After helping Pangoro with a "sea salt body scrub" and giving it a medicinal bath, Nathan finally began mass-producing Pokéblocks.
With his skill level high enough, Nathan was able to minimize material waste and produce them quickly. He kept making them for two more hours after dinner. Combined with the Pokéblocks he had made and stored over the past few days, he now had a total of 3,000, all of which were packed and shipped out by a delivery guy he called over.
He also gave Evelyn a rundown on how to properly store the Pokéblocks and such.
Finally—
3 million Pokécoin, deposited.
So satisfying.
..
Now that he had money, Nathan opened the system shop, ready to see if any of the refreshed items were worth getting.
After all, he hadn't even bothered checking the shop when he was broke. Why torture himself looking at things he couldn't afford? Now that his wallet was thicker, it was finally time to shop.
But the moment the shop interface popped up, Nathan's eyes widened and he swore loudly.
[Map: Guide to End a Life – 1 Billion Pokécoin!]
[Ho-Oh's Feather – 100 Million Pokécoin!]
[Rayquaza's Scale – 100 Million Pokécoin!]
"???"
"What the hell? Why is everything in the hundreds of millions? Can't I get something I can actually buy?" Nathan was speechless, though his eyes burned with desire the moment he saw the names of the items.
These were definitely incredible.
But truth be told, there was no way he could afford them.
Even if he sold everything he owned, he still wouldn't have enough.
Unless he sold the formula for making Pokéblocks—but that wasn't worth it.
The first item, just by the name, was clearly a map that could help him locate a Legendary Pokémon. It might even allow someone to track and possibly capture Yveltal.
To be honest, even if Nathan could afford it, he wouldn't go looking for a Legendary Beast like that. The chances of dying were far too high. Not every Legendary Pokémon was friendly to humans.
Not to mention—the map only showed you where to find them. Whether you could actually catch one depended entirely on your own strength.
To even have a shot at that, you'd need at least one near-level-100 Pokémon.
And for something like Yveltal? Probably more than one. You'd need a whole team.
Then there were Ho-Oh's Feather and Rayquaza's Scale, both amazing items. He wasn't exactly sure what they did, but considering the price tags, there was no way they were ordinary.
Nathan really wanted to buy them.
Ho-Oh might not be the prettiest Pokémon, but its strength was undeniable. If he could obtain its feather, it might even help Volcarona evolve or gain some boost.
But again... no money. All he could do was stare longingly.
Shaking his head, Nathan scrolled further down. If he couldn't afford the top-tier stuff, he could at least shop from the lower shelves.
He was running low on medical supplies and bath ingredients, and needed to restock. He also needed more berries for making Pokéblocks and some high-quality ones as well.
After loading up on essentials, Nathan had spent 200,000 Pokécoin.
Most of the cost came from the premium medical and bath items—he always went for the best quality when it came to caring for his Pokémon. As long as he could afford it, he wouldn't be stingy.
After wrapping up the shopping, Nathan didn't head straight to bed. Instead, he released Pangoro into the room and had him practice learning Substitute. The space wasn't huge, but it was enough as long as he wasn't using big attack moves. Just sitting and practicing was fine.
As for Nathan, he opened up his computer to check if there were any new Pokémon-related updates online and browsed Weibo for a bit.
After all, he was kind of a rising celebrity among Pokémon Trainers now. Even if he didn't have many male fans, he had quite a few female ones.
He had even secretly joined a fan group chat full of his female supporters. He had to admit, the girls in there were super cute and sweet, constantly sharing selfies and chatting nicely.
After goofing around online for a while, Nathan began preparing for tomorrow's battle.
Tomorrow's match was against Evelyn.
Since they had already battled once, Nathan wasn't too worried.
Still, he needed to watch out for her Glaceon. It was strong, but not unmanageable. What Nathan was really wondering was whether Pangoro could take it down.
Just as he was deep in thought—
Bang!
A sudden noise startled him. He turned around sharply—only to see two Pangoros staring each other down, eyes locked.
"What the...?"
For a moment, Nathan was stunned. Then, delighted, he asked, "Did you just learn Substitute?"
Right after he said it, one of the Pangoros—the fake one—disappeared in a puff. The real one scratched his head and nodded at Nathan.
Clearly, he had succeeded.
"Well done! Haha, let me reward you with something tasty." Nathan laughed and pulled out a high-quality Pokéblock, tossing it over.
The moment he saw it, Pangoro's eyes lit up. He caught it in one bite and looked absolutely blissful.
After giving Pangoro a few affectionate pats on the head, and waiting for him to finish eating, Nathan returned him to the Pokéball.
It was getting late.
After tidying up, Nathan went to bed and quickly fell asleep.
…
The next morning at 8 AM, Nathan woke up.
