"Thank you. By the way, is there any progress regarding the Dark Spirit Organization?"
Hearing the fatigue in the vice president's voice, Nathan first expressed his thanks, then got straight to the point.
A man's sixth sense told Nathan—
The Dark Spirit Organization's experiments were absolutely not simple!
They needed Pokéblocks to provide nutrition…
No, perhaps they needed extremely high-quality Pokéblocks!
Otherwise, the Dark Spirit Organization could have simply bought them from a studio instead of risking so much to steal the formula!
At the mere mention of the Dark Spirit Organization, the vice president's voice turned noticeably serious.
"There's been significant progress, but we still need more time," he said.
"You know as well as I do—unless they make a major move, those rats from the Dark Spirit Organization are even better at hiding than real rats!"
"And if the League makes too big a move, it could cause massive public backlash and unpredictable consequences!"
Not to mention, for every discontented person in this world, there's a potential recruit for the Dark Spirit Organization!
One wrong move, and it would be impossible to predict how other countries might react internationally!
Because in this world, the Celestial Star where Nathan lived had stood tall for far too long.
So long that, at the first sign of weakness, every hungry wolf would bare its fangs without hesitation!
"I understand. But you might want to focus your investigation on customers making massive purchases of Pokéblocks,"
Nathan said calmly, as if expecting it.
"The Dark Spirit Organization's goal is the Pokéblock formula. It's possible they'll try to reverse-engineer it."
If something exists, it must have a reason for existing.
If the Dark Spirit Organization could be taken down that easily, Nathan would actually feel something was wrong!
"You don't need to tell me that—the League's already on it."
"And besides giving you a heads-up, the League is also offering some compensation. Want to know what it is?"
The vice president, as if rolling his eyes through the phone, suddenly gave a sly grin.
As if to say, "Beg me, and I'll tell you!"
"I'm not in urgent need of any other resources, so if you're using that tone I can already imagine even through the phone…
it must be some kind of stone, right?"
Nathan said with a hint of excitement, guessing the possibility.
He knew that handing the formula to the League would bring him some benefits.
But even one Z-Crystal or Mega Evolution stone would exceed his expectations!
Those things could never be enough!
Even just one more could become something priceless in the future!
He could even sell two for an insane profit…
Yes, Nathan could already picture himself getting rich overnight and sweeping the system store clean.
The vice president looked a little awkward but finally admitted, "You guessed right. To recruit a genius like you, the League paid a hefty price for these stones."
"They were shipped out this morning. Make sure your phone stays on."
'Young people who are too smart can be a headache too!'
The vice president finally understood this a little.
He had been busy for days because of Nathan, yet he couldn't even tease him for a second!
Just as the vice president was about to hang up,
Nathan chuckled lightly and said, "Make sure you watch the entire national tournament this time. Wait for it—I'll give you a big surprise with those stones!"
Nathan was never one to forget kindness.
No matter the reason, whether it was purely for profit or not,
he would not forget someone who helped him.
In this world filled with Pokémon,
Nathan still wished for a little more beauty and goodness.
Not much—just enough to resemble the childhood and youth he once lost.
Maybe that was why, even though he had trained Volcarona in the wild since young,
Nathan could still remain kind to others in human society.
"You brat! I'll hold you to it! If there's no surprise, I won't forgive you!"
"And don't forget about that mystic realm I told you about."
"If you want to shine in the national tournament, that's your best opportunity."
After jokingly scolding him, the vice president reminded him again about the secret realm before hanging up.
Looking at the news flashing the words "Pokéblock" on the screen,
the vice president smiled slightly.
At least his three sleepless nights hadn't been in vain.
When the national tournament came, maybe that 'vice' in his title could finally be dropped.
As for what was happening on the vice president's side, Nathan had no idea.
After hanging up, he continued training his Pokémon with excitement.
And the League's delivery didn't disappoint him.
That very night, right after he finished making Pokéblocks, the delivery arrived!
"Now, it's time for the grand unboxing ceremony!"
Looking at the metal password-protected box, Nathan grinned broadly.
Even though he was confident he could get Metagross and Volcarona to Mega Evolve by the time of the national tournament,
the more Pokémon he could Mega Evolve, the better!
To ensure maximum luck, Nathan didn't open the box immediately.
Instead, he washed his face and hands, lit incense, and prayed.
The Pokémon munching on Pokéblocks nearby looked at him with confusion.
'What the heck is our trainer doing?'
Even Volcarona, who knew him best, had a bunch of question marks floating over its tiny head.
…
After completing all his ritualistic preparations, Nathan finally opened the box.
As expected, there were a lot of stones inside,
but most of them were rare treasures rather than Mega Evolution stones or Z-Crystals.
"This is… Garchomp's Mega Stone? Not useful for now,"
Nathan muttered, shaking his head after carefully selecting one of the stones.
Garchomp, like Metagross, was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon—
even without intensive training, it could still become incredibly powerful.
Unfortunately, before the national tournament, aside from a certain Grass-type and the offspring of that pokemon in Gengar's mystic realm,
Nathan had no plans to raise any more Pokémon.
Biting off more than he could chew would only slow him down.
Putting the Garchompite away, Nathan continued meticulously picking through the stones.
"Huh? What's this…"
Holding a stone that looked like blood-red jade, Nathan tilted his head.
Stones like this, though valuable, were scattered among the pile of treasures.
But for some reason, this particular bloodstone felt perfect for making a Volcarona accessory!
Pocketing the bloodstone, Nathan went back to sorting.
It took him about fifteen minutes to finally organize the entire box.
The League had really been generous—the box's height reached his waist,
and the stones took up at least two-thirds of the space!
Beyond his personal preferences, many of these rare stones could easily be sold for a fortune!
But for now, Nathan had no intention of selling them.
Laying out all the Mega Stones and Z-Crystals on the table,
there were eleven in total—nine Mega Stones and two Z-Crystals.
The Z-Crystals were one Fire-type and one Fighting-type.
It was worth noting that although nine Mega Stones seemed a lot, there was a lot of duplication.
For example, he now had three Beedrill Mega Stones if he included the one he already owned!
"Guess I'll just sell them. Beedrill's a money pit anyway,"
Nathan muttered, twitching at the corner of his mouth while looking at the otherwise beautiful stones.
But not everything was bad—
one Sceptile Mega Stone caught his eye!
"Alright then… Let's choose Sceptile!"
Thinking of a certain Treecko that always seemed unusually mature,
Nathan stroked his chin.
That Treecko had always given him the impression of a young man in an old soul's body.
Nathan had even secretly observed it battling other Pokémon—
its fighting style was so calm that unless the power gap was too big, it could maintain an impressively high win rate!
Now, with a Mega Stone in hand, Nathan made the decision without much hesitation.
The next morning,
Nathan didn't rush to find Treecko right away.
Following his usual routine, he trained his Pokémon first.
"Mimikyu, don't focus on adding more Shadow Balls! Work on keeping the energy inside chaotic and unstable!"
"Flygon, that's it! Draw out all your Dragon-type strength!"
"Zeraora, that's not how you use Raikiri! Learn to walk before you try to run!"
…
After a fiery morning training session, and finishing lunch, Nathan finally set out to find the Treecko he had set his sights on.
According to his observations, the Treecko only appeared regularly during this time frame.
As for why he didn't just track down its home… well, Nathan wasn't a creep.
"There you are!"
As expected, spotting the Treecko, Nathan's eyes lit up and he immediately walked toward it.
But unexpectedly—