in a tiny blanket, snoring away, limbs sprawled in all directions, and a bubble forming at his nose.
Natsume stood behind him, a vein bulging on his forehead.
The Trainer used: Intense Stare.
"Pika!"
Sensing Natsume's murderous gaze, Middle Part jolted awake, fur bristling like a porcupine.
He turned his head slowly... and a bad feeling crept into his little heart.
"Hehehe..."
"Your good days are over."