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

Chapter 14: Professor Oak, the author wrote your name.

Pewter City, Pokémon Center.

"Let's rest first, and then go to the dojo."

"Let's go to the dojo first, then rest!"

The sound of Ash and Misty arguing could be heard.

The two argued the whole way, and Wu Neng was completely exasperated.

"Hey, hey, you're called Xiaozhi, right?"

Wu looked at Xiaozhi, his expression suddenly becoming extremely serious.

"What's wrong, Uncle Wu Neng?"

Ash stopped arguing with Misty and turned to look at Wu Neng.

"In your current state, you definitely won't be able to beat Brock at the Pewter City Gym. I suggest you try other gyms first."

Wu Neng looked at Xiao Zhi and spoke frankly.

"How could that be? Pikachu and I are both very confident."

"Skin!"

Ash was speaking, and Pikachu echoed him with great enthusiasm.

"Idiot, the Pewter City Gym is known for its Rock and Ground-type Pokémon. There's no way your Pokémon can win."

Xiaoxia, standing nearby, didn't forget to add insult to injury.

Seeing this, Wu Neng also said:

"She's right. The Pewter City Gym isn't really suitable for a newbie like you. You should go to the Cerulean City Gym next door first; they're the weakest there."

Xiaoxia: "......"

Ignoring Misty's sudden silence, Ash remained unconvinced:

"Natsume-nii, you said I... huh?"

Satoshi, who wanted Natsume's support, suddenly realized that Natsume was talking to someone on the phone.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Professor Oak.

"Professor Oak, it's you."

"Oh, it's Ash! How's your journey going?"

"Smooth sailing, but why are you at my house again?"

"Huh? Ahem, Natsume, let's get down to business first."

The phone's Rotom automatically tilted the screen, aligning it perfectly with Natsume.

"Professor Oak, was the article I sent you last night approved?"

"Oh... I've already submitted it to you."

As he spoke, Professor Oak on the screen seemed to have received some message, and picked up the mouse to click on something on the computer.

Xiaoxia and Wu Neng, who were nearby, also noticed the commotion and came over out of curiosity.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were a Pokémon researcher, young man!"

Wu Neng was somewhat surprised and sincerely praised him.

"Natsume, what did you post?"

Xiaoxia curiously glanced at the Rotom phone screen, where Professor Oak's slightly amused voice sounded:

"Oh? It's a message from the editor over there!"

After a short while, Professor Oak put down the mouse, looked back at the camera, and gave a congratulatory look:

"Congratulations, Natsume! Your paper has passed the initial review of the Cerulean City's top-tier children's publication and will be published soon."

"What? That children's magazine from Cerulean City?"

Xiaoxia, standing nearby, complained that she had stopped watching that stuff when she was three years old.

To become a Pokémon Professor, one must publish five top-tier papers, all of which must be of high quality and be accepted by top-tier journals. Natsume has only published one paper that meets these requirements so far.

"A General Evaluation Index on the Application of Rotom and Electric Fusion in Battles" has been included in three top-tier journals: the All-Regional Pokémon League Academy, the Journal of Pokémon Generations, and the Viridian City Morning Post, as well as countless second- and third-tier journals.

It was through this article that he was able to become Professor Oak's student.

As for this so-called Kanto Special Grade Children's Magazine... although it has the word "Special Grade" in its name, in Natsume's impression, it seems to be a third-rate magazine that specializes in children.

Natsume remained completely calm, simply blinking his eyes as he spoke with utmost sincerity:

"Professor Oak, I wrote your name as the first author."

"That's right!" Professor Oak, who had been laughing heartily, froze, and then a terrified voice came from his opponent:

"What did you say?!"

"Wait a minute, I think this paper has the potential to be published in a top-tier journal. I'll withdraw it and revise it for you!"

As if the sky had fallen, Professor Oak frantically shut down the communication.

"Huh? What's wrong, Professor Oak?"

Ash asked curiously.

"I don't know, I don't know much about this either."

Xiaoxia scratched her head.

"It's nothing, it's just that Professor Oak will be staying up late for the next few days."

Natsume took a sip of water.

Well, if Professor Oak is helpful, he'll only need three papers to graduate with his doctorate, one less.

Wu Neng, who was watching from the sidelines, was speechless.

"Alright, Ash, what do you want from me?"

Hearing Natsume's voice, Ash snapped out of his daze and immediately reverted to his previous battle-ready demeanor:

"Natsume-kun, do you think I can get the Pewter City Gym?"

"cannot."

Natsume kept it simple.

"ah--"

Ash clutched his chest, looking like he had been severely shocked.

"Will he be alright?"

Xia looked at Natsume with some unease.

"3"

Natsume uttered a number.

"3? What does that mean?"

