Elite Guardian Gray fixed his gaze on Draco's Pokémon, his eyes burning with battle intent as he spoke in a solemn voice.
No matter how strong his opponent might be, once he had decided to fight, he would never retreat a single step!
The Sawk under his command responded instantly to his words. With a low roar, it charged forward like a cannonball, aiming a powerful strike straight at Draco's mysterious Pokémon.
But in the very next instant, something completely unexpected happened.
Before Sawk's attack even connected, Draco's Pokémon casually reached out, grabbed it mid-attack, and with a violent swing, hurled it through the air.
The mighty Sawk was tossed aside like a discarded sandal, flying a great distance before crashing heavily into the sand.
"Is this it? With just this pitiful level of strength, you think you're worthy of the title 'Elite Guardian'?"
Draco sneered coldly, his expression filled with disdain as he mocked Li.
Elite Guardian Gray's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the creature before him.
He had never seen such a Pokémon before—he couldn't even identify what species it was. But one thing he knew for certain was his own Pokémon's strength.
His Sawk had already reached the Champion level. Both in speed and power, it was countless times stronger than before. By rights, it should not have been so easily overpowered.
Yet in front of this stranger's Pokémon, his partner seemed as fragile as paper, utterly unable to withstand even a single clash.
They had only just exchanged their very first move, and his Pokémon had already been thrown aside like trash.
If this opponent truly fought in earnest, his Sawk might not last three moves—perhaps not even one!
"Hmph! A bunch of worthless trash. Remember this—before me, don't you dare mention Nathan Vesper's name. Nathan himself is nothing but garbage."
With a dismissive snort, Draco recalled his Pokémon into its Pokéball, then turned and strode toward the mystic realm's entrance.
But before he could enter, a sharp voice rang out.
"So, what if you've defeated Elite Guardian Gray? That doesn't mean anything. In front of Nathan, you are still far beneath him!"
The words weren't loud, but in the tense silence that had fallen over the crowd, they pierced through like thunder, echoing in everyone's ears.
Draco's expression instantly twisted into fury as he swung his gaze toward the direction of the voice.
"What are you staring at? Yes, I'm talking to you! So, you've got one strong Pokémon—big deal! If you've got the guts, go challenge Nathan directly!"
Another voice chimed in, filled with anger and determination. Clearly, these were people who supported Nathan.
Yet, even though many admired Nathan, at this moment very few dared to speak up.
Before Draco had shown his strength, countless people had shouted words of support for Nathan. But now, after witnessing such terrifying power, the voices of defenders had dwindled to only a rare few.
"I, Draco Lein, hereby swear today—one day, I will trample Nathan Vesper beneath my feet and become the strongest Trainer in the entire world!"
Draco's voice boomed arrogantly, full of unrestrained madness.
In a crowded public space like this, even if others defended Nathan, he couldn't act against them openly. But once inside the mystic realm, things would be different.
He quietly etched into his memory the faces of those who dared to speak up against him. Once inside, he would personally teach each and every one of them a lesson.
"There's no need to wait for the future," someone suddenly said. "Nathan has already entered the mystic realm ahead of you. Let's see if you can actually defeat him inside."
Draco froze. He had arrived a little late and hadn't seen Nathan go in—only heard the crowd praising him.
But now, hearing this, his blood surged with excitement.
Ever since taming this extraordinary Pokémon, he had been waiting for the moment to challenge Nathan. But until now, he had never been able to find him.
Who could have thought that fate itself would deliver this chance? And inside a mystic realm, no less!
Even if he didn't know exactly where Nathan was, the mystic realm had its limits.
Finding a single man within a confined space? That was child's play.
"Hahaha! Heaven has not disappointed me! When the mystic realm opens fully, I will seek out Nathan inside and challenge him head-on!"
"And you—" he swept his gaze across the crowd, his voice dripping with arrogance, "—you'd better follow along. That way you can all witness for yourselves how your so-called world champion crumbles, and finally understand who the strongest Trainer in the world truly is!"
His words rang with disdain, completely dismissing Nathan's reputation.
Once upon a time, even Draco had believed Nathan's Pokémon to be terrifyingly strong. But that was before.
Now, with his new partner at his side, everything was different.
With this Pokémon, forget Nathan—he was confident that even if every powerful Trainer in the world lined up against him, he could defeat them all, one by one.
Meanwhile, Nathan himself had no idea of the storm brewing outside.
The moment he stepped into the mystic realm, he remained completely unaware that, just beyond, so much had occurred—and that someone had loudly sworn to defeat him in front of everyone.
Unlike Draco, Nathan had entered with special privileges and slipped inside ahead of the crowd.
But for Draco, he still had to wait until the mystic realm's entrance officially opened.
…
Inside the realm, Nathan and Evelyn began their exploration.
