Chapter 0788: Natsume-sensei, Can You Demonstrate a Sand Scoop?(Two-in-One)

“The so-called tidal foraging is when, during low tide, you head out to coastal mudflats or rocky outcrops to collect seafood.”

The next morning, right at low tide, Natsume led Lillie and the group to the famous Akala Island Welcome Beach.

Natsume explained, “What’s most important is knowing how to recognize Pokémon in the sea… Today’s wild practice course is ‘tidal foraging.’”

“Sounds fun!” Sophocles grinned.

“When I was little…” Lana reminisced, “my dad would often take me and my sisters to the beach for tidal foraging.”

“I remember, Kiawe, your home is on Akala Island, right?” Mallow asked.

“That’s right. Come to my house for lunch, I’m inviting everyone to try Moomoo Milk.” Kiawe smiled.

“Beep… today’s Pokémon quiz~ Rotom!”

Rotom Pokédex flapped its mechanical arms and flew out from behind Natsume: “The symbol color and guardian deity of Akala Island are—?”

“It’s pink, and Tapu Lele,” Lillie answered. “I heard its scales have healing properties.”

“Ding ding, perfect answer, Rotom~~” Rotom cheered.

Lillie smiled shyly, a bit tense—after all, today’s field course was a big challenge for her.

“All right, Rotom, switch to live stream mode.”

Natsume rolled up his pants and sleeves. “Today’s an explanation-type program—Alolan Tidal Foraging!”

……

Kanto, Pallet Town.

“Ash~”

Aunt Delia called from below while hanging laundry, “If you don’t get up now, you’ll miss the ship to Alola!”

Upstairs, Ash and Pikachu shot awake, then promptly detonated Thunderbolt, lightning erupting from the windows.

“That boy…” Aunt Delia smiled helplessly.

Ash shook his head, endured the shock, and turned on his mobile phone, refreshed.

“I’ll be in Alola tomorrow,” Ash mumbled. “I need to contact Natsume-sensei in advance…”

Suddenly, Ash’s gaze was caught by a long-missed live stream notification.

Live stream: ‘Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?’ Subtitle: ‘Alolan Tidal Foraging! Appraising Sea Pokémon!’

“Natsume-sensei doing explanation videos?” Ash scratched his head, confused—wasn’t that usually Professor Oak’s job?

Then he remembered Natsume-sensei was also a Pokémon scholar, and was reassured, clicking the live stream with curiosity.

The chat was packed with overflowing messages, viewership past ten million, gifts and effects firing nonstop.

This was Natsume’s first stream since the City of Wastes incident months ago, now returning as a “tidal foraging + content creator” combination.

“Natsume-sensei, you always come up with something new!”

“Last time you taught Palossand strategy, now you’re going to show us how to handle one in person?”

“Natsume-sensei, can you demonstrate a sand scoop for us?”

“Hurry and get to chucking Pyukumuku back into the sea!”

On screen, the striking black-haired young man addressed the camera in third person, Lillie and the others visible behind him.

Natsume smiled.

“Today I’ve brought everyone to Welcome Beach, and I’ll be showcasing Alola’s sea Pokémon.”

The view switched to first person: Natsume, holding Rotom Pokédex, stood on the golden, soft sands.

It was still low tide—across the sand were heaps of little mounds, some with red shovels sticking out of the dirt.

Natsume: “That red shovel… judging by size, it’s a Sandygast. If you pull out the shovel, it’ll use mind control and have you building sandcastles endlessly.”

Kiawe turned pale, remembering his childhood, slaving over sandcastles all night under Sandygast’s control.

“Natsume-sensei, what do we do about them?” Lana asked.

“If you leave them alone, they’ll wander off in time… Once their life energy fades, they’re just regular sand shovels.”

Natsume glanced at the chat. “You all want to see a shovel pulled out?”

“True… you learn by doing.”

He stroked his chin. “This shovel’s too small; I’ll look for a bigger one later and dig up a Palossand for everyone to see.”

Chat flooded with ‘hhhhh.’

“Palossand: Don’t you dare!”

“As everyone knows, sand-shovel-pulling is the only metric for Pokémon foraging content creators.”

“Tyranitar will rejoice!”

The camera continued moving as Natsume-sensei crouched to explain to the students,

“Pokémon at the edge of the beach all have ‘sand-sleeping’ habits… This should be a Pyukumuku. Sure enough, the sand’s so shallow, it’s all dried up from the sun… Lana, toss it back.”

“Yes~” Lana grabbed the Pyukumuku and threw it hard, then flicked the sticky residue from her hands and washed up in a tide pool.

