Otherwise, once he left, he wouldn't have so much time to rest.
For lunch, Nathan's mom Juliet prepared a delicious meal—braised pork ribs, chicken stewed with mushrooms, all dishes Nathan enjoyed. The aroma filled the air.
After lunch, she tidied up a bit and left to help out at the shop. It was quite busy lately, and she couldn't be away too long; otherwise, Jerru wouldn't be able to handle it all by himself.
After she left, Nathan also prepared to head into the wild. His goal was to train Trapinch and raise its level, and to let Pangoro practice a new move.
He packed his bag and took his Poké Balls.
Then, Nathan left home and set off for the wilderness.
But on the way, Vice President Cloud gave him a call.
"Vice President? Is there something you need?" Nathan answered the call.
"There's something important I forgot to mention. You need to be careful," Vice President Cloud said seriously.
"Something important?"
"Exactly."
"You're a rookie trainer, but you already have a Elite-level Volcarona. Your family background is also easy to track. Considering you may leave Poplar City soon to challenge Gyms, I want to remind you to pay close attention to your safety. You're in the spotlight after winning the championship—there are bound to be people watching you. For some, your Volcarona is enough to guarantee a lifetime of luxury." His tone was solemn.
Hearing that, Nathan frowned slightly and asked, "You're talking about... the Dark Spirit Organization?"
"They're the only ones who'd do something like this. A bunch of sewer rats," Vice President Cloud said with undisguised disgust, confirming Nathan's suspicions.
"But don't worry too much. Just stay alert. The Dark Spirit Organization might not target you—it's only a possibility. This is just my personal guess. You're the most promising new trainer in Poplar City right now, and I don't want anything to happen to you before you reach your full potential." He spoke earnestly.
Nathan nodded and stroked his chin in thought before replying, "Got it. Thanks for the reminder, Vice President."
"No problem. Just stay cautious. I've got other things to handle, so I'll hang up now."
Beep beep beep.
The call ended.
Nathan pondered for a moment, then put away his phone and continued toward the wilderness.
The Dark Spirit Organization... definitely a potential problem.
But if they were really targeting him, there was no way to avoid it completely.
He could only assess the situation as it unfolded. He couldn't just stay in Poplar City forever because of a possibility.
An hour later, he arrived at a familiar forest outside Poplar City.
Nathan released both Pangoro and Trapinch.
"Pangoro, you can stay here and focus on training your new move," Nathan said to him.
"Roar."
Pangoro let out a growl and nodded, then sat down and began to train.
Meanwhile, Nathan took Trapinch deeper into the forest to battle wild Pokémon and raise its level.
Trapinch had high base stats in physical attack.
Though it didn't have many moves yet, it did have one solid offensive Dark-type move—Bite.
The forest had a lot of Grass-types, which had an advantage over Ground-types like Trapinch. But their main opponents would be Bug-types.
Not long after they started walking, a figure appeared in their path.
It was a Weedle—an ordinary Bug-type Pokémon commonly found in the wild.
"Perfect for your first opponent," Nathan smirked. "Go, Trapinch! Time for your first battle!"
Trapinch gave a cry and leapt in front of the Weedle, eyes full of fierce battle spirit.
The Weedle looked confused for a moment, not knowing why this stranger was staring at it. But the moment it sensed Trapinch's fighting intent, it didn't back down—it shot out a Poison Sting right away.
..
"Jump to dodge, then use Sand Attack!" Nathan called out with a grin, confidently giving commands.
Trapinch obeyed instantly, dodging the poison sting with a leap. Then it scuffed at the ground with its legs, flinging sand into the Weedle's face. The sand flew straight into its eyes, forcing the Weedle to shut them tight.
"Charge in! Bite!"
Bug-types might be strong against Dark-types, but that doesn't make them immune—Dark moves still hit just fine.
Trapinch lunged forward and bit down hard on the Weedle. With its powerful jaws, the attack was more than the small Weedle could handle—it collapsed immediately.
The Weedle lost its ability to fight.
Victory!
Trapinch happily returned to Nathan's side, rubbing against his leg.
"Haha, good job." Nathan patted Trapinch on the head. Just then, a notification rang in his ear.
[Your Pokémon 'Trapinch' has won the battle and earned 125 EXP. Level up! Trapinch is now Level 5!]
Leveled up.
Indeed, young Pokémon level up very quickly.
Nathan pulled out a healing spray from his bag and treated the injured Weedle. After it woke up, he apologized and fed it a berry before sending it on its way.
