It had no malice toward him!
After confirming this with his Viridian Power, Nathan didn't hesitate and stepped into the forest.
Perhaps even Nathan himself hadn't noticed that a strange red gleam had been flickering in his eyes.
As he walked through the dark forest, the path was completely unobstructed, and he quickly reached the center.
There stood something resembling an altar, filled with ancient and eerie aura from its strange patterns and colors.
In the middle of the altar, a purple-black, four-sided crystal floated and rotated slowly.
One look was enough to tell it definitely belonged to some great villain!
As Nathan stared at the crystal, the red gleam in his eyes intensified.
He could feel it—
A powerful, unprecedented Pokémon was gestating inside that crystal!
No—this wasn't just a crystal—it was an egg!
If he could obtain it and hatch the Pokémon inside, he would become invincible!
"Wait, hold on, why am I thinking like this?"
Sensing something wrong, Nathan abruptly stopped walking.
"I'm supposed to enjoy the process of growing stronger, not blindly chase the end result..."
"Then why... why am I suddenly thinking that only the end matters, that being able to act without restraint is all that matters?"
Nathan hadn't experienced some tragic life or suffered a 'parents sacrificed for the plot' background.
So why was he suddenly having such dark, almost villainous thoughts?
"No malice... just temptation, huh?"
Standing still for nearly three minutes, clarity finally returned to Nathan's eyes.
He understood now.
The purple-black crystal Pokémon egg truly had no malice—it simply wished for Nathan to become its Trainer.
That was how it had deceived his Viridian Power's sense of good and evil!
But to become the egg's master,
You either had to be innately evil, or be seduced by the crystal afterward!
And you also needed certain physical or spiritual traits!
Otherwise, no matter how much time passed, the Pokémon inside would never hatch!
"Let's go. This isn't what I want."
Clutching the Pokéballs on his belt, Nathan shook his head.
He wasn't pursuing strength for its own sake.
He genuinely loved the journey of growing alongside his Pokémon—the feeling and satisfaction after working hard together with his pokemon.
It was something humans could rarely achieve with each other.
And Nathan valued that bond deeply.
Even though the purple-black Pokémon egg was extraordinary beyond words,
Nathan refused to abandon his Pokémon for it!
That would be no different from someone who ditches their family for wealth and status—a kind of scum he utterly despised!
He had always looked down upon people like that.
Having a bad stomach and living off others was fine.
But abandoning your own loyalty and bonds? That was unforgivable.
"My greatest treasures are still you all."
He gently touched the Pokéballs at his waist, unable to help but sigh.
At that moment, every Pokéball trembled slightly.
If the data for bond and loyalty could be quantified,
Without a doubt, including Steelix, all his Pokémon had suddenly skyrocketed in loyalty!
At the very least, they'd all reached a stage of "unwavering devotion," perhaps even "life and death companions!"
(Mind you, Treecko and Steelix weren't at the same level yet—but they had reached the 'unwavering' stage.)
"Let's go!"
Turning around without hesitation, Nathan walked toward the forest's exit.
No matter how much the crystal egg trembled behind him,
even when Nathan's entire right eye turned demonic scarlet and even the whites of his eyes turned pitch black,
he never once stopped.
In the end, the crystal Pokémon egg could do nothing but try to lure him!
"Don't go! Don't go! Don't go!"
"Please don't..."
Nathan had only taken two steps when the crystal egg completely lost its initial cold and aloof attitude.
Instead, it seemed like a young girl abandoned by her beloved.
Its desperate pleas flooded into Nathan's mind, causing him to feel a slight twinge of guilt.
It was almost as if he really had become some heartless jerk.
"Hmph, what a joke. I have no relationship with that thing."
Nathan snorted lightly, wanting only to leave faster.
Although this egg indeed possessed unimaginable power,
currently, it wasn't yet truly dangerous.
From the information the crystal egg had involuntarily revealed during its temptation attempts,
it seemed that only after hatching would it wield immense, terrifying power.
The strange changes in the mystic realm were caused by the egg too,
but fundamentally, they were simply unconscious acts.
It had expanded the mystic realm's territory and nurtured countless Elite-level Pokémon.
Then, it would absorb their life energy after they died.
There were no Champion-level Pokémon because the energy from Elite-level ones was already the limit that the egg could endure.
In short—
if it weren't for anomalies like Nathan (being a transmigrator),
this purple-black crystal egg might have stayed dormant forever.
This was why the crystal egg became so frenzied once Nathan tried to leave—it had been trapped like this for far too long!
Just as Nathan kept walking toward the edge of the dark forest,
the purple-black crystal finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Radiant scarlet patterns and near-infinite darkness burst from the crystal,
engulfing Nathan's body,
before eventually forming a seemingly-ordinary pendant around his slender, pale neck.
Yes—you read that right—the spot where Volcarona's Pokéball usually hung had been snatched!
For some reason, Volcarona, inside its Pokéball, suddenly had a bad, very green feeling over its head.
"Trying to force it after failing to seduce?"
"You think I'm some beta soy boy or something!?"
Staring at the rather exquisite-looking black crystal pendant now hanging from his neck, Nathan's face darkened.
He had read many stories in his past life where protagonists would protest and resist temptation verbally,
but would then eagerly make use of whatever came their way.
But Nathan wasn't that kind of hypocrite!
Without hesitation, he grabbed the pendant and tossed it away.
Just the fact that it could influence his mind during its egg state…
It wasn't that Nathan didn't want a legendary-level Pokémon.
He was just seriously worried that if he hatched it, the Pokémon would change his personality!
People's paths are built by their own choices.
Once someone has developed an independent and complete self,
they must take responsibility for their own choices, even if they are wrong!
But letting an outside force change his will and nature?
That was absolutely intolerable to Nathan!
Yet, something unexpected happened.
Just as he exited the dark forest,
the black pendant mysteriously reappeared on his neck again.
As for Volcarona's Pokéball? It somehow reattached itself to his belt.
How insulting!
"Heh... you've completely thrown away your dignity, huh?"
Holding the pendant in his hand, Nathan sneered coldly.
He could understand the pendant's desperate, shameless behavior—it was fighting for its only hope of survival.
But understanding didn't mean he accepted it!
After all, people's emotions often aren't dictated by reason.
Some people, even if they were truly destitute, would still refuse another's charity.
"Volcarona, use Flame Ring: Dance of the Fire God!"
Throwing the pendant into the air, Nathan immediately gave the command.
In midair, Volcarona's beautiful yet majestic form appeared, unleashing what was theoretically its most powerful technique!
Flame Ring: Dance of the Fire God!
In a way, it was a move that Nathan himself had invented—
First using Flame Ring to dramatically compress and intensify the flames' temperature and destructive power,
then utilizing the dancing techniques to maximize that power!
In Nathan's design, before reaching Champion-level,
this would absolutely be the strongest skill for both offense and defense.
Something akin to Susanoo or Shinra Tensei.
"Bzzzt!!"
With a burst of furious sound,
a magnificent ring of fire sliced toward the black pendant!
...
Three minutes later—
the black pendant quietly reappeared once more on Nathan's neck.
Nathan didn't give up.
He tried throwing it away, destroying it, even tossing it into a cesspit...
No matter what he did, the black pendant would always mysteriously return to his neck.
Especially when he threw it into the cesspit—
the pendant disappeared immediately, only to appear clean and intact on his neck the next second.