Pokémon:Trainer's Gambit

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: Natsume or the Fighting Master?



As dusk settled in.

Returning home from work, Gengar levitated through the doorway, licking Natsume with its tongue.

"Gengar~~"

The icy sensation sent a chill down his spine, but strangely, no paralysis followed. Natsume felt a flicker of unease.

Then, his body stiffened abruptly—only for him to exhale in relief moments later.

"Wash your hands first. Dinner's almost ready."

"Gengar!" Gengar nodded enthusiastically, pulling out bottles of soda one by one and lining them up on the table.

Natsume's eye twitched.

Seriously? You went "shopping" again?

Well, he supposed it counted as part of employee benefits.

Still, Natsume transferred the money to Sabrina anyway.

Private Message

Sabrina: "Gengar's strength has improved at an alarming rate."

Natsume-sensei: "Obviously. Who do you think trained it?"

Sabrina frowned, falling silent.

She had to admit—the sheer speed of Gengar's growth was unsettling.

It was hard to imagine just how terrifying Natsume would be at full power, considering he'd raised Gengar to this level in just half a year.

Sabrina sent three 'thumbs-up' emojis.

Natsume-sensei replied with a 'grinning' emoji.

After dinner, Gengar took Arcanine out for a stroll around the neighborhood.

Being an upscale residential area where Cynthia's villa was located, sightings of Pokémon like Arcanine and Rapidash weren't uncommon—so they didn't draw too much attention.

Togepi, wrapped in a Pikachu onesie, stayed indoors, clutching a giant bottle of cola while watching cartoons.

Squirtle did push-ups on the floor, its head gleaming under the light.

Natsume sighed.

With that bald head, getting stronger was practically inevitable.

Even Sylveon had wandered off somewhere.

Probably out bullying Persian and Raticate in the vicinity.

Natsume wasn't worried, though.

Thanks to Eevee's Anticipation ability—which Sylveon retained even after evolution—it had sharpened its perception to an impressive degree.

Even if it got into trouble, after spending so much time with Natsume-sensei, escaping would be a breeze.

Still…

Without Sylveon in his arms, something felt missing.

So, Natsume grabbed a 25kg dumbbell and started his livestream.

He'd taken a three-day break for his trip to Cinnabar Island.

This time, he planned to introduce a new battle strategy.

He changed the stream title to:

"Natsume-sensei's Grand Banquet—Fine Dining at National Banquet Standards."

Fans flooded in the moment the notification went out.

"Dinner's served!"

"This time, we're having braised Farfetch'd!"

"Thanks for the 'Supreme Gift,' 'Did-Natsume-sensei-Eat-Yet?'"

Natsume replied, "Yeah, just had some fried rice."

"Bruh, you eat fried rice every day!"

"Question—does your fried rice glow?"

Before diving into the main content, Natsume-sensei took questions as usual.

Fans asked things like:

"Where's Sylveon today?"

"Did Natsume-sensei go on a date?"

"Sylveon's out for a walk, so I brought a dumbbell as a substitute," Natsume said, effortlessly lifting the 25kg weight.

The sheer solidity of the dumbbell plates left fans stunned.

"Beldum is in danger!"

"Type 'scared' in chat, boys."

"As everyone knows," Natsume-sensei said solemnly, "before becoming a streamer, I was a professional fitness athlete."

A flood of question marks filled the chat.

"Natsume-sensei, when will you be Tokyo's number one?"

"As we all know, Natsume-sensei is the P1 Grand Prix champion, a multi-time lightweight titleholder who retired due to match-fixing scandals before switching to streaming…"

"Exactly right."

The chat's exaggerations grew wilder, but Natsume nodded gravely.

"Today, I'll teach you some dirty tricks."

When Natsume-sensei opened the team editor and dragged Hitmonlee into the lineup, every viewer froze.

Seeing his serious expression, a ridiculous thought crossed their minds—

Wait… is this guy actually a legit fighting master?!

"You're not actually a boxing champ, are you?!"

"Dirty tricks + Hitmonlee… is this the legendary Fighting Master?!"

"I was there—I was the championship belt!"

Hitmonlee, widely known as the "Kicking Pokémon," was a humanoid Fighting-type with a brown body, no visible mouth, and only a pair of eyes.

(Natsume-sensei: Then how does it eat Berries…?)

Its limbs could stretch freely, with legs as springy as coiled wire.

"Hitmonlee's ability is Unburden," Natsume explained. "When its held item is consumed, Unburden doubles its speed."

"That's the core of today's strategy—the Unburden Team."

"A standard Unburden Team pairs Hitmonlee with Grimmsnarl, using Swagger to force it to eat a Persim Berry to cure confusion."

"Alternatively, Lapras's Ice Shard can trigger Hawlucha's Weakness Policy, activating Unburden for a sweeping setup."

"As always, Hitmonlee and Hawlucha each have their strengths."

The Unburden Team was a brutally straightforward strategy.

Since its core usually revolved around Fighting-types like Hitmonlee and Hawlucha, calling it a Fighting-type strategy wasn't far off.

Famed for its overwhelming speed and aggression, the Unburden Team could decide matches in as little as one turn—even faster than Tailwind setups.

Simple. Brutal.

The perfect dirty tactic for a Fighting-type specialist!

Natsume clicked the matchmaking button.

"Let's welcome today's first victim!"

...

At the International Police's Strategy Academy, a middle-aged man in a brown trench coat stroked his chin, deep in thought.

How did someone so young grasp these intricate battle strategies and team compositions?

Though the International Police's riot division had similar Unburden tactics for close-quarters combat, sharing them so openly…

This young man truly lived up to the title of "sensei."

"Everyone, take notes!" the codenamed Handsome officer barked.

"Yes, sir!"

In Team Rocket's secret base, a man in a black suit gently petted his Persian while staring at the projected livestream.

"Fighting-types this time, huh?"

Giovanni lowered his gaze, his voice soft but laden with meaning.

"Just how many surprises do you have left…?"

Natsume-sensei's stream also caught the attention of the group chat's heavy hitters.

Seeing the classic strategy unfold, Yellow gasped. "Senior Red!"

"Yeah…"

Red smirked, eyes sharp. "I've faced this before."

Due to ideological clashes, Red had once clashed with the Elite Four.

Fighting Bruno, Lorelei, and Agatha simultaneously, he'd held his ground effortlessly.

It was only when Lorelei's Mr. Rime froze him that he was finally stopped.

Back then, Agatha and Bruno had used Arbok's Swagger to buff Hitmonlee—a similar combo.

Now, watching Natsume-sensei employ the same tactic, Red felt a flicker of nostalgia.

Yellow sat quietly beside him, not interrupting.

After a long pause, she whispered, "Is Natsume-sensei… also a master of Fighting-types?"

Without hesitation, Red nodded.

"Absolutely."

Unlike trainers who only knew official tournaments, Natsume-sensei resembled Red and Blue Oak—adept at no-holds-barred battles.

His victories against Gold and Professor Oak in wild encounters proved that.

Without exceptional physical conditioning and combat skills, defeating even Gold—let alone Professor Oak—would be impossible for an average trainer.

No wonder he chose the Unburden Team for this stream.

Red smiled faintly.

"Let's just watch Natsume-sensei's tutorial for now."

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