Chapter 146:Instant Defeat of the Champion! Natsume's Rejection!

“Of course I'm interested.”

Natsume hadn’t expected Takehana to directly invite him to battle.

He didn’t plan to refuse either.

“I also want to know just how big the gap is between me and a Champion.”

“Wait a minute.”

Ohtaka exclaimed in confusion, “Are you two really going to fight here?”

Takehana smiled at Ohtaka. “Is there a problem?”

“Of course there’s a problem.”

Ohtaka replied anxiously, “Without any preparation, the energy barrier here won't hold back the energy attacks from your Pokémon!”

Takehana chuckled, then patted Wyrdeer. “See? I told you we’ve gotten old.”

“Don’t worry.”

Takehana continued to stroke Wyrdeer. “Wyrdeer will protect this place.”

As a Champion, he had both the strength to battle and the responsibility to safeguard everything around him.

Ohtaka quickly said, “I’m not underestimating Wyrdeer; I just think you both should consider the setting of your battle.”

“After all, you both are not ordinary trainers.”

Takehana smiled at Natsume and replied, “No.”

“We're just trainers, after all.”

Natsume didn’t say much more and simply said, “Please follow me.”

“B-but…”

Just as Ohtaka wanted to say something else, Natsume had already brought Takehana to the battle arena.

Seeing this, Ohtaka realized he wouldn't be able to convince them.

He could only helplessly stand outside the battle arena with the surrounding tourists.

The tourists watched Natsume take the stage once more, feeling a bit puzzled.

“Is this a new challenger?”

Someone curiously looked at Takehana and remarked to those around, “Is he really here to challenge the gym at his age?”

“Wyrdeer, that’s quite a rare Pokémon.”

“Wait a second, doesn’t he look a bit like Champion Yamada?”

People gasped, staring at Takehana and Wyrdeer in the arena.

Tourists immediately took out their phones to compare.

The result was:

“Whoa, he really is a Champion!”

“Why is the Natsume gym leader battling a Champion?”

The crowd erupted into excited discussions about the two battling in the arena.

In the battle arena.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite descended from the sky.

Upon seeing Wyrdeer across from it, Dragonite felt an overwhelming pressure.

This was definitely not an opponent!

Dragonite couldn't help but think this.

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite quickly shook its head.

It couldn't afford to feel discouraged!

Takehana smiled and said, “Natsume gym leader, you may go first.”

Natsume immediately replied, “Dragonite, use Dragon Dance!”

“Dragonite!”

The intense Dragon-type energy surged rapidly from within Dragonite.

The overflowing energy swirled around Dragonite's body.

“Dragon Rush!”

Dragonite charged toward Wyrdeer immediately.

Wyrdeer's eyes sparkled with a faint glow.

Dragonite sensed a powerful Psychic force constraining its body.

A strong mental aura spread out in all directions.

Gardevoir approached Natsume's side.

“Natsume, that's a strong psychic wave.”

Gardevoir looked at Dragonite with a hint of concern.

Natsume said with a serious expression, “This is the pressure of a Champion.”

“Dragonite!”

The power within Dragonite surged once again.

“Dragonite~ Roar!”

With a roar, Dragonite charged forward.

Wyrdeer calmly watched Dragonite, thinking it would be quite easy to dodge the attack.

Takehana smiled and said, “Natsume gym leader, this world is quite large.”

Just as Wyrdeer prepared to take to the skies, another wave of Inner Focus spread from the ground below!

Wyrdeer: “?.”

A look of confusion appeared on its face.

Wyrdeer suddenly found itself unable to move.

“Dragonite!”

At that moment, Dragonite had no other thoughts.

It simply charged forward with all its strength.

Bang!

Dragonite, brimming with powerful Dragon-type energy, slammed into Wyrdeer!

Boom~

Wyrdeer emitted a massive explosion sound as the impact and energy echoed outwards.

Dust and smoke swirled together, and the light around them seemed to twist and blur at that moment.

The entire battle arena felt as if it had been ripped apart.

But remarkably, Wyrdeer stood its ground, completely unmoving.

Normally, even a Champion-level Pokémon would be sent flying by such a hit.

Of course, Wyrdeer wasn't unaffected.

In truth, the tremendous impact caused Wyrdeer’s chest to dent inward.

Its fur flailed wildly.

At that moment, Wyrdeer resembled a Stantler frozen in place, enduring Dragonite's powerful dive without any defense.

Even more astonishingly, outside the arena, the environment remained unchanged.

The strong Inner Focus acted like a barrier, trapping all the energy released within the battle arena.

As the smoke gradually cleared…

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite flapped its wings, looking at Wyrdeer.

“Wyrdeer.”

