Chapter 0528: Clash of Martial Artists—Natsume-sensei vs. Bruno!

April 15th, Thursday.

The day after the All-Around Competition.

The bright sun and dry, pleasant air signaled the arrival of spring.

"Weather like this is rare in Sinnoh."

Bruno, bare-chested with a black belt and white pants, lounged on a chair while speaking into his phone.

"I sent you to investigate Sinnoh’s situation, not to vacation."

Lance’s exasperated sigh crackled through the receiver. "If Arceus’ awakening is imminent, other leagues’ Elite Four and Champions must be involved."

"Since I’m already competing, I might as well go all out."

Bruno chewed on a steamed bun. "Also, I found this amazing Rage Candy shop here. Tastes even better than the one in Mahogany Town."

"You’re sure it’s not some knockoff?" Lance asked.

Bruno paused mid-bite. "...Who cares? Tastes good."

"Whatever." Lance, cloaked in his signature cape, soared over the ocean on Dragonite’s back. "Natsume-sensei’s competing too. Coordinate with him."

"Already met him." Bruno’s tone sharpened.

"Oh?" Lance’s voice carried a hint of curiosity. "He and Gold haven’t started brawling yet, have they?"

Bruno slowly rose, his muscles gleaming under the sunlight.

"This afternoon… it’s my match against Natsume-sensei."

A brief silence.

Lance fell silent for a moment, then said, “False Swipe will do. At the very least, we must conserve our strength for the crisis that may come.”

“Understood.”

A sharp glint flashed in Bruno’s eyes, the long-dormant fire in his chest reigniting—just like the day he’d challenged Red to a battle.

Now, Red stood atop a peak far beyond reach. But as for him? There were no more shackles holding him back.

“I’ll ask him for advice—my strategy for catching that massive Onix at Mount Hideaway.”

“And one more thing.”

Bruno slung his three-section staff over his neck, his broad back like a mountain as he strode toward the roaring arena.

“A duel between two martial artists.”

……

“Gold’s Politoed has taken a commanding lead in the obstacle course!” the commentator announced.

Natsume slumped in the spectator stands, listlessly chewing on a hot dog, his cheek propped on one hand.

“Gengar~” The plump Gengar sat in the seat beside him, happily slurping soda through a straw.

Once the slurping noise stopped, Gengar popped open the lid and rolled up the ice cubes with its tongue: “Gengar~(￣～￣)”

“Natsume-sensei, are you alright?” Jasmine, dressed in a white gown, sat primly as she asked softly.

“It’s nothing.” Natsume sighed. “Just feeling a little… suffocated.”

Jasmine tilted her head thoughtfully, offering a gentle smile. “If you’re unwell, you should cancel this afternoon’s events. Rest is important—there’s no need to push yourself.”

“I’ll be fine by this afternoon,” Natsume said. “As for the jumping event… let Ash and Gold fight for the gold medals.”

The jumping event required trainers and Pokémon to clear hurdles in perfect sync—while wearing some dubious “brainwave tech” to monitor their coordination.

Natsume had already decided: No thanks. With his luck, what if the device exploded?

He wasn’t like Ash, whose physique treated explosions as a mere “hair singeing” incident—something he could shrug off with a quick shake.

Besides.

Natsume glanced down at the seven gleaming badges in his case and let out another long sigh.

Another badge acquired… and yet, I still can’t muster the will to compete early in the morning!

“You only need one more badge, don’t you?” Jasmine asked gently.

“No. What I need is my last life,” Natsume muttered gloomily.

“Huh?” Jasmine blinked, resting a finger on her chin. After a pause, she added, “Though I’ve heard the Beacon Badge is one of the easiest to obtain.”

Natsume stiffened. “How so?”

“Well, I’ve always been fascinated by lighthouses, so I looked into Sunyshore City’s.”

Jasmine smiled. “Rumor has it Volkner, the Electric-type Gym Leader there, dislikes challenges so much that he just leaves the Beacon Badge at the entrance for anyone to take.”

Natsume: ?

Johto’s Olivine City and Sinnoh’s Sunyshore City were both famous for their lighthouses.

Near the white strait, the mad scientist Bill even had his own lighthouse—home to legends of a “gigantic Dragonite.”

Natsume had an odd fondness for lighthouses… but badges? Hard pass.

“I’ll just avoid Sunyshore City during my travels,” Natsume mused. “Otherwise, Gengar might just grab the badge on its own!”

“Gengar~” Gengar had already pried open its bento box, balancing it on its lap as it neatly split apart the chopsticks.

Inside: a vegetable salad, seaweed-wrapped sushi, golden crispy fried chicken, and beef-shaped Pokéblocks.

Jasmine’s gaze flickered toward it. Sitting stiffly, she pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing.

Just the smell was enough to make her body act on its own—she had to try some…

But too embarrassed to ask, and with Natsume oblivious, Jasmine ended up buying a dry white bread roll from a passing vendor, nibbling at it slowly.

“Mmm…” Her eyes lit up, her face still faintly pink. “I-It’s delicious!”

