In the end, amidst Volcarona's satisfied cries, it successfully leveled up.
A great start!
It wasn't luck—it was simply because the experience bar had been just a tiny sliver away from full.
"Level 55, halfway there!"
Feeling the surge of power radiating from Volcarona, Nathan's face lit up with joy.
If it could level up six more times, Volcarona would reach Champion level!
At that point, even without revealing Steelix, Nathan would have enough confidence to announce Mega Evolution and officially expand his studio!
For now, he didn't rush to find another Elite-level Pokémon for Volcarona to battle.
First, he carefully treated the massive burns on Rhydon's body, and then, riding his Flygon, he began searching for a campsite for the night.
His selection criteria were simple—Berry trees and fruit trees.
The former, if well-developed, could be used to craft even higher-quality Pokéblocks.
The latter was for Nathan himself to eat.
After all, fruit wasn't easy to preserve, and he only carried a few cans of preserved fruit.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't eat canned fruit.
Wasn't it better to use it as an ingredient and cook something delicious?
"Hmm, this place will do!"
After searching for a long time, Nathan finally found a spot he was satisfied with.
It was not far from an Elite-level Pokémon, and there were both berries and fruits.
Most importantly, the area seemed to be inhabited by a good number of Pokémon ranging from commander to elite-level.
Perfect for Zeraora and Treecko to train against!
"Flygon, land!"
Flygon touched down, and Nathan jumped off smoothly.
Then he released all of his Pokémon except Steelix.
It wasn't that he didn't want to let Steelix out.
It was just that the Rainbow Pokéblock was so nutritious that after eating it, Steelix only wanted to lie lazily inside the Pokéball and constantly complete Gigantamax transformations.
In short—Steelix had gotten lazy!
"Metagross, help gather some dry branches and keep an eye on the nearby Pokémon."
"Mimikyu, help me prepare some ingredients—my ingredients!"
"Flygon, go pick some berries and fruits. Pangoro, behave yourself!"
"..."
Nathan efficiently directed his Pokémon, and by sunset, everything was ready.
Tents were set up, food was prepared.
During dinner, Zeraora suddenly approached Nathan and growled softly.
[Master, I feel like Chidori has reached a bottleneck. Can we begin the next phase of training?]
Understanding through the power of Viridian Power, Nathan immediately asked, "Have you memorized the sensation of strengthening your body with Chidori?"
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode—in the Naruto world—was actually only classified as a B-rank ninjutsu.
Nathan had nearly doubted the information when he first read it.
But that also meant that starting out with Lightning Release Chakra Mode should be relatively easy.
However, Zeraora's body was different!
It didn't have natural electric organs.
It relied purely on love—no, on its body—to generate electricity.
As a result, Zeraora had extremely high resistance to electricity!
Making it even harder to initiate Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
Thus, using Chidori as basic training was necessary, to practice gathering and compressing electricity.
Only this way could Zeraora's speed be significantly enhanced!
"Zoar!"
Facing Nathan's question, Zeraora nodded seriously.
From the Wandering Mountains to the Spring City, it hadn't slacked off even once!
…
"Good. Then let's begin the next phase of training!"
"But first, you need to eat more to help your body develop faster!"
Nathan nodded, then suddenly stuffed a Pokéblock into Zeraora's mouth, smiling mischievously.
"Zoar!"
Zeraora instantly showed an expression of disgust mixed with reluctant enjoyment, making Nathan burst into laughter.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was the next day.
"Zeraora, don't overdo it! You'll only end up hurting yourself!"
Early in the morning, Nathan watched Zeraora and said helplessly.
A bolt of lightning was darting chaotically through the forest, looking like a new driver who just hit the road.
Clearly not good enough yet.
However, with Nathan's constant guidance, by the time the sun fully rose, Zeraora started showing a bit of improvement.
Not a huge leap, but at least it was no longer burning all its energy at once.
At first, Zeraora ran as if it was being chased by ghosts.
Now, it could at least control its strength a little.
Seeing Zeraora dripping with sweat, Nathan grabbed a towel and gently wiped its fur, concerned. "Good job, Zeraora. Training is important, but you can't neglect rest either."
Unlike animals from his previous life, Pokémon like Zeraora didn't have sweat glands hidden under their fur.
Even so, it was incredibly rare for Zeraora to sweat.
Getting this drenched showed just how hard it was working.
"Zoar!"
Zeraora growled lightly, expressing that this was nothing—child's play!
But deep inside, it felt its heart wrapped in a warm sensation.
Its instincts told it that Nathan's care wasn't just because of its strength or potential.
It was genuine.
Just like love—initially based on appearance—but it could never last if it stayed only at that level.
True emotions were the key to enduring forever.
As the sun rose completely over the mountain ridge, Nathan grabbed a quick breakfast.
After feeding his Pokémon properly, he mounted Flygon and flew eastward.
As expected, the only Elite-level Pokémon nearby was a Victreebel!
If this were in human society, jaws would definitely drop.
Since when could a Victreebel reach Elite level?
What a fairytale!
But Nathan didn't care if it was absurd.
Upon confirming that its level was 54, he immediately commanded Volcarona: "Volcarona, use our new move—Flame Ring!"
"Vol~"
With a melodious cry, the splendid wings on Volcarona's back ignited with scorching flames!
The flames condensed and formed a ring of fire around its body!
"As expected, this is still easy for Volcarona."
"But creating a Grand Flame Ring—Fire Emperor—with power comparable to Fiery Dance is still going to be difficult."
Nathan stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched the battlefield below.
Victreebel had absolutely no chance against Volcarona's Flame Ring.
Whether it tried close-range or long-range attacks, they couldn't get near.
Defense?
Forget it. Victreebel wasn't tanky to begin with.
Even if it were ten times tougher, a single blast of Volcarona's fire would reduce it to ash!
Actually, in Nathan's plans, Flame Ring wasn't meant as a combat move.
It was a charging ring!
By continually gathering and compressing flames into it, the completed Grand Flame Ring—Fire Emperor—would become unimaginably powerful!
And beyond that, Flame Ring had another purpose—
To condense white flames and achieve an unprecedented Mega Evolution!
Volcarona had already inherited a wisp of Ho-Oh's power, making its potential insanely high.
Now, with the blessing of Entei's power as well...
Once it Mega Evolved, even Nathan couldn't predict how strong it might become!
After all, Mega Evolution—often called "Super Evolution"—far surpassed normal evolution.
At least normal evolution rarely changed a Pokémon's ability.
No—normal evolution was more like compressing the growth process into a shorter time.
Whereas Mega Evolution truly broke through a Pokémon's biological limits!
"Enough daydreaming. Let's treat the Victreebel first."
Shaking his head, Nathan directed Flygon to land beside the fainted Victreebel.
He carefully used his Viridian Power to heal its wounds before setting off to find another Elite-level Pokémon.
He couldn't help but notice something strange.
Every time he healed one of Volcarona's defeated opponents, he felt his Viridian Power grow just a little stronger.
The increase was small, so Nathan wasn't completely certain.
But without maintaining such a good habit, his Viridian Power probably wouldn't have advanced at all by now.
Even buying things from the system shop would only maintain it—it wouldn't cause true growth.
Why was that?
Because Viridian Power wasn't simply a psychic ability.