Chapter 64. Report! General Center-parted Has Defected to the Enemy
Tentacool joined the battle!
Tentacool joined the battle!
The announcements kept rolling, and Natsume felt like the other side had called in at least ten thousand lackeys.
The total number of Pokémon Trainers in the whole city probably wasn't even that high.
"Kids, we're finished."
Facing the pleading looks from Gengar and Rotom, Natsume began straightening his attire.
Inside the Rule Field, it's one turn per Pokémon.
Natsume was fighting two-on-one, so he had two turns to every one turn of the opposing Tentacruel, giving him an overwhelming advantage.
But now, if every jellyfish took turns spitting, they could drown Natsume.
"You two Teleport out in a moment and prioritize your safety."
"I'll take Ash over there."
Natsume gave instructions to his two Pokémon.
The situation was changing by the second, so Natsume's strategy changed with it, and he planned to have Ash go over and talk them down.
Tentacool joined the battle!
Pikachu "center-parted" joined the battle!
Center-parted is that loyal?
As the last announcement ended, Natsume, Great Ball Rotom, and Gengar all froze, then looked back.
Nothing there.
Natsume looked around, still finding no trace of center-parted.
Wait, he seemed to be sleeping back at the pier.
Natsume suddenly remembered, when Gengar tugged at his sleeve and pointed its little pudgy finger across the way.
Natsume looked up and saw that, surrounded by countless Tentacool, a Pikachu stepped out with its blanket tied around its neck like a cape.
Natsume: "…"
When did you defect to the enemy?
"Pika, pika—"
"Minyu~ minyu—"
"Minyu minyu minyu…"
"Gluu?"
Across the way, the vast host of Pokémon completely ignored Natsume and started chatting among themselves.
Natsume raised an eyebrow, pulled out his phone, and opened the app.
"I'm gonna sleep on his head, meow."
"Boss, the clan's heirloom treasure is gone, meow."
"This Pikachu was chosen by the clan treasure, and it speaks so nicely, meow."
"That over there is its Trainer, meow."
"They chased the bad guys away, meow."
A clamor of voices rose up, and Natsume fell silent.
Why does Meowth's typed translation even have an accent?
Still, the content of their conversation greatly interested Natsume.
What is this clan treasure?
Natsume wasn't sure, but it felt extremely important.
Because as soon as the giant Tentacruel heard that, it lowered its head, letting center-parted come to rest atop it.
Center-parted yawned and went right back to sleep.
After listening in for a bit, Natsume quietly canceled the Rule Field.
For some reason, center-parted had been acknowledged by the Tentacool colony.
Then the Tentacool received the latest intel from center-parted — that the bad guys had been driven off — and relayed it to the giant Tentacruel.
Barring surprises, this should be fine.
"Gluu—"
Feeling the force binding it vanish, the giant Tentacruel looked toward Natsume in the distance.
"Natsume!"
Ash and the others came up behind Natsume, watching the giant Tentacruel warily.
"Hold on."
"He's not hostile right now."
Natsume raised a hand to stop them.
"Gluu gluu!"
I want to hear your eco-tourism development plan, meow.
Natsume's phone auto-output the translation.
"Wow, Natsume, I want that app too," Ash said, full of envy.
"Once it's polished, I'll release it," Natsume said, pointing his phone at the giant Tentacruel and waiting for what it would say next.
"Gluu gluu—"
If you keep playing ostrich and keep destroying the coral reefs, I'll wait until you leave and then destroy the city, meow.
"…"
Natsume was silent for a moment, then began laying out his eco-tourism development proposal — "Tentacool's Revenge: Themed Ecological Park."
The more Natsume spoke, the better Tentacruel's expression grew, while the humans on the side grew darker and darker.
"Yes, that's right, Mr. Tentacruel."
"Humans are simply vile."
At some point, Natsume had put on the Tentacruel mascot suit again and said this with a straight face.
"Gluu gluu!"
Tentacruel was quite excited.
It was very interested in Natsume's concept.
Especially the Coral Ruins Experience Hall, where visitors receive a Tentacool perspective converter and enter a full-dome projection of coral reefs destroyed by humans.
Interactive task: use virtual tentacles to rescue companions about to be shredded by a tour boat's propeller.
Task progress: each time a task fails, the hall will spray fruit-scented fragrance and announce "Human development progress +1%."
When the progress reaches one hundred percent, one hundred jellyfish visitors who haven't completed the task gather together to summon it and launch revenge on the human city (projection).
"Have visitors step into a Pokémon's point of view…"
"Natsume, you've got a lot of wicked ideas."
For once, Misty didn't snark, but openly gave Natsume a thumbs-up.
And so, under the witness of Officer Jenny and a squad of officers, humanity suffered a crushing defeat that day.
Traitor-to-humanity Natsume and the Tentacool colony signed an unequal treaty — the tourism revenue would allocate fifty percent to coral reef restoration and construction.
In return, the giant Tentacruel had to agree to several conditions from Natsume,
Such as cooperating with the League to carry out Dynamax research, and answering a few of his questions.
Since there were too many prying eyes here, Natsume sat on Gengar's head and followed Tentacruel out to a distant stretch of sea.
"Gluu?"
What do you want to ask, meow?
Tentacruel looked at Natsume with curiosity, as Natsume hopped down from Gengar's head to stand atop Tentacruel's.
The sea breeze blew, and center-parted snored away nearby.
Natsume patted the little guy's head and got straight to the point.
"I want to ask how you became this big."
Natsume spoke, and Tentacruel paused for a moment, then began explaining without concealment.
Also a long, long time ago, a meteor streaked across the sky.
The meteor split, and a chunk of red-black crystal fell out and landed among the Tentacool colony.
"Wait."
"The clan treasure you speak of is a shard of Eternatus's divinity?" Natsume blurted out.
"Gluu—"
If the thing inside me is that, then what you said is correct, meow.
Tentacruel explained that it had only swallowed a small splinter of the red-black crystal, and that was how it got this big.
"Then where's the remaining large divinity shard?" Natsume asked, getting excited.
Maybe he wouldn't need to laboriously extract anything from Tentacruel's body — there might be a divinity shard right on site.
"Gluu—"
Your Pikachu absorbed it, meow.
"What?" Natsume froze.
"Gluu gluu-lu—"
My clansmen told me the clan treasure fused with your Pikachu, meow.
"Wake up."
Natsume patted center-parted.
Its snot bubble popped, and it blearily sat up.
Is it morning?
Even if it's morning, keep sleeping, as long as the Trainer isn't here.
Center-parted rolled over and promptly went back to dead sleep.
Natsume unleashed the big-snake glare.
"Pii!"
Every hair on center-parted's body stood up as if shocked.
It turned its head and gave Natsume an awkward grin.
"Speak."
"What's with you and the Tentacool colony's clan treasure?"
Natsume put on his serious face.
"Pi, pika-ka pika!"
It's hard and not comfortable to sleep on, meow.
Center-parted waved its little hand, full of disdain.
Natsume: "???"
"Gluu—"
The clansmen said it crawled up onto the clan treasure to sleep, and then the clan treasure turned into light and merged into its body, meow.
"Gluu gluu!"
To be chosen by the clan treasure — it's like I was back then — a jellyfish warrior, meow.
Natsume ignored whatever "jellyfish warrior" Tentacruel was going on about.
He desperately grabbed center-parted's little short legs and shook them upside down.
"Spit it out."
"Spit it out for me."
"Fwooo—"
Center-parted shut its eyes and instantly fell asleep again.
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