"Ugh, no, I'm still scared of Natsume," Ash said dejectedly, sitting on a bench.
"You can definitely defeat her, Ash. Just believe in yourself," Alex Carter encouraged from the side.
"Natsume wasn't like this when she was a child," the uncle said, lowering his head.
"Uncle, hearing you say that, did you know Natsume before?" Alex asked curiously.
"Ah? No, no, no, I just heard about it."
Natsume had already displayed her powerful Psychic abilities from a very young age. While others were just learning to walk, she could easily bend spoons with her mind, even shattering the rack holding those spoons.
From the moment Natsume began her Psychic training, she became passionately devoted to it. She wouldn't even listen to her parents. If they disturbed her training, Natsume would get angry, her eyes turning red as she pushed them away, ultimately causing the entire house to collapse.
"She didn't make friends; she just immersed herself in the world of Psychic training," the uncle continued. "Her parents tried to stop her, but she used her powers to drive them away."
"From that time on, Natsume developed a dual personality," the uncle explained, handing Alex and the others a photo of Natsume's family.
"One side is the strong and competitive Natsume, who is second to none. The other side longs for friends and possesses a lonely heart," he said.
"The doll Natsume often holds in her hands represents the person she was before becoming obsessed with Psychic training."
"This looks just like the photo in Natsume's room," Ash said, examining the picture closely.
"You have this photo of Natsume? Does that mean, Uncle, you…" Ash began, puzzled.
"I've been found out? You're right; after talking so much about Natsume, anyone would guess my relationship with her. Yes, I am Natsume's father," the uncle admitted, a hint of panic flashing across his face before he composed himself with a calm smile.
"I know! You're the uncle who lives next door to Natsume!" Ash said confidently.
Upon hearing this, the uncle fell to the ground speechless.
"Ash, what kind of simpleton are you? The uncle made it so clear; he's clearly Natsume's father!" Alex said, lightly hitting Ash's head.
"This young man is too slow, ridiculously slow! At least this newcomer is more sensible," the uncle said angrily.
"Oh, and one more thing, what about Brock and Misty, who were turned into dolls?" Ash asked worriedly.
"They can't come back safely. If you want to save them, you must first defeat Natsume," the uncle said.
"Didn't you know this and go to capture a Ghost Pokémon?" he asked, looking at Ash with a strange expression.
"But Haunter ran off somewhere," Alex interjected.
"So that's it, everything is back to square one. In that case, you'd best find that missing Ghost Pokémon," the uncle said, crossing his arms.
"See, Ash, we should hurry and look for Haunter," Alex said, patting Ash's shoulder.
With that, Alex and Ash walked between skyscrapers, searching for the Haunter that had fled the battle.
Meanwhile, on a high-altitude work platform adjacent to a skyscraper above them, Team Rocket was plotting.
"To prevent the world from being destroyed! To protect the world's peace! To carry out love and truth, the evil! The cute and charming villain characters!"
"I am Jessie."
"I am James."
"No time for nonsense now; this is a perfect opportunity to catch the Pokémon of those two kids below, Meowth."
"Leave it to me!" Jessie said, smiling confidently.
"Really? Do you have a new weapon, Meowth?" James asked, looking at Jessie with disbelief.
"After eighteen years of weathering the sea winds of the North Sea, I have forged a new, ultimate weapon," Jessie declared triumphantly.
"It catches both big fish and small fish in one net!" James added, pulling out a fishing net.
Jessie looked at James with admiration, hands clasped together.
Only Meowth suddenly bristled and yelled at James, "What kind of new weapon is this, Meowth?!"
"Using such a good thing as a weapon is innovation itself! What do you know, Meowth?" James said excitedly.
"Amazing, truly amazing! It's a revolutionary change, hahaha!" Jessie chimed in, dancing around in self-admiration.
"Stop saying those nonsensical things, Meowth! My head is going to explode," Meowth said, tears streaming down his face.
"Alright, hurry up and come!" James said, then began to swing the fishing net.
At that moment, Haunter suddenly appeared, startling James and Jessie so much that they fell directly off the platform. Only Jessie managed to grab the railing, supporting James and Meowth.
Haunter then performed its best comedic act, making Jessie laugh uncontrollably, causing her to lose her grip. All three of them fell to the ground, creating a hole in the pavement.
Alex and Ash ran over and found Team Rocket unconscious.
"Haunter, didn't you promise to help Ash? Why are you going back on your word? Do I have to resort to force?" Alex said, and his own Haunter behind him began to glare at the other Haunter.
Brock and Misty, turned into dolls, were placed in a small box, discussing what to do and wondering if they would remain dolls forever.
A female doll nearby suddenly spoke up: "That depends on Natsume's will."
"Who are you?" Misty asked curiously.
"Nice to meet you. I am Natsume's mother," a gentle female voice drifted over.
"You're Natsume's mother? But why?" Misty asked, puzzled.
"Actually, Natsume is a cheerful and lively good child, but…"
"My dear dolls, how are you? Newcomer Brock doll and Misty doll, what do you want to play?" The doll Natsume was holding suddenly appeared and spoke.
"Turn us back to normal right now! This time, it's my turn to challenge you. That should be fine, right?" Misty shouted angrily.
"Easy to say! I think you just want to escape. It's no use; you must stay here and be my friends forever to play with me," the doll said ominously.
Suddenly, Ash appeared at the Gym door once again and challenged Natsume.
But when the battle began, Haunter was gone again. Just as Alex was considering whether to let his own Haunter stand in, Pikachu suddenly rushed out to fight for Ash; it didn't want to see Ash turned into a doll.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Kadabra, Teleport."
Pikachu's Thunderbolt missed each time, with Kadabra dodging just as it was about to hit.
Seeing Kadabra getting closer, it suddenly used Psybeam to confuse Pikachu.
Just as Natsume thought victory was within her grasp, Pikachu suddenly snapped out of it and used Thunderbolt on Kadabra.
"Recover," Natsume commanded, and Kadabra instantly healed itself, regaining its vitality.
Just as Ash was at a loss, Haunter finally reappeared beside Natsume.
And it began performing its best comedic tricks, clearly unable to forget its old profession.
Haunter would sometimes open its mouth wide and other times flatten its head, but Natsume remained unmoved.
After trying all its methods, Haunter suddenly spat out a bomb from its mouth. With a bang, the bomb blackened both Haunter's and Natsume's faces.
At that moment, Natsume suddenly started to laugh, her smile growing from a slight grin to a full-blown laugh.
And at this moment, Natsume's father also Teleported over, moved to tears at seeing Natsume laugh: "Natsume, this is the first time she's laughed so happily."
Kadabra, too, was laughing, clutching its stomach and rolling on the ground.
"Kadabra and Natsume are telepathically linked, so if Natsume is happy, he will also feel happy. Now he's laughing so hard that he's lost his ability to battle, so you win this battle, Ash."
After saying this, the doll in Natsume's arms slowly disappeared, and Brock, Misty, and Natsume's mother all transformed back from dolls to human form.
It seemed Natsume's dual personality was real—one good side and one evil side, one from the League and one from another organization.
Alex thought to himself but didn't speak.
Only Ash shouted: "What the heck, this is too ridiculous, isn't it? You can win like this?"
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