There simply wasn't enough time to be sure.
He could only wait until he found Palkia and then decide.
Having confirmed his next steps, Nathan finally stood up and headed to the training room with Pangoro, ready to train and record Pangoro's "Energy Stance."
The so-called "Energy Stance" was a newly named move by Nathan—referring to Pangoro's form after ingesting an Energy Ball.
…
Inside the Training Room
Nathan held a notebook in his hand, while Mimikyu prepared to record the session with a phone.
Then, Nathan looked toward Pangoro and gave the command,
"Swallow the Energy Ball!"
"Roar!"
Pangoro nodded. Over the past few days, it had already learned how to form an Energy Ball. Upon hearing the command, a green Energy Ball instantly materialized in its right hand.
The moment the Energy Ball appeared, Pangoro swallowed it whole.
Immediately after, its body swelled visibly, becoming even more muscular. A faint emerald glow began to shimmer on the surface of its skin.
"Roar!!"
Pangoro roared again as a wave of intense pressure burst forth from its body.
"Attack the dummy!"
Nathan commanded, his eyes closely observing Pangoro's physique.
As soon as the words fell, Pangoro stepped forward—not even using Shave (Soru)—and its figure vanished from its spot, reappearing in the blink of an eye in front of a dummy. It punched.
No special move—just a regular punch.
But the power behind it was terrifying.
The dummy was sent flying, crashing into the wall. The force of the impact nearly tore it apart.
"Don't stop. Keep attacking," Nathan called out again.
Power.
Speed.
Defense.
All of it needed to be recorded—to see how much of a boost this form provided.
And finally, Nathan needed to determine whether Pangoro could recover from injuries while in the Energy Stance—and if so, how fast the recovery was.
The sounds of violent impacts echoed constantly throughout the training room.
Thankfully, this was a five-star Pokémon hotel, and the training rooms were specifically built for Pokémon—constructed with top-grade materials to withstand even peak Gym-level Pokémon training.
As for Elite-level...
Sorry, if you want to die, don't drag the entire hotel down with you.
..
"Not bad. The Energy Stance can last about three minutes per use,"
Nathan said with an excited smile, jotting down notes in his notebook.
"Pangoro has the ability Sap Sipper, so it experiences no side effects after entering the Energy Stance. It can immediately re-enter the form by swallowing another Energy Ball. Once in the stance, Pangoro's strength, speed, and other attributes all receive a noticeable boost."
As he recorded, Nathan's eyes suddenly lit up as he murmured to himself,
"Not only that... while in the Energy Stance, Pangoro's body is brimming with natural energy. If it uses Grass-type moves in this state, perhaps their power will far surpass what's typical for other Grass-type Pokémon. I should write that down and test it later."
If that turned out to be true,
Then in the future, Pangoro's Grass-type moves might be...
A normal Grass-type Pokémon might release a Leaf Storm with dozens of leaves.
Pangoro, on the other hand, could reach over a hundred.
Most Pokémon's Vine Whip has two vines.
Pangoro's? Hmm... still just two—but their thickness might rival soccer balls.
Totally ridiculous.
Cough cough
Of course, this would need time and testing.
After finishing his notes, Nathan raised his hand and called out,
"Pangoro, take a break for now."
"Roar?"
Pangoro looked at its trainer in confusion—it was just starting to have fun. Why stop now?
Nathan tugged at the Poké Ball hanging from his neck and said,
"Next, I'm going to have Volcarona attack you. Don't dodge—take the hit with your body."
"Roar?"
Are you kidding me?
Pangoro's expression said it all.
That's big bro Volcarona you're talking about.
Getting hit by his moves isn't something to take lightly.
"Relax. You'll be fine," Nathan said gently with a narrow-eyed smile. "I'll have Volcarona hold back, of course. But if you refuse, I'll lock you in here with him for the entire afternoon—so the two of you can have some fun."
Locked in together for the afternoon...?
Pangoro immediately perked up, pounding its chest and letting out a fierce roar—practically screaming, "Let Volcarona attack me right now!"
What? You think it wants to spar with Volcarona? No way.
It just doesn't want to get pummeled all afternoon.
Nathan smirked and unclipped a Poké Ball.
"Volcarona, come out. Hit Pangoro with a Hurricane!".
"Vol!"