After that, Nathan continued exploring the forest with Trapinch.
He didn't stray too far—always keeping close to Pangoro's training spot.
…
Evening.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
In the forest...
"Trapinch, use Hone Claws, then finish it with Bite!" Nathan called.
Trapinch cried out, boosting its attack with Hone Claws. Then it charged forward and bit down on a Weedle's weak point.
The Weedle fainted instantly.
[Your Pokémon 'Trapinch' has won the battle and earned EXP. Level up! Trapinch is now Level 11!]
[Name: Trapinch]
[Ability: Hyper Cutter (Attack stat cannot be lowered by any means)]
[Type: Ground]
[Info: Ant Pit Pokémon. It digs funnel-shaped holes in deserts. Its strong jaws can crush hard rocks. The nests it builds resemble mortars—once something falls in, it never escapes.]
[Level: 11 (Stage: Growth – Levels 11–20)]
[Moves: Sand Attack, Scary Face, Astonish, Hone Claws, Bite]
An afternoon well spent—Trapinch had reached level 11. But further leveling would be much slower now. The local wild Pokémon just weren't giving enough experience anymore.
"Come back, Trapinch. It's time to go home." Nathan called out, returning it to its Poké Ball.
He then headed over to check on Pangoro.
Pangoro was still training.
Its target was a large tree. Nathan saw Pangoro take a step forward, quickly closing the distance to the tree. With a swing of its right arm, a dark energy slashed out.
BOOM!
The tree collapsed.
That was… Throat Chop!
"Looks like you've mastered it." Nathan couldn't help but smile with joy.
Hearing his voice, Pangoro turned around with a proud grin, scratching its head bashfully. Clearly, the praise made it feel a little smug.
After praising Pangoro, Nathan returned it to its Poké Ball and started heading home.
…
Back home.
Since Nathan had won the championship, his parents returned home early to have dinner together.
"Nathan, that Ghost-type Pokémon you asked for might take a while. Your mom and I can't help much with training or guidance, so we want to make sure we find one with good potential," Jerry said from the couch.
Nathan waved it off with a smile. "It's okay, no rush."
"It won't take too long. I've gotten a lead recently. An old friend of mine told me about it," Jerry added. Since it was a gift for his son, he was taking it seriously.
During dinner, Nathan mentioned that he was planning to leave soon to challenge Gyms.
Juliet didn't object, and Jerry simply reminded him, "If you're heading out, make sure you stay safe. If anything happens, let us know."
"Don't worry, I got it." Nathan nodded while eating.
"Mm." Jerry nodded. "So, when are you leaving?"
"In a few days."
He still wasn't sure about Volcarona's condition, so he needed a few more days.
After dinner, Nathan returned to his room for some rare downtime. He lay on his bed, chatting on his phone or playing games.
Before he knew it, two days had passed.
During those two days, Nathan had asked Vice President Cloud to sell the Fire Stone for him.
It sold for 13 million.
...Plus 3 million from the school, sent over by his homeroom teacher, and another 1 million in prize money. Altogether, Nathan's current assets now totaled nearly 20 million.
It was a huge sum.
But Nathan felt it wouldn't last long.
Raising Pokémon was extremely expensive.
…
That night.
Nathan sat at his desk, searching for information on his computer.
Suddenly—
Buzz.
The Poké Ball on his neck grew hot, glowing with a red light.
"This is...?"
Feeling the Poké Ball's sudden reaction, Nathan's eyes widened. Without hesitation, he grabbed it and released Volcarona.
When he had returned it earlier, Volcarona was still in its cocoon form. But now, that cocoon was completely gone—replaced by a transformed Volcarona.
No.
It was still his Volcarona, but something was clearly different.
Its wings—originally bright orange—were now a pale golden color. As they flapped, tiny golden sparkles shimmered in the air, making the whole scene look sacred.
Just like the Pokédex said—it truly looked like the embodiment of the sun.
"This is… did it become shiny? No way..."
......
TN: Hey, If you guys drop five 4-5 stars review on the novel, I would give 1 bonus chapter per review 5 max. Doing it so that the novel gets rated early. Don't spam though only 1 per person. Though I won't mind it if there are more than 5 new reviews haha, I would only give 5 bonus chapters I don't wanna get cleaned out right away of my translations.
TN: Also I posted Pokemon: The Breeder's Farming Journey in the Ancient World the novel I mentioned yesterday. It had already 10 chapters on it, let me know if you guys thinks its interesting enough to be continued.