...
Natsu trudged to finance to advance 40% of his basic salary. With $3,300 clutched in his hand, he suddenly felt alive again, like he'd just won the lottery.
He arrived at his designated staff room with the number plate. It wasn't huge, but it had a bed, a desk, and even its own goddamn toilet. He had to sigh again at Silph Co.'s immense wealth. Every single sparring partner had their own room, and the pay was actually pretty decent, top-tier in the industry. These bastards were rolling in it.
The Weedle immediately pounced on the bed, his little eyes wide with wonder, instantly conquered by the glorious softness. He bounced happily, forgetting all about the miserable Rattata he'd just fought.
Natsu smiled at the Weedle's pure joy, then sat on the chair beside the desk. 'You can't let go of your damn nerves just because you've found a job', he reminded himself. The Weedle had an extremely short developmental cycle. Once he evolved, Natsu risked losing this sweet gig. But he couldn't deliberately stunt the Weedle's growth just for a job; that went against everything he was trying to do. He was here to make the Weedle grow better, to unleash his greatest potential.
"So Weedle still has to maintain his original growth rate," Natsu muttered, "and I need to tap into his potential in this Weedle form as much as possible before that happens."
He pulled out a piece of paper and started furiously writing down what he needed to prioritize and prepare.
* Buy Pokémon food suitable for Weedle.
* Buy books about Bug-type Pokémon and Poison-type Pokémon to learn their breeding knowledge.
* Develop Weedle's toxins.
* Develop a detailed training plan.
* ....
He listed his short-term plans, one by damn one. After the Weedle evolved, he couldn't just catch another Pokémon. His own resources were scarce, and training this one Weedle was already a stretch, let alone a second Pokémon. Natsu figured he wouldn't even think about catching another Pokémon until the Weedle evolved into a Beedrill and was a certified powerhouse.
"Now that the housing problem is solved, that saves a lot of money." He sighed again at Silph Co.'s bottomless pockets."According to the club's regulations, when no members are using the training equipment, employees can use it freely. The benefits here are really good."
And the working hours were surprisingly humane. As long as no member called, it was considered rest time. But if a member did call, even if you were asleep, you were expected to jump up immediately.
He stayed in the room for a bit, soaking it all in. Then, suddenly, the notifier on the wall blared.
"Work number 0451, training ground No. 9, arrive within 3 minutes." He could hear Anna's voice, crisp and professional.
"Okay," he said, holding down the answer key.
Natsu scooped up the Weedle, who was still clinging to the soft bed, and practically sprinted towards Training Ground No. 9. The Silph Pokémon Battle Club was massive, like a small city. Fortunately, the sparring rooms weren't far from the training grounds.
As soon as he entered, he spotted him: a thirteen or fourteen-year-old fat kid with three or four Poké Balls stuffed into his pockets, radiating "I'm rich, bitches" energy. Seeing Natsu run in, clutching his Weedle, the kid curled his lip in disgust. "Hey, Weedle, right? Let's practice your hands first, then replace him later." He clearly wanted to establish dominance and feel superior to Natsu's humble Weedle. What a little turd.
"Remember, my name is Kenji, and I am the one who will become the Champion of the Kanto Region in the future! The moment you are my sparring partner will be the highest honor in your life!" the kid declared, puffing out his chest.
Natsu: "..."
I think you shouldn't be called Kenji, you should be called Chuunji, Natsu thought, resisting the urge to actually say it. What a pompous little shit. He gently placed the Weedle on the ground and whispered, "Don't be nervous. Just follow my orders later."
"Woo!" The Weedle nodded. After their last battle, his confidence had definitely gotten a boost.
Kenji, the middle-school menace, hesitated, pondering which Pokémon to send out first. After a moment of dramatic thought, he threw one of his Poké Balls. "It's you!"
As the red light flashed, an emerald green Pokémon appeared on the field. Its skin was blue-green with dark green markings, resembling a toad, with bright red eyes. Its most distinctive feature was the bulb-like seed on its back.
