Chapter 15: Pewter City Gym
Natsume stroked his chin, deep in thought.
In reality, the Master Ball didn't work like it did in the games.
Without going through battles and gaining a Pokémon's trust, directly capturing it—even if it wasn't a Legendary Pokémon—carried a huge risk. Any strong Pokémon might *abandon* its Trainer later on.
Still, in the real world, Master Balls were extremely expensive due to their high manufacturing cost, limited availability controlled by the League, and the guaranteed capture gimmick. Their price had been inflated to astronomical levels.
After all, if by luck someone managed to catch a Legendary and store it using special methods—even if they couldn't command it—it became a status symbol among wealthy collectors, making it incredibly valuable.
As a result, each Master Ball on the market was generally priced around fifty million.
Originally, Natsume planned to tighten his belt for a few months to buy one from the League.
After all, if he wanted to develop a Pokéball Rotom, it made sense to use the best-performing Pokéball—the Master Ball—as the final prototype.
"What are you thinking about, Natsume?"
Misty sat across from him, resting her chin on her hands, curious.
Only now did she realize that this seemingly unreliable adult was actually a Pokémon researcher.
And not just any researcher—he worked at Professor Oak's lab.
Professor Oak held a high position in Kanto's research community; anyone with even a minor connection to the League had heard of him.
"I'm thinking about Ash."
Natsume turned to Misty.
Misty froze for a moment.
"Well, as his companion, I really hope Ash wins."
"I hope he loses quickly."
???
Misty stared at Natsume, confused. He had already stood up and was walking toward Flint, patting him on the shoulder.
"Come on, old man. Let's go pick up Ash."
"Huh? He just left?"
Misty hurried after him, puzzled.
"3."
Natsume glanced at her and, just like before, said a number.
"What do you mean? Ash will lose in three minutes?"
"Yep, you finally guessed right."
Misty: "…"
*System, activate Random TM Machine.*
Natsume silently commanded. A crisp mechanical voice rang in his mind:
**Random TM activated. Congratulations, host has obtained TM—Grass Knot.**
[Grass Knot]
[Type / Category] Grass, Special [Power / Accuracy / PP / Priority] Varied / 100 / 20 (30) / 0 [Move Properties] Contact move, affected by Protect, unaffected by Magic Coat, cannot be stolen, affected by Mimic, affected by items such as King's Rock. [Effect] Tangling grass ensnares the opponent. The heavier the opponent, the greater the power. Ineffective against Gigantamax Pokémon.
*Grass Knot?*
Natsume paused, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
This was a very interesting move—it could scale in power based on the opponent's weight, with the maximum power six times that of the minimum.
If he remembered correctly, against Pokémon over 200 kg, Grass Knot could hit at full strength, almost matching the power of a powerful Grass-type move like Solar Beam.
"System, teach Grass Knot to Pikachu."
Natsume didn't hesitate, tossing the TM to Midchu.
*Pika?*
Inside the Pokéball, a Pikachu lounging lazily jolted awake.
**Due to game-field rules, it is recommended that the host have Pikachu forget a move to learn Grass Knot.**
"Forget Body Slam."
Without hesitation, Natsume waved his hand.
Some battlefields, he thought, weren't as fun as real battles, unless they allowed unexpected victories.
For example, Pokémon moves.
Under the rules of battlefields, a Pokémon can only carry four moves.
But in reality, most Pokémon know far more than four moves—moves like Tail Whip or Tackle couldn't simply be forgotten.
However, based on the literature Natsume had studied, some Pokémon did have learning limits for more complex moves.
This was tied to their innate talent and effort—less talented Pokémon couldn't even master the standard four moves from the games, while top-tier Pokémon could learn seven or eight complex moves.
Among them, learning ability varied by type, with Psychic-types being the most capable learners.
Natsume recalled some of the papers he had read in his early years.
The Pikachu he had chosen—the one with the middle part—was one he had carefully raised. His stats were among the best of any Pikachu.
His final move set had also been carefully planned: Thunder, Protect, Grass Knot, Rain Dance, Leech Seed, Electro Ball, Fake Out, and more.
Of these, aside from Fake Out inherited and the newly acquired Grass Knot, he didn't yet know any of the other moves.
At level 21, many moves required a higher level to learn, and TMs were even harder to acquire—he would have to wait for the system to produce them.
Walking along, Natsume took out the red-and-white Pokéball containing his Pikachu.
Using the system, he could easily see what his Pikachu was doing—he suddenly sat up as if jolted by electricity.
But within two seconds, he yawned and flopped back down, covering itself with the small blanket he had snagged from Natsume's tent.
"So that's why I grabbed the wrong one the other day—it was you who took it."
Looking at his utterly lazy Pikachu, Natsume was furious.
At this age, with such perfect stats and such a dedicated Trainer, how could he sleep like this? Ash's Pikachu had already surpassed him by over ten levels!
"We're here. Hey, Natsume, what are you doing going inside?"
Outside the Pewter City Gym, Misty stopped, about to call after Natsume.
"Ah? Natsume, you're here too?"
Natsume entered and coincidentally saw a dejected Ash walking out, Pikachu limp in his arms.
"Of course, I'm here to challenge the Gym."
Seeing Ash's exhausted Pikachu, Natsume casually tossed him two bottles of healing spray.
"Oh! I want to watch!"
Ash took the sprays and treated Pikachu while following Natsume into the Gym.
"What are these two doing?"
Outside, Misty covered her head, took a couple of steps forward, then looked back at Flint.
"Aren't you coming in to watch?"
"Uh… I'll just wait outside."
Flint scratched his head, looking a little flustered.
Misty squinted, thinking the older man was suspicious, but said nothing further and turned to follow Natsume.
"Natsume, are you also planning to join the Pokémon League? Looks like I've got another rival!"
Seeing Natsume's stance ready for a Gym challenge, Ash was thrilled, as if he had found a kindred spirit.
"Of course. The League tournament has a substantial prize."
"Wait, you're in it for the money?"
Ash scratched his head, confused.
The group moved quickly, reaching the inside of the Pewter City Gym within minutes.
The battlefield from Ash's earlier match hadn't been cleared, and a squinty-eyed young man in a green vest stood in the middle.
Noticing the approaching group, Brock glanced briefly at Ash, then focused his attention on Natsume, walking at the front.
"A new challenger? Perfect timing—we've just finished warming up!"
You can read more (around 50+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.