"Top 100 Creators Awards Festival?"

Natsume paused for a moment before it clicked.

It was January, and the award ceremony in Tokyo was about to take place.

The official DM had been sent two days ago.

But it only showed as "read" after Natsume-sensei logged in.

Come to think of it, Natsume vaguely recalled a staff member calling him the past couple of days.

Though he'd hung up the moment they started speaking…

"Should I go or not?"

Natsume fell into thought.

From the invitation, it seemed he was being asked as a gaming section content creator.

Of course, it also mentioned his amateur hobbies—music, food, and the like.

Unlike the purely ceremonial awards he remembered,

this festival seemed more like a large-scale meetup, with various activities lined up.

It was happening in two days, right in Tokyo, where Natsume had been before.

After a brief consideration, Natsume nodded.

The Lunar New Year was approaching, and his parents were off traveling in the Alola region.

Chances were, they'd be celebrating elsewhere, so a trip back home wouldn't hurt.

Besides, winter break was coming up.

Natsume looked up at the sky.

"Wait… I'm still a finance student at Tokyo Metropolitan University, right?"

The thought of final exams crossed his mind, and his expression turned odd.

I literally saved the Tree of Beginning, and now you want me to take finals?!

"Hold on… I think the Battle Department waives exams if you have enough credits?"

Natsume pondered.

Maybe I should just challenge the dean to a one-on-one?

Then again, Principal Hiroshi probably wouldn't be that unreasonable.

Luckily, nothing major was going on lately.

Natsume made up his mind.

The awards don't matter—I'm just going back for the finals!

Worth noting:

The guest list included quite a few content creators Natsume was familiar with.

Though people like Professor Oak wouldn't make the trip to Tokyo.

And stars like Nessa, busy with photoshoots, wouldn't have time to make an appearance.

Natsume just happened to have free time.

Thanks to Pokémon Company's single-player games and collaborations with Nico Dou,

he was also attending as a partner, not just a content creator.

Add in his other random titles—mentor, police consultant, aura wielder…

Natsume's mood turned complicated as he muttered,

"Well, this is just like the Dragon King's triumphant return…"

He opened the chat group and mentioned his plans to head back to Touran.

Gold's eyes widened.

"Natsume-sensei, you're really going back for the Elite Four meeting?!"

Natsume-sensei: "What is that?"

"At the start of every year, the League gathers the Elite Four and Champion to plan the tournament schedule."

Lorelei explained, then chuckled.

"But knowing Natsume-sensei, he probably wouldn't bother attending."

"True." Lance rubbed his temples with a sigh. "Even I find the whole process exhausting."

Steven blinked, then smirked.

Good thing I already passed the Champion's cape to Wallace!

"Maybe Touran's procedures are different." Red chimed in. "Natsume-sensei, need a ride?"

"Nah…"

Images of airport landings and triumphant returns flashed through Natsume's mind. He coughed dryly.

"I'll only be gone a few days. Still have students to teach at Celadon School."

"That video platform's festival?" Erika tilted her head slightly.

"Hm? Professor Erika knows about it?"

"I posted a few flower arrangement videos before."

She smiled faintly, then sighed.

"But the gym keeps me too busy to visit Tokyo right now."

After asking around, it seemed he was the only one with free time.

Natsume cleared his throat when someone @'ed him.

Brock: "@Natsume-sensei, I'll go with you."

Natsume-sensei: "You got invited too?"

Brock scratched his cheek.

"I uploaded some cooking videos before. They got pretty popular…"

Natsume understood.

Of course—Brock's skills alone were enough to hit a million followers, no fancy editing needed.

Plus, uploading to multiple platforms meant decent ad revenue…

For a brief moment, Natsume-sensei—bound by the shared struggle of poverty with Brock—felt a pang of bittersweet emotion.

The one who truly gets me… is Brock.

"Me! Me too!" Lt. Surge, the burly Unovan, suddenly jumped in.

"Wait, Lt. Surge, you're into 2D culture too?"