Wyrdeer gazed at Dragonite, its body first went limp, then it knelt on the ground before rolling onto its side.

“Dragonite.”

Dragonite looked in shock at its own fist.

So it had this potential for power hidden within it?

Dragonite was excited!

Notice: Dragonite participated in defeating Wyrdeer, earning 375,400 experience points.

Notice: Dragonite's level increased to 76.

Challenge Task: Champion's 1v1 Completed.

Quest Reward: Rare Candy 1; Treasure Draw 1.

Dragonite eagerly looked at Natsume.

“Dragonite~”

Natsume glanced down briefly then smiled at Dragonite. “You did well, Dragonite.”

After saying this, he turned his gaze to Takehana.

“Yamada, what were you going to say just now?”

The surroundings fell silent.

Takehana's mouth twitched slightly.

He watched Wyrdeer in disbelief, then looked down at the ground.

Takehana murmured, “This power… Jirachi.”

Takehana's main goal for coming here was to give Natsume a wake-up call.

For the league higher-ups, what they cared about most was social stability.

Just like with Future Technology and Makototaka.

It was no exaggeration to say they employed hundreds of thousands.

With Makototaka dead, many people's fates would certainly change.

The things Makototaka did were not unknown to the league.

But did that matter?

Not really.

Because the league pursued social stability, and that was absolute.

Makototaka could die, but it couldn’t just be dismissed like that.

So Takehana wanted to use this battle to send a message to Natsume.

He wanted to tell Natsume that the world is very large.

However, now, as Takehana watched his Wyrdeer fall, everything felt different.

Takehana smiled wryly and said, “This world is indeed very vast.”

Natsume didn't say much more and simply tried to sense the Inner Focus emanating from the ground.

That Inner Focus began to dissipate.

“Seriously, it was just one hit?”

“Hey, hey, is this really a Champion?”

The tourists around observed this scene in disbelief.

“I can’t wrap my head around this; what is going on?”

“That Wyrdeer can’t possibly be the Champion-level one, can it?”

Someone speculated, “Maybe it’s one of its Pokémon?”

Natsume paid no attention to the discussions around him.

Below the ground, Jirachi rolled over as if it were having a normal sleep.

At that moment, Natsume said, “You two, let’s find another place to talk.”

After saying this, he snapped his fingers.

The three of them instantly vanished from the spot.

Inside the gazebo of the farm garden.

“Beedrill~”

A few Beedrill lazily floated through the garden.

“Eevee~”

A small Eevee jumped onto Natsume’s lap from the garden.

Natsume sat in a chair in the gazebo, petting the soft fur of the little Eevee.

“Lilligant~”

Lilligant brought over some flower tea.

Natsume reached out and said, “Give it a try; I added honey, and it tastes really good.”

Ohtaka didn’t take any.

He still looked a bit dazed at that moment.

Clearly, he hadn’t fully recovered from the battle earlier.

Yamada Roto was indeed a figure who once held legendary status in an era.

At that moment, he seemed as if the battle hadn’t even occurred.

Takehana took a sip of the flower tea.

“Mm~ Not bad.”

“Natsume gym leader, how about letting me take some of this tea with me?”

Natsume replied casually, “No problem.”

“Yamada, you and Ohtaka aren’t just here to challenge me to a battle, are you?”

Takehana took another taste of the floral arrangement on the plate and said, “Of course not.”

“Are you interested in becoming the Champion of the Western Region?”

“The Western Region Champion?”

Natsume thought for a moment and then declined, “Not particularly interested.”

Ohtaka gasped in surprise as he listened.

He glanced between Takehana and Natsume.

Ohtaka wanted to interject but wasn’t sure what to say.

This left him feeling quite uncomfortable.

Takehana looked at Natsume in confusion. “Why?”

“If you’re willing to be a Gym Leader, you shouldn’t be someone without pursue, right?”

“Eevee~”

The little Eevee rolled over on Natsume's lap.

Natsume scratched its belly and said casually, “I definitely have pursue.”

“But my pursue is simply to hope that my Takamagahara can become a true paradise.”

“I want it to be lively, but I don’t want it to be too noisy.”

“I want it to be free, but I also don’t want it to lack order completely.”

“I also hope it is interesting, because if it’s too boring, I’ll get tired of it as well.”

Takehana thought for a moment and summarized, “In simple terms, you want this place to be under your control.”

Natsume smiled.

The little Eevee jumped down from Natsume.

It shook its fur and ran toward the flower bushes.

As night fell, the moonlight spilled down from the sky.

Flabébé and Ribombee danced in the moonlight.

Lilligant sat among the flowers, playing a grass flute.

