The next day, the group once again arrived at the Saffron Gym.
"Alright, let's do our best!" Ash cheered for Seth.
"Uncle, step in bravely!" Misty whistled in encouragement.
"Uncle, don't hesitate—trust in Haunter!" Brock added.
At the entrance of the Saffron Gym, hearing their words, Seth's shoulders trembled, unsure if it was from being moved or from holding back tears.
After a long pause, he suddenly turned back:
"Hey, hey, hey! You're all saying nice words, but look at you standing so far away!"
Across the street, Ash and the others could be seen watching from the curb.
"Natsume said Sabrina's dangerous, so we should keep our distance!" Brock shouted through a loudspeaker.
"Yeah, Uncle. If even someone like you, who you call a failure, has such strong psychic powers, then Miss Sabrina must be terrifying," Misty chimed in.
After spending the past few days with Seth, the group clearly treated him as a companion.
And his psychic powers had left a deep impression on them.
Right now, all three couldn't help but feel a little scared—if not for Granny Kikuko's Gengar, they might never have made it out of the Gym that day.
"…" Seth fell silent.
Who said he was a failure? At least in terms of psychic training, he counted as a minor genius.
"Sigh!" With a heavy breath, Seth prepared to use Teleport—when footsteps suddenly came from behind.
So, these kind-hearted kids really couldn't bear to let him face danger alone!
Moved, he turned back, intending to persuade them not to follow him inside.
Instead—
"What are you doing here?"
Seth's face darkened as he stared at Natsume like an enemy.
"Obviously, I came to help you." Natsume spread his hands.
"No. Absolutely not." Seth shook his head firmly.
"I need to awaken Sabrina from the Core Realm. If you go in, you'll provoke her."
"With how deep her autism is, I doubt she'll be easy to provoke," Natsume said, handing him a book.
"This is the conclusion I reached after self-studying psychology for one night. I can definitely help."
Seth's mouth twitched, but out of courtesy he accepted the book.
One glance at the cover: **Abnormal Psychology**.
Seth: "…"
He refused to believe his daughter was beyond saving.
Following Natsume's instruction, he flipped to the last page. Written there in bold, flamboyant strokes was Natsume's grand conclusion:
*Just beat her up and it'll be fine.*
"…"
"Well? I've got a lot of insight now," Natsume said confidently, resting his hand on Seth's shoulder, trying to hitch a ride inside via Teleport.
Seth shook him off and vanished without a word.
He now dared even less to let Natsume inside.
Natsume placed his hand against the Gym's sealed doors, sensing the barrier. It was locked even tighter than before.
Clearly, before leaving, Seth had reinforced it with another psychic seal to keep him out.
"Sigh…" Natsume let out a long breath.
Why? Why was someone like him—helpful, kindhearted, cheerful, and bright was treated with so much suspicion? It chilled his heart!
A faint blue glow flickered in his eyes.
He carefully felt the terrifying psychic power radiating from within the Saffron Gym.
Before learning telekinesis, he had only understood Sabrina's power on paper.
Now, experiencing it directly, his whole body shivered as illusions flooded his vision.
It felt as though he were adrift on a vast, endless sea, stranded on a lone boat.
"Hss~ The Core Realm realm is really this strong?" After just a short while, stabbing pain shot through his head.
Shaking it off, Natsume called out his Rotom Phone.
"Rotom, Teleport."
In the next moment, Natsume's figure vanished from sight.
The next second, Rotom brought Natsume right back to the same spot.
"What happened?" Natsume asked curiously.
*Roto, roto!* Rotom shook its head.
"You're saying the psychic power inside suddenly doubled, so you can't Teleport freely?" Natsume was startled.
Ever since reaching the Outer Realm, Natsume could use basic Teleport.
But under Sabrina's psychic blockade, unless someone like Seth at the peak of the Inner Realm level attempted it, there was no way to move in and out at will.