Xia looked at Natsume, puzzled.

"2"

"1"

"0"

"I can't give up!"

As the number "0" popped out of Natsume's mouth, Ash jumped up as if he had been injected with adrenaline, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Alright, saying it a million times is no substitute for taking action. I'm off now!"

With that, Ash grabbed the restored Pikachu and two Poké Balls from the counter and ran off towards the Pewter City Gym.

"Ugh!"

Wu Neng tried to stop him, but Natsume pressed down on his shoulder.

"Let him go. That's just Ash's personality. He won't lie down until he falls down."

"What if you fall?"

Xiaoxia, standing to the side, said with some disbelief.

"Get up and keep running."

Natsume said matter-of-factly.

"An idiot like him? Humph, I don't believe it."

Seeing Natsume exaggerating like this, Kasumi turned her head to the side.

Natsume shrugged and said nothing.

After all, Xiaoxia had only joined the team a few days ago, and her impression of Xiaozhi was just that of a kind-hearted boy who loved Pokémon.

Beside him, Wu Neng seemed somewhat moved by Natsume's words and fell silent.

Watching Ash's retreating figure, Natsume stretched.

Well, while it's good to be full of fighting spirit, Natsume doesn't think Ash has any chance of winning.

The advantages and disadvantages of attributes and the level difference are there for all to see.

In particular, Onix is ​​almost immune to electrical properties.

Let's wait for Ash to be defeated, and then Takeru can help the opponent become stronger.

Thinking this, Natsume glanced at Takenori, who seemed a little sad, out of the corner of his eye, shrugged, and found a seat to sit down.

Natsume had no interest in the old man's state of mind; all he knew was that he still had a scratch-off lottery ticket left unused.

Now that you can get a scratch card every day you play, Natsume doesn't cherish it as much anymore.

Natsume was slightly taken aback when he took the scratch-off lottery ticket out of the system space.

The scratch-off lottery ticket in my hand didn't have the same red and white ball pattern as before.

Blue cover, white background, Super Ball.

Natsume raised an eyebrow, scratched open the lottery ticket, revealing a small, disc-like object inside.

[Ding! Consumed 1 Super Ball Scratch Card, obtained 1 Random Skill Machine.]

Skill Machine... Sensing an extra disc in the system space, Natsume didn't rush to check it, but instead asked himself a question.

"System, why is the pattern on this scratch-off ticket different?"

Completing challenges of varying difficulty will reward you with scratch cards featuring different designs: Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, and more.

After listening to the system's explanation, Natsume nodded in understanding.

Completing a Level B research project will earn you a Super Ball scratch card, with a guaranteed Super Ball as the minimum reward.

Completing a Level A research project will earn you a high-level scratch card, with a guaranteed reward of a high-level ball.

Completing research at S-rank or higher will reward you with a Master Ball scratch card, with a guaranteed Master Ball as the minimum reward.

Natsume's eyes lit up. He had created a rule-based battle system with ten red and white balls. Did that mean he was incredibly lucky?

It seems the gas bomb's "fragrance" is still quite effective.

Thinking this, Natsume turned his attention to the system template in front of him. The guaranteed reward for ABCD level projects could only be considered a consolation prize.

But for projects at the S level and above, even the consolation prize is a Master Ball.

Natsume's gaze was somewhat intense.

In reality, the Masterball isn't very useful.

Master Balls can be caught 100% of the time, but whether you can be recognized for your skills is still a question.

Even if you catch a legendary Pokémon with a Master Ball, once you release it, it won't submit to you, won't listen to you, and will turn around and run away.

Before running away, they might even beat you up.

Otherwise, with the League's technology in creating Master Balls, they would have captured all the legendary Pokémon long ago, and those villainous organizations wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble.

It's important to understand that the ultimate goal of almost all villainous organizations is never to "capture" the mythical beast, but to control it.

"System, if I catch a legendary Pokémon with a Master Ball in a standard terrain area, does that count as capturing it?"

Natsume's eyes lit up. He remembered that the rules and venue strictly followed the game rules. In the game, once you capture something, you've tamed it. There's no such thing as recognition or not.

[With the support of the game rules, the host can command this divine beast.]

Upon hearing this, Natsume pouted.

So this means that even if he uses the game rules to subdue a mythical beast, he can only use it to fight once a day, and the rest of the time, he can only let it go in reality.

To be precise, the fact that he dared to take that Master Ball out of the system space was like throwing it away.

After all, there are quite a few legendary Pokémon capable of breaking Poké Balls, especially some with Psychic-type abilities.

However, the Master Ball is still very valuable to Natsume, which relates to his other conjecture about Rotom's form—Rotom in Poké Ball form.

Even without the system, he would still have to find a way to get a Master Ball.