Chapter 218. Zapdos's Growth Route
On Zapdos Island.
"Mr. Natsume, I heard that you and Ash Ketchum together subdued the culprit behind this disaster. Is that right?"
The reporter held the microphone to Natsume's mouth.
"Yes."
Natsume nodded and straightened his clothes.
"Oh? I actually have a question."
"Please go ahead."
"Why was the suspect, Lawrence III, clinging to Officer Jenny's leg when he was taken away, berating the League for arriving too late?"
The reporter asked with curiosity.
"That's because I gave him three hours of moral education, and student Ash led by example!"
The camera cut to Ash, who blankly nodded.
"I believe many people go astray over a single thought. We should provide sufficient humanistic care."
"So we instilled the correct values in Lawrence III— the League is not your judge, but your savior!"
Natsume declared with righteous gravity.
"Is that so? Then why did the suspect keep stressing he didn't want to see you when he was arrested?"
"I suppose he was too ashamed and felt unworthy to face people like us."
Natsume shook his head in regret, then continued:
"If the League had arrived a little later, we might have enlightened him more, and he might even have become a brick for the League."
"Then, Mr. Natsume, as the hero who saved both the Kanto and Johto regions, do you have anything to say to the viewers in front of their TVs?"
The reporter looked at Natsume with admiration.
"Of course."
Natsume smiled and nodded, and the reporter, smiling lightly, handed him the microphone.
Taking the mic, Natsume paused, then shouted:
"If you're illiterate, don't become a villain! Hurting others without helping yourself is one thing, but you hurt others and harm yourself—what a dumb***—"
The live feed was cut off in an emergency.
Clearly, the League had arrived too quickly, and Natsume had not vented his anger.
"Ahem, ahem, Mr. Natsume's famous saying is one we can just take to heart, take to heart."
The TV host wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Hours later, everyone reached the nearest inhabited island.
At the Pokémon Center.
Ash, Misty, Tracey, and the others were all collapsed, sprawled over the dining table.
"These last two days exhausted me!"
Ash said weakly.
"Alright, I'm heading out."
Natsume downed a bottle of milk in one go.
"Huh? I thought you'd travel with us, Natsume."
Ash sounded a little disappointed.
"How many Badges have you earned?"
Natsume looked at Ash with interest.
"About to be three. Look!"
Saying that, Ash took out all the Badges he had earned and placed them on the table, deliberately lining them up in a row.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's two Badges. No matter how you arrange them, it's two."
Misty looked at Ash, speechless.
"Right, Natsume."
As if remembering something, she looked at him with concern.
"Do you think that hateful guy might have some way to escape?"
"Yeah, yeah, like bribing the League, or getting rescued by an accomplice!"
Tracey seemed to think of something and took his eyes off the sketch he'd been staring at, looking over at Natsume.
"What are you drawing?"
Natsume glanced curiously at Tracey's sketchbook.
On it was his portrait.
The previous page seemed to be Ash's.
"Unidentified Pokémon Compendium?"
Ash read the title on Tracey's cover in confusion.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are Natsume and I unidentified Pokémon?"
Ash protested.
"Uh, I originally planned to record some unusual Pokémon, but I just never ran into—"
Tracey scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Hold it, Natsume, you haven't answered us yet!"
Seeing Natsume leaving, Misty hurriedly spoke up.
"Don't worry.
Just by virtue of that kid being a Pokémon Collector, he can forget about getting out for the rest of his life."
"Why?
Aren't collectors rich? Can't they pull strings?"
Misty looked at Natsume curiously.
Natsume shrugged and didn't explain.
First, the probability he still had money had gone down.
Second.
Pokémon Collectors are a peculiar group.
They hold who knows how many secrets.
Many of those have countless ties to ancient civilizations or various Divine Pokémon and Divinity.
The League can't wait for a collector to make some mistake, so they can act openly.
Natsume walked out of the Pokémon Center but didn't leave immediately.
He mounted Loreidon and sped straight toward the location Mewtwo had sent.
"Whoosh!"
The empty sea surface was utterly silent.
As Loreidon sped by, a white wake split the calm sea in two.
"Woooo—"
Up ahead, a sonorous call sounded, and Lugia burst up from the water.
"Screech—"
Loreidon braked hard, throwing up a great spray.
Not far away, Mewtwo's figure appeared out of thin air.
"Alright, if you've got something to say, hurry up."
As the intermediary, Mewtwo urged them.
"When will the Zapdos egg hatch?"
Natsume looked at Lugia curiously.
That day, after Moltres nestled over the Zapdos egg, Lugia appeared soon after and carried away Moltres's corpse along with the Zapdos egg.
"One month."
Lugia's voice was deep and resonant, and it gave an exact time.
One month, huh.
That'll be just right.
I'll have Ash bring it back then.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Lugia was also curiously sizing up Natsume.
Thanks to this kid, it hadn't even shown up this time, and things were already resolved.
"Why did Moltres pass its Divinity to Zapdos, and why did the remaining part vanish along the feathers?"
Natsume asked in curiosity.
"The strongest Pokémon in the species becomes the successor.
Beyond that, compatibility with the Authority is crucial."
"In short, it depends on the number of feathers you ultimately gathered.
The Moltres with the most—or fine, that Zapdos—can obtain recognition from the Authority."
Lugia spoke and then yawned.
"I see…"
Natsume was pensive.
Looked at this way, the appearances of Moltres at various arenas over these years really weren't baseless.
Perhaps the Divine Moltres had been failing gradually long ago, and this capture merely hastened its death.
In the future, I'll have to take Zapdos to more venues with a strong competitive spirit…
"Anything else?"
Lugia yawned.
With one of the three Legendary bird islands now lacking Moltres, the power in the Fire Orb was presently being supplied by him.
"In that case, are you really not going to have a battle with me?"
Natsume stared at Lugia, hoping to record the Divinity while he had the chance.
"We'll do it if fate allows another time."
Lugia shook its head and refused.
"Alright then.
Can you give me your stone tablet?"
Natsume tried asking.
"Stone tablet? What's that?"
Lugia was very curious.
"It's the thing that carries the Divinity when it's obtained."
Natsume gestured, lifted his phone, and showed the stone tablet on it to Lugia.
"Oh, that.
I thought it wasn't useful…"
Lugia smiled awkwardly, then said:
"You might be able to find it somewhere on the seafloor."
Natsume was speechless.
"In that case, come with me.
Let's shoot a short video."
"Shoot what video?"
Lugia was curious, only to see Natsume dive straight into the sea.
Following him down, Lugia was brought before a colossal object.
"What are you trying to do?"
Staring at the massive mining truck not far away, Lugia looked utterly baffled.
"Here, hold this pile of rocks."
"Hm?"
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