April 24th, Saturday. By the time they returned to Sandgem Town, it was already the next morning. "Little Rotom, open the electronic curtain
April 24th, Saturday.
By the time they returned to Sandgem Town, it was already the next morning.
"Little Rotom, open the electronic curtains."
Sunlight flooded the room—thanks to Rotom's smart appliance forms, the place was spotless.
Natsume dropped his single-strap bag onto the couch, lazily flopping down as he glanced at the little ones.
"Togepi~"
Togepi was stacking blocks on the coffee table, squinting one eye in concentration. "Togepi~"
Clatter.
The blocks toppled over. Togepi turned its head slowly, staring blankly at Natsume.
Natsume and Gengar burst into laughter simultaneously:
"Pfft—HAHAHA!"
"Gengar-gahaha~!"
Togepi blinked, its tiny eyes welling up before two fat tears rolled down its cheeks.
"Togepi doo-ee~·(╥﹏╥)"
This only made Natsume and Gengar laugh harder, even clinking soda cans in celebration.
Finally... dungeon cleared, home sweet home! Natsume thought.
Thus, the morning at Natsume's house began with Togepi's wails.
While directing Arcanine to cheer up Togepi with a yarn ball, Natsume placed the black flower into a vase.
It was a keepsake from Marshadow—just like the Gracidea Shaymin had left behind.
Displaying both added a nice touch to the room... and served as mementos.
"Sirfetch'd?" Sirfetch'd paused mid-stride, giving Natsume a puzzled look.
Natsume glanced between the vase and the leek in Sirfetch'd's grip, falling into deep thought.
"Sirfetch'd! (′︿‵)" Sirfetch'd panicked and immediately scurried off to the yard to train.
Just as Sirfetch'd pushed open the door, Sylveon gracefully slipped back inside through the cat flap, a newspaper pinched in its ribbon.
Natsume crouched down to ruffle Sylveon's head, taking the newspaper, while Sylveon grumbled indignantly:
"Sylveon! (#｀皿′)"
Only after Natsume-sensei carefully smoothed its snow-white fur did Sylveon let out a soft, contented sound.
"Sylveon~o(′^｀)o"
"Let's see what's in today's paper."
Natsume leaned back on the sofa, yawned, and unfolded the newspaper.
Yesterday's glacier movement had caused quite a stir, dominating the front page.
Experts speculated about Mount Coronet's unrest being connected, though none hit the mark.
But one Mauville News article caught Natsume-sensei's eye:
"The Mysterious Trainer Who Saved Sinnoh!"
It analyzed recent movements of several top trainers, concluding Cynthia and Natsume-sensei were most likely candidates.
Eyewitnesses having spotted Natsume-sensei at the scene cemented his position as prime suspect in their speculation.
This resurrected an old livestream comment to the top of discussion threads:
"I'll eat Muk if it's not him!"
Top Replies:
"Congrats OP! No Muk buffet for you!"
"How do we know OP isn't lowkey disappointed?"
"Bookmarked. Next time make it Alolan Muk."
Alolan Muk—a psychedelic abomination—was decidedly not a "child-friendly" Pokémon.
Though it inexplicably had its niche fanbase...
"Do journalists even fact-check anymore?" Natsume clicked his tongue. "Regigigas stopped the glaciers! What's that got to do with me?"
The misinformation hardly affected his daily life though.
The increased attention would help with his streaming comeback... and May's Pokémon project preparations.
...
The bright April sun neared its zenith as the Pokémon at Natsume's residence began their daily training under Gengar's supervision.
Having absorbed a fragment of the Griseous Orb, Gengar's mastery over shadows had reached terrifying precision.
(Not even a speck of evidence would remain at a crime scene... not that it would commit crimes... probably.)
Blastoise lurked in the fish tank, testing an "advanced Aqua Ring" technique with the Purifying Droplet.
Natsume watched the bubbling tank with growing concern.
Are you trying to flood the house when I'm not looking?
Outside, Arcanine—its flaxen mane adorned with the Gleaming Rainbow Wing—sparred with Sylveon.
Togepi bounced excitedly on the sidelines, waving a referee flag with gusto.
Rotom floated nearby, sulking.
"Refereeing is Rotom's job! QAQ"
BOOM—!
The house shook from the impact, sending dust drifting from the ceiling.
Natsume gazed upward.
"...At least Arcanine will heal faster now."
Pokémon priorities varied wildly.
Sirfetch'd sat serenely in the living room, incubating a wobbling Pokémon egg beneath it.
"Sirfetch'd," it lectured the egg with duck-philosophy gravitas.
