Chapter 0704: “Natsume-sensei Teaches Battling 018: Battle Factory”(Two-in-One)
Added 2025-07-24 13:58:14 +0000 UTCKanto Region, Pallet Town.
Ash had completed his Mt. Silver training with Blue Oak and was preparing to depart for the Kalos Region to compete in the Lumiose Conference four months from now.
Thinking about new Pokémon and new adventures, Ash was too excited to sleep—still browsing the Kalos Region Pokédex on his mobile phone that morning.
“Pikachu, once we get to Lumiose City, let’s go visit Natsume-sensei again.”
Ash stared at his phone on the bedside table. “He smashed that meteorite the other day. He’s probably back in Kalos by now.”
“Pikachu…” Pikachu rolled over on the bed.
Outside the window, Aunt Delia called: “Ash—come down and help me with the laundry!”
“Okay—coming!”
Ash was just about to get out of bed when he happened to spot a push notification on his phone, blinking in surprise.
【Your followed live stream, ‘Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?’, is now live…】
Ash curiously clicked into the homepage.
The massive subtitle read “Conquering the Frontier!”
Popularity ranking: number one in the entire region; the chat flood filled every screen inch.
“Who are you? How did you get onto my followed list?”
“Spread the word! Natsume-sensei is about to blow up the Frontier!”
“It’s been two months, two full months—I haven’t eaten or slept right this whole time waiting!”
“Wait, are you actually using the Battle Frontier as a tutorial now? Also, since when is this in the food category? Is that even legal?”
“Next week is the Pokémon Company’s PTCG World Championships, don’t miss it~ (Moderator message)”
“Wow, Greta is just so Moe-Moe!”
At this moment, Rotom’s stream camera showed the Frontier—Battle Arena’s challenge event.
In just two hours, Natsume had broken through, taking both the “Spirit” and “Ability” Symbols.
Currently, he was challenging the third: the “Guts Symbol” of petite blonde martial artist Greta!
The so-called Guts Symbol tested three elements—heart, technique, and body—requiring continuous offense, critical hits, and HP management. Final results were judged by score.
Greta’s chosen Pokémon was Heracross with the “Guts” Ability.
But Natsume sent out Sirfetch’d with the “Scrappy” ability!
“Sirfetch’d!” Sirfetch’d, wielding leek and shield, V-shaped brows sharp, gaze calm and steely.
“Sirfetch’d is so brave!”
“Shocking! The one in Natsume-sensei’s team to ‘bring out the guts’ turns out to be Sirfetch’d!”
The battle was on.
Watched by over a million live viewers, Heracross flapped its wings, horn tip flickering with white—clearly about to use the Flying-type move, Aerial Ace!
“No way, Heracross brings Aerial Ace?”
“As everyone knew, Aerial Ace fits everything!”
Heracross dived in, Sirfetch’d watching calmly but seeming a bit distracted.
“Detect! Fury Cutter! Full-spin!” Natsume barked out.
Chat messages filled with question marks.
“As long as I shout fast enough, can I use a dozen moves in one turn?”
“Honestly, ‘full-spin’ isn’t a real move, that’s just a regular attack!”
Heracross’s horn was at point-blank range. Suddenly, Sirfetch’d snapped awake and instinctively raised the shield.
CLANG!!
Pushed back half a step, Sirfetch’d’s leek struck repeatedly, blocking every Pin Missile that Heracross fired, sending up sparks!
Closing the distance, Sirfetch’d swung the leek in a wide arc, golden light spiraling around the blade—like a screeching golden bird circling the sword!
“Sirfetch’d, Brave Bird!!”
“Sirfetch’d!!”
The blade attack became a blazing, golden bird, crashing into Heracross, the explosive shockwave blasting them both backward!
Greta shouted: “Show your guts, Heracross! Use Reversal!!”
“GRRAHK!!” Heracross guarded with both arms, Focus Sash falling away, horn bursting in dazzling white—charging full speed at Sirfetch’d.
“Sirfetch’d! (′︿‵)” Sirfetch’d froze for a split second.
That Reversal would be the end—no way to survive!
“He’s locked at 1 HP!!” Chat exploded.
Ash’s eyes shone, as if he could see his own Heracross surging forward.
“Is it really like that?”
Natsume smirked.
Against a Heracross famed for guts, who wouldn’t be on guard for that?
“Sirfetch’d, Quick Attack!”
“???”
“Priority? Playing dirty, huh?”
“No sane person brings that move!”
Heracross’s horn gleamed. Sirfetch’d slowly lifted his leek.
The next instant, his leek thrust like lightning—landing first, jabbing Heracross in the gut!
“Sirfetch’d…”
Sirfetch’d’s legs stiffened, face calm as he slowly retracted the leek.
