"You came?"
Inside the modest house in Viridian City suburbs, the hunched figure of Agatha showed surprise.
"Last time you visited the Research Institute. Can't I return the favor?" Professor Oak said righteously.
"Silver-tongued devil." Agatha tapped her cane and snorted, "Gengar, see a visitor out!"
"Geng Sirfetch'd!" Gengar emerged from Agatha's shadow, waving its claws menacingly as it floated before Professor Oak, then playfully lowered its head.
"Well, long time no see, Haun—no, should call you Gengar now." Professor Oak smiled while patting Gengar's head.
"Gengar!" Gengar seemed delighted, nuzzling against Professor Oak's palm like reuniting with an old friend.
Grandma Agatha's expression darkened.
"Let me be direct."
Professor Oak cleared his throat. "That Gengar drawing you left at the Research Institute last time—"
"Wasn't me."
"Then who drew it?" Professor Oak blinked.
"You... saw wrong."
Seeing Agatha's familiar stubbornness, Professor Oak smiled helplessly.
Time had passed. There was joy in reuniting with an old friend, yet also a sense of release.
"Perhaps I didn't see wrong."
Professor Oak sat down uninvited. "I came regarding some juniors' request."
Hearing he needed her help,
Agatha suddenly perked up, smirking coldly. "Whatever you want, I have one condition."
"Which is?"
Grandma Agatha stared straight at the aging Samuel Oak.
Just like when young Agatha once challenged Pallet Town's strongest Trainer.
"Battle me."
The wrinkles on Grandma Agatha's face twisted into a smirk:
"Have you grown too weak to even hold Poké Balls now?"
"Losing to an Elite Four member like me is expected—no, deserved!"
Professor Oak in his white coat broke into sweat.
This was the sharp-tongued Agatha he remembered...
But regarding battles—
Professor Oak suddenly removed his lab coat, folded it neatly, revealing a black tank top and sturdy muscles.
"I never neglected training all these years, Agatha."
Professor Oak said gravely, "Then let's battle!"
Sunlight streamed harshly outdoors.
Agatha froze.
He'd kept training all this time?
Impossible!
He's the leader of scientific research... a traitor to his Trainer vows!
Agatha gripped her cane, eyes closed in long silence, then took out a Poké Ball. "Then show me your current strength..."
Don't disappoint me. Agatha rasped:
"Challenger, Viridian City, Agatha!"
For a moment, it felt like the Kanto League Tournament scene from decades ago.
The square-jawed man before her summoned his Poké Ball, his arrogant Kangaskhan roaring beside him.
Snapping back to reality—only an aged Kangaskhan and a determined old man remained.
"Challenger, Pallet Town, Samuel Oak!"
"Go, Gengar!"
"Kangaskhan, Fake Out!"
...
"You got Grandma Agatha's licensing?"
Natsume stared in surprise at Professor Oak, who was clutching his lower back, and asked nervously, "Are you okay?!"
"I-I'm fine!" Professor Oak laughed, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Just pulled a muscle from lack of exercise!"
Natsume nodded solemnly.
It was easy to imagine… Professor Oak had risked life and limb for this!
"Thank you, Professor Oak!" Natsume said, moved.
"If you don't help me gather data on Legendary Pokémon, this isn't over!" Professor Oak shouted.
"Nani! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ You never mentioned that before!"
With Kangaskhan's support, Professor Oak hobbled back to the Research Institute to recover, still clutching his aching back.
Leaving Natsume-sensei standing there, Gengar and the electronic Pokédex floating beside him, utterly bewildered.
"Rotom."
Natsume turned and said seriously:
"When we go to Sinnoh, don't forget to collect data on Legendary Pokémon."
"Beep… Roger that, Rotom!"
Rotom scratched its head and asked curiously:
"Isn't the Trainer coming along too?"
"Huh? Data collection is the Pokédex's job. What does the Trainer have to do with it?"
"!?" Rotom was stunned.
That made perfect sense. No way to argue with that, Rotom!
...
"Make sure the character art looks good~"
In the chat group, Lorelei, having heard about the project from Misty, tagged Natsume-sensei:
"And keep the age settings strictly confidential!"
"I remember."
Gold rubbed his chin and reminisced: "Back when I was ten, I'd already heard of Auntie Lorelei's reputation…"
[Group Member 'Gold' has been removed by Group Admin 'Lorelei']
Lorelei pretended nothing had happened and smiled. "What do you think, Natsume-sensei?"
"Got it! I'll splurge on the artwork!" Natsume paused suddenly.
Wait, I'm the Group Owner. Why am I nervous?!
But then it hit him.
The male members were mostly discussing how their teams' levels should be set.
The female members, meanwhile, were debating whether to prepare extra outfits for their character art.
