Pokémon: Who told him to come out of Pallet Town!

Chapter 13: Thank goodness Natsume-nii doesn't have your terrible taste.

Viridian Forest, on the exit road.

"Nibi City is just ahead."

Xiao Zhi looked at the tall buildings not far away, his eyes full of enthusiasm.

"After living like a wild man for so long, I can finally take a proper bath!"

Xiaoxia's eyes shone with excitement.

"Gentlemen, would you like a guide?"

A steady voice came from the small earthen slope below.

Looking down the small hill, they discovered a middle-aged man with a stubble beard standing guard at a stall filled with stones.

The middle-aged man wore a thick red hat that covered his eyes, making it impossible to see his face.

The middle-aged man looked directly at Natsume, the only adult in the group.

Give me fifty, and I'll let you be my tour guide.

Natsume reached out his hand.

"Fifty is too little, I only pay five hundred..."

The middle-aged man realized something was amiss halfway through his sentence, so he shut his mouth and looked at Natsume in silence.

"How about this, I'll buy a few stones from you, and you can be our guide for free for two days, okay?"

Natsume recognized the middle-aged man in front of him as Takeshi's father, Takeshi. If he remembered correctly, Pikachu's growth was inseparable from this man.

This concerns an S-level research project, and Natsume cannot afford to be ambiguous.

If it doesn't affect the plot, then try not to.

"Haha, of course, no problem, but you have to buy enough."

Wu Neng laughed heartily, stepped aside, and displayed the stone on the counter behind him to Natsume.

"Hey, are you really going to buy it? He seems so unreliable."

Xiaoxia leaned close to Natsume's ear and whispered something.

"Young man, please don't speak ill of me behind my back."

Wu Neng looked at Xiaoxia.

"Who's the young man?!"

"Sigh...Xiaoxia, never mind."

Ash pulled Misty back from the side, who was about to go berserk.

On the other side, Natsume had already started jumping.

Pewter City is rich in stones. Apart from some stones with collectible value, it also produces other Pokémon-related item stones.

He stood in front of the display case, glanced at it, and felt something was off.

These stones have many cracks, as if they were cut with lightning.

"What I sell here are all raw stones; there's a good chance you'll find some good stuff inside!"

Seeing Natsume begin to choose, Takenori said in a serious tone:

"These 1000-priced items will at most yield items like Fire Stones and Leaf Stones. I recommend the 5000-priced items; with luck, you might even get fossils!"

"Fossils? Aren't those just for collectors? How can they compare to those evolutionary stones?"

Xiaoxia asked Wu Neng in confusion.

"We can sell them to those idiotic researchers; without exception, we'll make a fortune!"

Wu Neng said without any hesitation.

Natsume: "..."

"What are these stones?"

Natsume keenly noticed that beneath these raw stones, which were priced at thousands, were some small stones, with the stones on top being extremely cheap, mostly ranging from 50 to 100.

It's practically free; even the most basic red and white ball costs only 200.

"Haha, these are just for fun, there's nothing inside."

"Really?"

Natsume scanned the Rotom in his hand, then raised an eyebrow and looked at Wu Neng beside him.

Seeing that Natsume didn't believe him, Takenori laughed heartily, patted him on the shoulder, and confidently said:

"If you can find any valuable stones inside, I'll be your tour guide for free!"

It's a deal.

As Natsume spoke, he began rummaging through the pile of rubble at the bottom.

"Young man, don't blame me for not warning you, these are all the ones I didn't choose. If you don't have a ruthless eye like mine, you won't be able to find them."

Natsume didn't reply. He didn't know how sharp Rotom's eyes were, but Rotom's X-rays were definitely sharp enough.

"This part."

No sooner had Wu finished speaking than Natsume picked out a stone the size of a palm.

"Come out, Geodude, use Rock Smash!"

Without further ado, Wu Neng released a small fist stone.

"Don't worry, my little fist stone has been professionally trained and won't hurt anything inside."

Wu Neng added.

"boom!"

With a slight vibration, the stone turned into powder, and a faint blue glow emerged from the powder.

"Water Stone!"

