Pokémon：Trainer's Gambit

[Brilliant Prediction, BP+50]

[Successful use of 'SubProtect Toxic' Strategy, BP+50]

[...]

[Victory in Battle, Evaluation: Absolutely Spectacular! (BP+100)]

[Remaining BP: 470]

Natsume was surprised to gain over 400 BP points from a single battle.

He had already assumed Gastly was destined to lose, but who knew Swellow would underperform so badly?

"Could it be... that I trained Gastly too well?" Natsume muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Yuta, Swellow's trainer, was in a state of existential crisis.

"How can someone just keep using Protect like that?" Yuta mumbled. "My teacher never taught me you could fight like this!"

Reporters swarmed the sidelines, camera flashes flickering, microphones shoved right into Natsume's face.

"How do you feel about your victory?"

"We heard you're also a popular Pokémon battle streamer. Any tips or strategies you'd like to share?"

"Natsume-sensei! My daughter is a huge fan of yours!"

Since the quarterfinals weren't over yet, Natsume managed to slip away, taking Gastly back into the contestant hallway.

"So... we're in the semifinals now?" Natsume scratched his head.

"I don't think I even trained that much, did I?"

The next match featured Kazuki, who had crossed paths with Natsume before.

After witnessing Natsume's entire battle, Kazuki had gained a deeper understanding of Natsume's 'SubProtect Toxic' strategy.

"As expected of Natsume-sensei," Kazuki muttered. "Coming to a tournament like this to bully newcomers, and even holding back Gastly from evolving...

"That's just so like him!"

Most trainers would be eager to evolve their Pokémon as soon as possible to gain an edge in battles.

But Natsume-sensei had deliberately equipped Gastly with an Everstone.

Kazuki couldn't think of any explanation other than Natsume-sensei having extreme confidence in himself.

"I remember Natsume-sensei only recently caught Gastly, right?" Kazuki pondered, puzzled.

"To train it to this level in less than two months... Could Natsume-sensei also be a breeder?"

Shaking his head, Kazuki refocused.

If he could make it to the semifinals and face Natsume-sensei, it would be a win no matter what!

The final match of the evening pitted Kazuki's Ivysaur against a sharp-fanged Golbat.

This Golbat was exceptionally well-bred, even mastering the powerful "Leech Life" move with a base power of 80.

But Kazuki, having learned from Natsume, expertly executed a strategy combining Leech Seed and Sleep Powder.

The two Pokémon fought fiercely, almost swapping blood types, but in the end, Ivysaur narrowly claimed victory.

With the quarterfinals concluded, the news of Natsume advancing to the semifinals sent shockwaves through the entire grade.

Natsume's phone buzzed incessantly, and even Coach Takashi, whom he had met before, extended another invitation to join the school team.

At the moment, however, Natsume was busy turning down another contract.

The contract, offered by the Piplup Cup organizers, promised annual training funds of 100,000 Pokémon Coins, along with free training equipment and Pokéblocks.

But the offer held little appeal for Natsume.

Besides, there were many nuances in such contracts—

championship contracts were undoubtedly different from those for semifinalists.

Natsume had no intention of pursuing a career as a trainer, so signing was out of the question.

The other semifinalists were Kazuki, Reina, and Ryosuke from Osaka University.

Of these three, two were Natsume's followers.

"This isn't a semifinal," Natsume remarked with a strange expression. "This is a fan meet!"

"What if I lose to my own fans? That'd be so embarrassing!"

Natsume stroked his chin, muttering, "No, I need to keep training Gastly!"

After defeating Swellow, Gastly had begun to emit a faint glow of evolution, though it was suppressed by the Everstone.

With the evolution materials provided by Green and Natsume's Pokéblocks, evolution was just a matter of time.

Back at home, Gastly untied the Everstone from its forehead and let out a relaxed sigh.

Natsume, meanwhile, booted up his computer and started brainstorming ideas for his next video.