The match was scheduled for 10 AM, as announced yesterday.
So, he wasn't in a rush—he washed up, had breakfast, fed his Pokémon, and by the time he finished everything, it was already 9:15.
Only then did he sling on his backpack, hop on a shared bike, and head to the battle arena.
The moment he arrived, just like before, that familiar young female reporter walked over with a bright smile, her cameraman trailing behind. It looked like they had been waiting for him.
"Nathan! Remember me?" the reporter asked cheerfully.
"Of course I do." Nathan smiled and nodded. "A pretty lady like you? Impossible to forget."
"Haha, flattered! But I'd love to get a quick interview from you again, is that okay?" she asked, eyes twinkling.
"Sure, go ahead." Nathan agreed—after all, it didn't hurt him to do it.
The reporter quickly opened her notebook, where she had jotted down some pre-written questions.
"First question—you're about to enter the championship match. Do you feel confident in beating your opponent?"
"Of course I'm confident. If a Trainer doesn't believe in themselves, what's the point of being one?"
"Very true. Second—your Pangoro has already shown off two never-before-seen Fighting-type moves. Recently, it looks like a third move has surfaced, one that allows it to dodge attacks with ease. Is this a brand-new move, or something you specifically trained?"
"It's a brand-new move. I named it 'Kami-e'."
"'Kami-e,' huh? Nice name."
"Okay, last question—this one's been trending online. A lot of people want to know: do you have any special secrets when it comes to raising Fighting-type Pokémon? If so, could you share them?"
What a dumb question.
Even if he had a secret, why would he share it?
With a polite smile, Nathan replied, "Sure—read more books, watch the news, eat fewer snacks, and get more sleep."
With that, he turned and headed toward the contestants' hall.
..
At this point, there was only one person in the contestants' hall—Evelyn.
When she saw Nathan enter, she nodded slightly in greeting.
Nathan returned the gesture, then sat across from her and casually pulled out his phone.
Today was the final match of the Trial Tournament.
Online buzz was intense. The event had even made it onto Weibo's trending topics—three of the top ten were all related to today's match.
People everywhere were debating who would take the championship.
After browsing for a bit, the announcement came through the speakers.
"Contestant Nathan Vesper and Evelyn Mist, please proceed through the contestant tunnel to the arena. Your match is about to begin!"
"Contestant Nathan Vesper and Evelyn Mist, please proceed through the contestant tunnel to the arena. Your match is about to begin!"
"Contestant Nathan Vesper and Evelyn Mist, please proceed through the contestant tunnel to the arena. Your match is about to begin!"
Hearing the call, Nathan looked up at Evelyn.
She stood and looked back at him. "Final match—don't hold back."
"Don't worry, I won't," Nathan said with a smile, rising to head into the arena through his tunnel. Evelyn went through hers.
Compared to yesterday, there were clearly more spectators today, and the energy was electric. Cheers erupted as soon as the two stepped onto the 400 meter battle stage.
Tons of reporters captured footage from every angle, focusing on the last two standing competitors.
"Today marks the final match of this year's Trial Tournament—the long-awaited championship battle!"
"That's right. After today's match, the tournament will officially come to a close. But let's keep our attention on this final showdown—Nathan Vesper versus Evelyn Mist. Personally, I'm rooting for Nathan."
"Same here. No disrespect to Evelyn—her Gardevoir is fantastic, and her Eevee has evolved into Glaceon, significantly boosting her team. But Nathan is just on another level."
"Exactly. His Volcarona is confirmed to be Elite-tier, but what's really scary is its mastery over internal energy and command of moves. It doesn't just hit hard—it adapts and transforms into an artillery-style attacker."
"Well said."
The commentators finished just as the referee raised the flag.
Battle start!
Nathan threw out his Pokéball, and in a flash, Pangoro appeared in front of him.
Evelyn followed. "Go, Glaceon!"
A pale blue Pokémon appeared, its head topped with what looked like a layered, braided winter cap, and its legs dark blue like it was wearing boots.
Glaceon.
With solid Special Attack and Defense stats, it was a well-rounded and worth-raising Pokémon.
But...
Being an Ice-type, Glaceon was naturally weak against Fighting-types.
In other words, both of Nathan's Pokémon had the type advantage.
Evelyn knew this too. She sighed, then called out her commands.
"Glaceon—start with Hail, then Icy Wind!"
Even with a disadvantage, she had to fight.
As soon as she gave the order, Glaceon let out a cry, summoning a twisting snowstorm above that began to pour hail across the battlefield.
Hailstones struck Pangoro, causing minor but constant damage—there was no way to dodge it.
Next, Glaceon opened its mouth and let out a blast of freezing wind. Icy Wind would reduce the target's movement speed if it landed.