Chapter 72. Your Own Trainer Is Still the Most Reliable
"Butterfree, look over there!"
Natsume grabbed Butterfree by the head and pointed it in a direction.
Over there was a Shiny Butterfree.
And Natsume could tell it was female.
"Butterfree!"
Butterfree suddenly got excited and shot forward at once.
Looking at that Shiny Butterfree, Natsume felt a twinge of regret.
He had stayed here to see whether Shiny Pokémon counted as "special Pokémon."
But the system's quest never triggered, and Natsume's interest promptly faded.
Still, taking in the scenery here and relaxing a bit was great.
"What are you filming?"
Natsume noticed Honora skulking behind him.
"Ahaha, nothing."
Honora put away her phone, steam practically rising from her head.
Natsume gave her a puzzled look, but Ash's voice behind him drew his attention.
Turning back, he saw Butterfree had given up flying and was sitting blankly on the hot-air balloon, head drooping in dejection.
"What? You got rejected in under a minute, and even got slapped?"
"You don't have to rub salt in the wound!"
Misty pinched Ash's ear.
Butterfree looked even sadder.
"Hey, hey, hey, pull yourself together! We can't give up so easily!"
Trainer Ash used a pep talk!
"Butterfree~"
Like a heart shattered, Butterfree turned its head away.
"I think we should head down and get it mentally prepared," Brock suggested.
Soon, the group returned to the ecological outpost.
Since the system hadn't issued any quest for that Shiny Butterfree, Natsume looked rather uninterested, sat in a nearby rest area, and kept tinkering with an Ultra Ball in his hand.
The others surrounded Butterfree and started offering strategies.
"I think you should show off your strongest move, Butterfree!" Ash suggested.
"No, no, no, I think you should dress up to look more dashing!" Misty cut in.
"Actually, the most important thing is dating experience. I can teach you."
Brock looked at Butterfree sincerely.
"What do you think, Honora?" Ash turned to Honora.
"Ah—me?"
Startled while secretly admiring photos, Honora hastily put down her phone.
Keeping a straight face, she pondered for a moment, then took out a card.
"I can buy you a Shiny Butterfree."
"…That's not what we mean."
Ash was speechless, and even after all the arguing, they had no conclusion.
"What are you all doing?"
Natsume looked up to find Ash and the others staring at him with pleading eyes.
"Natsume, please, help us think of something!"
"Yeah, Natsume, if you know about this kind of thing, give Butterfree some advice!"
Although Natsume didn't always seem reliable day to day, after all they'd been through, everyone had to admit that many times Natsume was the one with the best ideas.
Even the previously crestfallen Butterfree now lifted its head, gazing at Natsume with hope.
Dating advice from Mr. Natsume?
Behind them, Honora quietly perked up her ears.
"Mating?"
After a moment's thought, Natsume solemnly took a small bottle from his pocket.
The bottle was transparent, half-filled with a faint pink liquid, and a little spray head was attached to the mouth.
"Is that a spray-on potion that increases charm?" Misty let her imagination run wild.
"Natsume, what is this?" Ash asked, brimming with curiosity.
Natsume nodded. "An aphrodisiac used at the Pokémon Day Care."
"…"
"That's way too sleazy…"
Misty covered her face, feeling Natsume had sullied her imagination.
"Butterfree——"
Butterfree's hopes finally died.
"Fzzzt—"
Suddenly, a red light flashed from the Poké Ball on Ash's belt.
A Charmander appeared, snatched the bottle from Natsume's hand, tossed it into the air, and burned it to ash with Flamethrower.
Clapping its little hands, Charmander pressed the button on its Poké Ball and returned.
Absolutely can't let that stuff hurt any Pokémon!
"…"
Natsume fell silent.
"Natsume, is there really no other way?" Ash sounded dejected.
"Actually, I do have a way."
Saying so, Natsume pulled out a jar.
Unscrewing the lid revealed a golden, honey-like, viscous liquid.
