Chapter 101: You Should Just Go Back to Being a Gym Leader
"Look! That Dragonite just unexpectedly sent soone flying again!"
"The two wild Pokémon on this year's C-rank arena are really strong too!"
"In my opinion, the Pikachu on the D-rank arena is the real highlight—how did he even train his Sleep skill?"
The audience buzzed with excitent and discussion.
The caraman's eyes darted around as the host moved between arenas, switching constantly.
This year's P1 Grand Prix was too interesting.
In the past, all attention was on the A and B-rank arenas, while C and D were just for entertainnt.
This year, the C and D arenas were full of action.
On the A-rank arena, an Hitmonchan lay under Dragonite's paw.
"Hitmonchan!" Anthony exclaid, then sank to his knees, unable to believe his defeat.
"Wow—the A-rank arena has a winner! The *Gentle Tyrant* takes the victory!"
The host's voice rang out, and Natsu's mouth twitched slightly.
Audiences loved giving nicknas to competing Pokémon.
The Hitmonchan that Anthony had used was called the Boxing Master.
"Damn it, stopped here?"
Anthony's hands pressed the ground, his eyes full of frustration and disbelief.
Light footsteps approached as Natsu stood before Anthony.
"You're strong, and your strategy is impressive. I can't even imagine what training it would take to raise a Dragonite like yours!" Anthony looked up sincerely.
"Can you tell what kind of training lets a Pokémon's strength defy the expected motion of her attack?"
Anthony had studied Fighting Pokémon extensively. He had observed Natsu's Dragonite many tis.
With that initial movent, there was no way that kind of explosive power should have been possible!
Natsu touched his nose.
He didn't know either; even Dragonite itself didn't know the strength of her next strike.
"You should just go back to running your gym."
With that, Natsu turned and left.
"What?" Anthony froze.
After a mont, he stood.
"I won't give up! I can still compete in the B-rank redemption matches. Wait for —I'll defeat you!"
Anthony shouted after Natsu.
Natsu ignored him and looked toward the D-rank arena.
...
On the D-rank arena, Midchu slept soundly, while his opponent, Machamp, panted heavily from exhaustion.
"Phew~" Ash leaned against the railing, drifting off.
Although he wanted to respect his opponent, after staying up all night training with Natsu and seeing how boring Midchu's strategy was, Ash couldn't help falling asleep.
"Hey! Don't underestimate !" the opposing boy shouted, frustrated.
"Wow, another trainer so frustrated he's dazed!"
The host's voice rang out as Machamp's trembling fist fell on the sleeping Midchu.
The mont heit made contact, his punch slipped weakly, and Machamp collapsed straight to the ground, fainted from exhaustion.
"Another victory in dreams! Pikachu takes first place in the D-rank arena, and it's still asleep!"
"Even his trainer is asleep!"
Ash slept soundly, unaffected by the host's exclamations.
"Looks like the Dream Armor works really well."
Blue light flickered in Natsu's eyes. In Midchu's ntal world, there wasn't a single nightmare—it had all been neutralized.
And Midchu was reading a book?
Beside him laid a small round shield and a short sword casually placed, while he held the precious Legendary Pokémon booklet he had requested from Natsu.
*Wasn't he supposed to be unable to read?*
Thanks to their telepathic connection, Natsu realized that in the ntal world, Midchu could understand human writing.
Natsu nodded in satisfaction.
The kid had a lot of potential—seeing him put in effort now felt rare and valuable to Natsu.
"Uh—excuse ?"
A man with a thick accent suddenly stopped Natsu.
"What is it?" Natsu glanced at the short, slightly overweight middle-aged man.
"I'm from Rainbow City Grand Furniture Company. We've been developing wellness products for beds recently."
"No girlfriend, no need to buy," Natsu replied, turning to leave.
"Wait, wait! Just take a look!" The man hurriedly pulled out a Pikachu-shaped pillow.
"This is our latest product, the Pikachu Massage Pillow. It helps relieve neck fatigue."
"Oh, a wellness product, huh," Natsu observed.
The pillow's limbs stood upright, and the little fingers were creatively made into massage claws.
"Not interested, I won't buy it," Natsu shook his head and moved to leave.
"Wait, sir, I want to ask that young man to be our spokesperson."
The man hurriedly blocked Natsu, pointing toward Ash in the distance.
"I checked the participant information—you're his guardian. How about it? The endorsent fee is set!"
Natsu raised an eyebrow, took the card, and stuck it on his phone. Seeing the number, he froze.
Almost twenty million.
Wow—endorsents pay this well?
And this was just a local, minor tournant, plus the company was practically unknown.
No wonder Leon's battle robe was covered in sponsor logos.
Natsu stroked his chin, thinking about getting a custom robe for himself and Ash in the future.
"I agree. Go talk to Ash—if he's willing, that's fine."
He handed the card back to the man and returned to the audience seats.
...
"Natsu, why are you up here?"
Misty asked curiously.
"Most of the first-place matches this morning are done. Next are the redemption matches and finals," Natsu explained.
He sat in the seat reserved by Giselle, taking the juice she handed him with a sip.
"Miss Rebecca's father… he's the one just defeated by Natsu, right?" Giselle asked.
Natsu nodded.
For this type of tournant, abandoning his gym leader identity and ignoring his own daughter felt unworthy.
"Eh? Anthony doesn't seem in form—he's going to lose the B-rank redemption match," Brock suddenly said, keeping an eye on Anthony.
Everyone turned to see a Hitmonchan and a Hitmontop battling fiercely on the B-rank arena.
"Hang in there, Hitmonchan!" Anthony's hopeful voice called out.
But he wasn't Ash—Hitmonchan's stamina waned, gradually unable to hold on.
Natsu shifted his gaze to Anthony's opponent, a tall figure in a long coat and mask.
It was Team Rocket in disguise.
At the top, owth and Jessie—Jessie's thighs clamped tightly around Jas's head, his face red, clearly struggling.
"Hahaha, owth! Totally worth losing from A-rank, we finally got him!" owth whispered excitedly.
"Hitmontop, finish him with a ga Kick!" Jessie commanded.
Hitmontop leapt high, kicking Hitmonchan out of the arena.
"That Hitmontop looks really strong," Brock exclaid.
"When Miss Rebecca described it, I thought her dad was powerful," Misty tilted her head, puzzled.
*Where did Team Rocket even get that Hitmontop?*
Natsu tilted his head, deep in thought.
"A beautiful strike! Hitmonchan defeated, Anthony eliminated!"
The host's voice rang out. Anthony sat in shock.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over him.
Looking up, he realized his opponent was approaching.
"Just go back and be a proper gym trainer." Jessie said coldly, leaving those words before turning and walking away.
Anthony froze, hearing the familiar tone, staring blankly at Jessie's departing figure.
Inside a public restroom near the tournant venue, a tall man was stripped down to his underwear, his hands and feet bound, and a ball of yarn stuffed in his mouth.
"Alright, since you listened to us and beat that person, as agreed, we can let your trainer go."
At the restroom entrance, Hitmontop exhaled in relief, his heart racing as it watched the red-haired woman leave.
*Terrifying—humans were terrifying.*
It had co to the tournant with his trainer, only to be intercepted mid-way by an enraged red-haired woman who, without a word, beat them both up.
Clearly, even Pokémon had their limits.
You can read more (around 100 free chapters) of Natsu's adventure ad-free at [sravenarchives/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a ss here, so updates here might be irregular.
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