“Ma’am, as our 1,897th customer, this one’s on the house~” The clerk rubbed his hands cheerfully.

“That’s right! Plus a free cup of freshly squeezed Berry Juice! Enjoy the matches, meow!”

“Eh? Are you sure?” Jasmine blinked.

“Absolutely! Now, if you’ll excuse me—ahem—the Executive needs to… I mean, goodbye!” The odd clerk hurried off.

Natsume stared at the sky.

Team Rocket might look pathetic when they get blasted off, but their hustle for funding? Honestly… kinda impressive.

A sudden uproar erupted from the stands.

“An unexpected turn! Ash and his Snorlax have taken a tumble!” the commentator shouted.

Why would anyone send a Snorlax to a hurdle race? Natsume wondered.

Maybe Ash, being the single-celled organism he was, had been swayed by some hype poster?

Ash’s voice rang out: “Snorlax, show ‘em your guts!”

The commentator roared, “Gold and Politoed cross the finish line first—they’ve clinched the championship!”

The audience erupted in applause, Jasmine clapping gracefully among them.

“Aren’t you competing in the endurance event this afternoon?” Natsume asked.

“Ah, yes…” Jasmine nodded softly. “It’s a tag battle format. I’ve been paired with Ash.”

“And who’s my partner?”

Jasmine hesitated, confirming Natsume-sensei genuinely didn’t know before whispering:

“You’ve been paired with… Bruno of the Fighting-type Elite Four.”

Natsume paused, the image of a philosophy-spouting muscleman flashing in his mind.

Then again, martial artists are like that—ripping off their shirts mid-battle like it’s nothing.

Come to think of it, he had earned the title of Fighting Master before…

But missing out on the P1 Grand Prix belt still stung a little.

“If I beat Bruno, I advance,” Natsume said. “Then face Gold?”

“Eh?” Jasmine gasped, then nodded. “If Gold advances… then yes, that’s correct.”

“Got it.”

Natsume gave a slight nod.

A breeze ruffled his dark hair as the notebook in his pocket pulsed with warmth.

Mega Evolution’s cooldown was about a week—and it had been exactly that since Gengar’s last transformation.

So against a Fighting specialist like Bruno… his best bet was—

Gripping the Dive Ball tightly, Natsume murmured:

“Endurance battle. Rule one: Don’t get hurt! Survival is victory!”

The Dive Ball wobbled faintly in response.

Inside, Blastoise adjusted its sunglasses, oozing big boss energy.

“Blastoise… ヾ(■_■)”

Had Natsume used Aura to read its mind just then, his expression would’ve been priceless.

Only the living get to farm.

If you’re scared of getting hit… take them out first!

……

The endurance event was structured as a group stage, where contestants could field two Pokémon for sumo battles.

Natsume suspected that not understanding sumo rules wouldn’t matter much.

After all, in the anime, every sumo tournament inevitably devolved into a Pokémon battle anyway—so this wouldn’t be far off.

Mid-match substitutions were allowed, and the Pokémon left standing on the field would be declared the winner.

It had to comply with the rules and meet heavyweight requirements. Thus, Natsume’s choices were the Luxury Ball and the Dive Ball.

Arcanine and Blastoise were easily the toughest contenders in his roster.

“Blastoise can tank hits…” Natsume winced. “But it’s so damn expensive!”

Still, for an endurance match, he could just have Blastoise spam Aqua Ring on itself and stall.

Every penny saved counted—even with his recent financial uptick, frugality was key for unforeseen disasters.

Meanwhile, in the chat group…

Brock narrowed his eyes. “Bruno and Natsume-sensei are both competing in this afternoon’s endurance event… I’m very excited.”

“If I recall correctly,” Erika said with a smile, “Bruno of the Elite Four is your idol, isn’t he, Mr. Brock?”

“Yes.” Brock nodded solemnly. “He’s the one I’ve always strived to catch up to.”

Red tilted his cap, recalling his past duel with Bruno, and grinned. “I’m looking forward to it too.”

“My idol’s you, Senior Red!” Ash declared.

“Ahaha.” Red scratched his head. “Flattered, flattered~”

Yellow blushed. “M-Me too!”

Blue Oak: “…”

Misty smiled. “My idol’s Sister Lorelei. That’s why I’ve been focusing on both Water and Ice types.”

“You’re already outstanding, Misty,” Lorelei said, her lips curving. “Just keep being true to yourself.”

Misty’s eyes flickered before she nodded softly.

“Speaking of idols,” Platinum chimed in, “mine is Miss Cynthia.”

Natsume gave a silent nod.

Your idol’s sleeping face is adorable.

Ruby: “@Wallace @Sapphire.”

Sapphire: “@Steven @Ruby.”

The chat suddenly reeked of dog food energy.

Sabrina, icy as ever, fell into thought.

An idol…?

Unconsciously, the image of a man in a black suit surfaced in her mind.

His silhouette seemed to overlap with Natsume-sensei’s shadow.

Sabrina shook her head and grabbed her Fate’s Spoon for a divination—only to freeze in rare astonishment.

“Why… is every single day lately inauspicious for outings?”