"Alright."
Nathan nodded.
Mystic Realm.
Deep within the forest.
Previously, he was here to help Metagross grow stronger.
But now, it was time for Vibrava's training.
Buzz.
A flash of light.
Vibrava appeared in front of Nathan.
"Little guy, get ready to battle. It's going to be a tough few days," Nathan said with a smile, looking at the determined little Pokémon.
Vibrava flapped its wings and circled around Nathan, its eyes filled with determination—and even a hint of excitement.
Seeing this, Nathan didn't waste any more time. With a hearty laugh, he led Vibrava deeper into the forest in search of suitable opponents.
Inside the Mystic Realm.
Forest region.
Vibrava was currently battling a Grass-type Carnivine.
A week had passed. Nathan had spent nearly the entire time inside the Mystic Realm, focusing entirely on letting Vibrava train through battle.
Now, Vibrava had finally reached the Gym Leader level, with its level rising to 43—slightly higher than Metagross.
Unfortunately, it still hadn't evolved.
However, Vibrava had learned several new moves during the week.
At that moment—
Nathan stood calmly and commanded in a firm voice, "Vibrava, Stomp!"
Vibrava let out a sharp screech and suddenly dove from the sky, channeling all its strength into a powerful stomp on the ground.
The ground trembled slightly, like a miniature Earthquake, with tiny cracks snaking toward Carnivine's feet.
Stomp was a Ground-type move. It attacked surrounding enemies by striking the ground—similar to Earthquake, but with much less damage.
And Ground-type moves dealt reduced damage to Grass-types.
But Nathan wasn't counting on it to deal damage.
What he wanted was the opportunity that came from forcing the opponent to act—the perfect chance for a finishing blow.
As the Stomp landed, Carnivine staggered and lost balance from the tremor.
Nathan's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Now's the chance—Vibrava, go in with Dragon Tail!"
Without hesitation, Vibrava exploded forward, its tail glowing with energy as it swept it across Carnivine.
With powerful force behind the strike, the already unsteady Carnivine couldn't defend itself and was flung away, crying out in pain.
Nathan immediately followed up with another command.
"Vibrava, finish it! Dragon Breath!"
As his voice fell, Vibrava unleashed a fierce stream of dragon energy—Dragon Breath—forming a combo with the earlier Dragon Tail.
Before Carnivine could even hit the ground, the Dragon Breath closed in.
Boom!
It struck Carnivine mid-air, forcing a cry of agony from the Grass-type Pokémon.
With a loud thud, Carnivine crashed to the ground—its eyes rolling back, completely knocked out.
"Roarrr."
Beside them, Pangoro raised its right arm like a referee, as if announcing the end of the match.
[Your Pokémon 'Vibrava' has won the battle. Gained 198 EXP. Level up! Reached Level 44.]
The system's voice echoed in Nathan's mind.
A soft, glowing white light began to emit from Vibrava's body, its shape starting to change.
It was… the light of evolution.
"Finally, it's evolving."
Seeing this, a bright smile appeared on Nathan's face.
He took a deep breath, quickly pulling out his phone to record Vibrava's evolution.
He had forgotten to do it before—but from now on, this would become a valuable memory for him.
Before long—
The glow faded.
A brand-new figure appeared before Nathan.
Flygon.
Standing two meters tall, it was both large and sleek. Its body was completely green, and its large red eyes were covered with a hemispherical structure.
Thanks to these unique eyes, even in intense sandstorms, Flygon could easily lock onto its target and keep the sand out of its vision.
"If I catch a Krookodile in the future, I'll have the desert hunter duo," Nathan chuckled.
He said this because in the wild, Flygon often hunted alongside Krookodile.
Flygon would stir up sandstorms, allowing Krookodile to ambush prey within it—they'd hunt as a team and share their spoils.
Speaking of which, Krookodile—being a Ground/Dark-type with solid base stats—was a Pokémon well worth training.
"Flyy~"
After evolving, Flygon flapped its wings and flew right up to Nathan.
Its long neck, now somewhat snake-like, wrapped around Nathan and rubbed against him affectionately.
"Haha, you finally evolved!"
