Chapter 111. Dam Project
Everyone was exhausted, and they slept straight through to noon.
In the end, it was center-parted banging on the food bowls that woke everyone up.
"Ah~ you sure aren't short on sleep."
At the table, Natsume yawned.
"Pika, hee-hee—"
The center-parted covered its mouth and snickered.
Natsume shot it a glare.
The center-parted instantly covered its head, fur standing on end.
Mental Jeep impact!
"Mr. Natsume, where are we going next?"
Honora pressed close to Natsume, keeping Nurse Joy at bay.
"That's rare—Honora is even more impatient than I am."
Ash said in surprise as he ate lunch.
"Let's go to Fuchsia City. It's the closest, and Fuchsia Gym is nearby."
Brock took out a map, checked it, and made his suggestion.
"Great, then let's head out right away."
After finishing lunch, Honora eagerly took Natsume's hand and led him away from the Pokémon Center.
Along the way, Misty hugged her backpack, looking uneasy.
"What's wrong, Misty?"
Ash asked, puzzled.
"Sigh… don't you feel like something is following us?"
As she spoke, Misty shivered.
"Team Rocket following us?"
Brock turned back, looked around, and saw nothing.
"No, it's just a feeling… and my sixth sense is usually accurate."
Misty said this and strode to the front.
"Come to think of it, ever since we arrived in Gringey City, nothing's gone smoothly."
Brock continued, "The sky is pitch-black, and Nurse Joy has been acting weird too."
"It's fine! Whatever's behind us, let's just run and leave it far behind!"
Ash said, then took the lead and sprinted off with Pikachu.
Everyone else picked up the pace.
Blue light glinted in Natsume's eyes as he glanced back.
Misty's feeling wasn't wrong.
There really was something following them, and it wasn't Team Rocket.
A Primeape, a Drowzee, and a Zapdos.
What exactly were they trying to do?
Aside from the laid-back Drowzee, Natsume could sense a very strange emotion on the other two.
Natsume said nothing, tacitly allowing the three Pokémon to tail them from afar.
After a while, a vast stretch of forest appeared before them.
At the same time, the original paved road branched into a mountain path.
"Okay, we'll take this one!"
Ash, charging ahead, chose the mountain path without hesitation.
"Why do we have to take the mountain path?"
Misty pointed at the paved road and felt Ash was asking for hardship.
"Hahaha, because the mountains must be full of Pokémon I haven't seen!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu nodded.
With that, the two stepped onto the mountain path and bolted forward, disappearing in no time.
"Let me see… if we want to save time, the mountain path is a bit faster."
Brock checked the map and continued, "This mountain path goes to Fuchsia Gym, and this paved road goes to Fuchsia City."
"What's the difference?"
Misty blinked.
"Of course there's a difference.
Fuchsia Gym is in the mountains.
If we go to Fuchsia City first, we'll have to double back."
Natsume said, then followed after them onto the mountain path.
"Misty, we just left Gringey City.
Don't you want to breathe some fresh air in nature?"
Honora smiled and went after Natsume.
"Good point!"
Misty walked along and took a deep breath.
"Looks like there's construction here too?"
Brock's voice came from the side.
Everyone followed his gaze and saw, at a distant valley mouth, countless sections of reinforced concrete forming a massive wall.
"That's a valley entrance.
They're probably building a dam," Natsume said after a glance, making his judgment.
"Rumble—rumble—rumble!"
The ground began to shake violently.
Behind them, a chorus of roaring engines rose.
Looking back, they saw heavy trucks coming off the paved road in a line, then turning and pouring onto the mountain path.
"Ah, get out of the way!"
The mountain path was cramped, just wide enough for the trucks to pass.
Blue light flashed in Natsume's eyes, and everyone floated into the air, barely avoiding them.
There were many trucks, one after another, and only after a full two minutes did the trembling of the earth subside.
"Cough, cough—what the heck!"
Dust billowed as the convoy passed.
Misty covered her mouth and nose, coughing nonstop.
"This should be the crew for that dam project," Brock guessed.
"Wait, Ash is still up ahead."
Misty froze.
"Relax.
It's not even clear who would end up on the ground if he ran into someone."
Natsume's voice came calmly.
"True.
He may be a bit of a dope, but he's not that dumb."
Misty nodded.
There were trees everywhere here.
With Ash's strength, he could just climb one at any time.
"Boom!"
The sound of a truck overturning exploded ahead.
Then came one side-over after another.
At the far end of the mountain road, it sounded like thunder as countless leaves were shaken loose, rustling in sheets.
"Ash!"
Everyone cried out and rushed forward.
"Cough, cough, cough—cough, cough!"
In a cloud of dust, they found Ash.
He stood in the middle of a mess of overturned heavy trucks, looking completely baffled, with eyes as guileless as the Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pika?"
Pikachu tilted its head, not understanding what had happened.
"Ash, did you topple these trucks?"
Misty was stunned.
"Hey, hey, don't slander me!"
Ash exploded, then stepped on the fallen trucks and, with a few hops, bounced back to the group.
"What happened here?"
Natsume gave Ash a once-over.
Aside from being covered in dust, he wasn't hurt at all.
"I don't know.
These trucks just flipped over on their own."
Ash waved his hands and animatedly described what he'd seen.
He had been walking down the middle of the road when he heard something behind him and tried to dodge.
Then one truck suddenly flipped over on the spot and fell in front of him.
The ones behind it followed one after another, each performing an in-place rollover.
"And that's how it ended up."
Ash pointed at the long line of overturned trucks in front of him.
"Oh, right, Natsume—was this that scam thing you talked about?"
"Am I going to have to pay for this?"
Ash clutched his head.
"First time I've seen cars try to scam a person."
Natsume's mouth twitched.
"Cough—cough—darn Diglett!"
On one overturned truck, the cab door was pushed open.
Everyone looked over.
A stocky driver with a sweat towel around his neck tumbled out.
He wore reddish-brown work clothes and a yellow hard hat, looking like a baked sweet potato rolling down.
"Sir, are you okay?"
They hurried over.
"Cough, cough… could you go to the supply post up ahead and call the foreman to bring a rescue team?"
The driver seemed used to this sort of thing and stayed surprisingly calm.
"Supply post?"
Natsume raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, we're transport drivers for the dam project.
Diglett keep causing trouble along this route, so the foreman set up a few supply posts along the way."
"Walk ten-plus minutes up ahead and you'll reach one.
I'm counting on you."
Saying this, the pudgy driver leaned against his truck, took out a bottle of green liquid, and began rubbing it on his leg.
Before long, bruises of all sizes appeared.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
Ash asked, curious.
"Shh.
This is called a workplace injury.
Remember to testify for me."
"…"
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