"Not bad." Nathan nodded in satisfaction, then picked up three bottles of Special Attack Enhancers and opened them. "Here, drink these. They'll help boost your strength."
"Vol-."
Volcarona nodded and drank the three bottles one by one. Once it was done, Nathan returned it to its Poké Ball.
Afterward, Nathan headed downstairs into the courtyard and released Pangoro. Pangoro was quite large now—so big that it had to sit down inside the room; if it stood up fully, it would touch the ceiling. So, Nathan could only release it in the yard.
"Pangoro, this is for you."
Facing Pangoro, Nathan held out a Miracle Fruit.
Pangoro scratched its head, looking confused, as if asking, "You want me to eat this?"
"Yep, it's for you." Nathan nodded.
Pangoro immediately opened its mouth wide and swallowed the berry whole.
Since Nathan had already gone through this once before with another Pokémon, he wasn't too nervous. The awakening of a second Ability doesn't happen instantly—it usually takes place overnight, subconsciously.
Of course, it could also fail to awaken.
Whether it succeeds or fails is purely based on luck.
After returning Pangoro to its Poké Ball, Nathan decided to check its status again the next morning to see if the second Ability had awakened.
With those two important tasks done, Nathan carefully put away the Revival Herb, which wasn't needed for now. He stored it safely for later use.
Then he grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. After drying his hair, he returned to his room and spent 1,000 Poké Coins in the system's shop to buy some regular Berries—he wanted to try making Pokéblocks.
It was his first time, so he had no experience.
After finishing his first attempt, there was indeed a Pokéblock inside the blender—but it was black.
A black Pokéblock meant it was a failure.
While the flavor might appeal to a few rare Pokémon, most would find it unpalatable. Plus, it wouldn't improve any stats or conditions.
...
"This is hard... I burned through 5,000 coins and only managed to make one successful block."
It was past 7 PM.
Nathan looked at the pale red Pokéblock in front of him, his lips twitching with frustration.
Five thousand Poké Coins for a single Pokéblock that only slightly improved a Pokémon's Cool condition—not worth it at all. A huge loss.
Still, at least he'd gained some experience.
Click.
The sound of the front door opening came from the living room.
As expected, it was his mom returning home.
His dad usually didn't get home until after 8 or close to 9, since he closed the shop late. Normally, his mom would return briefly to make dinner before heading back to the store.
Shaking his head, Nathan destroyed the failed blocks and headed to the living room.
His mom, Juliet was washing vegetables, getting ready to cook.
When she saw Nathan, she asked, "Is Lily getting ready to leave for another city?"
"Yeah, she's preparing for the National Tournament, so she's heading out early to challenge gyms," Nathan replied as he sat on the couch.
Hearing that, his mom gave him a meaningful look and said, "Son, proximity breeds intimacy, you know?"
"Huh?" Nathan looked confused, but quickly caught on to what she meant and said helplessly, "Mom, I'm still young. It's way too early for you to be pushing marriage."
"It's not early." His mom waved dismissively. "Your dad and I started dating when we were sixteen or seventeen. I'm not telling you to get married right away. I just want you to lock things down with Lily before someone else snatches her away. If that happens, I won't let you off easy."
"It's still way too early, Mom. And besides, neither of us is even thinking about dating yet," Nathan sighed.
He felt a bit exasperated.
He hadn't expected his mom to start pushing this topic so soon.
Then again, maybe it wasn't surprising.
His mom—and Lily's mom too—had always joked since they were kids about wanting to see the two of them get married. Sometimes they'd even nudge Nathan or Lily to "hurry up and win the other over."
But right now, neither Nathan nor Lily was interested in romance.
To avoid getting caught in more of his mom's nagging, Nathan chose to retreat to his room and continued experimenting with Pokéblock-making.
At the same time, he was also preparing for his next Pokémon.
…
Back then, Nathan couldn't afford to buy a Pokémon. But now, he could.
However, he still preferred to catch one himself.
For his third Pokémon, he wanted either a Ghost-type or a Psychic-type. Both had significant advantages in the wild, whether it was for scouting or escaping danger.
After all, he had to start preparing for the Elite Trial following the current tournament.
That would involve leaving the city to explore remote, uninhabited areas. A Ghost or Psychic Pokémon would dramatically increase his chances of survival.
There was also the tournament itself to consider. The Champion's reward included a Pokémon—no one knew which one, but based on past tournaments, it would likely be from one of five types: Psychic, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, or Dark.
Nathan would be fine with any of them.
Night had fallen.
Sitting at his desk, he twirled a pen between his fingers while sketching out notes and plans.
He worked late into the night until finally falling asleep around 1 AM.
…
A new day arrived.
Thanks to his long-standing sleep routine, Nathan woke up at 7:30 AM sharp.
