Maybe Flygon was pretty terrible when it came to battles—it might not even be able to beat a Mimikyu.
But when it came to flying speed, Flygon was getting faster and faster!
"If only it were a Dragonite... if it learned Extreme Speed, that would be really interesting."
Taking out Volcarona's Poké Ball, Nathan sighed to himself.
Even now, Nathan hadn't realized how serious the situation actually was.
It wasn't just about this mystic realm.
It was also about his misjudgment of Flygon!
…
"Volcarona, dodge its attacks! Then keep building up the Flame Ring!"
"Don't let it get close—unleash the Flame Ring and use Fire Dance!"
...
Thanks to his type advantage, Nathan had been moving along quite smoothly for five or six days straight.
Challenges above his level were no trouble for Volcarona at all.
However, as time passed, Nathan gradually noticed that something was off about this mystic realm.
There were tons and tons of Elite-level Pokémon, but not a single Champion-level one!
The strangest thing was that the stronger the Pokémon were, the closer they stayed to the edge of the mystic realm!
"Whatever, no point thinking too much. The berries Torterra mentioned should be nearby. Better to focus on easing Volcarona's growth for now."
Rubbing his chin, Nathan shook his head.
There was no point imagining things before he uncovered the truth.
Besides, Volcarona had already reached Level 59; there was no longer any need for it to keep fighting non-stop.
After hitting the Level 59 threshold, what Pokémon needed most was proper nutrition!
Only then would breaking from Level 60 to 61—and from Elite to Champion—be smoother.
Of course, Natsume's situation was a complete exception.
Outside the mystic realm, Elite trainers had an extremely hard time raising their ace Pokémon.
Finding even one Elite-level wild Pokémon could take ten days or more!
But inside this mystic realm, Nathan could find one every three to five hours.
And combined with the unique environment here,
Volcarona's growth wasn't considered too outrageous.
"If Volcarona can't fight anymore, I'll switch to Zeraora next."
Taking out another Poké Ball from his waist, Nathan rubbed his chin as he spoke.
Currently, Zeraora was around Level 35. He wanted to raise it to Gym Leader level first!
And Treeko also needed to build a good foundation—its level couldn't lag too far behind the others.
Thinking about all this, Nathan felt that while this mystic realm was strange, it was still incredibly effective.
Of course, that was only because Nathan had Steelix at his side, so he wasn't nervous at all.
If it were any other Elite trainer here, they would have been much more cautious.
Riding on Flygon, Nathan found a lake. Looking at the Water-type Pokémon inside, he muttered to himself a little sheepishly,
"Am I being too much...? I think I'm getting addicted to grinding levels."
But that guilty feeling only lasted a second before Nathan mercilessly brushed it aside.
It wasn't like he wasn't giving anything back. Plus, he carefully picked high-level Pokémon to challenge.
After some negotiation, Nathan successfully earned the approval of a Gym-level Gyarados.
"Looking forward to working with you!"
He patted Gyarados's tough scales and chuckled.
"Roar!"
Gyarados let out a low growl, then happily munched on the Pokéblocks in front of it.
Living in the wild, where could it eat such delicious food?
This was like the difference between eating raw meat and feasting at a royal banquet!
Even a fierce Gyarados couldn't resist.
With Gyarados giving in, the other Water Pokémon naturally followed suit.
One by one, they lined up obediently to be challenged by Zeraora.
Although Zeraora could take advantage of type matchups to challenge above its level,
winning quickly wasn't easy—especially since it couldn't spam Chidori endlessly.
Without something like a Sharingan to assist it, Zeraora had to rely completely on Natsume's command.
"Zeraora, don't hold back! Activate Lightning Mode!"
(TN: Change Lightning Release Chakra Mode to Lightning Mode in fights only)
Upon seeing a Blastoise with Awakened Fighting-type Power, Nathan immediately ordered.
This Blastoise had already reached Level 40—right at the peak of commander-level strength!
If Zeraora didn't go all out, it would actually risk losing!
"Zoar!"
Upon hearing Natsume's command, Zeraora let out a roar that sounded somewhere between a tiger and a cat.
Its whole body started to crackle with blue and black electricity!
The blue was the main color, while the black looked like the markings on Zeraora's body—
a very rare sight.
"Don't be reckless! Use only thirty percent of your strength—save seventy percent!"
Seeing Zeraora's form starting to blur, Nathan quickly warned.
Because of Zeraora's unique physique, it was very difficult for it to master Lightning Relaease Chakra Mode.
But everything had two sides—difficulty often meant greater potential!
And greater potential meant it would be harder to control!
"Zoar... "
Listening carefully, Zeraora didn't rush in.
Instead, it struck a battle stance, raising its sharp right claw toward Blastoise!
Blastoise wasn't backing down either, gathering its Awakened Fighting energy into the cannons on its back, aiming straight at Zeraora!
"Quick, dodge!"
Seeing this, Natsume's pupils shrank as he urgently commanded.
Wild Pokémon really weren't without their tricks.
Using Fighting-type Awakened Power to form a "fighting missile" inside its cannons—
Nathan had never even thought of that!
'What a god-tier Blastoise... I'm impressed!'
It was a pity this Blastoise's potential was limited.
Otherwise, Nathan would have seriously considered breaking his rules to catch it!
"Whoosh!"
Just as Nathan finished speaking, Blastoise fired the cannon!
"Zoar!"
With a low roar, Zeraora didn't use much force but transformed into a streak of blue and black,
dodging the missile and instantly appearing above Blastoise!
[Chidori Blade!]
Electricity gathered around its claws, forming lightning that looked almost solid, slicing downward at Blastoise!
"Bang!"
Blastoise instantly retreated into its shell, which started spinning rapidly.
Meanwhile, the cannons on its back lit up again!
"This... This is straight-up cheating! It's totally shameless!"
Watching Blastoise's move, Nathan couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth.
Thanks to its Awakened Power, Blastoise's shell had some insulation-like effects.
Otherwise, even the hardest shell couldn't resist electricity seeping through.
"Forget it. End this already! Zeraora, flip it over!"
Shaking his head in exasperation, Nathan ordered.
He wasn't going to sit through a turn-based war of attrition,
watching this Blastoise hide in its shell and attack from all directions.
Might as well take it out quickly!
"Zoar!"
Hearing the command, Zeraora dashed behind Blastoise,
raising its right leg for a kick!
But the kick didn't succeed.
Instead, Blastoise's shell spun, and its cannon aimed right at Zeraora!
"Tch, why can't electricity help strengthen Zeraora's physical endurance too?"
"Whatever. Zeraora, use that move—gather all your power into a single point!"
Instead of pulling back, Nathan gave the order to attack.
Hell Stab—also called the strongest spear.
Nathan wanted to make it truly the strongest!
And the shortcut to that goal was clear—
"Focus everything—reach the peak!"
"Zoar!!"
Hearing Natsume's command, and seeing the cannon behind Blastoise lighting up brighter and brighter,
Zeraora didn't hesitate!
How could it?
All the blue and black electricity on its body gathered around its lower leg, then it kicked out with full force!
"Thunderflash!"
Watching this scene, Natsume's lips curled into a small smile as he softly spoke the name of the move.
…
(TN: I would like to apologize in advanced about the moves if I miss translated it incorrectly sometimes they're pokemon moves sometimes they're moves from other anime and the sometimes they're moves created by the author, so it gets pretty confusing to me.)