The first strike often falters—keep a spare leek hidden for the perfect moment!
The gray-green egg wobbled adorably, blissfully brainless.
The living room was far too noisy.
Old Man Lu carried his notebook computer into the bedroom.
Sipping his ice-cold cola, he pondered what to have for lunch.
An image of a plump, snow-white Sirfetch'd flashed through his mind. Natsume shook his head vigorously and opened the messaging app.
After returning from the Gracidea fields, Brock had gone back to Pewter City to resume his duties as Gym Leader.
"@Brock." Lance, draped in his cape, sat in his office while on the clock in the chat group. "The League will soon send officers to conduct random evaluations of the Kanto Gyms."
"Pewter Gym might be included." Lance emphasized the word "might."
Lorelei sighed. "Just say it outright. We're all friends here."
"Yeah, it's not like any of us would anonymously report you!" Gold chimed in.
Silver & Lance: "..."
That... wasn't exactly guaranteed.
"I understand." Brock narrowed his eyes. "I'll prepare for the evaluation."
Natsume blinked. Didn't this feel familiar...?
That Inspector Joy with the "red jet" Latias?
"Let Forrest handle the evaluation," Natsume suggested. "That way, you can take it easy while also seeing how much he's grown."
Brock fell into thought.
"Oh, @Silver." Gold asked, "Why'd you send me a picture of a flower?"
"That's a Gracidea." Silver replied flatly. "I emailed it to everyone."
Gold let out an "Oh," then smirked. "Didn't expect a stone-faced guy like you to know how to show gratitude. Hah! I'm flattered!"
Silver: "..."
Maybe punching him would convey his "thanks" more directly.
As for the incident involving Giratina and the glaciers, no one pressed Natsume-sensei further.
After all, the big shots in this group chat had been part of plenty of legendary Pokémon events themselves.
While surprising... if it was something Natsume-sensei had pulled off, it wasn't too hard to believe.
What Brock was more curious about was the Pokémon egg in Natsume-sensei's jar—and that so-called "replay" strategy.
"What's your next stream going to be about, Natsume-sensei?" Yellow asked eagerly.
"Rain Perish Song," Natsume answered plainly.
Blue Oak nodded thoughtfully. "That's a high-difficulty, high-power strategy even in real battles."
"Can I learn it?" Gold blinked.
"Theoretically, yeah. Politoed's a strong contender in rain teams!" Crystal added with a smile.
Gold: "Sweet!"
"Aren't you still running your Sunny Day relay?" Natsume-sensei asked.
"Pfft, gotta have more than one trick up my sleeve!" Gold rubbed his nose.
Flint suddenly posted a selfie—his red afro on full display as he grinned, with Ash training in the background.
"Is Torterra doing weight training?" Bruno studied the photo of Torterra carrying a massive boulder.
"Yep," Flint replied.
"Then why," Bruno frowned, "is Ash carrying a huge rock too?"
"To motivate Torterra."
Flint's expression turned odd as he relayed Ash's exact words, then glanced back.
"Ash says he's got a battle coming up against some trainer named Paul at Lake Acuity, so he's training extra hard."
The timeline had already diverged from the original story, but Natsume still remembered the infamous "Lake Acuity massacre."
Back then, Ash had suffered a crushing defeat against Paul—but it was also the turning point where his mindset and team strength grew exponentially.
Natsume nodded. "Let him go. Failure is part of a trainer's growth."
Hearing this, Blue Oak gave a slight nod. He knew that better than anyone.
Losing to Agatha, losing to Chuck... each time, he'd clawed his way back and defeated his opponents through sheer strength.
All except one—the rival he could never surpass, yet never stopped challenging.
"Destined rivals, huh?" Blue Oak smirked. "Interesting. Don't embarrass me, Ash."
Ash sent a voice message, shouting: "You got it!!"
Meanwhile, far away at the Lily of the Valley Island, Sinnoh League HQ...
"Why do they all seem so relaxed?"
Lucian adjusted his burgundy suit, baffled.
Lately, the entire Sinnoh League had been in emergency mode—rebuilding Snowpoint City, handling glacier incidents, preparing for the Lily of the Valley Conference.
Even the semi-retired Ground-type Elite Four member, Granny Bertha, had been called back. Cynthia was swamped with work.
Lucian had hoped Flint would return to share the workload, but Flint preferred straight-up battles over administrative duties.
So much for Lucian's vacation plans...
"Do you see the snow, Aaron?" Lucian murmured, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window, a hardcover book in hand.
Aaron, in a tank top, was hunched over his handheld console, his green cowlick bobbing as he played.