Before even washing up, he immediately checked Pangoro's status. After feeding it the Miracle Berry yesterday, he was eager to see if the second Ability had awakened—and what it might be.
[Name: Pangoro]
[Abilities: Iron Fist (Increases power of punching moves); Sap Sipper (Grants immunity to Grass-type moves and raises Attack when hit)]
[Type: Fighting + Dark]
[Description: Pangoro, the Dauntless Pokémon. Evolution of Pancham. Hot-tempered and always looking for a fight. The bamboo leaf in its mouth acts as a sensory organ, detecting nearby movements.
[Level: 36 (Commander Tier)]
[Moves: Shave, Iron Body, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Crunch, Hammer Arm...]
"Sap... Sap Sipper?" Nathan's eyes widened in shock.
This Ability was rare—very few Pokémon had it, and even fewer could awaken it. For some Pokémon, it was even considered a Hidden Ability, making it extremely difficult to acquire.
It was definitely a solid Ability—Pangoro now had total immunity to Grass-type moves.
But truthfully, Nathan had been hoping for Wonder Guard.
With Wonder Guard, Pangoro would become a true tank. Only super-effective moves would affect it; everything else would be nullified.
"Well, it's random after all. Sap Sipper's still pretty good." Nathan muttered.
Luck wasn't something you could control.
At least it wasn't a useless trait.
Against Grass-types, Pangoro would now be untouchable.
"Tch. If I end up facing Leo again in the next match, that's going to be interesting," Nathan grinned.
Shaking his head, he quickly got ready for the day.
Because he had taken a bit of time checking Pangoro's status, his mom had already left by the time he made it to the kitchen.
After eating the breakfast she'd prepared, Nathan packed his bag, grabbed his Poké Balls, and headed straight to the tournament venue.
Today was the Top 8.
Tomorrow would be the Top 4.
Then the semifinals.
And finally, the championship.
The matches would be held over four consecutive days.
Upon arriving at the venue, Nathan made his way to the contestants' lounge. As soon as he entered, someone waved at him.
It was Helen with Leo sitting beside her.
Clearly, they had both made it to the next round. Beside them was a girl with twin ponytails, dressed in ripped jeans and a crop top, her feet in white sneakers. She looked lively and energetic.
Nathan recognized her—she was the granddaughter of the retired Fire-type Elite Guardian member, Willow Blaze.
A formidable opponent.
"You guys got here early, huh?" Nathan asked with a smile.
"We just arrived," Leo replied, scooting over to make room for Nathan. "You probably don't know what the Champion's prize is yet, do you?"
"Oh? You know?"
"News came out this morning," Helen crossed her arms and explained. "The official site released the info—it's a Vulpix from the far north."
"Alolan Vulpix?" Nathan muttered, then his eyes widened. "An Ice-type?"
There was no "Alola" region in this world, but Ice-type Vulpix still existed—they were just typically found in the far northern regions.
"Exactly," Leo nodded. "Apparently, the League discovered it while exploring the far north. Its mother was a wild Ninetales at Elite-level. She died in a battle against another wild Pokémon. The League brought the baby Vulpix back as the prize for this tournament."
"If its mother was Elite-level, then this Vulpix must have excellent potential. Too bad I'm not interested," Helen said. She only trained Ghost-types.
"Not interested either," Willow chimed in. Like Helen, she specialized in Fire-types.
"Tch. I'm very interested," Nathan grinned. Ice-type Vulpix was great. After evolving, it would become Ice/Fairy—whether as a support or main attacker, it had tons of potential.
Not to mention, Alolan Ninetales was drop-dead gorgeous.
And its stats were guaranteed to be good.
"With your Volcarona, you've basically already won," Leo rolled his eyes, crossing his arms behind his head.
Helen nodded in agreement.
Willow, on the other hand, suddenly grabbed Nathan's hand and asked excitedly, "U-um, Nathan… Does your Volcarona need a mate? I think it's about time it had babies."
Nathan: "..."
…
The four of them chatted happily in the lounge.
There weren't many contestants left, so the lounge wasn't crowded anymore.
During the conversation, Nathan even exchanged contact info with Willow. He was quite interested in her—not only was she a descendant of a former Elite Guardian member, but she was also powerful and had a unique perspective on Fire-type Pokémon.
She'd be a great resource in the future.
Of course, if she didn't keep bringing up the topic of Volcarona's breeding, Nathan would probably be more interested in her.
This woman was clearly obsessed with his Volcarona.
While waiting for the match to begin, Nathan casually browsed his phone, opening the official website to confirm what Helen had said earlier.
Sure enough, the site had officially announced that the champion's reward was an Ice-type Ninetales.
But there was also a word in parentheses after the reward: "Currently."
"What does that currently mean?" Nathan asked Leo.