The scene turned red and black—Heracross paused, then collapsed with a thud!
Rotom’s live progress bar read:
【Frontier Symbols: (3/7)】
“ohhhhh”
“That was intense!”
“Cleared in half an hour? I spent half a month on Frontier and couldn’t do it!”
“This isn’t the casual viewing I expected!”
Ash muttered dazedly: “Natsume-sensei’s progress… is so fast.”
Ash’s own Frontier run had taken a whole month, with countless setbacks.
By contrast, Natsume-sensei had stormed through, collecting three symbols in a row!
Ash decided to stay in his room and keep watching the tutorial.
The fourth Symbol was called the “Tactics Symbol.”
Located at the Battle Dome; the summit there: “looks_like_a_girl_but_is_actually_a_guy” Tucker, who is definitely not Moe-Moe! at all.
Battle Dome format: 2v2 double battle.
Tucker sent out an Arcanine and a Swampert, a combination praised as the “fusion of fire and water.”
Natsume sent out the Desert Tyrant, Tyranitar, and rather than borrowing Cynthia’s Garchomp, decided to use Togepi.
“Togepi doo-ee~ヽ(￣▽￣)ノ” Togepi rode on Tyranitar’s neck.
“Tyranitar! (〝▼皿▼)”
Tyranitar’s hands guarded Togepi on its head, glaring at the bewildered Tucker!
Tucker staggered; “Wh-what tactics is this?!”
“This was inspired by your predecessor Ash,” Natsume said seriously. “If Pikachu can ride on Swellow’s back, Togepi on Tyranitar’s neck makes perfect sense.”
Tucker: ???
Chat went wild.
“This is too much.”
“It’s literally a strategy fusion in doubles!”
“I’ll be the head!”
“And most importantly,” Natsume added coolly, “this way Togepi avoids Earthquake damage.”
Tucker: “……”
I feel like he’s bluffing, but I can’t argue back at all!
“Tyranitar, Earthquake; Togepi, Helping Hand!”
“Togepi doo-ee~(′▽`)?” Togepi waggled its finger.
Tyranitar, as if blessed, stomped the earth—raging earthquake flattening both Arcanine and Swampert in a single round!
“Arcanine may not be human, but you’re definitely a beast.”
“Tyranitar’s gone berserk!!”
“Tactics Symbol? More like rookie Symbol!”
Rotom’s tracker updated:
【Frontier Symbols: (4/7)】
The seven-day speedrun record for Frontier conquest, set during Emerald—
Now, Natsume was on track to break it in just 24 hours!
The stream only grew more popular, bringing massive attention—and heat—to the Frontier.
Scott, teary-eyed as he packed up the reward items to ship out, could only comfort himself:
“At least Natsume-sensei is bringing us traffic…”
The fifth Symbol—“Luck Symbol.”
Located at Battle Pike.
The Battle Pike is shaped like a Seviper’s open mouth, and its “body” incorporates all kinds of rooms.
You could run into traps, battles, or recovery items—there are 140 total rooms.
Even the luckiest trainers spend at least two or three days here to reach the boss Lucy.
“Planning a 72-hour stream for this, huh?!”
“Natsume-sensei: Luck Symbol? I don’t need it!”
Natsume stood at the Battle Pike entrance, stroking his chin, decisively striding into Seviper’s great jaw.
“Togepi, you lead the way.”
Natsume said, “Just follow your instincts, ignore my opinion!”
“Doo-ee?” Togepi glanced at Natsume, nodded sweetly.
Then, little Eggshell toddled forward, wobbling toward the next room.
“awsl!!”
“That’s cheating, Natsume-sensei!”
“The official rules say trainers CAN use their Pokémon’s abilities and so on to help during challenges.”
“Not one hidden trap—just recovery items!?”
Led by Togepi, Natsume wound through the rooms, picking up Full Restore, PP items, and more as he went.
Battle Pike head Lucy, watching on the monitors in the final room, wore a complicated expression.
He’s dodged every trap and made a beeline for the boss?
He must be using X-ray hacks!
Next time, I’ll have to get Scott to ban ‘super lucky’ or ‘Serene Grace’ Pokémon like Togepi and Blissey!
Natsume pressed on, making for the final room.
Chat was full of question marks.
“This isn’t how my Battle Pike runs went!”
“I get it now—the Luck Symbol’s really just for Togepi!”
On stream,
In just three hours,
Natsume stood in the final room, facing the Frontier Brain Lucy.
“……So you made it.”
“Of course I did.”
“You even looted every treasure chest along the way.”
“Some poor-quality Berries—I put those back.”
Lucy was dumbstruck, sighing deeply: “I’m tired, let’s just start—the Symbol’s yours.”
