Chapter 0582: Where the sun burns fierce, and the water cradles gentle.

Mid-May brought a sudden surge of heat, and even the perpetually snow-covered Sinnoh Region couldn’t escape it.

Gray rain clouds drifted across the sky, carrying the damp scent of impending rain. The air was thick, as if a stifling breath was trapped in the chest.

Natsume had just finished grocery shopping, carrying bags as he walked home. He glanced up at the sky.

"Should cool down a bit after the rain."

Delibird strutted beside him, hauling a bundle with a smug expression. "Delibird!"

In weather like this, I could drop the temperature in an instant with a single Blizzard!

Delibird had been staying over for three days and two nights… but that wasn’t the main issue.

The real concern was that Natsume feared Pryce might suspect him of kidnapping his Delibird.

At any rate, Blastoise’s mastery of Ice-type moves was pretty much complete.

Time to send this Delibird packing today!

"Honestly, I still prefer the little mail-delivery penguin," mused the scoundrel Trainer Natsume.

The sweltering heat was relentless. Some Trainers had their Pokémon use Rain Dance or Frost Breath to cool themselves down.

But those only affected small areas.

When it came to summer, the best solution was—

Retreat to the air-conditioned room and take a nap!

Smiling, Natsume returned to the villa alongside Gengar, who balanced the grocery basket on its head.

Out in the garden, a few Revival Herbs drooped listlessly as Blastoise watered them with a Squirtle-shaped watering can.

"Larvitar—" Larvitar tilted its head back, mouth wide open, tiny hands pressed against its red belly armor.

"What’re you doing?" Natsume blinked.

"Larvitar?" Larvitar looked at him, scratching its horn shyly before grinning.

Feels like rain’s coming, so I’m waiting here to catch raindrops to drink~!

Pure child’s play. Natsume chuckled, though it was still better than digging up the yard to snack on dirt.

"Arcanine~~" Arcanine sprawled across the wooden porch, basking in the scorching sun before lazily yawning.

Natsume stepped over Arcanine’s plump Doduo-like body, about to push the door open, when Arcanine sniffed at the grocery basket.

"Don’t trust my ingredient-picking skills?"

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly taken care of!"

"Gengar~~" Still holding the basket atop its head, Gengar phased straight through the door.

Using Confusion to levitate the basket in a blue glow, it freed up its hands to open the door for Natsume.

Click— The lock turned.

Sure, it could’ve just used Confusion to carry everything, but scaring passing grandmas wasn’t ideal.

Then again, maybe frightening them off would save him from yet another "Let me introduce you to my granddaughter" conversation.

Shaking his head, Natsume stepped inside, greeted by the refreshing blast of AC.

"Whirrr~ Rotom~" Rotom’s appliance forms were flawless—aside from their ridiculous power consumption.

Togepi rolled around on the floor like a little ball before bumping into a large cola bottle, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Togepi doo-ee~! (｀▽｀)"

"Mew~" From the top-left corner of the TV screen, Mew waved via video call, beaming at Natsume.

It had returned to the Tree of Beginning yesterday.

But for the little Mythical, it just meant gaming from a different location.

"Morning," Natsume greeted with a smile. "You two keep playing. I’ll get lunch ready."

"Mew~!" Mew giggled mischievously.

Slosh— A bottle rattled.

Cool air spilled from the gleaming fridge as Natsume stored the groceries, then pulled out half a pre-cut watermelon.

Well, technically a watermelon—more like a Berry modeled after one, except it grew on trees.

The bright red flesh glistened, a drop of water sliding down the rind. Natsume plunged a silver spoon straight in, the juicy flesh yielding with a crunch.

This half wouldn’t even be enough for him and Sylveon to share.

Luckily, Rotom’s Space Fragment had plenty of hidden storage, chilling over a dozen more watermelons.

"Come get watermelon!" Natsume called outside.

Arcanine shook itself awake, its mane glinting gold in the sunlight.

Larvitar cast one last longing glance at the rain clouds before being dragged inside by the ever-stoic Blastoise.

"Sirfetch'd~" With a flicker of sharp light in its eyes, Sirfetch'd wielded its silver spoon like a sword, the motion leaving afterimages in the air.

"Arcanine!" Arcanine buried its entire face into the watermelon, lifting its head moments later with juice dripping from its maw, its snout smeared red.

Sylveon sat primly in Natsume’s lap, radiating an air of elegant disdain as Natsume tried feeding it with the spoon:

"Come on! I dare you to refuse!"

"Sylveon!" It turned its head away stubbornly before finally relenting, taking a reluctant bite.

The next second, Sylveon was holding the spoon with its ribbons, nibbling daintily. "Sylveon~"

The cool, quiet room was filled only with the sound of crunching watermelon, punctuated by Togepi’s occasional gleeful "Doo-ee!"

Larvitar opened its maw wide and swallowed an entire watermelon—rind and all. "Larvitar (￣～￣)"

"That’s… not how you eat it," Natsume began, then paused. "…Actually, for you, it probably doesn’t matter."

