As soon as he entered, the receptionist greeted him warmly, though her smile was mechanical. That kind of stiff expression was something only someone who had been working there for years could master.
However, upon seeing Nathan's face, a spark lit up in her eyes.
A handsome guy!
"Hello, I'd like to book a private, soundproof room—the highest-grade one you have," Nathan said gently, not planning to waste any time on small talk.
"Okay, please wait a moment," the receptionist replied, seeming as if her heart had been struck. She mechanically completed the booking while still a little dazed.
It wasn't until Nathan left that she snapped out of it.
"Wait a minute, why does that guy look so familiar? I think I've seen him online before!"
Suddenly recalling something, she opened her phone and checked.
Sure enough, besides the ever-popular video of Nathan's battles against stronger opponents, which filled the homepage with both meme edits and serious analyses, a maliciously titled video ranked third on the trending list—his name, Nathan, displayed in bold.
"Is this genius trainer still training so calmly and hard until now?"
Seeing the latest gossip from just two days ago, the receptionist couldn't help but look at the screen with admiration.
Meanwhile, Nathan, having entered his room, remained completely unaware.
"Come on out, Volcarona!"
"Mimikyu, Pangoro, Flygon, Zeraora, Treecko... You all come out too!"
Nathan released all of his Pokémon except for Steelix, handing them over to continue their training. Then, he focused on Metagross and Volcarona.
After thinking for a while, Nathan approached Volcarona, took out a purple, crystal-like Pokéblock, and said, "Volcarona, eat this and tell me if you feel any different."
Yes, the reason he had booked a private room wasn't just to practice Mega Evolution—it was also to test the effects of the Dynamax Energy Pokéblock!
"Vol~"
Without hesitation, Volcarona chirped and ate two of the Pokéblocks, letting out a satisfied burp afterward.
Seeing a faint blush appear on Volcarona's head, Nathan couldn't help but smile warmly.
No matter how strong it gets, it's still so cute!
Just then, flames burst forth from Volcarona's body—at first a molten red-and-white blaze like lava, then evolving: half of its wings ignited in a purple flame, and the other half in white flames.
Encased in these two contrasting fires, Volcarona's aura steadily climbed.
In almost an instant, Volcarona broke through the championship-level barrier that had been limiting it in the secret realm!
A powerful aura, far surpassing that of an Elite-level Pokémon, emanated from it!
"Just as expected... It's broken through! Champion level!"
Seeing this, Nathan let out a deep breath.
It wasn't surprising—he had planned this. He wouldn't have fed Volcarona the Dynamax Energy Pokéblocks otherwise.
Judging by the slightly fuzzy system interface, which now displayed only two question marks and a changed level number, it was clear that something significant had happened.
And as Volcarona's trainer, who had been with it since its birth, Nathan could feel its transformation on an instinctive level!
The Seed of Power from Entei—the key to stepping into the realm of legends—was now slightly within Volcarona's grasp!
However, it was only a slight touch.
After breaking through, the white and purple flames quickly faded, replaced by the unique magma-like fire inherited from Ho-Oh's feather.
This new flame burned hotter and fiercer than ever, making it much better suited for battle!
"This must be why divine artifacts aren't meant for ordinary use," Nathan realized.
"Even if you use them, without the strength to match, you can't truly unleash their power."
Satisfied, Nathan shifted his focus away from Volcarona and toward Metagross.
Mastering Mega Evolution was crucial—not only for Metagross but also for the future Sceptile—if Nathan wanted to avoid any mishaps.
"Alright, let's go, Metagross! Mega Evolution!"
With a hot-blooded hero's determination, he raised his wrist and activated the Keystone on his bracelet.
Metagross let out a loud roar as it was engulfed in the light of evolution!
When the light faded, Mega Metagross officially appeared!
This time, its aura was even more stable, edging closer and closer to Elite-level strength.
"Roar!"
Sensing the pressure, Pangoro began training even harder—it was Nathan's second Pokémon and couldn't allow itself to be overtaken!
After swallowing a specially-made energy ball, Pangoro looked like it was cultivating inner energy, almost like a martial arts master.
If his for Zeraora's goal was to become like the Third Raikage, then for Pangoro his dream was for it to achieve Sage Mode—ideally the kind with golden body and six-path powers!
"Ahem, sorry about that, Metagross. Let's try again!"
Realizing that his daydreaming had caused Mega Metagross to lose its form, Nathan apologized sheepishly.
Fortunately, Metagross was magnanimous and didn't mind at all.
With another flash of Mega Evolution, Nathan fully focused on maintaining Mega Metagross's state!
Then—
"Mega Metagross, use Mach Punch!"
Instead of starting with a flashy special move, Nathan decided to warm up with some basic practice.
But Mega Metagross's performance far exceeded expectations!
With four massive metal fists moving at shocking speed, it smashed the training dummy into pieces instantly!
"Four fists combined... This is practically Pegasus Meteor Fist... no, Pegasus Comet Fist might be even better!"
(TN: Again Pegasus Comet Fist is from Saint Seiya)
Seeing the shattered remains, Nathan's face lit up with joy.
Maybe because he had been obsessed with speed training even before Mega Evolution, now after evolving, Metagross's punching speed was like a piledriver!
And with four fists?
Nathan and his Mega Metagross began their daily "Ora Ora Ora" training sessions!
"Q~"
Mimikyu watched curiously as the training dummies were smashed to dust, only to be blocked from view by Volcarona.
"Vol!"
"Little kids shouldn't be watching this kind of thing!"
Shaking its head at Mimikyu, Volcarona felt a bit overwhelmed.
'It was supposed to be a moth... how did it end up helping to babysit too?!'
…
Drenched in sweat, Nathan finished his training session and headed to the front desk to check out.
The receptionist hesitated, then blurted out, " Are you the genius trainer, Nathan Vesper?"
"If you are, could you... sign an autograph for me?" she asked shyly, handing him a notebook and marker.
"Of course, no problem."
Nathan agreed readily and signed a smooth, stylish autograph before preparing to leave.
After a whole afternoon of training, all he wanted now was to crash onto a soft hotel bed.
Besides, tomorrow he could draw lots online for the tournament—he needed to prepare for that too.
After all, among the eight cities hosting the district qualifiers, there wasn't a spot for Poplar City.
Just as Nathan was about to leave, the receptionist suddenly called out:
"I don't know if you know all those sourpussers on the Internet, but come on! I believe in you!" Hearing that, Nathan paused.
He suddenly thought of Lily's annoying, mischievous grin... and some advertisement?
Confused, he just thanked the receptionist and left for his hotel.
Behind him, the receptionist, neither particularly beautiful nor ugly, blushed as she watched him go.
Muttering to herself, she said,
"How could a boy this handsome, polite, and kind ever be brought down by a bunch of keyboard warriors?"
…
Back at the hotel, curious, Nathan searched his name online.
When in doubt, just search—it's bound to be there!
Sure enough, the first search result read:
[UP risking their life to reveal—the dirty secrets behind the League's rising star!]
Just reading the title, Nathan pretty much knew what kind of content it was going to be.