Natsume rushed back to his room, holding the small jar in his arms.
He closed the door, took a quick shower, changed his clothes, and lit incense—each action flowing smoothly one after the other.
Soon, a faint mist-like smoke filled the small room.
In the haze, Natsume eagerly pulled out the ten scratch cards.
These were the ten tasks he had worked tirelessly on with the Pokémon of Pallet Town over the past five years, striving alongside the selfless Pokémon of the town. He had managed to complete these tasks, earning these precious scratch cards as the result of their hard work!
Looking at the scratch cards, each marked with the iconic red and white Poké Ball design, Natsume felt his eyes redden, unable to stop the tears from flowing.
As the smoke filled the room, Natsume's tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Ah, well then, let me see what extraordinary reward the system promised!" Natsume said, trying not to ask for too much. Ten Alpacas would be good enough.
Without hesitation, with the perfect timing and environment, Natsume took a deep breath twice and scratched off the first red and white Poké Ball on the first card.
In an instant, a brilliant flash of gold erupted, and a cheerful voice echoed in Natsume's mind:
[Ding—Congratulations, host! You've scratched off a Red and White Poké Ball Scratcher and obtained a Pokémon Poké Ball X1!]
"Huh?"
Natsume blinked in surprise as the Poké Ball materialized out of nowhere in front of him.
Without hesitation, he scratched off another card.
[Ding—Congratulations, host! You've scratched off a Red and White Poké Ball Scratcher and obtained a Pokémon Poké Ball X1.]
Natsume's expression subtly changed. His disbelief led him to scratch off a third card.
Poké Ball +1.
The fourth card.
Poké Ball +1.
Until the final tenth card, all of them revealed the same result: Red and White Poké Balls.
"Clink!"
A tear dropped onto the sea of Poké Balls, and Natsume suddenly felt that his bond with the Pokémon of Pallet Town might not have been as deep as he thought.
Scratching off the last card, another identical voice rang in his mind. Natsume felt light-headed, possibly from frustration, and collapsed onto the nearby bed.
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You've scratched off the Red and White Poké Ball Scratcher and obtained a Pokémon Bait.]
"System, is this what you call an extraordinary reward?"
Natsume felt a wave of dizziness wash over him before he passed out.
The Next Morning
Natsume woke to the concerned voice of Ash.
"Miss Joy, Natsume's awake!" Ash shouted as he rushed out of the room.
Natsume's vision was blurry, but he could vaguely see Ash running out, his voice growing fainter.
Once Ash left, the room fell into silence.
Natsume stared at the ceiling, his mind replaying the events of the previous night. Could it be? Was he really that unlucky?
Five years of effort, and all he got were ten Poké Balls? Just ten!
Hadn't things gone more smoothly before he left for Pallet Town, back at Oak's lab?
Hmm? Wait a minute. He felt that the ceiling seemed different from his usual room.
Before he could ponder further, the door opened, and Nurse Joy walked in.
Upon seeing Natsume awake, Nurse Joy rubbed her temples and sighed.
"Honestly, how did you manage to get gas poisoning in a Pokémon Center room?" she asked.
Last night, Team Rocket had attacked, and this morning, someone was found poisoned by gas on the second floor.
Ash and Misty entered the room.
"Yeah, Natsume, your eyes are all swollen. Didn't you notice?" Ash remarked.
Natsume's head felt heavy, but he processed their words and realized something.
Gas poisoning?
He checked his system panel, scrolling down until he found a task.
[SSS-Level Task — Study of Artificial Pallet Town Superhuman Physique, Subject: Natsume.]
Opening the task revealed Natsume's current status:
[Strength: 0.05 Intelligence]
[Wisdom: 100 Intelligence]
[Agility: 0.05 Intelligence]
[Electric-Type Resistance: 0.5 Intelligence]
[Fire-Type Resistance]
This project had been triggered the first time Natsume met Ash in Pallet Town, and for years, though he hadn't made significant progress, he'd noticed some results. For example, his resistance to Pokémon attacks had gradually improved with exposure.
He scrolled further and found his Poison-Type resistance:
[Poison-Type Resistance: 0.2 Intelligence]
Wait, his Poison-Type resistance dropped from 0.3 to 0.2. That must explain why the gas had affected him so badly last night.
Natsume had originally thought his bond with the Pokémon of Pallet Town was so strong it would awaken some hidden power, but it turned out it was simply because he couldn't handle the "scent" of the gas.
In the end, it wasn't bad luck, and it wasn't that his bond with the Pokémon was weak—he just wasn't cut out for the fumes!
Natsume thought to himself, "I'll have to avoid using those gas balls in the future. My luck is just bad."
He wondered how Coal Turtle was doing.
Looking at Natsume's faint expression, Ash covered his face.
"Pi-ka!" On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu mimicked him, covering its face too.
At that moment, Ash, this ten-year-old boy, fully understood why everyone had warned him to keep an eye on Natsume.
If he hadn't found Natsume early that morning, Natsume might have passed out and no one would have noticed.
Natsume glanced at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, nodding in acknowledgment. After all, the bond between Ash and Pikachu had clearly deepened after last night's Rocket Team attack.
"By the way!"
Under Natsume's gaze, Ash suddenly turned to Misty, who looked stunned, and said:
"Well, Misty, as you can see, Natsume's condition means we'll have to rest here for the day. If you're in a hurry to get to Celadon City... ah!"
Before Ash could finish, Misty grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
"How dare you try to send me off so you don't have to pay for my bicycle!" Misty grumbled.
As Natsume and Nurse Joy looked on, Misty let go of Ash, crossed her arms, and snorted.
"Well, I have all the time in the world to deal with you."
"Alright then, if that's the case, Natsume... Hmm, Natsume, where are you?" Ash scratched his head, looking at the bed in surprise when he found Natsume was gone.
Just a moment ago, Natsume was still there!
"Ah, this patient needs a calm environment for recovery!"
Seeing that, Nurse Joy grew concerned.
Natsume had vanished without a trace, and Ash, frantic, ran out of the room to search for him.
Natsume's Former Room
"Rotom!"
With the voice of Rotom, a faint light appeared in the room.
"Shua—"
The light flashed, and Natsume reappeared.
Using Rotom's teleportation, Natsume returned to his room.
He was there to collect the ten Poké Balls.
After all, he was already unlucky enough. If he lost those ten Poké Balls too, he would be even more upset.
"One, two, nine, huh?"
Natsume paused as he picked up the balls.
Strange. Where was the tenth one?
He searched high and low but couldn't find it.
It couldn't have been stolen—after all, Team Rocket had already been driven off by Ash and Misty.
It couldn't have been stolen, leaving just one Poké Ball behind.
Could it be... his tenth reward wasn't a Poké Ball?
Natsume felt a surge of hope in his chest.
He vaguely remembered not hearing what the tenth reward was before he fainted.
Eager, Natsume opened his system backpack.
Poké Ball X10086
Brick X88
Customized Sleepwear X12
Janitor's Uniform X3
Rocket Team High-Quality Imitation Officer Uniform X3
Rocket Team Regular Member Uniform X3
Aside from what he had prepared, there were no new items.
Could he have even gotten air?
Unwilling to believe it, Natsume opened his system panel.
When the panel appeared, Natsume froze.
The originally clean and organized research lab panel now had an extra small module.
[Pokémon Battle Arena]
[In battles, the arena can be selected, pulling both sides into the Pokémon Battle Arena. All battle rules will follow those of the game!]
"Ah—"