Chapter 114: A Certain Trainer—Wait, Am I Fighting Natsume?!

In the clearing, the fully-armored Corviknight stood poised and ready, its eyes half-lidded, exuding an air of cold indifference.

With its metallic body gleaming under the sunlight, it looked just like a grim and aloof knight of death.

It was undeniably cool.

But deep down, what was Corviknight really thinking?

"Damn, I look amazing."

Tilting its head slightly, Corviknight admired its own reflection in the glass, once again marveling at its majestic form under the sunlight.

It had lost count of how many times it had had this exact thought since evolving.

Ever since its evolution, Corviknight's narcissism had skyrocketed.

To be fair, though, it was incredibly cool-looking.

At least—until it opened its mouth.

The moment it spoke, all its cold and imposing aura would vanish into thin air.

From Death Knight to Comic Relief in an instant.

Fortunately, Corviknight still had some sense of dignity and maintained a certain level of self-awareness about its image.

Most of the time, it was careful to keep up appearances.

Like right now—despite being completely lost in its own narcissism, it was making sure not to let anyone catch on.

"Corviknight, I'll be counting on you today."

Just as Corviknight was subtly admiring itself, Natsume and Mei emerged from the house.

Immediately, Corviknight straightened up, masking its vanity and striking the most aloof pose it could manage.

If a stranger were to see it at this moment, they might even comment on what a majestic bird it was.

Unfortunately, Natsume and Mei knew exactly what kind of Pokémon Corviknight truly was.

Natsume aside, Mei had spent enough time around Corviknight to have an intimate understanding of its personality.

Corviknight's daily routine involved spouting an endless stream of trash talk and launching relentless psychological attacks on her Pokémon.

At first, Servine had been easy to break—completely defenseless against Corviknight's verbal assault.

But now, as a Serperior, it had grown much more composed.

At the very least, it no longer lost its cool as easily.

The worst Corviknight could provoke these days was an irritated flick of Serperior's tail, smacking it in the face.

In fact, Mei's entire team—except for the newly recruited Chingling—had built up a solid resistance to Corviknight's relentless trash talk.

"Thanks for the hard work, Corviknight!"

"Caw caw!"

Mei, who had been walking beside Natsume, grinned as she cheerfully greeted Corviknight.

Over time, she had grown quite close to the steel-plated bird.

And as far as Corviknight was concerned, Mei wasn't bad at all.

She had even provided it with a few sparring dummies—Pokémon it could insult freely as a form of stress relief.

Not to mention, she often slipped it a few Pokéblocks as treats.

What a good person!

On the farm, aside from Natsume, if anyone dared to speak ill of Mei, Corviknight would immediately rise to her defense.

Even if it was Persian!

Forget this whole "farm's second-in-command" nonsense—Corviknight was the second-in-command!

As it suffered its 800th defeat under Persian's claws, Corviknight reaffirmed this belief.

"Alright, time to head out!"

Seated atop Corviknight's broad back with Mei, Natsume lightly patted its feathers.

With a powerful beat of its wings, Corviknight effortlessly stirred up a strong gust of wind. The grass below was swept into the air, and before it had even settled back down, Corviknight had already become a mere speck in the sky.

"Lopuu."

"Aiyi."

At the farm's entrance, Lopunny and Indeedee's younger sister watched Natsume depart.

Over the past few days, the newly arrived Pokémon had gradually adapted to farm life.

Chansey had stationed itself near the training grounds, ready to heal any Pokémon engaged in training.

Audino had taken on a role similar to that of a caretaker, spending its days looking after the farm's troublemakers.

When it came to those mischievous little Pokémon, Natsume's words might not always carry weight.

But Audino's? Absolutely.

Because Audino would pin a troublemaker down and spank them.

Indeedee's older brother now served as something of a farm steward, taking over some of Slowking's management duties.

Every day, he was busier than ever.

As for Indeedee's younger sister, she mostly played the role of a maid, tending to Natsume's daily needs.

Her responsibilities overlapped somewhat with Lopunny's.

Yet, surprisingly, the two got along very well.

For Lopunny, besides Cinccino, she now had another close friend.

And for Cinccino?

Well, it was another Pokémon on the farm that actually cared about cleanliness!

No one could truly understand how deeply moved Cinccino was when the female Indeedee suggested they clean together.