Blastoise adjusted its sunglasses, using Aura to scan for potential toxins.

"Beep… I can’t eat, Rotom! o(TヘTo)" Rotom wept from inside the Pokédex.

Suddenly, an exclamation mark lit up above Rotom’s head. "Beep… Incoming video call, Rotom!"

"Answer it," Natsume mumbled through a mouthful of watermelon, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

The screen flickered to life, revealing a flash of radiant gold. Cynthia blinked in surprise, her gaze settling on Natsume.

"Eating watermelon?"

"Yeah, just chilled it in the fridge."

"Didn’t invite me?" Cynthia’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

Natsume froze, hastily wiping his mouth. "Well, you were working!"

"Not anymore."

Cynthia folded her arms, resting her chin on one hand. "I’ll be back in Sandgem Town today, so…"

A brief silence settled between them, their heartbeats syncing in quiet anticipation.

She tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, shifting the topic. "It’s about to rain."

"The fireworks festival won’t be rainy," Natsume said. "If it does, I’ll just have Arcanine use Sunny Day."

"Arcanine?" Arcanine lifted its juice-covered face, bewildered.

Cynthia’s lips quirked into an involuntary smile, her fair skin glowing softly in the light.

"Remember what I said on the Michina Town plateau?" Natsume straightened his posture without thinking.

"No." She averted her eyes, fingers brushing through her hair, the elegant line of her collarbone and neck on full display.

"Then I’ll say it a hundred times. A thousand. Until you can’t forget."

Natsume met her gaze squarely. "I love you, Cynthia."

A faint blush crept up Cynthia’s swan-like neck. "Once more would’ve been enough," she murmured.

Then, softly, she added, "You missed a spot."

Natsume blinked, flustered.

"It’s cute," Cynthia teased.

Natsume: ???

Today’s result: Natsume’s crushing defeat!

BOOM—

As if Kyogre itself disapproved, thunder roared, and rain poured down in sheets.

The Revival Herbs in the yard stretched their leaves under the deluge, raindrops striking the stone path and kicking up mist.

"Larvitar~!" Larvitar sprinted into the downpour, happy as a child who could Rock Slide a Tauros into oblivion.

Natsume kept the video call open, panning the camera across the yard as he sat quietly on the veranda.

Sylveon dozed in his lap, Arcanine sprawled beside him, and Gengar reached a tiny hand toward the sky.

Blastoise withdrew into its shell, lying motionless in the rain as droplets bounced off its surface like little "HP +1" notifications.

Sirfetch'd stood with leek and shield, exuding the calm of one who’d seen autumn tides and listened to rain patter on banana leaves.

"Sirfetch'd~ ( -'`-)"

Another day of doing absolutely nothing~

I’ll try harder tomorrow~

Cynthia watched the rain-shrouded garden through the screen, then rested her cheek against her hand, falling silent.

Patter, patter— The rain kept falling.

Natsume glanced at his lazy little crew, then up at the sky, something stirring in his chest.

To live in this precious world…

Where the sun burns fierce, and the water cradles gentle.

……

Gold's "one-day admin" trial had expired.

What awaited him now was an endless abyss of mutes and persecution.

【Group member 'Gold' has been muted for 2 hours by admin 'Lance'】

【Group member 'Gold' has been unmuted by admin 'Red'】

【Group member 'Gold' has been muted for 6 hours by admin 'Blue Oak'】

【Group member 'Gold' has been unmuted by Group Owner 'Natsume-sensei'】

...

【Group member 'Gold' has been muted for 24 hours by admin 'Lorelei'!】

Lt. Surge burst into laughter: "HAHAHAHA!"

'Goldenrod City Miltank' chimed in: "Serves you right, LOL!"

Sabrina, unusually, curled her lips: "233"

Ash: "GrinningFace.JPG"

Crystal blushed: "Gold almost sacrificed himself... Isn't this a bit too much?"

Silver, who knew Gold best, replied flatly: "He brought it upon himself."

Crystal blinked: "Huh, really?"

Natsume-sensei added: "Don’t worry. I’m sure Gold was fully prepared for this."

Inspector Falkner, slacking off at work while scrolling through his phone, snorted.

A cape fluttered past—Lance stood with arms crossed, glaring coldly.

"Using your phone during work hours? Say goodbye to this month’s bonus!"

Falkner froze: "Senior Lance, but you’re also—"

"Hmm?" Lance’s draconic gaze silenced him.

Falkner stiffened, saluting: "Yes, sir!"

Lance nodded slightly before striding away, cape billowing.

A beacon of justice.

This was the righteous, incorruptible Kanto Champion Lance!

Old Man Wattson piped up: "@Gold, send me a generator, and I’ll mail you a 'detention escape kit.'"

Steven: "Wait, were you the one leaking those Pokémon cheat codes online?"

Wattson chuckled: "An Electric-type expert’s gotta have some technical skills, haha!"

Natsume-sensei: ???

So that’s why there’s so many 'hackers' lately!