He glanced outside at the sunny skies and mumbled, "It's April. Where's the snow?"
Then his eyes lit up as he pulled out his phone.
Natsume-sensei's stream was this afternoon—might as well kill time watching him play some games!
"It's snowing. A blizzard."
Lucian kept his eyes on the window as he slowly polished his glasses.
"The snow of Sinnoh."
...
International Police Headquarters
Senior Officer Jenny stared in shock at the report submitted by her subordinate.
"Did Police Consultant Natsume really resolve the natural disaster in Sinnoh?!"
A middle-aged man in a brown trench coat, hands in his pockets, glanced at his young assistant.
"Confirmed," the assistant said. "And it appears Mr. Police Consultant has... a friendly relationship with both Giratina and Regigigas."
"Friendly?"
Detective Handsome smirked. "You sure Natsume-sensei didn't just catch them both?"
Every pair of eyes in the room snapped toward him. Handsome fell silent, then muttered,
"…That was a joke. You do get that, right?"
Officer Jenny took a deep breath and spoke solemnly. "I propose promoting Mr. Natsume to Senior Police Consultant of the Countermeasures Division. Any objections?"
Almost instantly, the committee unanimously approved. Handsome's eyes widened.
Wait a second—wasn't I the one who recruited Natsume-sensei?!
Less than a year later, not only is he my direct superior, but his rank is four whole levels above mine?!
Senior Police Consultant was a position decided by Headquarters' committee—only 0.5% of officers ever reached it.
At just 20 years old, Natsume had broken both the youngest and fastest promotion records, cementing himself as a living legend.
"How is the gap this huge…?" Handsome rubbed his chin, sighing.
When he'd heard about Natsume-sensei's feat of saving an entire region, even he had felt his blood boil.
It was the kind of dream he had always chased—the very essence of his profession.
"Alright." Handsome's eyes burned with determination.
"Time to head to the next region… and prove my worth too!"
...
Sinnoh Region, Sandgem Town
Natsume was enjoying a rare day of working from home when his screen lit up with a video call from Oleana—dressed in a red-and-white uniform with black stockings and heels.
"Custom design?" Natsume asked, surprised.
"A hybrid of research attire and office wear," Oleana replied coolly.
"Easier to transition into Gigantamax research after work."
In the Sword & Shield timeline, Oleana was Macro Cosmos' top talent—a triple threat in management, HR, and scientific research.
The only ones who could rival her skills were the likes of Team Rocket's Matori and Devon Corp's President Stone.
For Natsume-sensei, Oleana held deep gratitude for the opportunity he'd given her.
Entrusting Pokémon Company's daily operations to her, Natsume could rest easy.
"Pokémon is set for release in early May," Oleana reported. "The second beta invited players and critics—feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The final beta test is nearly complete."
"Any complaints?" Natsume asked.
"If anything…" Oleana paused. "Players widely agree that Silph Co.'s boss, Giovanni, is too difficult. Without grinding levels, he's practically unbeatable."
Natsume grinned. "That's exactly the effect I wanted. Keep preparations on track."
"Understood." Oleana nodded, then suddenly spoke again, softer this time. "Actually… I have one more request."
"What is it?"
Oleana took a sharp breath and rushed out, "I—I'd like one of your PtCG cards!"
Natsume blinked. "Oh, sure. Pick any UR you want."
Since they were his cards, it wasn't like it cost him anything.
Though the Natsume-sensei card series was UR-exclusive and mostly unreleased in physical form.
Oleana, ever the collector, flushed slightly and murmured,
"…Thank you."
As the call ended, Natsume leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
Once this game launched, financial freedom would be within reach.
At this rate, I won't just own a mine—I'll buy the whole mountain!
…Probably.
Puffed up with pride, Natsume coughed lightly and muttered,
"Guess it's time to get back to my roots—food content, gaming streams, the usual."
His last strategy teaser had been Rain Perish Song, but he figured he'd rebuild his audience before diving into live demonstrations.
After all, he had his own game to promote now.
Posting a return announcement on his streaming platform's talk board sent fans into a frenzy.
"Saved the world and still comes back to stream? Never change, Natsume-sensei!"
"Today's lineup: Snooker and Plants vs. Zombies—my favorites!"
"This preview alone is already ruining my diet."
"Daily question: Natsume-sensei, are you serving dinner tonight?"
Meanwhile…
Sirfetch'd, dozing off, cracked one sleepy eye open.
"Sirfetch'd?" It yawned, then shut its eyes again.
So tired~ Another day of not trying hard at all~
Beneath its white wing, the gray Pokémon egg quietly developed a tiny crack…
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