The news of Natsume-sensei's victory over Sabrina at the Saffron Gym spread like wildfire, sparking heated discussions in the group chat.
"Even with her psychic advantage in issuing commands, Sabrina still lost," Brock mused, arms crossed. "Natsume's fundamentals are truly unfathomable..."
"True," Gold snorted, blowing his bangs out of his face. "If even the beautiful big sister of Saffron City lost to him, then me getting swept makes perfect sense!"
"Sabrina lost...?" Blue Oak muttered, one hand in his pocket as he fell into thought.
With her overwhelming psychic abilities, Sabrina was far more troublesome than most Gym Leaders.
Combined with Natsume-sensei's previous draw against Mr. Lance...
His strength might already be at Champion level.
If not for his abysmal luck, even I—
Shaking his head, Blue brushed back his brown bangs, a confident smirk returning.
I can't believe I'm starting to feel the same anticipation as Red!
Natsume let out a bitter laugh.
Listen to me!
Gengar was the one who went job-hunting!
I never planned to challenge Sabrina's Gym!
Though she hadn't gone all out, a loss was still a loss.
Unlike a certain "Hatcher," Sabrina wouldn't make excuses.
A voice message from her popped up, her tone teasing.
"Natsume-sensei is quite impressive~"
Natsume-sensei: ?
Far away in the Sevii Islands, Lorelei—surrounded by plush pillows in her home—blushed furiously.
Oh no… My mind went there automatically!
Too much shoujo manga must've tinted my glasses yellow!
Slapping her cheeks, she typed: "Ahem… Losing to Natsume-sensei and praising him is perfectly normal!"
You're just making it worse!
As the partner fate's spoon had once pointed to, Green couldn't resist teasing.
"Natsume-sensei, bullying girls again?"
Bullying?!
Natsume's eye twitched.
Did you not see her pull out a generational Alakazam on me?!
Thankfully, I was just slightly dirtier—ahem, better—or I'd have been crushed!
"Speaking of which," Yellow wondered, "why did Natsume-sensei suddenly start challenging Gyms?"
"This one is also curious," Erika added.
As a professor at Celadon University, Natsume could've simply applied for a League Tournament spot through the Pokémon Certification Center.
Was there some deeper meaning to this?
"I get it!"
Brock—Natsume's fellow "Poverty Brotherhood" member—slammed his fist into his palm.
"He's after the League stipend for collecting eight badges!"
Before earning badges or titles, Trainers had to fund everything themselves.
Only after collecting all eight would the League Association provide financial support.
With Natsume-sensei's personality, bulldozing through Kanto's Gyms just to demand the reward…
He'd absolutely do that!!
"W-Wait, seriously?!" Misty gasped.
Jasmine and Whitney, currently in Johto, shivered.
With the Indigo Plateau and Silver Conferences now merged, the competition had skyrocketed.
If Natsume-sensei finishes Kanto… is Johto next?!
"I-I see…"
Erika blinked before nodding. "This one's badge is ready whenever Natsume-sensei wishes to claim it."
"Same here—well, not exactly."
Brock crossed his arms. "I'd still prefer a proper man-to-man battle!"
"I don't mind… Though I'm training in the Orange Archipelago now," Misty sweatdropped. "But if Natsume-sensei wants my badge, please go easy on my three sisters..."
Natsume-sensei: ???
What are you all implying?!
I just got one badge, and it already hurt my soul!
Now you're all just handing them over?!
Are you backstabbing me with a combo finisher?!
"If that's the case," Crystal calculated, "Natsume-sensei might actually make January's League Tournament!"
Collecting all badges in just over a month? That was insane progress!
Lurking in the chat, Silver skimmed the conversation and scoffed silently.
Gym badges?
Who actually challenges for them? Just grab them when the Leader's out!
"Is that fast?" Sapphire asked, puzzled.
Back in Hoenn, she and Ruby had cleared all Gyms in 80 days—speed was relative.
"It's different, Sapphire," Ruby explained.
"Against someone like Natsume-sensei, Gym Leaders would go all out."
"Exactly," Steven smiled.
"In gaming terms… it's the difference between a first playthrough and New Game Plus."
"I get that, but—"
Wattson nodded sagely before suddenly yelling:
"When's the new game coming out?! The card packs never drop URs for me—it's boring!"
Gold: "Like I've had better luck!"
Green: "Aren't holographics easy to pull?"
Steven: "The rates seem fair to me."
The billionaire Steven had only spent a hundred thousand Pokédollars to complete his shiny set—a reasonable sum, in his eyes.
Gold: "Damn you lucky whales!"
[Gold sent: Brave Bird.jpg]
The animated GIF showed an enraged Togekiss dive-bombing like a meteor.
"Haha, just kidding," Steven chuckled. "Don't be mad—here's a red envelope."
['The Unbeatable' sent a red envelope. Update to the latest version to claim.]
Green's eyes turned to dollar signs.
"Thanks, boss!"
Gold: "I didn't even get one!"
Natsume-sensei: "Curses, my app won't load it either!"
Gold: "Old man Wattson, you're using a bot! 0.01 seconds?!"
"Nonsense!" Wattson grinned. "Test me—send another!"
['The Battler' sent a red envelope…]
Gold: "Oh! Thanks, Senior Red!"
Yellow: "I got it!"
"Hmm?" Lance raised an eyebrow at his screen. "Ah, just missed it."
Clair's temple throbbed. "An Elite Four member scrambling for red envelopes? Have some dignity!"
Lance: "Steven's doing it too!"
"Hahaha," Steven laughed. "And I'm the luckiest draw again!"
Wattson, of course, claimed first place once more.
Natsume-sensei: "Old man, you're definitely cheating!"
Wattson: "Gotta bounce! "
...
The chaos finally ended with Wattson treating everyone to virtual milk tea.
The old man just loved messing with the youngsters.
One by one, the Gym Leaders logged off after offering their badges freely.
Closing the chat, Natsume exhaled deeply.
"Why does it feel like… they're all eager to give me badges?"
Please, keep them! Give them to someone who needs them!
That said, Kanto's Gym Leaders were exceptional.
Ash Ketchum had received most of his badges as gifts—because in this world, Brock and Misty had mastered Mega Evolution.
They only used weaker teams for evaluation purposes.
Wattson's comment also reminded Natsume of something.
A new game project… It's time.
"Next venture: online gaming."
Sitting at his desk, he opened his notebook to draft a proposal.
"Ideally, a cross-platform release for mobile and PC…"
The first thing that came to mind was a Hearthstone-style digital card game.
Adapting the Pokémon Trading Card Game into an online format was technically feasible—but with physical cards selling so well, launching a digital version now might hurt sales.
Better to wait until the hype dies down.
"This proposal should work."
After a long pause, he typed the new game's title…
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