Starting from Gen 5, every generation of Pokémon games has featured the Battle Restaurant mechanic.
Trainers can challenge the Battle Restaurant to earn rewards and even get their meal for free.
Natsume thought this mechanic was pretty ridiculous.
Customers are supposed to be treated like royalty!
I come here to enjoy a meal, and you want me to battle?
But in this parallel world, people are extremely passionate about Pokémon battles, with exhibition matches popping up everywhere.
Even in restaurants, you can find Pokémon battles taking place.
In other words, Pokémon battles can be quite the appetizer.
Out of respect for the performers, Sakurako returned to her seat first.
Natsume, on the other hand, watched the battle performance on stage with great interest.
Since it was a performance, it naturally incorporated elements of Pokémon Contests.
The ethereal singing of Primarina complemented the dazzling water screens created by Floatzel, earning rounds of applause.
Next was the free meal challenge, where many enthusiasts volunteered to battle on stage.
Natsume rested his chin on his hand and glanced at Gastly, who was licking a chocolate soufflé. "You wanna give it a try?"
"Gastly!" Gastly, with chocolate smeared around its mouth, shook its head reluctantly.
"We could save a thousand bucks or so," Natsume said with a hint of regret. "Oh well, as long as you're happy."
At that moment, amidst a round of applause, Sakurako stepped onto the stage in her high heels.
It was the same Granbull as before, but its presence was far more intimidating now.
Sakurako, true to her strength as a member of Tokyo Metropolitan University's school team, defeated three challengers in a row.
Amidst the cheers, Sakurako gracefully bowed and took her leave.
"Let's go, Gastly. Time to head back and sleep," Natsume said, stretching lazily.
"Gastly~~~~" Gastly, noticeably rounder, lay lazily on the table, not wanting to move.
After countless battles at the Master level, Natsume had lost interest in these low-level matches.
Just sitting in the audience, he could clearly predict the next moves both sides would make.
And the results usually didn't surprise him.
Of course, since Natsume was thinking five steps ahead, if his opponent was only thinking one step ahead, he might still get a little nervous.
In the System, next to Natsume's [Cooking Lv1], there was a transparent progress bar showing his proficiency.
[Cooking Lv1 (67/100)]
Thanks to the star-rated meal, his proficiency had increased slightly.
Appreciating delicious cuisine was also a necessary step on the path to becoming a top-tier chef.
Even if he didn't become a Trainer, opening a small family restaurant by the roadside in the future wouldn't be a bad idea.
When it was time to pay the bill, the waiter smiled and said, "Sir, your bill has already been taken care of."
Natsume raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's a nice surprise."
"The young lady who participated in the battle earlier used her winnings to cover your meal."
Since Natsume had no intention of joining the school team selection, Sakurako, who was lower in the rankings, could keep her spot on the team.
This was her way of repaying Natsume for his earlier kindness.
Quick-witted as ever, Natsume figured out the reasoning behind it and nodded at Sakurako, accepting the gesture without hesitation.
Well, that saved him over a thousand Pokémon Coins!
The night breeze blew gently as Natsume and Gastly walked through the brightly lit, bustling streets of Tokyo.
The Top 16 matches of the Piplup Cup were set to begin this Saturday.
Before that, Natsume decided to work overtime and finish editing "Natsume-sensei Teaches Battling 05: Perish Song Team".
After all, a video with millions of views would bring in a decent amount of ad revenue.
Natsume could also use the BP Points earned from the video's influence to exchange for Gastly's "Protect" Technical Machine.
With that, Gastly's early-game "SubProtect Toxic" strategy would be complete.
As for the dirtier strategies, they could wait until Gastly evolved.
At that moment, Gastly floated unsteadily in the air, looking uncomfortable.
"I told you not to eat so much."
"Wait… don't throw up on me!"
Back home, Gastly lazily floated up to the ceiling to sleep.
After taking a shower, Natsume turned on his computer and started editing the Perish Song team video.
He already had the footage—a Master-level battle against a powerhouse like Garchomp.
It was easy to imagine the frenzy that would erupt in the gaming section of Nico Dou when the video was released.
But one clip wasn't enough. Natsume pondered for a moment before reopening the game.
The ID "Cabbage Ice Cream" was still grayed out.
Though he didn't know who this big shot was, the ID had left a deep impression on Natsume.
"She said she'd pay extra for sparring… so does that mean I can earn even more?"
Natsume muttered while rubbing his chin, then suddenly snapped out of it.
"No, we have professional integrity. Since I've already taken the money, I can't ask for more!"
In his friends list, only Gold was still online.
As the protagonist of Pokémon Adventures: Gold & Silver, Gold was exceptionally skilled in wild, no-holds-barred battles.
But his strategic skills in official battles were… well, let's just say they left something to be desired.
And Pokémon: Battle placed a heavy emphasis on command skills.
Natsume, ranked 7th in the world, was essentially playing on a different level compared to Gold.
Gold couldn't win, but he kept pestering Natsume for matches.
Talk about being addicted despite being bad at the game.
Natsume's lips curled into a smile. "This is the perfect material…"
He opened the friends list and sent Gold a private message.
[Natsume-sensei: You there? Get online.]
[Gold: Just you wait, I'm coming!]
[Gold: That one doesn't count!]
[Gold: I refuse to believe this!]
[Gold: …I'm done (bye emoji)]
[Natsume-sensei: Thanks for your hard work. Even actors couldn't deliver this kind of entertainment value.]
I was seriously trying, okay!
Your strategy's just too dirty, what's that got to do with me?
Fuming, Gold couldn't help but vent in the chat group.
[Gold: The Perish Song strategy is way too dirty!]
[Gold: You can't even switch out, and defensive plays are useless against it!]
[Blue Oak: Lorelei from the Sevii Islands is really good at that strategy.]
[Blue Oak: Red would know. He's fought Lorelei before.]
After ten minutes of silence, Red sent a message.
[Red: The Perish Song strategy is pretty rare. It's part of Lorelei's alternate strategy system.]
[Red: Did you run into a Trainer using a Perish Song team?]
[Gold: …No, it's Natsume-sensei's new video.]
Even someone as skilled as Blue Oak was taken aback.
SubProtect Toxic, Minimize Team, Perish Song Team…
Was this really the third strategy Natsume-sensei had come up with?
These strategies were highly demanding in terms of command skills, but the rewards matched the risks.
More importantly, all these strategies had one thing in common.
Just what kind of Trainer was Natsume-sensei, to have mastered so many advanced strategies?
Red, however, wasn't too surprised.
After all, Natsume was someone he considered a potential rival.
"Natsume-sensei really is something else," Red said with a chuckle.
On the other side, Natsume finished editing the footage and stretched with a satisfied grin.
Clicking the "Upload" button, a playful smile appeared on his face.
[Video uploading… Your new video has been released!]
[Click to watch "Natsume-sensei Teaches Battling 05: Perish Song Team"!]
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