"What nonsense." Lt. Surge scoffed. "I'm an Electronic Music Master!"

"Lt. Surge." Gold suddenly cut in. "I just checked your account. You barely have 10K followers…"

"?? That's slander! It's 11K!" Lt. Surge glared.

Natsume-sensei glanced at his own account, nearing 10 million followers.

Hmm, the gap isn't that big, really.

Oh well... Natsume cleared his throat.

Might as well bring a retired major along as a bodyguard.

He wasn't sure why Lt. Surge was so interested in Tokyo.

Maybe, as a captain, he had a natural affinity for port cities?

In the end, Natsume, Brock, and Lt. Surge formed a trio for the trip.

With Natsume acting as the host.

It seemed that after spending so much time with Natsume-sensei, the other Gym Leaders had picked up his slacking-off habits.

Brock's Pewter Gym was left in the hands of his younger brother, Forrest, as acting Leader.

As for Lt. Surge, Vice Captain Visquez was managing the training grounds.

They had initially planned to book flight tickets.

But Lt. Surge insisted they could take his "S.S. Aqua"—they'd reach Tokyo overnight.

"Using official ships for personal trips?" Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"No such thing!" Lt. Surge coughed awkwardly. "International ports like Tokyo are a sailor's romance!"

Brock nodded. "Anyway... travel expenses add up. Better save where we can."

Once the itinerary was settled,

Natsume began seriously considering how to fit Blastoise's fish tank into his luggage.

"Gengar! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ" Gengar looked horrified.

Don't look at me! Even if you do, it won't fit!

"Blastoise..." Blastoise waved a hand dismissively.

Then, it knocked on its own shell, as if to say "Iron Defense" offered better protection than a fish tank anyway.

It even pulled out a Potion from who-knows-where and sprayed it on the spot it had just tapped.

Natsume's eye twitched.

Classic Blastoise.

Blastoise's Mega Stone was always carried by Blastoise itself.

From the outside, it wasn't obvious—probably tucked inside its shell somewhere.

After all... Mega Stone accessories were usually easy to spot, letting opponents predict held items.

But if they could pull off a surprise Mega Evolution...

Natsume sighed. "Pokémon really do grow to resemble their Trainers, huh..."

Sylveon's hamster wheel didn't need to be packed—just bringing "White Vanilla" as a cat teaser would do.

As for Sirfetch'd—

Sirfetch'd was currently inside, practicing its leek swings.

"Sirfetch'd~!"

Condition: Fired up!

Natsume's expression turned odd.

Where did my lazy Sirfetch'd go?

The determination burning in Sirfetch'd's eyes screamed "hard work" and "perseverance."

Gotta surpass Togepi so I can go back to being a slacker in peace!

Its leek swings grew faster and fiercer, slicing through the air with such speed that afterimages formed.

Natsume's face darkened.

"Sirfetch'd!" Flames flickered in Sirfetch'd's eyes.

The leek whirled around like a "Blade Tempest," sending decorations on the coffee table flying!

Crash!

Natsume glanced at his enamel mug and twitched.

Thank goodness it's enamel. At least it won't break.

Sirfetch'd's "Blade Tempest" raged on.

Crack!

The leek struck the wall, leaving a visible fissure.

Natsume sighed and checked his Pokédex.

Sure enough, this was Sirfetch'd's "Swords Dance" in action.

After a while, Sirfetch'd finally stopped, snapping out of its frenzy.

"Sirfetch'd!" It looked refreshed.

So this is the thrill of house-wrecking—er, training!

"Gengar!"

"Blastoise!"

Gengar and Blastoise gathered around Sirfetch'd, praising its "Swords Dance" performance.

The room was filled with a harmonious training atmosphere.

On the night before departure,

Natsume expertly dialed a familiar number.

"Yeah, it's me. Got it."

His sentences grew shorter and shorter.

This unspoken understanding left Natsume with mixed feelings.

At this rate, soon just ringing once will be enough...

And the renovation team will already be waiting downstairs!?

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