Chapter 110: Dam Construction
Everyone was exhausted and slept until noon.
It was ultimately Midchu, tapping on the food bowl, that woke them all up.
"Ah~ you really don't lack sleep," Natsume yawned at the table.
*Pika hi hi!* Midchu covered his mouth, stifling a laugh.
Natsume shot him a glance, and Midchu immediately fluffed up, covering his head.
"Jeep Impact!"
"Where to next, Natsume?" Giselle clung tightly to him, keeping Nurse Joy at a distance.
"Rare to see you more impatient than me," Ash said, eating lunch, amazed.
"We're heading to Fushia City; the Fushia Gym is nearby," Brock suggested, consulting the map.
"Great, let's get going!" After finishing her meal, Giselle eagerly grabbed Natsume's hand, leading the way from the Pokémon Center.
Along the road, Misty clutched her backpack uneasily.
"What's wrong, Misty?" Ash asked.
"Do you feel like something's following us?" Misty shivered.
"Team Rocket?" Brock glanced back, seeing nothing.
"No, I just have a sixth sense about these things," Misty said, moving to the front.
"Ever since arriving in Gringey City, everything feels off," Brock continued. "The sky's pitch black, and Nurse Joy seems strange too."
"Don't worry. No matter what's behind us, we'll just run and leave it far behind!" Ash said, rushing ahead with Midchu.
Everyone else picked up the pace.
A faint blue glow appeared in Natsume's eyes as he glanced back.
Misty's intuition was correct: something was following them, and it wasn't Team Rocket.
Primeape, Hypno, and Zapdos—three Pokémon.
*What are they planning?*
Except for the laid-back Hypno, Natsume sensed very strange emotions radiating from the other two.
He remained silent, allowing the three Pokémon to trail behind at a distance.
After a while, a vast forest appeared before them, and the original asphalt road branched into a mountain path.
"Let's go this way!" Ash immediately chose the mountain path without hesitation.
"Why must we take the mountain path?" Misty asked, pointing at the asphalt road.
"Haha, because there are surely many Pokémon in the mountains I've never seen!" Ash replied.
*Pika!* Pikachu nodded.
The two dashed up the mountain path, disappearing from view.
"To save time, the mountain path should be faster," Brock said, checking the map. "This path leads to Fushia Gym, while the asphalt road goes to Fushia City."
"Does that make a difference?" Misty asked.
"Of course. The Fushia Gym is in the mountains; if we go to the city first, we'd have to double back," Natsume explained, following closely.
"Misty, just leaving Gringey City, don't you want to breathe in some fresh mountain air?" Giselle teased, trailing behind.
"Good point!" Misty inhaled deeply as she walked.
"Looks like there's construction here too," Brock noted.
Following his gaze, they saw countless steel beams and concrete forming a massive wall across the valley.
"That's a valley entrance—it must be a dam under construction," Natsume deduced.
*Rumble!* The ground trembled violently.
Behind them, the roar of engines grew louder.
Looking back, they saw heavy trucks coming from the asphalt road, turning into the mountain path.
"Ah, move aside!" The path was narrow, barely enough for the trucks to pass.
A faint blue light flickered in Natsume's eyes, and everyone floated into the air just in time to avoid the trucks.
The heavy trucks kept coming, one after another, and it took a full two minutes for the tremors to stop.
"Cough, cough, what the heck!" Misty covered her mouth and nose, coughing as dust rose from the passing trucks.
"This must be the dam construction crew," Brock guessed.
"Wait, Ash is still ahead," Misty suddenly realized.
"Don't worry, whoever he runs into, he can handle it," Natsume's calm voice reassured them.
"True, he's a bit clueless, but not that foolish," Misty nodded.
With all the trees around, Ash could climb one easily with his strength.
*Rumble!*
The sound of trucks tipping over echoed, followed by more, one after another.
At the far end of the mountain road, it sounded like thunder; countless leaves fell as the ground vibrated violently.
"Ash!" everyone shouted, running toward the front.
"Cough, cough!"
Through the dust, they found Ash standing bewildered among the overturned trucks, his expression as innocent as Midchu perched on his shoulder.
*Pika?* Pikachu tilted his head, unsure what had happened.
"Ash, did you tip all these trucks over?" Misty gasped.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't accuse me!" Ash panicked, hopping across the toppled trucks and reaching them in a few leaps.
"What happened here?" Natsume glanced at him; aside from being dusty, he was unhurt.
"I don't know! The trucks just… flipped themselves," Ash gestured wildly, vividly recounting the scene.
He said he was walking down the middle of the road when sounds came from behind. He tried to dodge, but one truck suddenly toppled right in front of him.
More trucks followed, each flipping dramatically in place.
"Then it just ended like that," Ash said, pointing at the long line of overturned trucks.
"By the way, Natsume, is this what you meant by faking accidents?"
"Am I going to have to pay for this?!" Ash groaned, holding his head.
"First time I've seen trucks pull a scam on someone," Natsume's mouth twitched.
"Cough, darn Digletts!"
The cabin of one tipped truck slid open.
Looking closer, a slightly chubby driver with a sweatband, wearing a red-brown uniform and a yellow safety helmet, tumbled out like a roasted sweet potato.
"Are you okay, sir?" everyone hurried over.
"Cough, cough, please help me call the supervisor at the supply station ahead and have him send people to assist," the driver said calmly, as if used to these incidents.
"Supply station?" Natsume raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, we're the dam project transport drivers. Digletts cause trouble along the route, so the supervisor set up supply stations along the way. Just a ten-minute walk ahead. Thanks for helping," the driver explained, leaning against his truck and rubbing a green potion onto his legs.
Soon, blue and purple bruises appeared.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Ash asked curiously.
"Shh, this is called a work injury. Remember to vouch for me," the driver said.
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.