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

Chapter 12: Another SSS-level Long-Term Project

"what?"

Natsume let out a soft "hmm" and looked at a green Pokémon next to Ash.

"Metapod, has the Caterpillar evolved?"

"Yes, it evolved during the battle with Team Rocket just now."

Ash paused for a moment, then proudly picked up the Metapod at his feet and displayed it to Natsume.

Natsume didn't speak, but frowned slightly, took the Rothom phone next to him in his hand, and pointed it at Metapod.

[Metallica euphemism, Level 6, Trait: Molting.]

As expected... Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly.

If I remember correctly, Caterpie evolves into Metapod at level 7, and then into Butterfree at level 10.

Natsume's eyes lit up when he saw Ash's unusually high level Metapod.

"System, would you consider this armored pupa a special case?"

【+1. 】

Natsume was speechless upon noticing the extra dollar in his system inventory.

"What's wrong, Natsume-nii? Is something wrong with Metapod?"

Seeing Natsume remain silent after scanning the Metapod, Ash's proud expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a look of earnest concern.

"Huh? Did you get injured in the fight just now?"

Xiaoxia also came over with a concerned look. Although she disliked bugs, she had seen Caterpie and Ash's behavior as their companions, and it would be a lie to say she didn't care.

"It's nothing."

Natsume scratched his head and turned to study the battle rules system in his mind.

Seeing Natsume spacing out as usual, Ash's lips twitched.

"It's getting late, let's set up camp for the night. We should be able to reach Nibi City by tomorrow."

Xiaoxia suggested from the side.

"good!"

The two of them enthusiastically started setting up a campfire and took out their sleeping bags, leaving Natsume standing there dumbfounded.

No other reason than a system message.

[Ding! The battle rules module has been enabled, and the SSS-level long-term project: data collection on the adaptation of gamification rules to reality has been released!]

[Data collection complete for today. Scratch card +1. Next battle cooldown: 23 hours.]

Is this considered a daily task?

After receiving the information from the system, Natsume came to his senses.

This so-called SSS-level long-term project involves having Natsume use the battle rules module to bring wild Pokémon or trainers into the game's battle arena for a battle.

Regardless of winning or losing, Natsume receives a scratch card, but he only has one chance per day to use the game rules to play.

"System, what do you need this data for?"

Natsume asked curiously.

As always, the system did not respond.

Shrugging, he turned around and saw that Ash and Misty had already lit the campfire.

On either side of the campfire were two sleeping bags, one pink and one blue, with a large empty space in the middle, seemingly reserved for themselves.

"Natsume-nii, where's your sleeping bag? If you forgot it, I have another one!"

Seeing Natsume looking at him, Ash waved his hand and was about to take out a second sleeping bag.

"No."

Natsume reached out and tossed a small cube onto the ground.

The next moment, an inflatable tent expanded and appeared in the open space in the middle.

Seeing this, both Xiaozhi and Xiaoxia showed a look of envy.

"Natsume-nii, are there any more? I'd like to stay in one of these too."

The moment Xiaozhi saw the inflatable tent, his eyes lit up, and he was about to crawl into Natsume's tent. Three seconds later, he retreated expressionlessly.

Seeing Ash's behavior, Misty, who was filled with envy, became even more curious and peeked into Natsume's tent. Three seconds later, Misty withdrew without expression.

"Alright, I'm working on my thesis tonight, nothing special, so please don't bother me."

After finishing his sentence, Natsume crawled into the tent.

Seeing that Natsume had left, Kasumi covered her face with her hands and muttered to herself, somewhat speechless:

"Who would keep so many anatomical models in their sleeping area? Wouldn't they be scared if they woke up in the middle of the night?"

"If I slept in there, I would definitely have nightmares."

Xiao Zhi shuddered; he felt he wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight.

Soon, night fell.

The nights in the forest are always quiet.

The occasional chirping of insects, mingling with the crackling of the campfire, actually gave people a great sense of security.

"Pikachu..."

Pikachu was fast asleep by the campfire, muttering something to itself.

Beside him, the armored pupa sat on a wooden stump, silently gazing up at the sky.

The flickering firelight reflected on the emerald green carapace, and the pair of dark eyes, as big as mung beans, seemed to hold an endless longing for the sky.

"Click."

A soft thud came from behind. It was Natsume, holding something that looked like a small blanket.

"He's still a newbie, lacking travel experience. You can't just leave your Pokémon out like that."

Looking at the sleeping Pikachu and the silent Metapod, Natsume gently covered them with the things he was holding.

"Skin--"

As if sensing something, Pikachu rolled over, tugged at the "blanket" covering it, and slept even more soundly.

Natsume shifted his gaze from Pikachu to Metapod, who was standing to the side.

Can Pokémon's desire to evolve drive them to evolve at an earlier level?

Natsume silently wrote this sentence in his notebook.

The system does not consider this armored pupa, which evolved before reaching the required level, to be a special individual.

This demonstrates that this is an objective fact.

In Natsume's memory, he had hardly read any papers on the relationship between the desire for evolution and premature evolution.

Natsume, a Pokémon researcher who was not yet twenty years old but qualified to choose Professor Oak as his mentor, can be said to have read papers that no one has ever published.

Speaking of which, there's also Xiao Yao's Piplup, which can suppress its own evolution...

Natsume's gaze was distant as he thought of the Pearl and Diamond arc he had read in his previous life.

Hmm... If we can achieve results by exploring in this direction, we might even be able to publish in a special journal.

There was no other way; if Natsume wanted to realize his Rotom mecha project, he needed a laboratory where he could freely develop his ideas.

However, such a "god-making" level laboratory, along with its related research assistant team, can only be obtained by applying to the League if one is at least at the level of a Pokémon Professor.

To become a Pokémon Professor, there are two necessary conditions: one is to have another professor vouch for you, which Natsume can ask Professor Oak for.

Secondly, at least five of the published research reports or papers must be included in special journals.

Currently, apart from the previous research report on Rotom that was included in a special journal, all of Natsume's other works have been rejected.

"Ah~ let's take it one step at a time."

Yawning, Natsume returned to his little apartment.

Nothing happened that night, and the next day...

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu's scream pierced the sky, filled with intense terror. Ash opened his eyes and sensed that something terrible was about to happen.

"What's wrong, Pikachu!"

Ash suddenly woke up from his sleeping bag and turned to look in Pikachu's direction.

Huh? Who covered Pikachu with a blanket?

No, that's not a blanket, it's a thick sheet of paper.

Diagram of Pikachu's muscle and skeletal structure.

What terrified Pikachu was this picture.

He was suddenly killed in front of me first thing in the morning.

"This looks like something from Natsume's tent?"

Xiaoxia, who was standing nearby, also looked over.

"What are those two kids arguing about? Don't they know how to respect their elders?"

Natsume, wearing his blue and white striped pajamas, came out making a fuss.

He paused for a moment when he saw Pikachu.

Hmm... It's pitch black, he seems to have covered the wrong thing.