This familiar image: a Bulbasaur, one of the three starter in the Kanto Region! People affectionately nicknamed them "Garlic King." As expected of someone with a membership in the Silph Pokémon Battle Club, Natsu thought. Even his starting Pokémon is a precious Bulbasaur.
"Da Na~~" After the Bulbasaur emerged, it called out softly. Its voice was crisp and tender, and it didn't sound like a professionally trained Pokémon at all.
Natsu narrowed his eyes. As a Grass and Poison-type Pokémon, a Bulbasaur's Attribute was relatively good, and its Species Strength was far superior to a Weedle's. But if the goal was to beat a Weedle, a Bulbasaur wasn't really the right choice. At least, a Bulbasaur's Grass-type attacks would only do a quarter damage to a Weedle, and Poison-type attacks only half. Plus, with similar strength, a Poison-type Pokémon like Weedle was immune to the negative effects of poisoning.
"Go on!" Kenji shouted, seemingly oblivious to his Bulbasaur's glaring weaknesses against a Weedle.
As the battle began, Natsu pushed all his thoughts aside and focused on the fight.
"Bulbasaur, Solar Beam!" Kenji roared, completely unconcerned about strategy.
"Daa?" The Bulbasaur looked back at his Trainer with a confused expression.
Solar Beam was one of a Grass-type Pokémon's ultimate moves, its destructive power terrifying. The downside was that it took a while to charge.
But either way, as a Bulbasaur, it was basically impossible for it to have learned Solar Beam. This kid was an absolute clown.
"Really? Haven't learnef it yet? Then use Razor Leaf!"
"Da!?" The Bulbasaur let out a confused cry.
Natsu: "..."
'So, he doesn't know Bulbasaur's moves? he thought. And this brat wants to find confidence against my Weedle with a Pokémon that doesn't know its own ass from its elbow?'
"It's completely different from what the teacher said in class?" Kenji scratched his head, genuinely bewildered.
He was a sophomore at the Pokémon School in Saffron City, and after a year of theoretical basics, this was his first time commanding a Pokémon.
He'd clearly been fantasizing about punching Elite Four members in the face and kicking the Champion's ass, eventually reaching the top. It was very similar to those morons back home who'd play video games, screaming about being "masters" while knowing absolutely nothing.
But obviously, theoretical knowledge did not equal actual combat knowledge. He had just received his starter Pokémon, and he hadn't even realized that this Bulbasaur was also having its first real battle.
This kind of shit wasn't uncommon for these clubs. Part of their business was to babysit new Trainers.
Even in Natsu's employee handbook, it spelled out how to deal with clueless members like Kenji. As long as they paid enough money, a group of elite Trainers would literally hold their hands and walk them through it.
"Your Bulbasaur probably only knows basic Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, and other fundamental moves," Natsu explained, trying not to sound too condescending. "As for whether it has any Hereditary Abilities, you'll have to explore that yourself."
"Really?" Kenji asked, looking up in genuine confusion.
"Yes. I'm a little curious, what's your rank in your class?" Natsu asked, genuinely curious about the level of incompetence he was dealing with.
"Ahahaha—it's not very high, just twenty-seventh." Kenji actually sounded less arrogant than he had earlier. Maybe he was just a clueless middle schooler and not an inherently malicious little brat.
"Twenty-seventh? That's about average, I suppose."
"Well, I also think there's another person in the class who's not as good as me," Kenji added, trying to save face.
"So, there are twenty-eight people in your class?" Natsu deadpanned, speechless. Of course, this makes perfect sense.
"Theoretically yes, but he hasn't come for a month. I don't know why."
Natsu: "..."
Figures.
"Well, let's not talk about that," Kenji said, suddenly remembering the battle. "Let's start the battle! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
"Da Na!" Finally, a move it could actually use. The Bulbasaur sounded relieved. From the connection between the Bulbasaur's descendants and its seed-like rhizomes, two finger-thick green vines lashed out, slapping towards the Weedle.
"Avoid," Natsu ordered.
For a Weedle, that attack speed was practically in slow motion.
...
(End of this chapter)