Natsume's heart skipped a beat.
So these were the same people who turned Pokémon Sword into Pokémon: Fashionista?!
What? I played as a female character too? Never mind, then.
Among the remaining Gym Leaders…
Poison-type Leader Janine, as Natsume-sensei's veteran fan, eagerly signed up.
Lt. Surge initially thought it was too much trouble.
Putting himself out there wasn't something a Unova colonel should bother with…
"But Natsume-sensei said the game might help you gain followers after release," Misty pointed out.
"Oh? Could we use that to promote stuff?" Green blinked.
"My perfume shop's business would probably pick up too," Erika said with a soft smile.
Lt. Surge, thinking of his musician account with over 10k followers, was struck with inspiration: "I'm in!"
"Um… is there no Johto Region?" Jasmine asked shyly, her face red.
"Ah… maybe in the next game. We're testing the waters first," Natsume-sensei replied.
Steven's eyes lit up with sudden interest.
If Natsume-sensei's project expanded to Hoenn…
Would he get to battle himself in-game?
"Why didn't Devon's game development team think of this…?" Steven muttered.
Over at the Cinnabar Island resort, Mr. Blaine had no objections either.
Joining the youngsters' activities made Blaine stroke his beard and type furiously:
"Oho!! I'm fired up now!"
"Huh? Did everyone leave?"
Blaine stared at the silent chat group, suddenly feeling a little melancholy.
...
With the licensing officially settled,
Natsume handed the new project over to Oleana.
"The artwork has to look good!"
"Understood!" Oleana said coolly. "I'll stress that to Artist Mina repeatedly!"
The remastered Pokémon would feature battles in Pokémon Battle's real-time command style.
From a design perspective, it was like Pokémon Battle with an added storyline.
Natsume gazed at the sky.
The Pokémon world's tech tree was always maxed out in the weirdest places.
Like Poké Ball teleportation, trade evolutions, flying battleships…
And in the gaming industry,
Lysandre Labs' virtual imaging tech in Kalos.
This tech could probably even be used for card games…
...
February 19th, Friday.
After days of busywork, Natsume-sensei finally had some downtime.
Pokémon: FireRed was already in production.
Before the official release… they could even invite Ash and the others to record a theme song together.
With that wrapped up, the most pressing matter now—
"Gotta go find Moe-Moe!…"
Planning to pack over the weekend, Natsume prepared for the trip.
That evening,
Natsume went live after a long hiatus.
The moment the stream started, gift effects flooded the screen, instantly lagging the interface.
"Stop the donations, guys… Mods, ban anyone who keeps donating."
Natsume coughed. "This is just a preview. I'll stream the new strategy after moving!"
"Shocking! Natsume-sensei's about to go rogue again!"
"I've already got my hospital slot booked. Just tell us when you're streaming, Natsume-sensei!"
"Ugh, can't beat Natsume-sensei as a Trainer, can't beat him in-game… Guess I've only got my looks going for me."
Since it was just a preview,
That night's stream featured the pungent Plants vs. Zombies and some poker.
"Heh, place one Ferrothorn, then four Seedots… Can't bite me now! So annoying!"
But according to witnesses,
The stream echoed with Natsume-sensei's snarls: "Lawn mower, save me!!"
"Zombie walked into the house, took one look at Natsume-sensei, and left in disgust."
"Can't eat anymore. Seriously, no more!"
During the classic poker segment,
Natsume-sensei, the 'Philanthropic Gambling King,' had Rotom as a card counter, steadily boosting his win rate.
"Using Rotom Pokédex as a card counter?!"
"That's so messed up. Permaban material!"
The stream was filled with laughter, another day of Natsume-sensei being hilariously bad.
"Thanks for the Rocket, 'Where's Natsume-sensei moving to?'"
Natsume skimmed the chat and mused, "Traveling to Sinnoh. Also visiting Moe-Moe!."
Instantly, the chat turned lemon-yellow with envy.
"The pinnacle of Pokémon shouldn't involve romance!"
"Women only slow down my Poké Ball throws… Don't stop me, I'm not jealous!"
"Sinnoh, Moe-Moe!… If you know, you know. Small community, gotta dip."
...
After an entertainment-packed, classic lightning-speed stream ending,
The night deepened.
Lying in bed, Natsume tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
"Gengar."
"Gengar?"
In the darkness, Natsume looked at Gengar, its white teeth gleaming.
Sylveon's ears peeked out from the blankets, as if eavesdropping.
The little ones seemed fast asleep.
But Natsume kept hearing faint rustling, as if they were sensing his mood.
"It's nothing."
A gentle smile crossed Natsume's face.
"We'll pack in the morning."
"We're moving out!"
--------------------------------------
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