Pokemon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!? Chapter 44: Bill

Before long, the group arrived outside the lighthouse.

Although it looked close, walking all the way to the front took them quite a while.

Except for Natsu—he stood on Rotom and flew straight up.

...

**Bill's Lighthouse.**

From a distance, they could see Natsu waving at them.

Silent and eerie, almost like he was summoning spirits.

Misty, hands on her hips and out of breath, grew furious when she saw him:

"Na—mmph?"

Just as she started, Natsu covered her mouth.

"I'll do it!"

Giselle pulled Natsu's hand away and covered Misty's mouth herself.

Misty was speechless. *Since when did you beco his lackey?*

Even with Giselle's hand on her mouth, Misty cast Natsu a resentful look. She wanted to ask—*why not just use Rotom to carry them up one by one?*

Suddenly, Misty noticed sothing odd near Natsu.

After a closer look, the group realized it too.

The Rotom that always hovered around him was nowhere to be seen—it seed he had returned it to its Pokéball.

Such unusual behavior piqued Ash's curiosity:

"Na—mmph?"

Natsu clamped Ash's mouth shut as well.

???

The group exchanged confused looks. Was there so kind of rule here that forbade speaking?

Natsu motioned for silence, then pointed at the door.

The lighthouse gate was covered in intricate patterns.

Among the carvings, strange Pokémon fossils were embedded—no one could tell if they were new or ancient.

"Wow, those are all real Pokémon fossils. The owner of this lighthouse must be loaded."

Brock stroked his chin, studying the door in awe.

Natsu gestured again, this ti toward a button on the gate.

Were they supposed to press it?

Brock pressed it casually.

"Idiot! Haven't you learned anything?"

Misty's face twisted with fear. A quick glance showed Natsu had already stepped far back from the gate.

She quickly followed, and Giselle moved to stand by Natsu as well.

But unexpectedly, nothing happened this ti.

The gate didn't explode, collapse, or unleash any vicious Pokémon.

Instead, the button seed to be a communication device. A pleasant chi rang after it was pressed.

Monts later, a cheerful male voice ca from the door:

"Hello, this is Bill's Lighthouse."

"Ah, hello Mr. Bill. We're Trainers passing through and would like to stay for the night. Here's my Pokédex."

Ash spoke brightly, holding his Pokédex up to the button without caring whether Bill could actually see it.

"Oh, I see?" the voice replied, sounding like he was considering it.

"Yes! And if possible, could we borrow your kitchen? I can cook anything!" Brock added eagerly.

"Can you make fried noodles?" the voice suddenly asked.

"I sure can!" Brock nodded vigorously.

"Then you may co in."

"Thank you, Mr. Bill!"

Seeing no danger, Misty hurried closer and expressed her thanks.

*Beep beep beep—* Suddenly, an alarm blared from the door.

"Huh? What's going on?" Misty flinched at the sudden noise.

*Beep beep beep—External Electric-type Pokémon detected!* The sharp alarm kept ringing.

"External Electric-type Pokémon?" Ash muttered, lifting up Pikachu.

"It's my Pikachu. Is there a problem, Mr. Bill?"

"So it's Pikachu… I was just being overly cautious. Co on in."

As Bill spoke, the lighthouse doors gave a soft click and slid open from both sides.

Once inside, the group found the interior resembled a dieval castle.

"So creepy… feels like a Ghost-type Pokémon could jump out any second," Misty said, hiding behind Ash.

"What are you talking about? I'll catch Ghost Pokémon too."

Ash waved dismissively, clearly full of confidence.

"Hmph, then why don't you stand in front of Brock?"

"Everyone," Brock suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The group looked up—and spotted a massive Kabuto seated not far away.

"Ahhh—!" Misty scread and shut her eyes.

**Kabuto, the Shellfish Pokémon. A Pokémon restored from a fossil of an ancient creature.**

Hearing the Pokédex's entry, Ash instinctively reached for a Pokéball.

But before he could throw it, Kabuto spoke:

"Please don't be afraid." It was the sa voice as before.

"Mr. Bill?" Brock asked cautiously.

"That's right—it's . This is a Kabuto imitation suit I created," Bill explained.

"Could you help out? There's a button on the second left leg of the suit—I can't reach it from inside."

The group froze, realizing Bill was stuck inside.

Ash stepped forward and quickly freed him.

Smoke puffed out of the suit, and a figure erged.

He wore glasses, his brown hair parted neatly, and a white lab coat draped over him.

"Hahaha, thank you all so much—wait Natsu!!!"

Bill's expression shifted instantly as he frantically slamd a button beside the chair.

The floor tilted sharply toward the door, dumping everyone out like garbage.

*Bang!* The door slamd shut.

"Natsu, just how hated are you!?" Misty staggered to her feet, still fuming.

The group got up, all turning to stare at Natsu.

No wonder he hadn't said a word earlier.

From Bill's reaction, if he had heard Natsu's voice from the start, they wouldn't have been let inside.

"Maybe…" Natsu paused, then said seriously, "he's jealous of my genius."

"Mr. Natsu, what should we do now?" Giselle asked.

The next mont, Natsu hoisted her high into the air.

"Senior, this is the assistant I've taken on. Won't you give her a *welcoming* gift?" he shouted toward the top of the lighthouse.

A vein popped on Bill's forehead as he appeared in the window.

*That little girl looks adorable… I just hope Natsu doesn't corrupt her.*

But no matter what, he couldn't allow Natsu inside tonight.

That guy was coming soon, and having such an uncontrollable factor nearby was out of the question.

Bill was about to ignore him when Natsu called out again:

"My Pokémon Dynamaxed back at Mt. Moon—"

*Bang!*

The doors swung open. Bill poked his head out, staring at Natsu in suspicion.

"Really?"

He had been guarding this place day and night, waiting for the rumored Dynamax Pokémon in Kanto.

Not long ago, he had heard Mt. Moon had shown unusual signs possibly linked to Dynamax.

Bill had originally planned to finish his work here before going to Professor Oak.

After all, that was his lifelong goal!

"Of course, they can testify." Natsu released his Pokéball Rotom.

Beside him, Ash and the others nodded vigorously.

"Hmm…" Bill hesitated for a mont, but finally agreed to Natsu's request.

As for Natsu's Pokéball Rotom, he had already heard about it from Professor Oak.

You can read more (around 50 free chapters) of Natsu's adventure ad-free here[sravenarchives/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a ss here, so updates here might be irregular.