Chapter 68. Husband-Watching Rock
Stepping into the town, Natsume knew he probably wouldn't be able to rest.
[Detected a special Gastly individual—B-grade assignment "Ever-Changing" has been issued.]
"Ah—" Natsume yawned, ignoring the system's voice.
Taking everyone to a guesthouse to rent several rooms, Natsume fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.
"We'd better not disturb Natsume, okay?"
Outside the door, Ash and the others whispered to each other.
The summer festival would be held tomorrow night, and after a quick discussion, they decided to go browse the fair that had already been set up.
"Honora, aren't you going?"
Ash turned back and peeked into Natsume's room.
At some point, Honora had slipped inside and was furtively rifling through Natsume's suitcase.
"Uh, I have something on Mr. Natsume's computer I need to read out. I'll be right there."
As if guilty of theft, Honora's face flushed bright red as she took out an orange-yellow laptop with little Rotom wings.
The laptop housed the Rotom she had given Natsume, so asking it for any file should have been enough, with no need for all this fuss.
But Ash probably didn't know that, Honora thought.
"All right, we'll wait for you at the fair!"
Sure enough, Ash didn't think much of it and turned to leave.
Honora patted her chest in relief.
With cheeks still rosy, she peeked into the suitcase a couple more times, carefully restored everything to how it was, zipped it up, and slipped out.
When Natsume woke again, it was already evening.
"Gengar, give me one."
Half-asleep, Natsume called Gengar out.
"Gengar!"
Gengar was overjoyed and took a long drag.
"Sss—ha!"
"Sss—ha!"
Natsume also took a long drag.
"Urgh—cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!"
The acrid spiciness shot straight to his brain, and his woozy mind instantly cleared.
"Gengar, help me see whether there's a Gastly nearby."
As he spoke, Natsume handed over another spicy paste stick.
"Gengar, gengar!"
Gengar patted its big belly, skillfully stretched out its chubby little hand to take the spicy paste, and struck a pose of "leave it to me."
Gengar left to search for the Gastly's trail.
Natsume stretched, went downstairs for dinner, and after eating headed toward the fair.
As soon as he entered the fair, Natsume ran into Team Rocket's trio.
They had their rumps in the air, lying prone on the ground, eyes sharp as they searched for something he couldn't make out.
"A fair this big—how come nobody drops any money, meow?"
"I'm so hungry…"
Jessie said, rubbing her stomach.
"It's all your fault, Meowth—you had to take all our money to upgrade the Magikarp machine! The hand-powered one was fine, and now it's scrapped, and we can't even afford to eat!"
The more Jessie talked, the angrier she got, and the angrier she got, the more she talked, until she simply stuck out a fist—thump—and Meowth instantly grew two centimeters taller.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh…"
At the side, James stared straight ahead, grinning like an idiot, oblivious to everything.
"What are you doing, meow? You're at fault too for my secret stash going missing, meow!"
Meowth, holding his swelling lump, saw James's look and fumed.
Clang~
A coin fell in front of the trio.
"A hundred!"
"That's enough for two dango skewers, meow!"
Before the two could reach for it, a hand picked the coin up.
Jessie and Meowth froze, looked up, and saw a familiar figure.
Under the faint lights, Natsume smiled at the three, the coin gleaming in his fingers.
"Hey, we saw it first!"
Jessie protested.
"We can't afford food, meow!"
Meowth suddenly latched onto Natsume's thigh.
"???"
Jessie stared.
Meowth, since when were you this chummy with him?
"What about that translator device I gave you? I haven't seen you upload anything these days."
Natsume asked, puzzled.
"Oh, that? It got crushed by water pressure."
Meowth said, a little embarrassed.
Natsume didn't waste words and fished out a new one from his pocket to hand to Meowth.
This time, the translator's shell had an Ekans pattern.
"I'll advance you 10,000 Pokédollars first. Go get something to eat."
Natsume said, glancing at the vacant-eyed James.
The state he was in seemed related to that special Gastly.
If he remembered right, Brock would get entangled too.
He wondered whether Gengar had found any leads, and thinking that, Natsume waved and headed toward the hillside in the distance.
According to the map, Ash and the others were on the hill over there now.
"Hey, he's already gone—stop kowtowing, Meowth."
Jessie hoisted Meowth up, furious.
"We're Team Rocket—can you have a little self-respect, Meowth!"
"And you—cozying up to that researcher only to find out he's Natsume—this is consorting with the enemy!"
"I'm taking you two out to a restaurant, meow."
Meowth shook the cash in his paw.
"…"
In principle, Jessie despised Meowth's behavior.
The small town sat by the sea, backed by a little hill.
At the top of the hill stood a strange rock.
Weathered by wind and sun, it had gradually taken on the visage of a woman gazing into the distance, and legend said she was waiting for her husband to return from the sea.
Hence the name—Husband-Watching Rock.
"A jagged, lonely rock stands on a sheer peak, the roar of the tide etching a human trace."
"Hair and temples weather into roughened edges, tear stains seep into deep moss."
"All year it watches as a thousand sails pass—yet the one who never returned."
"Author—Mr. Whale."
Misty read the inscription on the stone tablet beneath the rock, reciting the introduction to Husband-Watching Rock.
"This anonymous 'Mr. Whale' seems quite talented."
Honora nodded slightly.
"It tells what sounds like an ancient tale—of a husband who went to war at sea and never returned, and the wife who came every day to look out for him."
"I don't really get it, but it seems pretty awesome."
Ash held a skewer of dango, sharing bite for bite with the two Pikachu on his shoulders.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh!"
Brock stared at Husband-Watching Rock, giggling to himself.
"Hey, you—what's with you!"
Misty shook Brock's head, but he didn't respond at all.
"Maybe he's being haunted."
From behind them, Natsume's voice came.
"Haunted! An old lady told us the same thing earlier today!"
Misty jumped.
"Natsume's got a point. I heard the summer festival and the Bon Festival fairs overlapped this year."
Ash said, as if remembering something.
"Ghost-type Pokémon, huh…"
Honora seemed to think of something and suggested to Ash.
"If you want to beat Sabrina in Saffron City, you'd better take this chance to catch a Ghost-type Pokémon."
"Okay! Natsume, let's go look for Ghost-type Pokémon together!"
Ash finished his dango, wiped his mouth, and his eyes lit with fighting spirit.
"I'll pass."
Natsume refused.
"Why, Natsume?"
Ash sounded a little disappointed.
"I can just use Gengar."
Natsume shrugged.
The Ghost-type Elite Four member's Gengar—though it meant stocking more spicy paste.
Rotom, whose "deification" was nowhere in sight.
The center-parted, whose Divinity had vanished.
The Dragonite facing a major retrofit to keep it going.
Each one gave Natsume a massive headache.
Natsume figured that raising these three already stretched him thin.
Any more, and he really wouldn't be able to handle it.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts