All of this… was money.
That dazzling spectacle lasted for around ten minutes, and when the ten minutes had finally passed, Xerneas returned to its Poké Ball with a visibly exhausted expression.
By then, Nathan had already arranged for several people to step forward. They began handing out energy cubes to feed the countless Pokémon that had gathered.
Ten minutes… For the sake of just those ten minutes, he had given Xerneas something worth a full one billion Pokécoins.
It was the Water of Life.
A miraculous spring water.
Just a single drop of it could revive a Pokémon on the verge of death, restoring it instantly to its peak condition.
Xerneas wanted that water solely to enhance its own power.
One drop of the Water of Life cost ten million Pokécoins. Nathan had bought ten drops for Xerneas.
Compared to that, the pokeblocks fed to the Pokémon afterwards were not even worth mentioning—utterly insignificant.
…
As the Pokémon finished eating the pokeblocks and dispersed, the wedding itself gradually drew to an end.
Nathan returned to stand beside Grog, who was at that moment staring at him with an expression filled with admiration.
Today's wedding, to Grog, was the most shocking and unforgettable one he had ever witnessed in his life.
Just the battles alone—watching Nathan and others fight—was already a rare privilege, something one might not see even once in a lifetime.
And that wasn't even counting the finale, where tens of thousands of Pokémon appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Boss, from today onward, I'm yours. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!"
Grog spoke with fervent excitement, almost like he was swearing an oath of loyalty.
Nathan, however, waved his hand with a look of disgust.
What do you mean yours? I like women.
"Work with me if you want to, but don't make it sound so ambiguous. If you were a woman, I wouldn't mind, but you need to remember— you're a greasy man nearing forty!"
Nathan said with clear disdain.
Grog scratched his head, smiling sheepishly, not knowing what else to say.
Amid the laughter and merriment of the guests, the grand wedding gradually dispersed.
Nathan had once again redefined for the entire world what a wedding could truly be.
…
When they returned to the manor, Lily's eyes were sparkling like stars as she looked at Nathan.
"Nathan~ When we get married… will you do the same for me?"
After witnessing such a wedding today, she couldn't help but imagine herself in a wedding dress.
If, on her own wedding day, Nathan prepared such an awe-inspiring ceremony for her… she might very well leap into the air in excitement—two meters high at least.
"No. Absolutely not."
Nathan shook his head with firm conviction.
Originally, Lily had expected him to say yes, so when she heard this answer, disappointment filled her heart.
He was willing to go to such lengths for his subordinate, spending so much time, effort, and resources… but for her, he actually said no?
"I'll give you an even better wedding. One that's more sensational, more beautiful than this—because you're my treasure."
Seeing the crestfallen look on Lily's face, Nathan chuckled softly and spoke, while gently stroking her hair with tender affection.
Of course, he was only teasing. How could he possibly not put in even more effort when it came to his own wife and his own wedding?
"You're so annoying~ You're teasing me again!"
Realizing she had been played, Lily twisted her small hands mercilessly into Nathan's waist.
The two quickly devolved into playful banter, and soon after… paid-content ensued.
For now, Nathan's official challenges had come to a temporary halt.
Those who had originally planned to challenge him but hadn't shown up were now beating their chests in regret.
Why hadn't they come when Nathan posted those provocative words online? Why hadn't they brought their Legendary level Pokémon to fight him?
If they had, perhaps by now they would already own a scale from Rayquaza.
But there was still a chance to make up for it— by setting out immediately, heading to Celestia and challenging Nathan!
Having already defeated five challengers, more would surely come.
Of course, it would take time for them to arrive.
In the meantime, Nathan had something else he needed to do—he had to help Mewtwo level up.
After all, Mewtwo already had the qualifications to ascend to the ranks of a Legendary. If he didn't help it grow stronger now and allow it to officially become a Legendary Pokémon, it would be a waste of all its hard work.
Unfortunately, the previous trial mystic realm was no longer usable.
With Spiritomb gone, the oppressive negative aura vanished. Without that, the mystic realm had become little more than an ordinary one.
Though there weren't as many mystic realms in Celestia as in other regions numbering in the tens of thousands, there were still hundreds.
