Just imagining himself yelling out something like, "Metang, use Corkscrew Crash!" during a battle in the future made Nathan feel a little embarrassed.
Yeah… that name was seriously over-the-top.
Still, he went ahead and exchanged for the Mega Bracelet and the Z-Crystal Pendant.
The Mega Bracelet had a Key Stone embedded inside it, compatible with Mega Stones. It was colored red and blue, and looked quite nice overall. The Z-Crystal Pendant, on the other hand, was a white pendant designed to hold Trainer Z-Crystals.
Unlike the Mega Bracelet, however, the Trainer Z-Crystals needed to be purchased separately.
That didn't bother Nathan for now. He wasn't in a rush.
After putting on both the bracelet and the pendant, he packed away the rest of the stones in his backpack and began helping his Pokémon train.
After all, both Mega Stones and Z-Crystals could only be used once a Pokémon had become strong enough.
And in Metang's case, it would have to evolve into Metagross first before it could use the Mega Stone—who knew how long that would take?
"Metang, for now, let's try combining Zen Headbutt and Iron Head. If possible, use Iron Defense beforehand to boost your defenses before attacking."
"Vibrava, how's your move learning going? Not yet? Alright, keep it up!"
"Pangoro, how about you?"
"Rooaaar."
"Oh? You're feeling confident? Think you're about to get it? Nice, keep it up. I'll give you something good to eat later."
While supervising his Pokémon's training, Nathan jotted notes in his notebook, simulating potential move combinations and synergy between his Pokémon.
Particularly, moves that paired well with others—those should be learned first.
Before he knew it, an entire day had passed.
Nathan had basically spent the whole day in the hotel's Pokémon training room, training alongside his Pokémon and even using some of the equipment himself.
And with the arrival of a new day, he was finally ready to leave Glorious City and head for Lake City.
…
Lake City
Located near the central region, it was surrounded on all sides by mountains, making it home to a rich variety of wild Pokémon species.
Rumor had it that Zarude had been spotted deep in the mountains outside the city. (Not Sure)
But no one dared go looking.
After all, just based on base stats alone, Zarude could rival pseudo-legendary Pokémon, with a total stat count of 600.
More importantly, Zarude were known to live in groups and were extremely hostile toward all lifeforms except their own kind. They wouldn't try to negotiate—if they saw you, they'd attack without hesitation. A truly savage Pokémon.
With that kind of aggressive nature, combined with their tendency to act in packs and their naturally high potential, it was easy for a Zarude packs to produce individuals of frightening strength.
That's why no one dared to go searching for them—too easy to lose your life.
Still, some people just have absurdly good luck.
Take the current Lake City Gym Leader, Luan Royce. He was just in his early 20s and owned a Zarude.
Before coming to Lake City, Nathan had specifically looked up information about the Gym Leader. Apparently, Gym Leader Royce had been abandoned as an infant and left in the wild. He would have died young, but a Zarude found him and raised him as its own.
Zarude are a kind of ancient ape Pokémon. Sometimes, when they find a human child, they adopt and raise them as their own, just like true parents.
Luan Royce was such a child. And when he finally returned to human society, the Zarude that raised him—concerned for his safety—became his partner Pokémon.
Two Zarude, in fact.
Yes, two.
Because of this, Royce's strength as a Gym Leader ranked among the very top. Both of his Zarude were incredibly strong. Whether or not they had reached Champion level was unclear, but they were definitely at the peak of Elite level.
An extraordinary encounter—one that inspired deep envy.
But envy was all most people could manage.
…
After getting off the plane, Nathan took a cab to the five-star Pokémon hotel he had booked in Lake City's downtown area.
A staff member guided him to his room.
The interior design was different from the hotel he'd stayed at previously, but it was still quite comfortable.
Besides the TV and computer, there was even a copy of the daily Lake City newspaper placed on the nightstand.
After a shower, Nathan released his Pokémon. Having just arrived, he wasn't in a rush to challenge the Gym or do anything else.
He laid down on the bed and picked up the newspaper.
Even though newspapers were an old-fashioned medium, many older folks still liked reading them. Thanks to his father's influence, Nathan would occasionally read them too.
But the moment he picked it up, he froze.
A headline caught his eye:
[Mysterious Danger? Unknown Entity Forces All Humans Out of Vibrant Forest!]
Curious, Nathan continued reading.
It only took a few minutes to read through the full article.