Pidgeotto, Wurmple, Eevee, and Larvitar, a variety of Pokémon, all lived here.

They came from different species, some ordinary, some rare.

While they differed in many ways, they all shared this space together.

At that moment, Takehana understood Natsume's true pursue.

“I see.”

Takehana released his Wyrdeer.

“Could I trouble you, Natsume gym leader, to help it recover?”

“That hit was indeed powerful.”

Natsume nodded slightly. “No problem.”

Takehana looked at Dragonite. “You’re quite strong.”

“Dragonite~”

Under the influence of Eternity Power, Wyrdeer slowly recovered.

It shook its body and stood back up.

“Thank you, old buddy.”

Takehana sat atop Wyrdeer.

“Natsume gym leader, I won’t disturb you any longer today.”

Natsume got up and waved goodbye.

Ohtaka then sat on his Corviknight.

Wyrdeer trotted up into the sky.

Ohtaka couldn’t help but ask, “Yamada, regarding this situation…”

Takehana gazed calmly at the moon in the sky and said, “This is enough.”

Under the starry sky, Wyrdeer and Corviknight disappeared into the moonlight.

After they left, Natsume took out his phone and opened the Treasure Draw.

You have obtained: Expert Belt.

The Expert Belt looked like a black strap.

Its effect, simply put, was to enhance critical hits.

“Dragonite, you did well today.”

Natsume gave the Expert Belt to Dragonite.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite began to absorb the energy contained within the treasure.

After absorbing the Expert Belt, Dragonite’s level rose to 77, then 78.

Natsume then gave the Rare Candy to Dragonite.

Notice: Dragonite absorbed the Rare Candy; its level increased to 79.

Natsume looked at Dragonite and said, “Once Jirachi wakes up, let’s surprise it.”

“Dragonite~”

Natsume had always known that Jirachi was merely asleep.

Two days later.

The battle between Natsume and Takehana didn’t create much of a stir.

There was virtually no news about it online.

Everyone was focused on the upcoming Champion tournament in the Western Region.

The Champion tournament would proceed as scheduled.

The Ghost Queen from Meiiki would battle against the other two Elites in succession.

Natsume continued to go about his peaceful daily routine as usual.

The biggest change on the farm was that there were now nearly two hundred Meltan.

They were scattered all around the farm—in the orchard, in the river, and in the fields.

Their figures could be seen everywhere.

Interestingly, even though they all originated from Melmetal, their personalities were completely different.

Like now, in Natsume's Experimental Field behind the house.

“Meltan~”

One Meltan stood beside Natsume.

They were each holding a large and a small watering can, watering together.

“Alright, that should be enough.”

Natsume smiled at the Meltan beside him and said, “Let’s go get something to eat.”

“Meltan~”

“Flabébé.”

Just as Natsume was speaking, a Flabébé floated over.

The garden needed watering too.

“Meltan~”

Meltan immediately indicated that it would take care of it.

After saying this, it excitedly pulled the watering can and ran toward the garden.

Natsume chuckled at the sight of the tiny Meltan dragging the watering can as it waddled toward the garden. “This little guy really has a strange personality.”

Ding dong~

Natsume's phone made a sound.

Yuuji had sent him a message.

“Check the news.”

Natsume put his things away and walked into the cabin.

Pop~

The TV turned on.

The news was reporting on Makototaka's criminal activities.

The news reporter on TV stated, “Investigators have confirmed that Makototaka from Future Technology indeed possesses the ability to see the future.”

Upon hearing this, Natsume took out Annihilape's Poké Ball.

Annihilape had been staying inside the Poké Ball ever since that day.

“Come out, Annihilape.”

Natsume looked at Annihilape and said, “Things have come to a conclusion.”

Annihilape gazed at the report on TV.

The news confirmed that Makototaka indeed had the power to see the future.

However, it didn’t mention how he acquired it.

The focus was solely on Makototaka's criminal history and the reopening of some cases.

This naturally included Annihilape and its trainer’s case.

Everything felt as if it had been unveiled.

The grievances that needed to be avenged had been addressed.

Annihilape suddenly felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, it seemed unsure of what to do next.

Annihilape looked at Natsume with a puzzled expression.

Natsume noticed and said to Annihilape, “Feeling aimless, huh?”

Annihilape nodded.

Natsume smiled. “Then let me set a goal for you.”

“First, strive to become the strongest Fighting-type Pokémon in the farm gym.”

“How does that sound for a goal?”

Annihilape looked outside.

At that moment, the farm’s Fighting-type Pokémon had already started their training.

Annihilape stepped back.

Its body vanished in an instant.

Natsume smiled at the spot where Annihilape had disappeared. “What a fiery little one.“