The sky was clear and bright, and the group rested in the shade of a large tree.
Ash had a Pikachu perched on each shoulder, and he stared at Natsume with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Brother Natsume, are you modifying Poké Balls?" Ash asked, eyeing the pile of discarded red-and-white spheres beside Natsume.
Ever since they left Pewter City yesterday, Natsume had been obsessively tinkering with wires and unfamiliar tools, systematically destroying Poké Balls. In just two days, he had likely ruined over a hundred.
"Yes, I'm etching this chip and circuit into them," Natsume replied without looking up.
"Why would you implant something like that?" Misty asked, her orange head peeking over Natsume's shoulder.
"Because it looks cool," Natsume answered, still focused on his work.
Misty: "..."
"What a waste," she muttered before turning to help Brock, who was cooking nearby.
Pop!
A faint explosion echoed as another Poké Ball in Natsume's hand malfunctioned.
Staring at the ruined sphere, Natsume seemed lost in thought.
Recording complete. Would you like to review the failure?
The diligent voice of his Rotom-powered smartphone chimed in from beside him.
"Save it for now."
Natsume stared intently at the broken Poké Ball in his hand.
Hmm. A Poké Ball Rotom... In theory, it seemed simple enough, but putting it into practice is proving more challenging than expected.
First, Poké Balls contained only extremely simple circuits, and these circuits occupied a minuscule area. Rotom simply couldn't merge with them.
Natsume's current task was to implant a circuit board into the Poké Ball, along with a chip large enough to house Rotom's core.
The chip had been salvaged from the electric toy Rotom he'd built previously. The toy was roughly the same size as a Poké Ball, so if the wiring was done correctly, it could be used directly.
The real challenge lay in expanding the Poké Ball's original circuitry to maximize its performance while ensuring compatibility with the chip.
"It must be because I don't have a proper lab," Natsume muttered after pondering for a while. He couldn't shake the feeling that the problem wasn't his own lack of skill. After all, the theory behind this project still seemed straightforward to him.
Natsume had already used his S-Rank scratch card, and as expected, he received the worst possible guaranteed reward: a Master Ball.
Unwilling to risk experimenting with the Master Ball, Natsume decided to start with ordinary Poké Balls, then move on to slightly more complex Great Balls and Ultra Balls, before finally attempting the Master Ball.
But he was immediately stuck at the first step.
"Pika hi hi!"
Middle-Parted Hair's laughter rang out from nearby.
Natsume glanced over, then casually pulled out a small chair and began wrapping it with electrical wires.
"Pika?!"
"Brother Natsume, doesn't your Pikachu already have the Electric-type Carnival Chair?" Ash asked.
Ash had intended to say the full name of the chair, but the technical term was too cumbersome, so he followed Natsume's lead and shortened it to "Carnival Chair."
"That's the first-tier Carnival Chair. Middle-Parted Hair has fully adapted to it. I'm now working on the second tier. There are ten tiers in total."
"Pika?!"
Middle-Parted Hair swayed precariously on Ash's shoulder, looking utterly miserable.
"Pika!"
Pika God patted Middle-Parted Hair's parted fur in comfort.
"Is that so?" Ash scratched his head.
Since the day before yesterday, Brother Natsume had been asking Ash to bring Middle-Parted Hair along when training his Pikachu. They took turns battling others, and even ate the same food, all in the name of "maintaining relative variables."
After spending a few days together, Ash realized that Brother Natsume's Pikachu was quite different from his own.
Middle-Parted Hair actually knew a Grass-type move called "Grass Knot"!
When Ash discovered this, he was astonished. He pestered Natsume relentlessly, begging him to teach his Pikachu the move too.
But Natsume flatly refused.
He explained that he had only ever obtained one TM himself.
"We'll talk about it later," Natsume said.
"Alright, everyone, let's eat!" Misty called out from nearby.
"After we finish, we'll set off. We should reach Mt. Moon by tonight," Brock encouraged.
Evening, Mt. Moon.
"We arrived faster than I expected. It's barely dusk," Ash remarked.
Before the group of four loomed a barren mountain, its surface pockmarked with craters like the lunar landscape.
"Huh? Why is it as bright as day here?" Misty exclaimed, surprised by the sight of Mt. Moon.
The mountain was covered in various instruments, and Flying-type Pokémon were transporting unknown materials.
Mt. Moon was bathed in the blinding light of numerous searchlights, as bright as day.
"Ah! It looks like they're conducting some kind of research project here. The road's blocked, and they've set up a cordon with staff over there," Ash said, approaching with a dejected expression.
"Follow me," Natsume waved to the trio and strode toward the nearby staff. "I'm Natsume, a researcher from Professor Oak's Laboratory." He presented his credentials.
"Senior Natsume!" One of the staff recognized him.
"Huh? It's you?" Natsume vaguely remembered the faces before him. They were researchers from the Pewter City Science Academy. "What are you doing here?"
"It's not safe to talk here. Let's go inside first. Are you Senior Natsume's friends? Please, come in too!" The two researchers ushered them inside.
"By the way, you still haven't answered Natsume's question," Brock remarked curiously as they walked toward Mt. Moon, about ten minutes away. He had worked with the Pewter City Science Academy several times before.
"Ugh, don't even mention it. Something must have happened with the League. They suddenly mobilized and sealed off Mt. Moon. We Pewter City researchers were the closest, so almost all of us were called in."
"Yeah, I heard an Elite Four Trainer is coming. I wonder what's going on."
The two researchers chatted casually, but Ash only caught the words "Elite Four Trainer."
"Brother Natsume, what's an Elite Four Trainer?" Ash asked curiously, turning to Natsume beside him.
Natsume, who had been focused on tinkering with his red-and-white Poké Balls, looked up. "In each region, the League's most powerful trainers are called the Elite Four. For example, the Kanto Region has its own Elite Four."
"The Elite Four!" Ash's eyes lit up. "Great! I want to challenge the Elite Four Trainer at Mt. Moon!"
"Pika!" Pika God beside him was equally enthusiastic.
On Ash's other shoulder, Middle-Parted Hair, who had been dozing with a snot bubble dangling from his nose, suddenly jolted awake.
"Pika..." Middle-Parted Hair sighed in despair. He had finally mastered the art of sleeping while standing, only to be constantly disturbed by the surrounding commotion.
Moreover, the trainer Natsume had assigned him to train with—this Ash—was a complete battle maniac. In just three days, Ash had challenged nearly every trainer they encountered on the road. Even with Pika God helping to share the load, Middle-Parted Hair had fought in nearly a dozen battles.
The worst part was that this kid loved to give ridiculous orders!
Like telling him to use 100,000 Volt against a Geodude, even though he didn't know the move.
Now he wanted to challenge an Elite Four Trainer.
He couldn't win. There was no way he could win.
Middle-Parted Hair had already decided: if Ash told him to battle an Elite Four Trainer, he'd simply lie down and go to sleep.