Glorious City was known for its many hot pot restaurants.
Its signature hot pot style was beloved all over the country.
For lunch, Nathan had hot pot as well. The fiery flavors paired with a bottle of icy cola left a refreshing, tangy sensation.
After his meal, he hopped on the subway and headed toward the secret realm.
However, just before entering the realm, Nathan spotted a familiar face.
It was a girl dressed in a breezy summer outfit—shorts, a white T-shirt, sneakers, and a sun visor on her head.
"You're... Nathan?" The girl clearly recognized him too, her face showing surprise.
"I remember you—your name's Wendy Dale, right?" Nathan smiled as he asked. She had been one of his opponents in the Trial Tournament, a local of Glorious City. A sweet, innocent-looking girl—he hadn't expected to run into her here.
"Yep! Didn't think the champion would still remember me," Wendy giggled.
"How could I forget such a pretty girl? I'd be cursed if I did," Nathan chuckled.
Wendy beamed with joy—after all, girls always liked compliments. After the laughter faded, she asked curiously, "Are you heading into the secret realm?"
"Yeah. I've got two new partners, so I'm planning to train them inside," Nathan nodded.
Only then did Wendy notice the two extra Poké Balls on his belt.
"Which secret realm are you going to?" she asked.
"C-014," Nathan replied.
"A C-rank realm? I'm heading to a D-rank one... Looks like we won't be going together."
"Well, who knows—we might get the chance in the future."
"True," Wendy nodded. Just then, the subway arrived at her stop. She waved at him as she got ready to leave. "I'll get off here. If you want to explore Glorious City sometime, let me know—I can be your guide!"
"Sounds good. I won't be shy around a beauty," Nathan replied quickly.
Wendy rolled her eyes. "Beauty? More like little beauty—I'm not that old, thank you very much."
With a playful scrunch of her nose, she stepped off the train.
The subway continued onward.
About half an hour later, Nathan arrived at his destination.
Exiting the station, the entrance to the secret realm came into view.
As expected, it was guarded by a group of soldiers.
Nathan was allowed to enter the secret realm for free once again. After registering his information, one of the soldiers frowned and asked,
"Trainer Nathan, judging by your age, you're a rookie, right? Are you sure about entering a C-rank secret realm? It might be too dangerous for someone at your level."
It was a well-meaning warning.
Nathan understood.
Just as he was about to respond, another soldier laughed and said,
"Sarge, this isn't your average rookie—he's this year's Trial Tournament champion. He's even got a elite-tier Pokémon. No need to worry."
Hearing that, the first soldier looked at Nathan in surprise before nodding.
"Ah, I see. My mistake. In that case, go right in."
"Thanks for the heads-up—I'll be careful," Nathan replied with a smile. After all, the man was just concerned for his safety—manners were important.
Then, Nathan stepped into the secret realm.
His vision blurred briefly.
Then—blinding sunlight hit him.
When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by bare, rocky mountains.
In the distance, he could faintly hear Pokémon roars—it sounded like battles were going on.
This was Nathan's first time entering a C-rank secret realm, but he had done his research.
C-rank realms were classified as such because the Pokémon inside were generally one tier stronger than those in D-rank realms.
Scanning his surroundings, he found that the realm's entrance area looked no different from a D-rank realm—there were even stalls set up nearby.
The harsh sunlight made Nathan pull on his sun visor. Taking a deep breath, he set off in a chosen direction.
He couldn't stay too long in the realm—he had a delivery arriving in the next couple of days. He needed to evolve both of his Pokémon before then.
Inside the secret realm, the temperature was high, making the air feel scorching.
Occasionally, gusts of sandy wind swept across his path.
Nathan donned a pair of goggles and continued forward.
Before long, he encountered a wild Pokémon.
It was a Lycanroc (Midday Form)—a wolf-like Pokémon standing nearly a meter tall, exuding a rather intimidating presence. Lycanroc was a Rock-type Pokémon and came in three forms: Midday, Midnight, and Dusk. This one was in its Midday form.
Lycanroc was known for its relatively high intelligence and preferred to avoid unnecessary conflict, often living peacefully among its kind through mutual non-interference.
As a Rock-type Pokémon, Lycanroc was considered a solid choice for Rock-type trainers—definitely worth training.
At the moment, this Lycanroc was busy enjoying its meal.
That meal was a dead Pokémon.
