Chapter 106: The Restless Zapdos
After understanding the situation, the group split up to search for the missing Magnemite.
"Let's split up—it'll be more efficient," Giselle suggested, holding onto Natsume's arm.
"Alright, I'll go with Midchu—"
Before Ash could finish, Midchu leapt from his head, running off with almost magical speed.
"Hey, Midchu! What are you doing?"
Midchu moved so fast it seemed intent on shaking everyone off, disappearing in an instant.
"Natsume, look at him!" Ash pointed in the direction Midchu had gone.
"Let him go. He has my tracker on him," Natsume said, checking the map on his Rotom Phone. The dot representing Midchu blinked wildly, quickly moving far away.
"I'll go with Giselle to find their technicians and see if we can deal with the Grimer problem. You all look for the remaining Magnemite."
Natsume immediately divided the tasks.
He could use telekinesis to detect which pipes contained Grimer, but the problem was luring the Grimer out.
Luckily, thanks to Gengar, he had stored a lot of black sludge on him—Grimer loved to eat this.
"Let's go," Natsume said, leading Giselle in another direction.
Soon, he contacted the plant staff, and buckets of black sludge were transported to the ventilation ducts outside the power plant.
*Gengar!*
Gengar floated in the air, using telekinesis to help move the sludge.
Looking at its eyes, the more he watched, the more sympathetic he felt.
"Natsume, will this really work?" Several workers peeked out, curiously watching the ventilation ducts.
At this time, almost all the ventilation ducts in the plant had a bucket of black sludge beneath them.
Some workers fanned the smell toward the ducts to attract the Grimer.
"It will work," Natsume nodded.
The effect exceeded his expectations. Many Grimer began moving toward the vents.
*Grimer~* A voice sounded, and everyone looked toward the largest vent.
There, a dark purple, mud-like Pokémon slowly emerged, reeking horribly.
Beneath it were three buckets of black sludge.
The Grimer's eyes lit up with excitement.
Several workers ran back to grab Pokéballs to battle, but a shadow suddenly flashed by.
*Boom!* Gengar's little hands glowed black and purple.
A single Shadow Punch struck, and the Grimer instantly fainted.
*Gengar, Gengar.*
A faint blue glow appeared in its eyes as Gengar used telekinesis to move the Grimer to the rear.
From then on, any Grimer emerging from a vent was immediately knocked out by Gengar.
Soon, the plant's open area was piled with Grimer, dozens of buckets of black sludge untouched by the Grimer.
They were surprisingly protective of their food.
Natsume touched his nose and didn't stop Gengar, instead checking Midchu's tracker.
Midchu had almost reached the far side of the plant, doing… *something*.
Suddenly, Midchu stopped. The red dot on the map froze.
*What now?*
Natsume activated the tracker's monitoring function.
Soon, the view shifted to Midchu's perspective.
The phone transmitted the rapid thump of a racing heart—Midchu was clearly excited.
It looked up, but before Natsume could see clearly, a bolt of lightning struck.
*Boom!* Midchu was thrown, the view spinning wildly before freezing in midair.
*Pikapi!* Noisy cries sounded in the distance. Natsume realized his tracker had been knocked away.
He couldn't see what Pokémon had attacked Midchu, but it seemed to use Electric-type moves.
Midchu's voice called out, mixed with another angry bird cry. Natsume's eyes widened.
*Zapdos?*
Natsume scratched his head.
Zapdos often appeared around power plants, but even so, encountering one was extremely rare.
He wondered if this was a Zapdos with Divine Authority.
A thought struck him—so far, he had never seen a true Legendary Pokémon with Divine Authority.
A Zapdos with Divine Authority would most likely still be near Lugia, making a chance encounter very unlikely.
But at least there was a glimmer of hope.
"Natsume!"
Not far away, Ash and the others ran up, followed by a group of Magnemite.
"Natsume, where are you going?" Ash asked curiously, approaching.
"I'm going after Midchu. It might be in some trouble," Natsume said, giving Gengar a nod before heading toward Midchu's direction.
Halfway there, they heard a sound like thunder.
Soon, the thunderous noise gradually faded and then stopped.
"That power… it's terrifying. I hope Midchu's okay," Misty murmured, shrinking slightly.
They quickened their pace.
The battle between Midchu and the Zapdos seemed to be moving as they fought.
Natsume and the others noticed plenty of battle traces, but Midchu's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Beside some cut power lines, Natsume found his tracker.
"These wires seem violently torn, not by Midchu," Brock squinted, speculating.
"Oh no… Midchu hasn't been carried off by some sudden monster, right?"
Following the battle traces, they arrived at an abandoned area—an unfinished employee dormitory zone.
"There's fire!" Giselle pointed to a nearby abandoned building.
The group looked. The walls were crumbling, weeds overgrown.
A few scattered cement buckets were partially sunk in the dirt, hinting at the workers' past labor.
The weeds bent aside, forming a path—clearly not made by Midchu.
"Oh no… Midchu hasn't been dragged off by a monster, has it?" Misty shivered.
"Huh? What's this?" Ash bent down and picked up a yellow, needle-like object from the weeds.
"Looks like a spike, but it's so light," Ash said, examining it.
"That's a feather," Natsume's voice came.
"A feather?" Ash blinked.
What Pokémon would have feathers like this?
"We'll find out once we go in," Natsume said, stepping forward.
This Zapdos was most likely an ordinary one, and shouldn't pose a threat to Midchu.
Besides, Midchu had the Lightning Rod ability.
Still, Zapdos could fly; its stats approached semi-legendary levels, and it had many Flying-type moves.
Combined with a level advantage, Natsume couldn't help but worry a little.
*Crackle!*
The firelight grew closer, the smell of burning intensifying.
"It can't be some Fire-type Pokemon that took Midchu, right?" Misty whispered, hiding behind Ash.
The flames neared the corner.
*Pika?* Midchu opened his eyes, stiffening when it saw Natsume.
In the narrow corridor, a fire had been set. Flames flickered over a fainted Zapdos, its head swollen, surrounded by a scattering of golden, needle-like feathers.
"Midchu, why are you lying on it?" Ash asked, puzzled.
"Hey! You stripped all its feathers! That's so rude," Misty said, hands on her hips.
At the sound, the featherless Zapdos seemed to come alive, stretching its neck and opening its long, needle-sharp beak, letting out a hoarse cry:
*Zappppppppppppppppppp* Help me… this Pikachu is a monster!
Natsume: "..."
This is probably the most pitiful Zapdos alive.
You can read more (around 100+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.