“Pyukumuku secrete mucus, ruining the experience for beachgoers. In Alola, there’s even a day-job called ‘Pyukumuku tosser’—responsible for throwing them back into the sea.”

Natsume continued, “The mucus from Pyukumuku is also a popular cosmetic… but once they stop producing mucus, the rest is highly toxic.”

“This mound is Mareanie… its spines poke little holes in the sand, and it likes to eat Corsola, possessing paralyzing toxins. We won’t mess with these.”

Natsume shouted, “Gengar, send it back to the sea!”

“Gengar~” Gengar grinned, scooped up a heap of sand, and flung Mareanie and its mound into the waves together.

The chat filled with question marks.

“Mareanie: Is that polite?!”

“Dare to disturb my sand nap and I’ll evolve into Toxapex in anger!”

Natsume scanned the beach, gaze landing on a tiny Wimpod shivering in a puddle.

“Wimpod is even weaker than Magikarp, but once it rejoins its herd, it can form a massive shape fishermen call the ‘Sea Monster.’”

Natsume sighed, “There’s strength in unity… This one’s too small, toss it back too.”

“This one’s a Qwilfish with Intimidate… When angry, it puffs out its cheeks—come on, let’s see it angry.”

Natsume grasped Qwilfish and shook it before the camera.

Qwilfish, outraged, puffed up into a spiky ball.

Since Qwilfish can’t swim well, lying on the beach means it’ll probably just be picked off by Pelipper.

Natsume-sensei used the puffed-up “spike fish” to wipe his shoes, then sent it back to the sea.

“On Alola beaches, be careful of Dewpider—they live in the sea and come ashore to hunt for food.”

“There are also some truly ugly fish here called Bruxish. The sound of them grinding their teeth is a psychic attack that can drive off even Sharpedo.”

“Of course, there are some that are friendly to humans, like Alomomola and Lapras. They heal wounds and protect swimmers.”

As noon approached, they kept walking, encountering another new mound.

Natsume sifted through the sand, tone odd. “This one’s called Binacle, looks like a pair of feet...”

Inspired by barnacles—the look is hard to describe. Its evolved form, Barbaracle, is one of the ugliest Pokémon in Natsume-sensei’s opinion.

With no enthusiasm, he stepped over the Binacle and stood, ready to lead the students to lunch.

But the corner of his eye caught a deeply embedded shovel and a massive sand mound.

Suddenly, Natsume’s eyes lit up.

“That shovel’s huge—must be a giant Palossand!”

The chat exploded with ‘ohhhhh.’

“My favorite foraging program—sand shovel pull!”

“Whoa, that shovel’s massive—it’s got to be decades old!”

“Last time you explained Palossand was dangerous—some didn’t believe it since they look so dopey… Now we’ll see the real thing.”

Natsume walked to the red shovel stuck in the mound, his palm glowing blue with aura. “This is a dangerous move, and the best way to handle Palossand is just to keep folks away…”

“But this Palossand’s so big, someone could get hurt. I’ll disperse some of its sand.”

Natsume called back, “Lana, get everyone to step back!”

Lana, a fisherman’s daughter, knew Palossand’s dangers. This shovel was buried deep, and the body might be over ten meters tall—a totem-class Pokémon!

She bit her lip nervously, protecting Lillie. Mallow and Kiawe stared wide-eyed, “The… the shovel’s getting pulled out!”

A wave of cursed Ghost-type energy tried to take control, but Aura of Ripple easily dispelled it.

Natsume seized the shovel, looking up at the towering, sky-blotting Palossand with a sense of awe.

“King of sand—absolutely top-tier!”

Palossand’s Pokédex entry lists it at just one meter, but this one was over ten, thanks to the “Shore Up” move, which with age grows both size and threat.

The Palossand from the anime nearly destroyed Professor Kukui’s research institute and was about this large.

On camera, the gigantic sandcastle—with windows for eyes, its gate a gaping mouth—waved its arms angrily, trying to reclaim its shovel.

Fans, for all their shock, couldn’t help but comment.

“The shovel got pulled—kind of feel sorry for it…”

“These absorb life energy. If you don’t disperse some of the sand, it’s too dangerous to leave alone.”

“Good guy, Natsume-sensei’s shovel is bigger than any other foraging streamer’s!”

Rumble!

Palossand loomed, sand drawing in from all directions as angry red aura flared, the very beach trembling.

First to arrive was the island guardian Tapu Lele, racing from the ancient life ruins, hovering over the waters.