Nathan grinned, wrapping his arms around Flygon's neck.
Now that he had Flygon, he finally had a flying mount—it would make traveling much easier from now on.
With a thought—
[Name: Flygon]
[Ability: Levitate (Floats above the ground, immune to Ground-type attacks)]
[Type: Ground + Dragon]
[Description: Flygon, the evolved form of Vibrava. Known as the "Desert Pokémon," it gets its name from the haunting song carried by the sandstorms stirred by its wings.]
[Level: 44 (Gym Stage: 41–50)]
[Moves: Dragon Claw, Supersonic, Bug Buzz, Dragon Dance, Dragon Breath, Stomp, Sandstorm...]
Looking at Flygon's new stats, Nathan's eyes lit up in surprise.
"It actually learned three new moves."
Dragon Claw, Supersonic, Bug Buzz.
All three were very practical and powerful.
In particular, Supersonic could confuse opponents—extremely useful in battle.
"Wait here a sec. I'll go heal Carnivine, then we'll head back."
Nathan patted Flygon's head with a gentle smile.
"Flyy~"
Flygon nodded.
Nathan immediately began treating Carnivine with a healing spray.
Over the past week, Gengar had also managed to teach Mimikyu and Volcarona how to multitask in battle.
Though they were still working on mastery, the basics were in place now.
After healing Carnivine, Nathan returned Pangoro to its Pokéball and looked to Flygon with anticipation.
"Flygon, take me to Gengar."
"Flyy~"
Flygon obediently lowered itself so Nathan could climb on.
Goggles on, Nathan grinned wide.
"Let's fly, Flygon!"
"Flyy~!"
With a cry, Flygon flapped its wings and shot into the sky, soaring forward like a green blur.
Its terrifying speed brought a wide, excited grin to Nathan's face.
Flying while riding a Pokémon—
It was a fantastic feeling.
…
The distance to where Gengar was training wasn't short.
On foot, it would've taken about 30 minutes.
But with Flygon unleashing its full speed, they reached their destination in just three to four minutes.
That alone showed how fast Flygon had become.
"Huh? It evolved?"
Seeing Nathan ride in on Flygon, Gengar—who was training the other two Pokémon—looked genuinely surprised.
"Yup, it evolved."
Nathan nodded, unable to hide the joy on his face.
"Tch, I've got a feeling your future's going to be anything but ordinary," Gengar said, shaking his head.
"Among all the Trainers I've seen, there are hardly any at your age with your kind of strength. Maybe you'll become a Legendary Trainer someday."
A Legendary Trainer—a Trainer who has captured a Legendary Pokémon.
Hearing that, Nathan smiled and said,
"Well then, would you like to leave with this future Legendary Trainer?"
"Heh, it's not that easy to take me away," Gengar said with a creepy grin.
"If you want me to follow you, you'll have to defeat me first—and you don't have that kind of strength right now."
"Besides," Gengar added, "I don't really want a Trainer."
Gengar shrugged, his tone turning slightly wistful.
"You humans just don't live long enough. To us Pokémon, having a Trainer means preparing for the pain of losing them. I've never felt it myself, but I've seen what other Pokémon go through when they lose their Trainers."
Nathan let out a sigh and didn't argue.
Gengar was right.
Compared to Pokémon, humans had such short lives.
The stronger the Pokémon, the longer their lifespan.
Take Volcarona, for example. It already had an incredibly long life span—and with its strength, it could easily live for centuries.
Just like Gengar said, maybe one day Volcarona would face that same situation.
But to Nathan, that day was still far away—and not something he wanted to think about yet.
Instead, he looked at Gengar and said with a smile,
"You're right. But there are some sights you can only see with the right Trainer by your side."
Gengar chuckled.
"I'll be waiting for you to defeat me."
"Then wait here—because that day will come."
Nathan smiled in return.
…
The next day.
At the top floor of a Pokémon hotel, Nathan released Flygon.
He held a map in his hands, confirming their next destination. Then he climbed onto Flygon's back and said:
"Let's go, Flygon."
Next stop: the Overseas Archipelago.
...
(TN: Just one chapter today. I'm tired and losing my drive translating right now. Sorry)