In the wild—or in secret realms—this was quite common. Pokémon had their own food chains. For example:
Arbok liked to prey on Pidgey or Spearow,
Cloyster preferred Slowpoke,
Furret would hunt Raticate, and so on.
In the world of Pokémon, the law of the jungle applied—survival of the fittest.
It was a harsh reality.
Perhaps sensing Nathan's approach, the Lycanroc lifted its head and looked at him with wary and slightly feral eyes.
Nathan took a small step back, signaling that he meant no harm. Then, he grinned and said,
"Lycanroc, want to have a battle? A Pokémon showdown."
The Lycanroc seemed to understand. A spark of battle spirit flashed in its eyes, and it nodded.
It stepped over the carcass and approached Nathan, letting out a battle cry, clearly ready for combat.
"Come on out, Beldum!"
This Lycanroc was strong but not too formidable. Its power was at the advanced level, and while its aura was slightly stronger than Beldum's, the type advantage was in Beldum's favor. The fight was definitely doable.
Beldum appeared in midair, floating steadily.
But just as it showed up, Lycanroc suddenly lunged at it with lightning speed, attacking without giving Beldum any chance to prepare.
This was a difference between wild Pokémon and those trained by people—
Wild Pokémon fought to kill. They didn't give their opponents chances. Winning was all that mattered.
The Lycanroc charged fast. It looked like a Tackle move, but it was actually Accelerock, a Rock-type priority move that was faster than a normal Tackle.
"Beldum, Iron Defense!" Nathan shouted without hesitation.
A shimmer of light swept across Beldum's body, reinforcing its metal shell.
Lycanroc's charge smashed into Beldum, knocking it back a short distance, but it didn't do much damage.
Nathan quickly followed up, "Counterattack with Iron Head!"
Beldum knew both Zen Headbutt and Iron Head, which could eventually be used in combination—but it hadn't been trained for that yet. Still, Iron Head alone was effective.
As Nathan finished his command, Beldum charged at Lycanroc.
Its small size and flight ability gave it impressive speed.
Lycanroc didn't back down. Instead, it used Quick Attack to meet Beldum head-on.
And then—
Boom!
Both Pokémon were knocked back by the collision, but Lycanroc clearly took more damage. Pain flashed across its face.
Meanwhile, Beldum quickly stabilized and recovered.
"Now's your chance, Beldum—Iron Head again!"
With magnetic force surging, Beldum launched another Iron Head at full power, slamming into Lycanroc and sending it flying again.
The wild Pokémon let out a pained howl.
"Rooaarr!"
Lycanroc picked itself up with a roar—this time using the Normal-type move Howl, which raised its attack power.
Then it slashed its claws forward, summoning a large rock, and hurled it at Beldum. At the same time, it charged forward.
"Dodge the rock and hit it with Iron Head again!" Nathan commanded, still calm.
Beldum deftly shifted its body to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming rock, then aimed straight at Lycanroc and struck.
Bang!
Another impact.
Beldum was sent flying.
But so was Lycanroc.
To be fair, this Lycanroc had a hard head—but it may not have realized it was at a type disadvantage.
After three direct collisions, Lycanroc was clearly dazed. Its head was spinning.
When it hit the ground this time, it didn't get back up. It had fainted, unable to continue the fight.
"Nice job, Beldum—first victory!" Nathan praised.
In Pokémon battles, victories deserved praise. They encouraged the Pokémon's growth.
And right after Nathan spoke—
A glowing light emerged from Beldum's body, completely enveloping it.
Its shape began to change.
"It's finally evolving," Nathan said with excitement.
Beldum's evolution led to Metang.
While some sources claimed that Beldum had to merge with another Beldum to evolve into Metang, that wasn't entirely true. A single Beldum could evolve into Metang, and eventually into Metagross, and even Mega Metagross.
As the light faded—
A new figure appeared in Nathan's line of sight.
Standing over a meter tall, it shared Beldum's metallic body type but now had a disc-like shape with two powerful arms ending in giant iron claws. Its body was a deep oceanic blue, glistening with a metallic sheen—like a real steel beast.
An incredibly intimidating presence.
[Name: Metang]
[Ability: Clear Body (Prevents stats from being lowered by opponents' moves or abilities.)]
[Type: Steel + Psychic]
[Hidden Power (Electric)]
[Description: It floats midair using magnetism. Its body is so tough, even a crash with a jet plane won't leave a scratch.
[Level: 28 (21–30: Advanced Tier)]
[Moves: Iron Defense, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt]