Even though he was taking a break, considering the dangers they had just faced, Nathan still released a few of his Pokémon.
Mimikyu lay curled up on his left side, while Volcarona settled on his right—one cold, one hot, making for a surprisingly balanced combination. The bulky Pangoro and Metagross each found a suitable spot outside the tent to rest. Flygon quickly dug itself a hole in the ground and nestled into it.
Night fell, silent and deep.
Only the sound of breathing filled the air.
Time passed quickly.
As the first rays of morning sunlight spilled across the ground, the golden light bathed the forest in a gilded glow. A gentle breeze brushed across the face, bringing a sense of comfort and joy.
"Looks like it's going to be another great day," Nathan murmured with a smile as he unzipped his tent and looked out at the golden sunlight streaming through the trees.
He stretched and yawned, then climbed out of the tent and began washing up using the water he carried with him.
He could leave this island cluster at any time now.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
Nathan wanted to use this time to train Mimikyu and raise its strength.
There was still some time before the National Tournament. While Nathan didn't have full confidence in winning the championship, that didn't stop him from wanting to give it a shot.
If he could get Volcarona to reach the Champion level before the tournament, and get one or two of his other Pokémon to the Elite level—even if not all of them—then winning the championship wouldn't be out of the question.
After all, he still had Dynamax and Z-Moves.
Let's put Z-Moves aside for now.
Volcarona had begun to show some changes thanks to the help of the Wishing Star fragment.
Its body had grown larger than before.
Subtle dark-red patterns were beginning to appear on its body and wings.
These were the first signs of Dynamax transformation.
In Nathan's view, there were two types of Dynamax. One was through a Dynamax Band, which used the power of a Wishing Star to temporarily make a Pokémon Dynamax. But that kind of Dynamax was time-limited.
The other type occurred when a Pokémon slowly absorbed the energy radiating from a Wishing Star over time, gradually attaining a permanent Dynamax form.
Volcarona belonged to the latter category.
However, since Volcarona only carried a shard of a Wishing Star, the process was quite slow.
Still, if it could reach the Champion level and achieve Dynamax form before the National Tournament, then winning might really be possible.
While washing up—
"Q~"
Mimikyu floated over to Nathan, holding a phone in its hands and passing it over to him. The phone was vibrating—someone was calling.
There was still some signal in the area, so it wasn't impossible to reach the mainland.
Nathan spit out the foam from his mouth, rinsed out, and wiped his face with a towel hanging from his neck before picking up the phone.
"Yo, William. What're you calling me so early for?"
"You brat, I'm your homeroom teacher. Call me teacher," said William from the other end of the line, smiling wryly at Nathan's casual tone.
"Eh, little details like that don't matter. So, what's up?" Nathan chuckled.
"Alright, fine," William sighed. "There's only half a month left until the college entrance exams. Whatever you're dealing with over there, try to wrap it up soon. Our school's going to have an exhibition match with other schools, and we'll need you to participate."
"The entrance exam, huh…"
Nathan scratched his head and thought for a moment before replying, "Alright. But I still need to head to North City first. I'll try to make it back before the exams."
"As long as you remember. Plenty of people from our school will be there too—university professors and such. I reckon they want to see how much you've improved... and maybe even try to recruit you," William reminded him before hanging up.
Nathan handed the phone back to Mimikyu and shook his head before continuing with his morning routine and preparing breakfast.
There were still two weeks before the exam, so there was no rush.
As for college, he had already made up his mind and wasn't going to change it.
Everything could wait until the time came.
First, he had to go to North City. The Gym Badge there was secondary—the main goal was to find Palkia and have it team up with the Calyrex to fix the secret realm issue.
After breakfast—
Nathan glanced at Mimikyu, who was playing with the phone, and said, "Alright, Mimikyu. Time to start training. Get ready for battle."
"Q~"
Mimikyu put the phone down and nodded seriously.
Nathan didn't say anything more. He packed up his things, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and set off with Mimikyu in a certain direction.
The forest was full of wild Pokémon.
Early morning was feeding time for many of them.
Sure enough, after only a few steps, Nathan ran into a Pokémon.
It was a Pidgeotto. It looked like it had just returned from the sea and was feasting on a Magikarp. Even though Magikarp didn't have much meat, it was part of a Pidgeotto's natural diet.
"Yo, Pidgeotto. How about a quick battle to wake you up?" Nathan called out with a grin.
"Pid?"
Pidgeotto gave Nathan a puzzled look, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Heh, beat me, and I'll give you this. Bet it tastes better than that Magikarp," Nathan smiled and pulled out a Pokéblock.
"Pid~"
Pidgeotto eyed the Pokéblock suspiciously.
Nathan chuckled and casually tossed it toward Pidgeotto.
The bird caught it in one gulp and swallowed.
"Well? There's more where that came from—if you can beat me," Nathan tempted it.
After savoring the flavor, Pidgeotto's eyes lit up. It flapped its wings.
Let's battle!
Whoosh!
With a sharp cry, Pidgeotto shot forward in a flash of light, swooping down toward Mimikyu like a bolt of lightning.
Its speed was astonishing—boosted further by the move Quick Attack—making it nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.
But Nathan reacted instantly. "Mimikyu, Double Team!"
Double Team was a Normal-type move. As long as the user had decent speed, learning it wasn't too difficult. After Nathan bought the TM for Mimikyu, it didn't take long to master it.
"Q~"
Mimikyu suddenly split into multiple illusory copies—one became two, two became four, four became eight.
Eight Mimikyu clones now stood in front of Pidgeotto, making it impossible to tell which one was real. Pidgeotto had no choice but to pick one and charge in.
But the one it struck vanished instantly—it was fake.
The real Mimikyu had already moved behind Pidgeotto.
"Mimikyu, Hone Claws, then strike!"
Nathan's voice rang out.
"Q~!"
Without hesitation, Mimikyu lunged forward. A shadowy claw shimmered at its right hand, glowing with a sharp light as it slashed across.
"Pid~!"
Pidgeotto let out a cry of pain as it was sent flying. It managed to stabilize midair and hurriedly climbed higher.
"Mimikyu, use Scary Face, then attack again!" Nathan ordered with a grin.
"Q~~!"
A piercing screech erupted from Mimikyu's mouth, sharp and chilling. At the same time, its claws glinted with a cold gleam.
Pidgeotto froze midair for a split second—startled by the terrifying cry.
While Normal-types are immune to Ghost-type damage, they aren't immune to fear.
In that instant of hesitation, Mimikyu struck again.
Before Pidgeotto could fully recover, a powerful hit landed on its stomach.
"Pid—!"
With a painful cry, Pidgeotto tumbled from the sky and crashed to the ground, knocked out.
Seeing this, Nathan quickly stepped forward. A gentle green glow of Viridian power shone in his palm as he healed Pidgeotto.
After that, he took out another Pokéblock and offered it to the bird.
"Taste good?" Nathan asked with a grin.
"Pid~"
Pidgeotto nodded, then looked at its belly and shook its head, as if saying, It's tasty, but I'm full.
Nathan understood and chuckled, patting the bird's head.
"No worries, I'll give you some to keep for later. But you've got to help me with something, deal?"
"Pid?"
Pidgeotto tilted its head curiously, thinking for a moment, then nodded.
"Hehe, my Mimikyu needs some good sparring partners to train. If you could call over your flock for some battles—one Pokéblock per opponent—how about it?"
Pidgeotto didn't agree right away. It seemed to be thinking.
It had a lot of flockmates.
If one got a treat, that meant…
Many, many treats?!
Eyes lighting up, Pidgeotto suddenly looked thrilled. It nodded eagerly and took off with a loud cry, flying off to rally its companions.
Watching it go, Nathan smiled expectantly. He clapped his hands and handed a berry to Mimikyu.
"Here, have a bite and get some energy back. We might be in for a big fight soon."
"Q~"
Mimikyu nodded and took the berry.
As for how it ate…
Well, Mimikyu used shadowy tendrils to grab the food and slip it under its disguise.
It looked kind of sneaky.
A little strange…
But also somehow weirdly cute.
Once Mimikyu finished eating—
Rustle rustle!
A sound echoed in the distance.
Nathan looked up—and his jaw dropped.
"Holy crap."