【Group member 'Wattson' has been muted for 24 hours by Group Owner 'Natsume-sensei'!】

"Speaking of which," Brock squinted, "the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh is starting soon, right?"

Candice nodded: "Yes. All Gyms are closed to prepare."

Maylene groaned: "No challengers means no performance bonuses!"

Flint scratched his head: "I’ll bring it up with Lucian."

Lucian deadpanned: "I’m rarely online, but I do read the chat."

Adjusting his glasses, he added sternly: "Recent incidents strained our budget—"

Natsume and Ash quietly lurked.

Because wherever they go, chaos follows.

Every time Legendary Pokémon run amok, you two are there!

Erika asked: "@Lucian, will the contestant list be posted today? Many of my students are participating."

Roxanne smiled: "Mine too—some are even Natsume-sensei’s followers!"

Natsume glanced upward, expression odd.

If those students knew they’d face me...

They’d be thrilled, right?

Lucian sighed: "It’ll be up by 5 PM."

Flint: "@Lucian, why are you free now?"

Lucian’s eye twitched: "I finished overtime. Can’t I chat?"

Natsume-sensei coughed: "Cynthia might need to swap shifts with you soon."

Lucian: "..."

Staring at the blazing sun outside, he felt only winter’s chill.

"Exhausted."

Wiping his glasses, he muttered: "Just end me."

Lorelei, fresh from muting Gold, froze upon reading Natsume’s message.

Her joy evaporated. (;ﾟ;Д;ﾟ;)

Today’s happiness ends here!

Half an hour later, Yellow announced:

"The Lily of the Valley Conference roster’s updated!"

Lance blinked: "Why are you tracking it?"

Yellow giggled: "Lots of group members joined!"

Red asked: "Besides Ash, who else?"

Yellow checked, then gasped: "Natsume-sensei!"

Everyone: ???

Red stiffened: "Natsume-sensei?!"

The guy who just beat Arceus is entering a regional tournament?*

Lance cursed: "Holy—never change."

Lt. Surge winced: "Won’t the rookies cry?"

Erika laughed: "Classic Natsume-sensei."

Brock pondered: "Maybe... he’s training new Pokémon, like at Indigo Plateau."

But a Champion in a regional conference—

Isn’t this overkill?!

Maylene gaped before realizing:

If I’d skipped being a Leader and joined rookie tournaments like him...

My bonuses would’ve dwarfed my salary!

"Regrets! o(╥﹏╥)o"

Red tilted his cap, thoughtful.

After battling Arceus, Natsume-sensei’s team must need recovery.

The conference is perfect for rehabilitation...

Then, he frowned.

Would Ash lose heart upon hearing this?

But they underestimated the boy’s spirit.

Ash’s head lowered, his cap shadowing his face—

Then his fists clenched, eyes blazing.

"This means... I can battle Natsume-sensei properly!"

A full 6v6 showdown! After Paul, him!

Ash roared: "Pikachu, to Professor Oak’s backyard!"

"Pikachu~~!" Pikachu cheered.

Ash’s Sinnoh roster was stacked: Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape, Snorlax, Pidgeot—

A lineup worthy of a Champion.

"Natsume grinned: Now this is hype."

Maybe Ash will beat Tobias and reach me in the finals?

Gengar tugged his sleeve, pointing outside.

The rain had stopped.

Cool air carried the scent of damp earth as Natsume stepped out.

A droplet slid off a Revival Herb’s leaf.

Above, the sky stretched clear and blue, split by a single contrail—

And there, arched against the horizon, was a rainbow.

Natsume’s smile deepened as he spotted the figure soaring beneath it.

He knew that Pokémon.

An unstoppable Garchomp.

……

Kanto Region, Oak Research Institute

Professor Oak sorted through the documents on his desk, then looked up as the door opened—revealing an old man in a wheelchair.

"It's good to see you again," Professor Oak said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Pryce."

Pryce's stern expression didn't waver, but the faintest curve touched the corner of his lips.

"Likewise," he replied flatly.

Professor Oak blinked in surprise, studying Pryce before clearing his throat with a chuckle.

"You met that boy, didn't you?"

"You mean Natsume?" Pryce nodded. "Exceptionally capable."

Professor Oak grinned smugly. "Of course! He's the Pokédex Holder I personally chose!"

Pryce scoffed.

"Did you come all this way just to praise him?" Professor Oak scratched his head.

"Yes." Pryce's voice was low. "Words can be twisted. Only actions show sincerity."

"You really are..." Professor Oak laughed softly, recognizing the stubborn yet earnest soul before him.

A gust of wind howled outside. Both men looked up to see a Delibird soaring through the sky.

"It's back from Natsume's place," Pryce said.

Professor Oak nodded—then froze, realization dawning.

"You had it teach him an Ice-type Move?"

"I told you. I'm satisfied with him." Pryce kept his eyes on the horizon.

The plump Delibird landed, looking oddly dejected.

Pryce studied it silently before raising an eyebrow.

"...Did you gain weight these past few days?"

"Delibird~~!" Delibird scratched its head awkwardly.