"Ash! If you don't want to die, pedal faster!"
Under the curtain of rain, Ash felt the downpour on his body suddenly lighten.
Turning his head, he saw Natsume—holding a phone Rotom in one hand, and an umbrella over him with the other.
"Geez, Natsume! Stop saying weird stuff like that!"
Ash's legs were already pedaling at full speed, but the urgency in Natsume's voice somehow pushed him to go even faster.
Even though he didn't fully understand what Natsume meant...
It didn't matter—getting to the Pokémon Center faster meant Pikachu could get treatment sooner.
Pedal harder—there's no going wrong with that!
"Hang in there, Pikachu!"
Viridian City, dusk.
In the duty office, Officer Jenny was staring at the wanted poster on the screen, deeply troubled.
On the poster was a man and woman in matching uniforms, prominently marked with a large red "R" on the chest.
"Tch... Pokémon thieves showing up in Viridian City now, huh?"
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, and she stood up straight, looking into the distance.
"I didn't expect to see them this soon."
The door to the office swung open. Officer Jenny stepped outside, face stern and ready for action.
At the city's entrance, she could now see two boys, one taller and one shorter, running toward her like their lives depended on it.
And behind them—a savage figure, full of terrifying energy, was closing in.
"Natsume, who's the person standing up at the checkpoint ahead?"
"That's Officer Jenny. She's a cop. Be ready to show your Pokédex."
With that clarification, Ash pedaled even harder, rapidly closing the distance.
Behind them, Misty also caught sight of Officer Jenny standing at the gate—and her eyes lit up in hope.
Those two thieves were finally going to be brought to justice!
As the boys neared the gate, Officer Jenny got a good look at their faces.
Upon seeing Ash's battered condition, her expression darkened.
And when she noticed Pikachu, barely clinging to life in the front basket, fury surged in her heart.
"Officer Jenny, this is my—"
"I see. Hurry and get inside!"
To everyone's surprise, she barely glanced at their Pokédexes before quickly waving them through.
"Officer Jenny! Quick, stop those two thieves!" Misty shouted from afar, thrilled.
But to her shock, Officer Jenny made no move to stop them—she just let Ash and Natsume pass into the city unhindered.
Wait—did she not hear her?
Misty quickened her pace.
"Go, Growlithe!"
As soon as Misty approached, Officer Jenny released a Pokémon resembling a small dog.
The moment Growlithe lunged forward, Misty froze in place.
"Hmph. Showing up at this location in Viridian City—and one of the people attacked was a Pokémon researcher, no less!"
"You've got some nerve!"
Officer Jenny glared at Misty like she was a serious threat.
"???"
Misty was completely dumbfounded.
What? They're the criminals, not me!
On a street in Viridian City, Natsume turned back to glance at Misty, who had just been blocked. He shrugged.
Ash was in a hurry—and so was he.
Before they even arrived, Natsume had already used his researcher privileges to contact the local authorities.
The moment Officer Jenny recognized him, she let them through.
Thanks to Ash's superhuman pedaling, the bicycle was now performing well beyond its price range, and they arrived at the Pokémon Center in no time.
But as soon as Ash dismounted and picked up Pikachu, the bike completely fell apart into scattered scrap.
"Nurse Joy! Please save my Pikachu!"
Ash burst through the Pokémon Center's doors in a panic, shouting.
Outside, Natsume stared silently at the pile of bicycle parts on the ground.
In the original timeline, without him there, this bicycle would've been roasted by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, which is what led Misty to start following Ash.
But now? Even without Thunderbolt—it still got wrecked.
Clicking his tongue, Natsume pulled out a small notebook and began scribbling.
His conclusion: This world's plot has a self-correcting mechanism.
"System, doesn't this count as breaking fate? That should at least qualify as an SSS-level research subject, right?"
[+1]
The system silently deposited a single Pokédollar into Natsume's bag.
A subject so worthless, it wasn't even rankable.
"…"
Natsume fell silent and followed Ash into the Pokémon Center.
Inside, Pikachu had already been taken into the emergency room, while Ash anxiously waited outside.
"Ash, want to call your mom?"
"Okay, Natsume… but Pikachu…"
Ash's face was a mess of guilt and worry—he clearly wasn't in the mood to make phone calls.
Looking up at the calm, composed Natsume, Ash couldn't help but ask:
"Natsume, why aren't you worried at all? What if—"
"Duh. It's not my Pikachu. Why would I be worried?"
"…"
Ash swallowed the second half of his sentence—"I wish I could be as calm as you"—and fell silent.
Ring ring! Ring ring!
The phone rang—it was coming from Ash's Pokédex.
One of Natsume's patents had included a special feature: turning the Pokédex into a mobile phone for new Trainers.
"See? Aunt Delia is calling," Natsume pointed at the screen where Delia Ketchum's face was showing.
"…Yeah."
With a heavy heart, Ash answered the call.
Seeing that, Natsume turned toward the window.
The sky had already darkened. It was time to rest.
He walked up to the second floor of the Pokémon Center, where there were dorm-style rooms for Trainers to rest in.
Pikachu was safe now—and his S-rank research subject was about to make progress.
But more importantly...
He had ten scratch cards that he'd been saving for years—it was finally time to scratch them all!
Rubbing his hands in excitement, Natsume rushed into the room.
He washed up, changed clothes, lit in—wait, no incense.
Standing by the window in his pajamas, Natsume stared into the moonlit night. The cold wind echoed the loneliness in his heart.
A tenfold pull without any ritual… was an empty, soulless draw.
No. He had to find some incense first.
Determined, Natsume walked out of his room.
Night had fallen.
Beneath the moonlight, a giant Meowth-shaped hot air balloon floated in the sky.
Inside it were two men, one woman, and a talking cat Pokémon—deep in an intense conversation.
If Officer Jenny were here, she would've immediately recognized them: the Pokémon thieves on the wanted poster.
Their plotting was in full swing:
James: "Hahaha! Under cover of night, we'll swipe every Pokémon in the Center in one go!"
Jessie: "Exactly! With so many injured Pokémon, there's bound to be some rare ones in there!"
Meowth: "That's right, meow! If we deliver the rare ones to Boss Giovanni, we'll definitely get a big payout, meow!"
Natsume: "Yeah. If Giovanni gets in a good mood, he might even let me research Mewtwo. That's practically an S-rank project!"
Meowth: "Exactly, me—wait… WHO ARE YOU, MEOW!?"
In an instant, Meowth's blood-curdling scream shattered the meeting.
The Team Rocket trio recoiled in horror, scrambling to the other side of the balloon.
"You—you—who are you!?"
Jessie and James both shouted in unison, staring at Natsume in terror.
They were floating in mid-air! How could someone have gotten onboard without them noticing?
Was he a ghost!?