Not all were trial-type realms, of course. But if it was just about leveling Mewtwo up, that was simple enough.
…
Nathan traveled first to Inju City. Upon arriving, he wasted no time sightseeing and headed straight for the mystic realms.
There were three mystic realms near Inju, but all three were high-level ones.
Even the lowest among them was A rank.
In A rank mystic realms, the average strength of Pokémon ranged between Gym level and Champion level.
For the current Mewtwo, entering such a realm meant one thing: a total massacre.
Thus, Nathan brought Mewtwo into this A rank mystic realm.
The battles began immediately.
Mewtwo was also equipped with the Golden Lucky Egg—ten times the experience gain!
The very first Pokémon appeared, and in just two moves, Mewtwo crushed a Gym-level opponent.
After each fight, once Mewtwo gained experience, Nathan healed the Pokémon and even compensated them with some energy cubes.
…
Two days passed, and Mewtwo's level soared rapidly to 74.
Though its levels were now higher and the required experience for each was immense—one level alone equaling the total experience needed to reach level 60 before—the experience it gained was also multiplied severalfold.
Not to mention the tenfold bonus from the Golden Lucky Egg.
In just those two days, Mewtwo had challenged every Pokémon in the entire mystic realm, one after another.
The next step was to head for the remaining two mystic realms around Inju City.
Nathan and Mewtwo left the first realm and hurried toward the second.
…
Not long after, others also entered the Rank A realm Nathan had cleared.
But what they saw surprised them greatly.
Every Pokémon in the realm looked utterly drained, listless and feeble.
If it had been just one or two, that might have been normal. But an entire realm's worth of Pokémon?
This discovery was quickly reported to the guardians of the realm.
Two guardians entered the realm with their own Pokémon to investigate.
"This…"
"Could it be that Pokémon can catch the flu? Like… a Pokémon flu?"
They were utterly dumbfounded at the sight of the weakened Pokémon everywhere.
In their entire lives, they had never seen such a thing.
They had occasionally seen one or two Pokémon weakened before, usually due to injury, but this?
This was groups upon groups of them—an entire mystic realm's worth.
And they weren't just weaklings either—many were Gym-level and above. It was impossible for all of them to be injured at once.
Very soon, the realm was completely sealed off.
Normally, mystic realms were open to allow challengers to fight and capture Pokémon, but with all the inhabitants in such a state, leaving it open would only further harm them.
Meanwhile, Nathan had no idea that his rapid grinding with Mewtwo had caused so much aftermath.
Researchers arrived quickly to study the realm. After thorough examinations, they concluded that the Pokémon were merely injured and had not yet fully recovered.
Three days after its closure, the A rank mystic realm reopened.
And by sheer coincidence, this was the very moment Nathan walked out of the second realm.
Of course, the second realm was in the same condition as the first—its Pokémon all weakened and listless.
Nathan had taken away mountains of experience points, but the locals of Inju were left suffering.
Their city only had three mystic realms to begin with. One had just reopened, and now another was effectively crippled.
How were they supposed to survive like this?
…
"Phew~ A little tired. I'll rest for a day."
Leaving the realm, Nathan found a hotel in Inju City to relax.
But the moment he walked in, he overheard an unusual conversation.
"Hey, did you hear? Apparently, there's some kind of flu spreading in the mystic realms around here!"
A thin young woman gossiped excitedly.
"But I heard the Pokémon are just injured and haven't fully recovered," replied a round-faced girl sitting with her.
"Injured? Do you honestly think anyone could defeat every single Pokémon in a mystic realm in just a day or two?"
After booking his room, Nathan sat at the booth next to them, listening quietly.
"I'm telling you, it's definitely some kind of virus in the mystic realm's ecosystem."
"Yeah, exactly. The whole 'injury' explanation? That's just a cover-up."
After listening for a long while, Nathan finally pieced together the story.
So, after he left, the Pokémon he had fought were seen by others, and their weakened state caused a misunderstanding.
Now, rumors were spreading that the mystic realm Pokémon had been struck by some sort of flu.
(End of Chapter)