Xiaoxia recognized the stone immediately.

"You're really lucky."

Wu Neng seemed to be losing face.

This raw stone is only priced at 60, but the market price of a Water Stone is around 3000.

Wu coughed twice, about to speak, when Natsume threw another fist-sized rock at his feet, priced at 120.

"Open this one too."

"Are you sure? The first time you open a stone is free, and then it costs 50 each time."

Natsume remained silent, only searching through the pile of rubble, throwing small stones one after another at Wu Neng's feet.

Before long, more than twenty fist-sized pebbles of various sizes had piled up at his feet.

"well......"

Wu shook his head, assuming that Natsume was just a clueless kid.

Finding a water stone in the pile of rubble that he had already selected was considered a great find.

"There are 26 stones in total, costing 1300. Use Small Geodude, and Rock Smash!"

Wu Neng didn't intend to stop Natsume's actions; the other party had just picked up a Water Stone by chance, so now was the perfect time for him to recover some health.

"Boom boom boom!"

After several booming sounds, the ground was covered with rock dust.

The powder shimmered with multicolored light.

"So many yellow stones, red stones, green stones... No wonder it's Natsume-san!"

"Idiot, those are the Thunder Stone, the Fire Stone, and the Leaf Stone!"

Xiaoxia didn't bother to correct her; her eyes seemed glued to the pile of colorful stones on the ground, their gazes sparkling with wonder.

Hmm... if I'm not mistaken, there are four Water Stones.

"what?"

Wu Neng was stunned.

These pebbles are scraps he knocked off each time he set up his goods; he's accumulated them over the years.

There are so many valuable items here that he missed!

Looking at the colorful stones on the ground, Wu felt as if his heart was bleeding.

"Luckily, Natsume-nii doesn't have the same terrible eye as you, otherwise we would have missed everything."

Ash exclaimed sincerely from the side.

Wu Neng: "..."

"Um, I'm closing the shop today."

Seeing that Natsume still wanted to pick through the pile of rubble, Takenori's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he quickly rolled up his bedding to cover his pile of stones.

Seeing this, Natsume was a little puzzled. He clearly saw that the small hillside looked like it had been hollowed out, and there should still be a lot of rubble inside.

Xiaoxia stood up and clapped her hands, saying:

"In that case, shouldn't you keep your promise, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Neng froze.

I almost forgot about that; it's a double loss.

"Okay, please take me to the Pewter City Gym as soon as possible, sir!"

Ash's excited voice rang out.

Upon hearing Ash's voice, Wu Neng paused, then looked up at Ash and glanced at the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu also looked at Wu Neng with a puzzled expression.

After a short while, Wu Neng said in a serious tone:

"You can't beat the Pewter City Gym."

"Who knows what will happen if you don't try? I'm very confident!"

Xiao Zhi patted his chest and said confidently.

"I'll take you to the Pokémon Center in Pewter City first, so you can rest for a bit."

Wu Neng shook his head, turned around, and walked ahead.

"Let's go straight to the dojo... Hey, Xia, why are you pulling my ear?"

"If you don't rest, then we need to rest too, right, Natsume?"

Afterwards, Natsume gathered up the colorful stones scattered on the ground and turned to look ahead.

"I also think it would be better if we went to rest and recuperate first."

This time, he reaped a great reward.

Water Stone x4, Fire Stone x3, Thunder Stone x2, Leaf Stone x3. Perhaps because this place is close to Mt. Tsukimi, the most Moon Stones were found, a total of 6.

In addition to these common evolution stones, there are also an Awakening Stone, a Round Stone, and an Unchanging Stone.

What remains are a number of attribute gems that can enhance the power of moves.

After counting the extra items and stones in his system inventory, Natsume looked ahead; the three of them had already walked far away.

Looking at Wu Neng's back at the front, Natsume glanced sideways.

If I remember correctly, Ash was frustrated at the Pewter City Gym, and the way he made Pikachu stronger was taught to him by the gym leader.

As far as Natsume knows, there have indeed been related reports in the most cutting-edge research.

However, that kind of increase is limited and cannot reach the heights Pikachu will reach in the future.