Ten minutes later,
Natsume walked out of the Battle Pike with a shiny gold Luck Symbol pinned to his jacket!
“Could it be… Natsume-sensei was Scott’s long-lost prodigy all along?”
“I get the feeling Natsume-sensei is about to bankrupt the Battle Frontier?!”
“Business has its ups and downs; we’ve still got one left—the Battle Factory!”
The Battle Factory uses a rental format in which challengers randomly pick and borrow three Pokémon to battle others.
Whenever you win, you can swap one of your team’s Pokémon with one of the opponent’s.
After 41 consecutive wins, at the 42nd battle, the Factory’s summit Noland will also field a fully random team to fight the challenger!
The rules are very different from Ash’s time.
To increase popularity (and cut costs), Scott modified the rules several times, also raising the difficulty.
Battle Factory is tough because the team composition is completely random—testing not just strategy but actual Pokémon knowledge.
All that randomness makes things both dramatic and entertaining!
Chat debated furiously:
“Isn’t Natsume-sensei going to dominate?”
“I bet he’ll clear it in three hours.”
“I suggest a new title: ‘Conquering the Frontier! New Speedrun Record!’”
Under the eyes of thousands,
Natsume arrived at the Battle Factory to select his first three partners for rent.
“Choose from these five Poké Balls.” The staff smiled.
The Factory is fair—there’s no deliberate sabotaging of the challenger.
Natsume, full of confidence, peered at the five Poké Balls—then froze.
Out of five, his random Pokémon were:
【Remoraid, Graveler, Pineco, Magikarp, Sunkern】
Their base stats: 300, 390, 290, 200, 180.
Natsume: “……”
“Is something wrong, Mr. Natsume?” the staff asked tentatively.
“Are the Pokémon this… unique in every random draw?”
“Yep, any from Kanto or Hoenn can show up,” staff smiled. “Sometimes you’ll find a rare draw like Dragonair for your first, too!”
Natsume almost choked.
Natsume: “Give me Remoraid, Graveler, and Sunkern then… please.”
It’s like returning to rookie days.
Chat: “hhhhhh”
“There are no weak Pokémon, only weak trainers!”
“Show us your tactics, Natsume-sensei!”
Strategy is like water; the trainer is the container, so the shape of the water changes accordingly.
For Natsume-sensei, that container may be black water…
Time to show a trainer’s depth!
Natsume cleared his throat and analyzed coolly:
“This Remoraid has the ‘Moody’ ability—very useful.”
“And we’ve got Golem, the ultimate self-destructing weapon... Should be enough.”
He released Remoraid, Graveler, and Sunkern and stared into their eager eyes.
“Nice to meet you,” Natsume nodded. “I hope we’ll work well together in this battle.”
“Roar!” Graveler grinned.
These old-timers of the Battle Factory had seen many trainers—but one who actually greeted them first? Never.
Graveler’s eyes sharpened.
So be it—this old man won’t slack off; I’ll give it my all!
First round.
Natsume’s team: 【Remoraid, Graveler, Sunkern】
Opponent’s team: 【Lapras, Qwilfish, Nidorino】
“Natsume-sensei… nice to meet you!” The challenger, a short-skirted girl and also a fan, smiled nervously.
Natsume nodded gently. “May I ask, did you draw Lapras on your first try?”
“Yes!” She nodded blankly. “There was also a Scyther in the five; I didn’t pick it, and now I regret that…”
Natsume: “……”
The difference between the unlucky and the blessed is sometimes greater than between man and Pokémon!
“Perfect for dinner, folks!”
“Let’s eat~”
First round was brutal.
Harder than even Arceus.
Graveler fought Nidorino, holding out against Double Kick with stony endurance, and countered for the knockout—glancing back at Natsume for a grin, his white teeth gleaming.
Natsume’s eyes got misty. Facing Lapras, he tearfully ordered: “Graveler, Self-Destruct!”
Graveler’s body began to glow brightly, composure unbroken.
Don’t blame yourself, stranger.
Some Pokémon are born to battle.
And I fight not to make you feel guilty, but to make you win!
BOOM!!!
“Tears.”
“Gra-vel-er—”
The self-destruction’s flash lit the way forward.
Afterwards, Natsume’s careful switches and commands allowed Sunkern to toss Leech Seed onto both Lapras and Qwilfish before falling heroically.
All that remained was Remoraid.
Yet the girl, Iono, still had Lapras left... and the blazingly fast Qwilfish!
“Let me show you my ace, Iono.” Natsume said calmly.
Iono blinked: “A-ace?”
“I choose you!”
Eyes steely, Natsume tossed a Poké Ball: “Remoraid!!”
Remoraid’s rear fin suctioned onto the ground, eyes fierce as he stared down Lapras.