Mostly pink, upper half black, lower half like a pink cocoon. Its scales can heal or rob the will to resist.

Tapu Lele’s eyes caught the group on the beach, and she paused, surprised.

That Trainer’s aura is… very unusual…

And, was he trying to handle a Totem Palossand by himself?

“Go, Tyranitar!”

Natsume threw a Dusk Ball, calling, “Use Crunch!!”

Red light exploded as Tyranitar stomped into the sand, striding with fearsome glare.

“Tyranitar”

With the type advantage plus being a top predator, Palossand trembled.

“Tyranitar…”

Fine, take the shovel—I don’t even want it anymore!

Tyranitar opened its jaws wide, biting into Palossand’s base. A torrent of sand poured out—like scooping filling from a cream cake.

This wasn’t Palossand’s body, but sand gathered with “Shore Up.”

“Palossand~! (ㄒoㄒ)”

Palossand’s size visibly shrank, summoning a raging sandstorm in a last-ditch attack on Natsume-sensei and the others.

“Sirfetch’d, Defog,” Natsume called.

“Sirfetch’d! (`ω′)”

A Premier Ball flashed and Sirfetch’d emerged, swiftly sweeping his leek like a fanned wall, cutting off the sandstorm.

“Tyranitar, use Lash Out!” Natsume commanded.

Tyranitar snarled, barreling through Palossand’s body, dark energy surging in an explosive shockwave!

Chatted erupted in ‘Tears’ emojis.

“Devouring sandcastle grandpa—”

“Who’s protecting this beach? Palossand!”

“Natsume-sensei raised the forager Trainer’s battle standard single-handedly!”

Sand lashed everywhere; a tide of sand poured from Palossand’s body.

Natsume checked his hand—the shovel was shrinking fast.

As the sand cleared, Palossand was back to standard one-meter size, and Natsume stuck the shovel back into its head.

“Palossand~~ (-^O^-)”

With the shovel restored, it skedaddled!

Palossand, shovel atop its head, burrowed into the sand, escaping quickly.

Tink.

Lana softly exclaimed, bending to a shallow hollow where a flashing purple crystal glittered half-buried.

“Natsume-sensei.” Lana picked up the purple crystal and handed it over. “I think Palossand dropped this!”

“Let me see… Ghostium Z.”

Natsume nodded thoughtfully, “No wonder that Palossand was so massive—it must have absorbed power from this Z-Crystal.”

None of the students had caught a Ghost-type Pokémon. Known for status conditions and curses, Ghostium Z was more apt for Natsume-sensei.

Natsume looked into the camera.

“I’ll bring along this Ghostium Z… let’s keep going and see if we can spot some Crabrawler or Krabby!”

……

At sunset, Natsume and Professor Kukui led the students to a banquet at Akala Island Kahuna Olivia’s mansion.

Olivia was a forthright woman, well-built, with tanned skin. She laughed,

“I heard about this morning… Natsume-sensei, thanks for solving such a major threat on Welcome Beach.”

“I was just leading a field trip and happened to film an explanation program.”

Natsume explained he’d received a Ghostium Z from the Palossand and asked if he should return it to the island Kahuna.

“That’s certainly yours,” Olivia smiled. “Ghostium Z suits you and your partner Gengar.”

“That said…” Natsume said, “I still tend to prefer Darkinium Z.”

No type bonus, but Gengar’s Darkinium Z ‘Dark Void’ is currently its strongest move.

Ghostium Z’s ‘Shadow Ball’ is plenty strong, but still not as powerful as the semi-legitimate Dark Void.

Professor Kukui sipped some Pinap juice, half-joking,

“You could try inventing a full-power pose of your own—a custom Z-Move just for Gengar.”

Natsume paused for a moment. Professor Kukui continued:

“Even though Gengarite Z hasn’t been found… Gengar is a Pokémon of infinite potential—Mega Evolution, Gigantamax...”

“With your bond and your Battle Legends strength, making a one-of-a-kind Z-Move isn’t impossible!” Kukui grinned.

“Gengarite Z…”

Like Pikachu’s bond with Electrium Z giving Pikashunium Z and ‘10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt.’

Natsume looked at Ghostium Z and Darkinium Z in his palm, lost in thought.

The key to a Z-Move is crafting a full-power pose—which is to say, a goofy dance…

Ash and Pikachu’s ‘10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt’ had Pikachu put on Ash’s cap as a pose.

If Gengarite Z is even possible…

Would my and Gengar’s full-power pose just be… a shoulder tap?

Natsume murmured, “That feels doable…”