Right now, Teleport wouldn't work.
Thinking it over, Natsume admitted Seth had a point.
It wasn't convenient for him to appear directly in front of Sabrina. But he couldn't give up on a system task either.
So, Natsume decided to use the oldest trick in the book.
"What's Natsume doing?" Ash asked from afar, watching him.
"Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing—why is he undressing?!" Misty covered her face.
"Wait… the clothes he's putting on look a lot like Team Rocket's," Brock said, narrowing his eyes.
*Click, click, click, click!* A crisp series of sounds came from the side.
Turning, the three saw Giselle, holding up his phone and hammering the shutter while aiming it at Natsume.
When he noticed their stares, Giselle calmly muted his phone, then went right back to snapping pictures.
"…"
After changing into a high-quality fake Team Rocket officer uniform, Natsume called out Gengar.
"Gengar, see that skylight?"
He pointed to one of the few places where sunlight pierced into the Saffron Gym.
*Gengar!* Nodding, Gengar signaled no problem.
...
**Inside the Gym**
A purple Pokémon with two little hands was circling Sabrina, trying to make her laugh.
But unfortunately, her face remained expressionless.
"What are you trying to do?" the doll-like Sabrina asked coldly, staring directly at Seth.
*Tch… is it really useless?*
Seth sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, Haunter was equally confused.
Strange—it had never met a human who didn't laugh at its antics.
It had already tried every trick it knew, but Sabrina hadn't so much as glanced at it.
Then suddenly, Haunter seemed to get an idea. ITS face shifted and twisted, until it finally froze—into the likeness of Natsume.
"Natsume," smiling gently, refined and warm like a spring breeze.
Seeing Haunter suddenly transform into Natsume's appearance, Seth felt a surge of dread.
Last night… hadn't Natsume given Sabrina a *check-up*?
Sure enough, for the first time, Sabrina's calm face shifted. Her gaze sharpened… with anger.
*BOOM!* A violent wave of psychic energy exploded outward, shattering every pane of glass in the Gym.
Perched on the skylight, Natsume fell straight through.
Thankfully, before he hit the ground, a pudgy purple figure burst from below. Gengar caught him with its head, preventing injury.
*Haunter!* The sudden outburst had frightened it, and upon seeing the powerful Gengar appear, it immediately darted behind it for cover.
Both Seth and Sabrina turned their eyes to the masked figure who had dropped in.
Though Natsume's mask concealed his face, the Gengar gave him away instantly.
"You're with Team Rocket?" Seth asked in shock, staring at Natsume's outfit.
"That's right. I am none other than Giovanni's right-hand man—Victor Hawke!" Natsume declared without hesitation.
Seth: "???"
That was way too fake—not even bothering to disguise his voice?
Just as he was about to say something, Natsume blinked at him meaningfully.
At the same time, one echoed directly in Seth's mind:
*Reporters*
Seth was stunned, instantly realizing the gravity of the situation.
The strange happenings at the Saffron Gym these past few days had already attracted a number of reporters.
They had long wanted to expose Sabrina's affairs to the public, but the League had been applying constant pressure to hold them back.
Recently, however, complaints from Trainers were piling up, and even the League was finding it difficult to continue shielding Sabrina.
Natsume even suspected that some of these reporters were actually former Trainers who had once been *disciplined* by Sabrina and later switched careers.
To his shock, he discovered that several reporters with cameras had already been lying in wait on the gym roof!
These reporters, fearless to the extreme, showed not the slightest sign of retreat when they saw what looked like a Team Rocket executive. They seemed determined to expose Sabrina's cruelty to the world.
What kind of hatred drove them this far?!
Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to put on a Team Rocket executive's uniform in advance.
Otherwise, by tomorrow's news, his name would surely be dragged into the headlines as well.
**Shocking! A devoted researcher, in order to save a heartless Gym Leader, actually—**
You can read more (around 100+ 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.