"Butterfree, look over there!" Natsume grabbed Butterfree's head and turned it toward a direction.
There, a Shiny Butterfree hovered.
And Natsume could tell—it was female.
*Freeee!* Butterfree suddenly grew excited and darted toward her.
Watching the Shiny Butterfree, Natsume felt a little regretful.
He had lingered here hoping to see whether a Shiny counted as a special Pokémon.
But since the system's task prompt never triggered, he quickly lost interest.
Still, the scenery here was relaxing, so it wasn't a waste.
"What are you taking pictures of?" Natsume noticed Giselle sneaking around behind him.
"Ahaha, nothing." Giselle quickly hid her phone, smoke practically rising from her head.
Natsume gave her a puzzled look, but Ash's voice from behind pulled his attention away.
Turning, he saw Butterfree give up flying and slump onto the hot-air balloon, head drooping in sorrow.
"Huh? Rejected in less than a minute, and even slapped?" Ash's stunned voice rang out.
"Don't rub it in!" Misty tugged Ash's ear.
Butterfree only grew more miserable.
"Hey, come on, cheer up! We can't give up so easily!" Trainer Ash used Encouragement!
*Freeee…* Butterfree turned his head away, as if his spirit had shattered.
"I think we'd better land first and help him regain some confidence," Brock suggested.
Soon, the group returned to the ranger outpost.
The system still hadn't issued any task about the Shiny Butterfree, leaving Natsume uninterested. He sat in the rest area, tinkering with his Ultra Ball.
The others crowded around Butterfree, brainstorming ideas.
"Butterfree, I think you should show off your strongest moves!" Ash suggested.
"No, no! You need to look stylish instead!" Misty interrupted.
"Actually, the most important thing is dating experience. I can teach you." Brock said earnestly, looking at Butterfree.
"What about you, Giselle? What do you think?" Ash turned toward her.
"M-me?" Giselle, who had been secretly admiring her photo, hurriedly put her phone away.
She forced a serious face, thought a moment, then pulled out a card.
"I could just buy you a Shiny Butterfree."
"…That's not it." Ash was speechless. The debate went in circles with no result.
"What are you all doing?" Natsume finally looked up, finding everyone staring at him hopefully.
"Natsume, please, help us think of something!" Ash begged.
"Yeah, if you know anything about this stuff, give Butterfree some advice!" Misty added.
Although Natsume often seemed unreliable, after everything they'd been through, everyone had to admit—many times, he was the one who had a solution.
Even the dejected Butterfree now lifted his head, looking at Natsume with hopeful eyes.
Romance advice from Natsume? Behind him, Giselle quietly perked up her ears.
"Courtship?" Natsume muttered, then carefully pulled a small bottle from his pocket.
The bottle was clear, half-filled with faint pink liquid, with a spray nozzle attached.
"Wait, is that some kind of potion to make you irresistible if you spray it on?" Misty imagined aloud.
"What is that, Natsume?" Ash asked curiously.
Natsume nodded. "An aphrodisiac. Used in Day Cares."
"…"
"That's way too low…" Misty covered her face, feeling her imagination had been ruined.
*Freeeee…* Butterfree's heart completely broke.
*Fsshh—* Suddenly, a flash of red light burst from Ash's belt.
Charmander appeared, snatched the bottle from Natsume's hand, tossed it into the air, and incinerated it with Flamethrower.
Dusting off his hands, Charmander pressed the Pokéball button and returned inside.
That thing could never be allowed to harm any Pokémon!
Natsume: "…"
"Natsume, is there really no other way?" Ash asked, disappointed.
"I actually have another way." As he spoke, Natsume pulled out a jar.
Twisting it open, inside was a golden, honey-like viscous liquid.
"This is my special blend of Sweet Honey. No Bug-type Pokémon can resist its lure."
Even as he spoke, several Butterfree had already picked up on the aroma, gathering around in a daze.
When Natsume closed the lid, the scent vanished, and they flew away in confusion.
"Wow, that looks so effective! Natsume, how do you use it?" Ash's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"You need to pair it with this." Natsume produced a giant Oran Berry mascot suit.
"First coat yourself in Sweet Honey, then put on the costume and disguise yourself as an Oran Berry."
Everyone grew more and more bewildered.
"Wait a second!" Misty couldn't take it anymore and clamped Natsume's mouth shut.
"Dressing up as a tasty snack and offering yourself up—how is that not creepy?!"
"Mmmph—yeah, true…" came Natsume's muffled reply.
But when it came to attracting Butterfree, this method was foolproof. Every time he went into the wild to survey Bug-type distribution, he used this trick.
"Misty, let me handle this!" Giselle lunged forward excitedly, prying Misty's hand away from Natsume's mouth.
Before Natsume could breathe a sigh of relief, she impatiently clamped his mouth shut again herself.
"?" Natsume shot her a glare, and she released him with a pitiful expression.
*Butterfree!* the Pokémon suddenly cried out, flapping into the air.
"Oh, you've perked up!" Ash said eagerly.
*Butterfree, free!* He nodded toward Ash.
He had decided—he would train hard and practice his moves. After all, no one was more reliable than his own Trainer!
"Alright, let's go then!"
Ash said, dashing off with Butterfree.
"Wait up for me!"
"And me too! Honestly, Ash, there's no need to cling to just one tree—you could always look for another beautiful Butterfree. I saw right this time, it was definitely female!"
Misty and Brock hurried after him.
Seeing this, Natsume yawned.
"Come out, Dragonite, Gengar!" He tossed out a Pokéball, then smoothly swiped another Pokéball straight out of Ash's backpack.
*Wooo~*
*Gengar!*
Dragonite appeared, sniffed the air, and started heading toward the strange-haired troublemaker.
"Hold on, Dragonite." Natsume pulled out a device, translating his words into the language he had Meowth prioritize.
Dragonite froze mid-step, staring at him in surprise.
This trainer, who always seemed clumsy and could barely communicate, had actually spoken words she could understand!
"Dragonite, I want you to learn from Gengar how to control the power within your body."
Saying this, Natsume dragged Gengar—who had been trying to sneak away—back into place.
"Haha… h-haha… hello there…" Gengar stammered nervously, staring at the towering giant before him.
"How about you smack me a few times first, just so I can get a feel for it?" Gengar suggested.
The next second, Dragonite swung a few punches toward him.
They passed harmlessly through Gengar's body—yet he could still sense the immense difference in Dragonite's force.
So strange. This Dragonite was too strange.
Sometimes her movements looked terrifyingly fierce, yet carried a feather-light touch.
Other times, they looked weightless, but the power behind them was so immense that Gengar was grateful he had no solid body.
And it was all completely random.
"Professor Gengar, I'll leave my kid in your hands."
While Gengar was still pondering, Natsume slipped him a piece of Spicy Sludge.
"Fsshh—hah! Sure thing, no problem at all!"
"Natsume, what do you like to eat?" came Giselle's voice behind him.
After what just happened, she couldn't help but think Natsume's views on romance might be a bit… unusual.
"Something I can only dream of."
"…"
Giselle sighed and said seriously:
"Natsume, I'm not joking."
Natsume gave her a surprised look. If he really had to say what he liked to eat…
"Springwater Tofu."
"Huh? What's that?" she blinked.
It didn't seem like she'd ever heard of that snack in Kanto.
Sinnoh, maybe?
You can read more (around 80+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.