Chapter 105: The Power Plant
Outside, everything was pitch black.
"Sigh, really… we should've taken a longer route," Ash muttered.
On the road, everyone felt physically and mentally exhausted.
Soon, a *mountain range* appeared before them.
Amid the steel mountains rising from the coastal folds, the main buildings of the power plant looked like clusters of alien crystals embedded in the earth's crust.
"The water here is so dirty," Ash remarked, noticing the unusual color of the sea.
The seawater was pitch black, like diluted sludge, and approaching it, a strong, pungent stench hit them.
"Ew~" Misty recoiled, moving away from the shore.
The foul smell hung in the air, souring everyone's mood.
Midchu was the only exception, standing on Ash's head like a tail, small hands shading his forehead as if scouting ahead.
Since approaching the plant, he had grown increasingly excited, faint wisps of white mist drifting from his forehead.
Natsume didn't disturb Midchu, but watched carefully to see what he intended.
"Even if it's industrial wastewater, it shouldn't be this polluted," Brock said, frowning at the water.
"You're right," Natsume glanced, then waved toward Giselle.
"Huh?" Giselle paused mid-step and, seeing Natsume's gesture, hugged him again.
"I want you to explain, using the Pokémon Ecology booklet I gave you," Natsume said, gently pulling her back.
"Oh." *It wasn't about cooling down*—Giselle's face flushed, but under the night sky, no one noticed.
"This water area…" Giselle took the flashlight from Natsume and observed carefully.
"I think this might have attracted a Grimer colony," she said, looking at Natsume expectantly.
"Mm," he nodded, signaling her to continue.
"Generally, Grimer live in city sewers or wild swamps; they're rare in the ocean. But in some cases, highly polluted, nutrient-rich waters can attract them."
She moved the flashlight as if searching for something.
"Found it! Look at this intake—it's clogged with sludge. Many Grimer must have entered here, blocking the generator."
Everyone looked and saw a wide intake hidden among the rocks along the shore, covered in black, foul-smelling sludge.
"Good, now that we know the cause, let's go fix it!" Ash said, ready to rush in.
"Wait!" Misty grabbed him. "Why don't we just tell the plant staff?"
"Misty's right. For special problems, contact the professionals immediately," Natsume said, stepping to the front.
Everyone paused, then hurriedly followed.
"Ugh, why does it smell so bad inside the plant too?" Misty covered her mouth and nose.
"Does it? Smells fine to me," Natsume said, holding the flushed Giselle.
He noticed something curious: when his assistant emitted smoke from her head, her body became extremely cold. Perhaps the heat was being drawn away.
"By the way, Natsume, do you know the way?"
They hadn't seen any staff for a long time, and the path was narrowing. Ash asked, curious.
"Of course not," Natsume answered matter-of-factly.
"You don't know the way and you're leading us?" Misty shouted.
"I'm not leading," Natsume said, pointing at Ash's head.
Everyone looked and saw Midchu staring intently ahead.
"What are you looking at?" Ash asked, confused.
"Mr. Natsume, did Midchu notice something?" Giselle asked after regaining her composure.
"It indicated a direction with a very strong electromagnetic force," Natsume explained.
"I get it!" Brock slapped his hands together. "The plant's out of power. The only source of electromagnetism would be Pokémon. Most of the plant's Pokémon belong to the workers—finding them might lead us to the person in charge!"
"I see."
Everyone quickened their pace.
At the end of the corridor was a locked door.
A deep blue light flickered in Natsume's eyes as he used his telekinesis to manipulate the lock.
*Click~* A faint sound echoed, and the door opened.
Inside, the space suddenly opened up.
Around them was a platform, and looking down, a pit-like area contained a massive rotor.
A few workers were present, along with many Magnemite.
*Pika!* Seeing the Magnemite, Midchu's excitement visibly deflated.
The Magnemite were being directed by the workers to generate electricity on the rotor, though it seemed largely ineffective.
"Who are you?" One of the workers, an older man with a rugged appearance and a beard, stepped forward to ask.
After Natsume explained their purpose, the old worker frowned.
"You're impressive. We've been addressing the Grimer problem, but it's not something that can be fixed quickly."
He pointed to the massive machinery below.
"The immediate task is to start the backup generator, but it hasn't been used in ages, and there's been no response so far."
"Where's your foreman?" Natsume asked, observing that only workers were present.
"He went to handle the problems elsewhere," the old worker said, wiping sweat from his brow.
A sudden blackout in Gringey City—with so many factories, industries, and important instruments—could it really happen so easily?
The foreman's phone had long since been jammed.
"No wonder," Natsume nodded in understanding.
Before leaving, he asked Joy for the plant owner's number, but could not get through.
"Sigh, I don't get you young people. Why come to Gringey City if there's nothing to do?"
The old worker looked at Natsume and his group, offering advice:
"You'd better leave soon. Staying here too long can be bad for your health."
"Look at us," he gestured to himself.
"My nose has long been ruined; I can't even smell the Grimer, and it took two days before anyone realized something was wrong."
"The Pokémon Center has so many recovering Pokémon—we're not leaving," Ash insisted, determined to solve the problem.
"You poor guys… why not move to another city?" Misty said, feeling sympathetic.
"Hahaha, look at those gears," the old worker said, pointing to the massive rotor.
"We free-roam a group of Magnemite. In emergencies, each discharging Magnemite can act as a gear—if they spin together, it becomes an emergency power source."
"But some Magnemite are missing, so the machine still can't be started."
"Such a large machine can't run with even one gear missing. If Gringey City loses its workers, what happens to Kanto?"
The old worker laughed heartily:
"And the wages here are about fifteen times higher than elsewhere."
Nearby, Natsume paused slightly, feeling moved.
Thinking about it, the technology in this Pokémon world seemed far more advanced than in the original.
Natsume had asked the system before: parallel Pokémon worlds have subtle differences, and in this world, technological development was among the most advanced.
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.