Right then and there, Cinccino grasped her hand and declared solemnly: "From now on, your problems are my problems. If anything happens, come to me—I have some sway with Natsume!"

Female Indeedee, being the expert conversationalist she was, naturally played along and attentively flattered Cinccino.

A true top-tier hype partner.

Back to Natsume—

Even though Corviknight was larger than the average of its kind, it was only just big enough for him and Mei to sit comfortably.

As Corviknight took off, the sudden acceleration pushed their bodies backward.

By the time they regained their balance, Mei had unconsciously grabbed onto Natsume's arm.

The two sat very close together.

Feeling the warmth beside them, both instinctively turned their heads away.

A second or two passed. Just as Natsume was about to speak, Corviknight's voice interrupted him.

"Caw caw." [Sit tight. I'm speeding up.]

Corviknight reveled in the joy of soaring freely through the sky.

It completely failed to notice how the two passengers on its back had just been pressed even closer together.

"Um..."

Mei, who had nearly ended up in Natsume's lap, awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something—

But for a moment, she had no idea what to say.

So, she changed the topic.

"This time, I've prepared a lot for the competition."

"I'll definitely surprise you, Natsume."

Her attempt at shifting the conversation was a bit clumsy, but given the current situation, Natsume was more than happy to go along with it.

"Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it."

After that, silence fell once more.

Only the sound of the wind rushing past their ears remained.

To be honest, Natsume had always considered himself fairly socially adept. Maybe not an expert, but certainly not clueless.

Most of the time, he simply didn't speak because he didn't see the need to.

But now?

Yeah, he admitted it—his conversation skills might actually not be that great.

At least, not when it came to finding the right words in situations like this.

"Natsume, Natsume! Want me to turn on navigation, Roto?"

Fortunately, just as the awkward silence was setting in, a hero arrived to save the moment.

Rotom burst out of Natsume's pocket, still in its phone form.

"Oh, right—Rotom, turn on navigation, please."

If Rotom hadn't reminded him, Natsume might have completely forgotten about navigation.

At first, he had remembered to bring Rotom specifically for this reason.

But after all the chaos with Corviknight, it had slipped his mind.

"Roger, Roto!"

With its ever-present grin, Rotom flew in front of Corviknight, projecting a map onto its screen.

And then—

"You're flying the wrong way, you dumb bird!"

Thwack thwack thwack!

"Caw!" [Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!]

Natsume lightly smacked Corviknight's head with his fist.

If it weren't for the risk of a Black Hawk Down scenario, he honestly would've given this bird a real wake-up call.

With Rotom's help, Corviknight finally got back on the right course.

"Alright, start descending up ahead."

As the outlines of buildings became visible in the distance, Natsume patted Corviknight's head to signal the landing.

Cities had strict regulations for flying Pokémon.

To fly within city limits, one needed both a permit and special authorization.

It was a hassle, really.

Without the proper paperwork, getting chased down was entirely normal.

Getting shot out of the sky wasn't unheard of either.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Natsume would rather walk a little extra.

"Caw!"

Following the command, Corviknight swiftly descended.

Having once lived in the city with Natsume, it was already well aware of the rules.

"Should we grab a bite first?"

"Or head straight to registration?"

After landing and returning Corviknight to its Poké Ball, Natsume turned to Mei.

"Let's go register first."

After thinking it over, Mei decided to take care of registration first.

Judging by the schedule, the tournament wouldn't last too long.

Dinner could wait—after all, it'd make for a good victory celebration.

Yes.

Even before the competition started, Mei was already planning the victory dinner.

It couldn't be helped.

If she were competing alone, she'd be focused on strategies and tactics.

But with Natsume here?

The championship was practically guaranteed.

A small-time tournament having even one competitor of Natsume's caliber was already unusual.

Having two?

The chances were close to zero.

Lower than the odds of a Legendary Pokémon attacking a city.

At least, in Jadeleaf, that was the case.

"Alright then."

"Let's get going."

Tapping a Poké Ball, Natsume released Zorua and Togepi.

"Suo!"

A midair flip with a 360° spin!

"Chagi!"

A flawless landing—no splash!

The two little Pokémon dramatically leaped onto the ground, each striking an elaborate pose.

And, of course, they provided their own sound effects.

"Clap clap clap!"