Unlike lush and verdant realms, this one stretched endlessly with nothing but barren yellow sand.
Occasionally, they passed a lone withered tree, its bark dry and brittle.
Pokémon did exist here, scattered throughout the desert, but the environment itself was utterly desolate.
"What kind of hellhole is this mystic realm? I feel like I've been cheated!"
Evelyn groaned, glaring at the endless dunes behind them. The scorching wind swept over their path, erasing their footprints almost as soon as they were made.
She had come here hoping to find valuable cultivation resources for her Pokémon, yet everything around them was nothing but sand.
Forget resources—even a living green tree was a rare sight here.
How was she supposed to find anything useful? What, was she supposed to dig treasures out of the sand? How could that even be possible?
"You'll get used to it. Honestly, compared to the Frostline Region, this place is a paradise."
Nathan shrugged casually.
He had been to the Frostline Region before. Compared to that frozen wasteland, this desert was nothing to complain about.
Though the environment here was harsh, it was still small in scale. With enough supplies, fully exploring it wasn't impossible.
But in the Frostline Region, even with all the supplies in the world, completing an exploration was utterly impossible.
"I know you've been to the Frostline Region. But how could I possibly compare to you?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes at him.
He was the world champion, wielding a team of overwhelmingly powerful Pokémon.
She, on the other hand, was nowhere near his level. Her reasons for coming here were entirely different too—she was after resources. Whereas Nathan's earlier journeys into places like the Frostline Region had been for entirely different purposes.
"Ughhh! My poor skin! When I get back, I'll need weeks of recovery treatments!"
The young woman was already half-losing her mind.
For a woman, traveling through such a blistering, dry place was nothing short of torture. The heat and aridity were an outright disaster for her skin.
"Here, take this."
Nathan glanced at her, then dug into his pack and handed over a bottle of sunscreen.
Evelyn blinked in surprise when she saw it.
She hadn't even thought to bring something like this on the trip, so why did Nathan have it?
And he was a man, too—why would he even carry sunscreen?
"Wait… did you already know how bad this place would be?" she asked suspiciously as she accepted the bottle.
"You think so? If I had known, would I really have dressed this heavily?"
Nathan pointed at the jacket tied around his waist.
Truth be told, he would never normally bring something like sunscreen. This one he had simply purchased from his system's shop.
If it weren't for the fact that Evelyn had been helping him so much recently, he wouldn't have cared in the slightest about whether her skin got ruined or not.
"Then why do you even have something like this?" she asked again as she began applying it carefully.
But before Nathan could answer, his sharp eyes caught sight of something ahead.
A patch of vivid green appeared in the distance—a lush oasis in the midst of the desert.
His heart leapt with joy.
Finally, an oasis! At last, a reprieve from this endless torment!
"Ah! An oasis! I'm going there right now to cool off!"
Evelyn, still rubbing lotion into her skin, noticed that Nathan had stopped in his tracks. Following his gaze, she too saw the lush greenery ahead. Her face instantly lit up with delight.
She wasted no time summoning her flying Pokémon, eager to rush straight toward it.
Nathan followed suit, calling forth his Flygon to accompany her.
In what felt like only ten minutes, the two landed on the spot where the oasis had been.
But when their feet touched the sand, the greenery was gone.
All that surrounded them once more was lifeless desert.
Their expressions both fell.
"How the hell is there a mirage here when there isn't even a sun in the sky!?"
Evelyn kicked the sand in fury.
She had been so excited, convinced they'd found a true oasis where she could finally cool off. Yet it had been nothing more than an illusion.
The so-called oasis didn't exist at all. What they'd seen earlier had been nothing but a mirage.
Nathan too felt disappointed, but her words sparked a thought in his mind.
Mirages were caused by sunlight refracting through the air, creating visual illusions.
But here? It was indeed blazingly hot, yet there was no sun overhead—even though it was daytime.
Without sunlight, a natural mirage couldn't form.
So, what exactly had they seen earlier?
Almost at once, Nathan remembered a past experience in a different realm: the Trial Mystic realm.
In that place, every Pokémon was abnormally eager to fight. Yet, by the end, he discovered the truth—it had all been the influence of a single Pokémon.
Could it be the same here?
Was the oasis they had seen just now not a natural mirage, but an illusion conjured by some Pokémon?
A grin spread across Nathan's face.
"I think we've just stumbled across something big."
His voice was tinged with anticipation.
He loved encountering rare Pokémon—especially legendary ones. If this illusion had been caused by a legendary Pokémon, then it would be the perfect chance to send out his own team and let them experience a true battle.
Mewtwo and Volcarona had already reached legendary levels, but his other Pokémon still had yet to complete their "defeat three legendaries" trials.
This could be the opportunity he'd been waiting for.
"What do you mean, 'something big'?"
Evelyn asked with confusion, staring at him in puzzlement.
(End of Chapter)