As soon as Volcarona appeared, the temperature in the training room surged.
Following Nathan's order without hesitation, Volcarona flapped its wings, unleashing a terrifying gust of wind that blasted toward Pangoro.
Hurricane was a Flying-type move—super effective against Fighting-types.
If Volcarona had gone all out, Pangoro wouldn't have stood a chance and would've been knocked out instantly.
But Volcarona understood that Pangoro was a teammate.
It only used about one-third of its full power.
Even so, the attack was ferocious.
The storm engulfed Pangoro.
A pained grunt escaped Pangoro's mouth.
One could clearly see fresh wounds appearing across its muscular body—some deep, some shallow.
When the storm subsided, Pangoro had taken considerable damage.
Nathan's eyes showed a trace of concern, but he quickly said,
"Pangoro, Energy Stance."
"Roar."
Pangoro nodded and formed another Energy Ball, swallowing it again.
That soft emerald glow reappeared across its body.
Then—
Nathan's eyes widened in surprise and excitement.
"It's recovering! It really works—hahaha!"
Before his eyes, as Pangoro entered the Energy Stance again, the wounds on its body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Soon, the injuries left by Hurricane had completely disappeared.
It looked as if Pangoro had never been hurt at all.
However, while the wounds were healed, Pangoro also exited the Energy Stance.
Seeing this, Nathan stroked his chin thoughtfully and murmured,
"So it's confirmed. While in the Energy Stance, Pangoro can recover from injuries—but it consumes natural energy to do so. Once the injuries are healed, that energy is depleted, and the stance ends."
That wouldn't do.
In a battle, swallowing an Energy Ball took up valuable time.
It would be best if Pangoro could form Energy Balls rich in natural energy.
That way, the Energy Stance could last longer, and Pangoro would stay full of energy.
"Maybe Pangoro can compress natural energy when forming the Energy Ball?"
Nathan pondered this, recording one possibility after another in his notebook.
…
After spending the entire morning in the training room, Nathan finally stepped out with his Pokémon.
Stretching his limbs, he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, a smile of satisfaction on his face.
"Not bad. Another productive day."
Pangoro's Energy Stance was incredibly powerful.
A one-of-a-kind form.
As far as Nathan knew, his Pangoro was the only one in the world capable of achieving such a state.
Other Pangoro might awaken Grass-type Hidden Power,
But they definitely wouldn't have the Sap Sipper ability.
Without that, swallowing an Energy Ball would be practically suicide.
Nathan believed that once Pangoro's Energy Stance was refined further,
It would be unmatched among Pokémon of the same tier.
Even if it had just entered Elite-level,
It could still go toe-to-toe with top-tier Elite.
Maybe it wouldn't win, but it definitely wouldn't lose.
Unless there was a major type disadvantage.
After all, Nathan only needed to focus on boosting Pangoro's defense.
Once in the Energy Stance, Pangoro's stats received a huge boost—
Plus the ability to recover from injuries at will—
And an overwhelming offensive power.
It was genuinely terrifying.
"Oh right, stamina needs focused training too," Nathan added, jotting another note in his book.
After lunch at the hotel,
Nathan gave his parents a quick call to let them know where he was,
Then packed up and headed for the airport.
…
Evening – North City
Nathan stepped off the plane, a cool breeze brushing against him.
Wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, he actually felt a little cold.
North City's weather wasn't warm to begin with, and today the sky was overcast with heavy clouds.
Cold was to be expected.
Come winter, this whole city would be blanketed in white—bitterly cold.
"First, find a hotel. Then I'll go challenge the Gym."
Nathan muttered as he hailed a taxi and made his way toward the hotel he'd booked.
In the back of his mind, he reviewed the information about the local Gym.
The North City Gym Leader was a middle-aged man named Luke Thomas,
And his ace Pokémon was a Elite-level Charizard.
When facing a single-type specialist Gym,
The first thing to consider was whether he had any Pokémon that could counter Fire-types.
There weren't many types that counter Fire: Ground, Rock, and Water.
He didn't have a Water-type.
Nor a Rock-type.
But he did have a Ground-type: Flygon.
Flygon had already reached Gym-level strength, though its moveset wasn't very developed yet.
Still, with its Sandstorm strategy, it should be enough for the challenge.
With that thought, Nathan made up his mind.
The sky was growing dim.