This is... telepathy?
"What's wrong?" Luan asked with a frown, seemingly sensing something odd about Nathan.
"It's nothing," Nathan shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing, "I heard that Pokémon's voice. It asked me to go inside... It doesn't seem like it wants to hurt me."
"Telepathy?" Luan immediately thought of that and said, "If it's not a Ghost-type Pokémon, most other types usually don't lie to humans. And this one's Psychic-type. Maybe you can go take a look. But it might be dangerous. Personally, I'd suggest you come out now. Let's leave toge—"
Nathan: "Wait, what the hell?! Luan?! Where'd you go?!"
Before Luan could finish his sentence, both he and the two Zarude standing next to him just… disappeared?!
Just like that. Gone.
No doubt—it was Teleportation again.
Nathan realized it now. The Pokémon in the forest had definitely set its sights on him.
Even Luan, who advised him not to go in, had been directly kicked out. If he tried to leave now, he probably wouldn't make it out either.
"Huff..."
Taking another deep breath, Nathan spoke in a low voice, "Volcarona, let's go in."
"Vool!"
Volcarona responded, a serious look flashing in its eyes. It stayed close to Nathan, alert to their surroundings at all times.
But strangely enough, the mysterious Pokémon in the forest truly didn't seem to harbor any ill intent. As Nathan moved forward, small Weedle began appearing from the grass. They all looked in one direction—as if acting like signposts—guiding Nathan along the right path.
But he had barely walked a few steps when a Pokémon appeared in front of him.
Venusaur.
And a strong one—Advanced-level peak stage.
"Defeat it, but don't use your strongest Pokémon."
"I want to see your abilities..."
"And your Pokémon's..."
That voice echoed in his mind again as the Venusaur appeared.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan pulled out a Poké Ball and said, "Go, Metang!"
"Get ready for battle."
"Use Agility to close the gap, then Metal Claw!"
Nathan quickly gave orders. Thanks to yesterday's training, Metang had just grasped a few new moves, so this would be a great chance to get more practice.
...
Meanwhile—
In a certain primeval forest outside Lake City—
"What the hell?!"
Luan looked around and couldn't help but curse. "How the hell did I end up here?!"
This place was Zarude's home turf—he knew it well.
But just a second ago, he was outside Vibrant Forest—he hadn't even finished his sentence!
Now both he and his two Zarude had been teleported here.
Thinking about Nathan, now alone inside Vibrant Forest, Luan immediately ran forward. "No, I have to ask the Elder about that mysterious Pokémon. Maybe he knows something. And I need to know if it's hostile toward humans—Nathan could be in danger."
Inside this primitive forest, his phone had already lost signal.
His only choice was to seek the Elder of the Zarude tribe.
But the Elder didn't live with the others—he resided alone in a massive tree hollow deep within the forest.
By the time Luan arrived, panting for breath, the Elder stood atop a towering ancient tree, watching him quietly.
"Elder!"
Luan immediately bowed in greeting. The Elder's body was massive—while normal Zarude were about 1.8 to 2 meters tall, this one was nearly 3 meters.
Its aura was terrifyingly powerful.
"Do you have something to ask me?"
The Elder's aged voice rang directly in Luan's heart.
Luan wasn't surprised—he already knew the Elder communicated telepathically. He quickly asked, "Elder, I wanted to ask about the Pokémon inside Vibrant Forest..."
"There's no need to worry," the Elder shook his head gently. His tone was far calmer than other Zarude, completely free of aggression. "It holds no malice toward humans. It simply dislikes them approaching. Your friend will be fine. It's just... interested in him. There are some things it wishes to speak to him about."
As a mythical Pokémon, the Elder seemed to already know something.
Though he didn't reveal everything, his words were enough to put Luan's mind at ease.
As long as Nathan wasn't in danger—that was all that mattered.
"Then, Elder..." Luan continued, "Could we humans speak with it as well? If we don't understand its intentions, things could get complicated on our side."
"There's no need to worry, child," the Elder gave a kind smile. "It will talk to your friend about this matter."
"Nathan, huh..." Luan looked thoughtful, then nodded and turned to leave.
Since the Elder said so, there was no need to worry further.
Still, he decided to wait outside Vibrant Forest.
...
"Tch... Still more coming?"
Back inside Vibrant Forest—
Nathan's mouth twitched as yet another Venusaur walked out to face him.
Since defeating the first one, this was already the tenth Venusaur he'd fought.
What was this, a Venusaur clan?
Why were there so many Venusaur?
And more importantly—were they just not going to let him move forward?
Thanks to the consecutive battles, Metang had leveled up quickly, jumping from level 30 to 32, officially reaching Commander tier.
Were they trying to level him up all the way to Gym Leader level?
"It's guiding you."
As if sensing his thoughts, that familiar voice echoed in his head again.
Hearing that, Nathan finally relaxed.
Metang was nearly out of stamina. If this kept going, it would collapse.
"Thanks for your help," Nathan said to the Venusaur.
The Venusaur gave a cry, then started leading the way.
As they moved forward, Nathan was amazed to discover that a thick fog had unknowingly covered the deeper parts of the forest. He couldn't see clearly at all.
No wonder he needed a guide.
They walked for who knows how long, until finally—the Venusaur stopped.
And at that moment, Nathan finally saw the mysterious Pokémon...
..
Hovering in mid-air was a small, elegant figure.
It looked delicate and graceful, but exuded an aura of majesty—like a king. Atop its head was a large bud resembling a crown.
Its eyes were filled with wisdom.
"Calyrex!"
The moment he saw it, Nathan exclaimed in shock, his face full of disbelief.
There was no way he could mistake this Pokémon.
Every Pokémon had its own classification, much like animals or plants. Calyrex belonged to the Royal classification.
Not that the classification was the main point.
The point was—Calyrex, in the original story, was incredibly mysterious. It was a Psychic + Grass-type and was said to have ruled over the Galar region's Pokémon in ancient times. It could see the past, the present, and the future.
Even just considering that it ruled over a wild, untamed region like ancient Galar made its strength undeniable.
Calyrex was shrouded in mystery, but Nathan couldn't help thinking—it was definitely a Legendary.
"You know who I am?"
A clear voice echoed in Nathan's mind, tinged with curiosity.
"Yes," Nathan nodded. At least now, he understood why even Elite-level Trainers couldn't do anything about the Pokémon in Vibrant Forest. Calyrex was, after all, a ruler-level being.
Ordinary people wouldn't stand a chance.
"You truly are interesting,"
Calyrex's voice carried a trace of amusement.
"I noticed you the moment you arrived in the nearby city. You bear a mark."
"Mark?" Nathan frowned slightly, puzzled.
"You seem unaware," Calyrex explained.
"You have two marks on your body. But since you don't know, I won't explain. When you grow stronger, you'll come to understand."
Marks?
Could it be the aura from Ho-Oh?
But Calyrex said there were two... So aside from Ho-Oh, what was the other mark?
Taking a deep breath, Nathan suppressed his curiosity and looked at Calyrex, asking, "So, may I ask... why did you bring me here?"
To be honest, he couldn't see through this Calyrex at all—in terms of strength.
The Calyrex before him gave off no pressure at all.
It looked ordinary.
Just like a low-level Pokémon.
But the many Pokémon around them all had the same look in their eyes when they gazed at Calyrex—complete submission.
And Nathan didn't believe Calyrex was just using hypnosis to control them.
There could be only one explanation—power.