Natsume's current follower count stood at 970,000—a rare feat for just three videos.

The "Natsume-sensei Teaches Battling" series had plenty of potential ideas, such as Anger Point teams, Spikes teams, Weakness Policy Palossand, and more.

But without sufficient material, the quality of the videos wouldn't be great.

Another task issued by the system also prompted Natsume to consider branching out.

[Task: "I'm Not a Jack-of-All-Trades Content Creator"

Objective: Reach the top of any video category's rankings (excluding Gaming)

Reward: 2000 BP Points, Random Skill Lv3, Random Purple Item *1

Note: This task can be repeated.]

"Even though this is a Trainer Development System... these tasks are way off track," Natsume muttered, his lips twitching.

But he nodded anyway.

"Still, it suits me just fine."

As for which category to branch into, Natsume was still deliberating.

The Battle category was dominated by big names like Red, while the Music and Dance categories were highly competitive.

After some thought, Natsume decided to try his hand at the Lifestyle category.

"Perfect, I can improve my cooking skills while I'm at it."

After several attempts, Natsume's [Cooking Lv1] had successfully leveled up.

[Cooking Lv2: Greatly enhances your culinary skills, including knife work and heat control. (With your skills, running a restaurant would be a breeze.)]

While reaching Lv3 would put him on par with a star chef, becoming a food content creator was already well within his reach.

"Gastly, come help!" Natsume called out from the kitchen.

Gastly obediently floated over, curiously watching Natsume's movements.

"Steam the potatoes for twenty minutes, then turn off the heat. I'll get the oven ready!"

This time, Natsume was preparing the first dish from "Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma": imitation crispy roast pork.

He mixed golden, soft mashed potatoes with sautéed mushrooms and onions, wrapped them in bacon, tied it all up with string, and garnished it with rosemary and other spices.

"Gastly, help me put this in the oven for half an hour!"

"Gastly!" Gastly drooled, using its black mist to carefully place the dish into the oven.

"Sizzle—"

The rich aroma of red wine and butter filled the kitchen as Natsume reduced the sauce, adding seasonings until it thickened into a deep red glaze.

Gastly inhaled deeply, its eyes fixed on Natsume's every move.

"Ding—"

The roast was done. Gastly eagerly opened the oven, and a wave of savory meatiness wafted out.

Natsume plated the bacon-wrapped potato roast on a pristine white dish, drizzling it with the fragrant, deep red sauce.

He even garnished it with a sprig of rosemary for presentation.

Looking at the beautifully plated dish, Natsume nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad at all."

"Gastly (ˉ﹃ˉ)"

"Want to give it a try?"

"Gastly!" Gastly nodded vigorously.

"Careful, it's hot." Natsume set up a tripod.

"From now on, you'll be the first Pokémon food content creator!"

Gastly grinned, using its black mist to carry the plate in front of the camera.

After cautiously blowing on the hot dish, Gastly tentatively licked the sauce, its eyes narrowing in delight.

"Gastly!"

Despite the presence of a knife and fork, Gastly didn't bother with them. Instead, it opened its mouth wide and took a massive bite of the roast.

The aroma filled the room, and Natsume couldn't help but swallow hard.

"How is it?"

Gastly didn't answer, its cheeks stuffed to the brim as it chewed enthusiastically. Sauce dripped from the corners of its mouth, and its expression was one of pure bliss.

Gastly: (′▽`〃)

Curious, Natsume cut off a small piece of bacon for himself.

Instantly, his eyes lit up.

It was as if a herd of Tauros were galloping across a sunset-lit plain, red wine fermenting in a wooden cellar, and Natsume and Gastly were sitting in a field, straw hats on their heads, basking in the gentle breeze.

"A humble feast!"

"Gastly!" Gastly looked up from the plate, its face smeared with sauce, and grinned.

At the same time, a brilliant white light began to emanate from Gastly's body!

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