Vibrant Forest was technically part of Lake City's territory, but it was quite far away—on foot, it would take a full day to reach.
It had long been considered a great place for Trainers.
A mystic realm had once merged with the real world there, giving the forest a wealth of resources.
Most of the wild Pokémon inside were Grass-type and relatively gentle in nature. As long as one didn't act recklessly or venture too deep, there was little danger—and there were often rewards to be found.
For many Trainers, Vibrant Forest was basically a goldmine.
Whether it was cast-off parts from Grass-types, sap, or berries, it all made for valuable loot.
But starting last week, every single Trainer who entered the forest was instantly ejected.
The suspected cause was the Psychic-type move Teleport.
Some lucky ones were sent directly back to Lake City, but others… no one knew where they ended up. Some were still missing.
Now, almost no one dared approach the forest.
The local League headquarters was preparing to send a team to investigate.
"Interesting," Nathan muttered, a smile creeping across his face. He was genuinely intrigued by this Vibrant Forest incident.
Typically, such situations only stemmed from two possibilities:
First, a powerful wild Pokémon had moved in and claimed the entire forest as its territory—one with extremely strong territorial instincts.
Given the forest's size and biodiversity, it wouldn't be surprising if such a Pokémon took interest in it.
But if that were true, the Pokémon's power would be terrifying—being able to instantly teleport every single intruder? That wasn't ordinary.
The second possibility was that the incident involved a legendary Pokémon—one that clearly didn't welcome humans.
Of course, that was just Nathan's speculation. There could be other reasons too.
Regardless, he was quite curious about the forest.
He wasn't in a rush, though—he planned to check it out after challenging the Gym.
Danger often came hand-in-hand with opportunity.
Besides, this mysterious Pokémon clearly just wanted humans out—it hadn't harmed anyone. And with Volcarona by his side, Nathan felt confident. Unless he was incredibly unlucky and got teleported into some forbidden mountain cave, he'd probably be fine.
Plus, while Vibrava wasn't a Flygon, it could just barely carry a person in flight.
After finishing the paper, Nathan got up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. From this height, he could even catch a faint glimpse of the forests beyond the city, though it was too far to see clearly.
Suddenly, he felt… watched.
Like something far in the distance had locked its gaze on him.
A chill ran down his spine.
He scratched his head in confusion. "Was that… just my imagination?"
The feeling disappeared.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Puzzled, Nathan turned away from the window and went off to grab something to eat.
..
"Mom, I'm not in Glorious City anymore. I'm in Lake City."
"Don't worry—I'm eating well, sleeping well, and dressing fine. Everything's great."
"Okay."
"Huh? Dad actually managed to get a pretty good Ghost-type Pokémon?"
"Alright, once I'm done in Lake City, I'll head back to check it out. But mom, can't you at least tell me what Pokémon it is?"
"Fine, fine. Dad wants it to be a surprise. I'll just wait and look forward to it. Don't worry, I'll bring some gifts for you two."
In a restaurant, Nathan chatted on the phone while eating.
After the call ended, he felt a little excited.
He had no idea what kind of Ghost-type Pokémon his father had gotten him, but it probably wasn't anything bad. Even though his dad wasn't a Trainer, in this era, almost everyone had a decent understanding of Pokémon—especially older generations. Conversations often revolved around them.
So, people generally knew which Pokémon were good.
His dad was no exception.
And since it was a gift, he probably wouldn't go cheap on it—Nathan expected something nice.
"Well, I'll find out when I go back," he muttered, shaking his head and focusing on his meal.
After dinner, Nathan returned to the hotel and resumed training his Pokémon.
Pangoro hadn't quite finished learning Finger Pistol, but Nathan wasn't in a hurry.
His focus was more on Metang and Vibrava.
Metang still needed to learn all the basic Steel and Psychic-type moves.
Vibrava, on the other hand, needed to master Steel Wing, Dragon Tail, and Protect.
Protect was especially difficult for non-Normal-type Pokémon and took time to learn—but it was a must-have move.
After spending another day training at the hotel…
The next morning, Nathan finally grabbed his Poké Balls and headed toward the Lake City Gym.
Like most other city gyms, it was located in the city center.
The Gym Leader, Luan Royce, wasn't a specialist—he trained multiple types.
So, Nathan didn't do much specific prep.
Against a mixed team, it all came down to the Trainer's raw battling ability.
There wasn't much point in preparing too carefully—you never knew what Pokémon your opponent would send out.