Zorua struck a dramatic pose, bowing to the empty air around them as if graciously accepting the roaring applause of an invisible audience.

Togepi, ever the perfect partner, clapped enthusiastically in response, showering Zorua with praise.

Truly, classic Zorua!

"Alright, you two, that's enough showing off."

Natsume scooped them up, one in each arm, securing the restless duo in place.

"Suosuo!"

"Chagi chagi!"

Even in his arms, Zorua and Togepi wriggled in protest, unwilling to stay still.

Natsume's Pokémon may have wanted to break free from his arms, but having experienced firsthand the chaos of mischievous Pokémon, he had no intention of letting these two troublemakers run wild.

He had always disliked trainers who let their Pokémon roam unchecked, causing trouble wherever they went.

And he certainly didn't want to become one of them.

That would be kind of ironic, wouldn't it?

Becoming the kind of person you once despised.

"It feels like it's been forever since I've been in such a bustling place."

The unique energy of the city hit him all at once.

Ever since inheriting the farm, Natsume had spent most of his time there. Even when he left, it was usually just a short trip to the nearby town for supplies.

The noise and liveliness of a city like this—yeah, it had been a while.

"Feels like I've suddenly aged quite a bit."

Scratching his head, Natsume wondered aloud.

He was only nineteen.

Wasn't it a little dramatic to call himself old?

Then again, even kids around fifteen or sixteen—heck, even some ten-year-olds—were out there complaining about feeling old.

So maybe it wasn't that big of a stretch?

Besides, his mental age probably wasn't that young to begin with.

"Natsume, you're still young! You're even younger than me by half a year," Mei chimed in, lightly poking him.

At first, she'd always seen Natsume as a reliable senior figure.

Even though they were the same age, his presence just didn't feel like that of a recent high school graduate.

Then she found out not only were they peers—he was actually younger than her by six months.

That realization gave her… well, a rather interesting feeling.

The dependable senior had suddenly turned into a younger little brother.

And strangely enough, that was kind of exciting.

"Oh? Should I start calling you 'big sis' then?"

"Of course! If Natsume calls me 'big sis,' I'll be full of energy for the entire day!"

"Alright then. I won't."

"Wait, no! Just say it once!"

"Denied."

"Come on, I beg you! This is my one and only request in life!"

"You said the same thing last time when you wanted extra food at dinner."

Laughing and teasing each other along the way, they made their way to the tournament venue.

But as they walked, Natsume started to feel like… a lot of people were looking at him.

Hmm...

Probably just his imagination.

It's not like he was famous or anything.

Maybe they were just admiring how cute Zorua and Togepi were?

"You two sure are attracting a lot of attention, huh?"

Looking down at the little Pokémon in his arms, Natsume smiled.

"Suo?" [What?]

Zorua tilted its head in confusion.

What are you talking about?

I don't see anyone looking at me.

They're all looking at you.

Zorua couldn't understand Natsume's mistake.

That misunderstanding lasted all the way until they arrived at the registration desk.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Natsume?"

The woman handling sign-ups hesitated slightly as she asked after he finished signing in.

"Hm?"

"Yeah, that's my name."

Natsume paused for a moment.

There were plenty of people with the surname Natsu.

And he wasn't the only person named Natsume in the world.

Maybe she was asking about someone else with the same name?

Thankfully, the receptionist quickly clarified.

"Are you the same Natsume who defeated the Legendary Pokémon?"

"The one who took down Ting-Lu?"

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

And for the first time in his life—both his past one and his current one—Natsume had the distinct experience of being recognized by a stranger.

"So it really is you!"

"When I saw your name on the registration list, I thought it was just someone with the same name."

"But when you came to sign in, you looked really familiar, and I just had to confirm!"

Now certain of his identity, the woman excitedly rambled on about his battle with Ting-Lu.

For most people, encountering a Legendary Pokémon was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Let alone actually defeating one.

And yet, the person standing in front of her—a guy who had just barely reached adulthood—had done it alone.

That was why Natsume had been trending online for a while.

Though he had gone quiet recently, his name hadn't completely faded from the spotlight.

Behind him, another tournament participant stood frozen, staring at Natsume's back in shock.

Wait a minute…

Wasn't this the guy who had been all over the internet recently?

His name was… Natsume, right?

The one who took down Ting-Lu?

No way…

Am I supposed to battle that Natsume?!

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