“Ace is just another word for suffering if you’re Remoraid’s trainer!”
“Don’t look down on any Pokémon, fool!”
“What’s Remoraid going to do, it’s useless!”
Of all the failed paths, there’s always a shining road of hope.
Natsume closed his eyes, recalling why he had picked Remoraid.
Ability: Moody.
At the end of every turn, raises one stat by two stages, drops another by one stage (Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, Speed).
In reality, that meant Remoraid’s Speed could soar—overtaking Iono’s Lapras and Qwilfish!
“Lapras, Ice Beam!”
“Remoraid, Protect!”
Lapras opened wide, icy light fired straight at the green barrier; Remoraid’s eyes sharpened.
In this instant, between Natsume-sensei and Remoraid, a whole new bond was born.
He was carrying Graveler’s and Sunkern’s hopes on his shoulders!
“Please, Remoraid!”
Natsume took a gamble on Water Pulse’s confusion odds: “Use Water Pulse!!”
Cannon-anchored to the floor, Remoraid spat a surging pulse that crashed into Lapras!
“Is it just me, or did Remoraid just get faster?”
“No way, it’s Remoraid’s Moody ability!”
“?? Anyone care to explain?”
“Moody sometimes drastically boosts stats—even Remoraid can take down Lapras!”
“Ooooh~” Lapras was struck, eyes spinning, confused.
With all eyes watching, Remoraid blasted another Bubble Beam, shooting the “Shell Armor” Lapras!
BAM!!
Lapras went down!
“Was that a Sp. Atk boost?”
“No, that’s strategy!”
Iono’s Qwilfish switched in, but consecutive Bubble Beams from Remoraid defeated it directly.
“I lost, Natsume-sensei.” Iono sighed.
After a moment’s quiet, chat exploded.
“ohhhhhh”
“I’m converting, time to go catch Remoraid!”
“Believe in Pokémon—even a passing encounter can forge a shining bond!”
Gifts flooded the stream; in the feverish live chat—
Natsume, stone-faced, swapped Sunkern for Lapras.
“???”
“That’s pure pragmatic.”
“Mark that Lapras, she’s the traitor!”
With the brutal first win behind him, Natsume-sensei fought on in the Battle Factory.
Lapras, living up to her infamy, missed two Hydro Pumps in a row. A furious Natsume-sensei nearly swapped her out again.
“Competitive battling, distilled (lol)”
“Battle Factory, my eternal enemy!”
After a full ten hours, an utterly exhausted Natsume-sensei finally claimed victory over Battle Factory Head Noland.
He obtained the “Knowledge Symbol”—just one last step remained before conquering the Frontier!
“This is even more exhausting than fighting Primal Groudon…” Natsume wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The sun sets.
Natsume stood at the entrance of the Battle Factory, meeting the gaze of his original teammates, Graveler and Remoraid.
Graveler broke into a wide grin; Remoraid’s eyes shimmered with tears.
“Goodbye,” Natsume said sincerely. “You two—thank you for your teamwork.”
“Graveler!” Graveler lifted its outer arms and gave a double thumbs-up.
At the same time, Gengar claimed victory over the acting summit at the Battle Pyramid, obtaining the final “Courage Symbol.”
Since Brandon was still in Snowpoint City restoring the Temple, the acting summit faced Gengar’s challenge alone—making his courage all the more commendable…
In just 24 hours, Natsume-sensei conquered the Hoenn Frontier, setting a new speedrun record!
Just as the chat was exploding with congratulations—
A golden-haired beauty appeared on the livestream screen, and suddenly, the chat turned lemon-yellow.
“Where are we going for dinner?” Cynthia asked.
“I’m thinking of borrowing a restaurant and treating two friends to a meal.”
“The Graveler and Remoraid from earlier?”
“Mmm…” Natsume nodded.
As for Lapras—no invitation needed!
……
When Scott heard the news of Natsume-sensei conquering the Frontier in a single day, he was dumbfounded.
But when he learned that the Battle Factory had gone viral, drawing over 10,000 hits to the official website in just a few hours, relief flooded him.
“To think, what troubled Natsume-sensei the longest was actually the Battle Factory.”
Scott muttered, “I was sure it would be the Battle Pike—the Luck Symbol…”
When that day’s livestream ended,
Messages scrolled across the screen: “See you next month,” “See you next year,” “Amazing,” and more.
But there was no need to wait until next year.
Natsume’s journey in Hoenn had come to its end. He planned to return to Lumiose City and prepare for next week’s PTCG World Championships.
Word had it that Ash would also be coming to Kalos for travel.
Natsume looked up at the sky:
“Let Professor Sycamore keep an eye on Ash… he can’t possibly jump off Prism Tower again, can he…”
