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

Chapter 42: Squirtle

The top student was extremely efficient; that very evening, the other party's father contacted Natsume and they finalized the deal for a patent fee of 100 million yen per year.

It was originally 50 million, but the top students raised it to around 100 million.

Making money is indeed not difficult.

Natsume stated that his annual income has now doubled.

"System, if my assets double every year, approximately how long would it take to create a Limitless Rotom?"

Taking all factors into consideration, even if the host's assets double every year, it will likely take approximately 26 years to accumulate sufficient funds.

Natsume rubbed his temples.

Well, making money is tough.

Natsume set a goal for himself that would last ten years.

Within ten years, they collected enough funds and raw materials to "create a god" for Rotom.

Since the goal is to create a Rotom that transcends the limits of the world, the raw materials used in its carrier must not be ordinary.

Natsume turned his attention to various treasures related to mythical beasts.

Things like the Great Vajra Jewel, the Great Platinum Jewel, the Rotten Sword and Shield, the Alpaca Happy Board, and so on.

Using these things as energy nodes or directly melting them down into machine bodies should be pretty good... right?

Natsume himself hasn't tried it, so we'll just have to wait and see.

"Mr. Natsume, which is your room?"

The top student walked out of the room across the street, wearing pajamas.

"This." Natsume pointed to the room behind him.

"Mr. Natsume, I'd like to ask you a question." A smile appeared on the face of the top student.

She grabbed a pillow from her room, held a notebook in her hand, and dashed into Natsume's room.

Natsume glanced at the other person, then turned and went into her room.

The door was closed and locked in one smooth motion.

"Ah, Mr. Natsume!" came the sound of a top student knocking on the door from outside.

"Flip the page yourself." Natsume yawned, flipped his palm, and a Super Ball appeared.

He's been kept busy by the top students these past few days, so he hasn't had a chance to properly develop the Super Ball Rotom.

[The A-level research topic, "Charizard's Counterattack," has been released.]

From the moment the little dragon was willing to eat, the system popped up a new task.

But there's no rush now; it's still a long way from this little Charmander evolving into Charizard.

Natsume closed the system panel and stretched.

"Ah~ the nearest research institute seems to be Zheng Hui's Lighthouse?"

With the foundation laid beforehand, he had almost finished defining the basic trajectory of Superball Rotom.

What we're missing now is a proper laboratory.

Given his relationship with Zheng Hui, the other party will definitely agree.

Yes, it definitely will.

The next day.

After saying goodbye to Miss Joey, the group continued their journey.

"Strange, why haven't we arrived in Konoha City yet?"

Xiaoxia walked ahead, speechless with frustration.

"Hmm... cross Route 24, pass the next town, then cross a beach, wade through a river, cross a volcano, and defeat the invincible Demon King..."

Xiao Gang suddenly stopped reading and handed the map in his hand to Natsume:

"Natsume, this looks like your game walkthrough map."

"Thank you, Xiaogang. I've been looking for this for days."

"Don't tell me you've been following the map from Natsume's Book of Friends these past few days!"

Xiaoxia suddenly snapped; she simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Hahaha..." Xiao Gang scratched his head awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Xia, we're roughly in the right direction; we're heading towards Konoha City."

As Ash spoke, he pulled out his Pokédex.

Since Natsume called him last time, Ash has been fiddling with his Pokédex for a long time.

He discovered that his encyclopedia not only allowed for video calls, but also included functions such as viewing maps and checking product prices.

Most importantly, it has Ash's favorite "Pokémon Custom Introduction" feature.

Bulbasaur, my favorite Pokémon, Bulbasaur, my favorite Pokémon...

Charmander, my favorite Pokémon, Charmander, my favorite Pokémon...

Pikachu, my favorite Pokémon...

Pidgey...

[Barbet butterfly...]

Throughout the journey, Ash kept pressing the Pokédex in his hand, and the sound echoed all the way.

"Stop bragging, we know you caught Bulbasaur and Charmander!"

Xiaoxia, annoyed by the noise, yelled at Xiaozhi:

"And besides, there aren't that many favorites!"

"Huh? I like it the most!"

Like Pinocchio with his long nose, Ash couldn't hide his smugness.

"If I catch one more Squirtle, I'll have all three starter Pokémon!"

Xiao Zhi imagined tomorrow with great anticipation.

"Hmph, not to discourage you, but finding Squirtle isn't that easy."

As Xiaoxia spoke, she turned her head to the side:

"Don't you think so, Natsume? You should know best where Squirtle lives; there's no way it could be around Vermilion City!"

"That's not necessarily true." Natsume looked away from the Super Ball in his hand.

He reached out, and the Rotom cell phone, which flew through the sky to observe road conditions, landed in his hand.

"Ash, your wish is about to come true."

Natsume suddenly turned his head and looked at Satoshi with a serious expression.

"Really, Natsume-kun? You saw Squirtle?"

Natsume nodded:

"Come with me."

Soon, the group followed Natsume and walked forward.

Suddenly, Natsume stopped and stomped his foot in one spot.

"Alright, right here." Natsume pointed to the empty space in front of him and said:

"If you stand here, you'll see Squirtle very soon."

"Okay, Natsume-nii!"

Ash smiled happily and stood on the open space that Natsume pointed to.

"He's messing with you, Ash!"

Xiaoxia grabbed Xiaozhi's ear, trying to wake him up.

"Natsume-san, where was I standing just now? Squirtle didn't appear."

Ash looked at Natsume strangely.

"Not enough weight." Natsume shook his head seriously.

"Why is it related to weight? What about me?" Xiao Gang stood next to Xiao Zhi.

But nothing happened.

"Pikachu, try standing on Ash's shoulders."

Natsume patted Pikachu's little head.

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu, puzzled, climbed onto Ash's shoulder.

Nothing happened.

"You, with the middle parting, are going too."

"Pikachu—"

With his middle-parted hair yawning, he listlessly climbed onto Ash's other shoulder.

Nothing happened.

The three of them looked at Natsume with strange expressions.

"You can get it just by jumping around," Natsume said seriously.

Without any hesitation, Ash started jumping around.

Xiaoxia looked angry:

"Ash, what are you jumping around for? He's just messing around—Aaaaaah!"

The ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, and Xiaoxia and the others fell into the pit with long trails of sound.

"Alright, Prodigy, let's go." Natsume waved to the top prodigy standing to the side.

"Huh? Mr. Natsume, what will happen to them if we leave?"

"They'll be back in town with a bunch of Squirtle tomorrow at noon."

As Natsume spoke, he began to walk towards the small town ahead.

"Huh?" The top student scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

But she still chose to believe in Mr. Natsume.

"Natsume, what are you doing?!"

Inside the pit, Xiaoxia brushed the dust off her head, stood up, and shouted upwards.

"Natsume? Natsume?"

With no response, Xiaoxia was bewildered.

"Strange, why did Natsume make us fall into this pit?"

"I don't know, but Natsume-nii must have his reasons for doing that," Satoshi said, sitting down on his bottom.

"So, we just need to wait."

"How much do you trust him?!"

Xiaoxia used a loud roar.

"whee--"

"Jenny, Jelly!"

A soft rustling sound at the cave entrance caught the attention of the three.

Looking up, a group of round heads poked out from outside the pit, looking at the three people inside.

???

Xia was completely confused.

No, there really is a Squirtle.