"This is my special Honey. No Bug-type Pokémon can resist its allure."
As Natsume spoke, quite a few Butterfree were already noticing the aroma and drifting over as if spellbound.
Natsume closed the lid, the scent vanished, and they drifted away in confusion.
"Wow, that looks really effective! Natsume, how do we use it?" Ash's eyes turned into starry admiration.
"You pair it with this."
Natsume produced a giant Oran Berry mascot suit.
"Brush the Honey all over you first, then put on this mascot suit and disguise yourself as an Oran Berry…"
The more they listened, the stranger it sounded.
"Hold it!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Misty clamped a hand over Natsume's mouth.
"Dressing up like a delicious piece of food and delivering yourself to them is creepy no matter how you look at it!"
"Mmm—right…"
Natsume's muffled voice came out.
As far as attracting Butterfree goes, this trick is top-notch; whenever Natsume surveyed wild Bug-type densities in the field, he used this exact method.
"Misty, I'll do it!"
Honora rushed up excitedly and rescued Natsume's mouth.
Before Natsume could breathe a sigh of relief, Honora eagerly clamped his mouth shut herself.
"?"
Natsume shot her a glare, and Honora withdrew her hand, aggrieved.
"Butterfree!"
With a roar, Butterfree suddenly took to the sky again.
"Oh, you've pulled yourself together!" Ash brightened.
"Butterfree, Butterfree!"
Butterfree nodded to Ash.
It would go practice its moves properly.
Looking around, it decided that its own Trainer was still the most reliable!
"Alright, let's head out!"
Ash said, and dashed outside with Butterfree.
"Hey, wait for me!"
"And me! There's no need to cling to just one choice. You can consider another beautiful big Butterfree—this time I didn't missee; it's definitely female!"
Misty and Brock chased after them one after another.
Seeing this, Natsume yawned.
"Come on out, Dragonite, Gastly!"
Natsume tossed a Poké Ball, then deftly fished another Poké Ball out of Ash's backpack.
"Wooo~"
"Gastly!"
Dragonite appeared, sniffed the air, and started to head in center-parted's direction.
"Hold on, Dragonite."
Natsume pulled out an app to translate his speech—the language he had specifically asked Meowth to prioritize.
Dragonite stopped and looked at Natsume in surprise.
Its Trainer, who usually seemed kind of dim and couldn't even "speak," could suddenly talk in words Dragonite understood!
"Dragonite, learn from Gastly how to control the power inside you."
As Natsume said this, he hauled back Gastly, who had sensed trouble and tried to slip away.
"Haha, ha… hello."
Facing the ferocious slab of muscle in front of it, Gastly's voice trembled.
"How about you smack me a few times first so I can gauge it?"
Gastly asked.
The next second, the big Dragonite swung its fists several times toward Gastly.
Using only raw physical strength, its fists passed through Gastly's body without hurting it, yet still let Gastly feel the differences in Dragonite's force.
Strange.
Very strange.
This Dragonite was way too strange.
Sometimes a motion looked incredibly savage, yet the force was exquisitely light.
Other times a motion looked feather-light, yet when it swept through, the power was so great that Gastly felt lucky it had no solid body.
And it was all completely disorderly.
"Teacher Gastly, I'll be leaving my kid in your hands."
While Gastly was deep in thought, Natsume held out a stick of spicy paste.
"Hsss—ha! No problem—consider it done!"
"What do you like to eat, Mr. Natsume?"
Honora's voice came from behind.
After what had just happened, she felt Mr. Natsume's views on romance might be a bit odd.
"The cakes Professor Oak draws."
"…"
Honora sighed and said seriously:
"Mr. Natsume, I'm not joking."
Natsume looked at her in surprise.
If he had to say what he liked to eat…
"Spring-water tofu."
"Huh? What's that?"
Honora froze.
She'd never heard of that snack in the Kanto region.
"Sinnoh?"
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