After treating Scyther's injuries, Nathan turned to Zeraora and smiled.
"As expected of you! Well done!"
"Zorr!"
But Zeraora didn't show any pride—on the contrary, it was impatient to begin the next phase of training.
This kind of rapid, visible progress in strength had completely hooked Zeraora!
"It's not that I don't want to let you continue training," Nathan said, firmly rejecting Zeraora's plea, "but you've already reached your limit. If you keep pushing like this, it'll start affecting your potential."
Among Nathan's current seven Pokémon, none trained harder than Zeraora.
Besides battling during the day, Zeraora only rested for three to four hours each night.
Even with Nathan's Viridian Power, such intense training wasn't sustainable—Zeraora would eventually collapse!
"Zorr..."
Zeraora let out an unwilling growl but was swiftly returned to its Poké Ball.
"I really wonder what it's been through to become so obsessed with power."
Looking at the Poké Ball in his hand, Nathan sighed slightly.
Still, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Without such sheer determination, Zeraora wouldn't have been able to materialize a purely conceptual move in this world.
"But since Chidori is already so hard, the Lightning Chakra Mode will take even longer—it's not something that can be rushed."
Nathan mused inwardly as he gifted some Pokéblocks to the Scyther colony.
In the Naruto world, Chidori is an A-rank jutsu. Its evolved form, Raikiri, is S-rank.
But there's still a massive gap between Raikiri, Lightning Chakra Mode, and Hell Stab—and if you know, you know!
"Forget it, you can't get fat from one bite. Time to start training Volcarona next."
"The National Tournament is coming up—I can't show up without even a single champion-level Pokémon."
Shaking his head, Nathan resumed his exploration of the Wandering Mountains.
With the hunter's field guide that Dyson had given him, exploring was a breeze.
Almost every Pokémon above the Elite level had detailed entries in the guide!
Nathan couldn't help but marvel at the talent of the hunter who had written it.
Forget other things—even a hundred ordinary hunters couldn't possibly study a Tyranitar's living habits so thoroughly.
Even Anna and Dyson, trainers who were barely Advanced-level themselves, managed to steal Tyranitar's child thanks to this guide!
"Huh? The sixth Elite-tier Pokémon is a Butterfree? That's rare!"
"But this should be the last Elite-tier Pokémon here—looks like the mission is nearly complete."
After recording the details about the Elite-tier Butterfree, Nathan nodded to himself.
All that remained was investigating the three overlords of the Wandering Mountains, and the task would be perfectly done.
But just as Nathan was basking in satisfaction, a disturbance erupted!
It started with a roar—
A roar from the Tyranitar, one of the two Champion-tier Pokémon in the Wandering Mountains!
Then came a low growl from the other Champion-tier Pokémon—a Dragonite!
Finally, the ground itself began to tremble!
"This... this is the aura of Legendary Pokémon? And more than one?!"
Nathan's pupils contracted as he spoke in disbelief.
Individually, the auras might not seem overwhelmingly powerful—perhaps only dozens of times stronger than a Steelix.
But when several Legendary auras converged, it created a kind of chemical reaction!
"Damn it… could it be that the overlords of the three hidden realms within the Wandering Mountains are all Legendary Pokémon?"
With that thought, Nathan felt not just a headache coming on—but even something below the belt aching.
Three Legendary Pokémon?!
That's no joke!
And to make matters worse, Zeraora had mentioned that two of them weren't particularly friendly toward humans—
And the third one might be a complete lunatic!
"Screw it, time to bail!"
Clutching Steelix's Poké Ball, Nathan made the only reasonable decision.
Against Champion-tier or even Master-tier Pokémon, Gigantamaxed Steelix might still give him a shot at survival.
But three Legendary Pokémon?
Nope—no way he was messing with that!
To hell with the mission!
However, just as Nathan was about to flee, his body suddenly vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared—
He was already at the peak of the Wandering Mountains!
The thin air made it hard to breathe, but what truly left Nathan stunned were the three Legendary Pokémon before him.
Because he had recognized them.
"Raikou, Suicune, Entei!"
That's right—the three Legendary Pokémon atop the Wandering Mountains were none other than the three felines under Ho-Oh!
For this reason, although Nathan was anxious, he wasn't quite in despair.
"If I remember correctly, these three are about the same level as the Legendary Birds… but this is reality…"
Under the combined gaze of the three Legends, Nathan felt more bitter than terrified.
In this world, a Legendary is a Legendary.
Even the so-called "Tier-3 Legendaries" possessed strength leagues beyond Steelix!
Let alone three of them at once!
Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Nathan spoke up:
"May I ask what business the three of you have with me?"
Seeing that Nathan had the courage to speak first, Raikou and Suicune's eyes didn't waver.
Calm and indifferent, with a trace of disgust—not aimed at Nathan personally, but at humanity as a whole.
Only Entei's eyes held a trace of approval. A faint, weak voice then echoed directly in Nathan's mind:
[Human, we seek your help. More accurately, I need your help.]
"Please speak, Lord Entei. If it's within my power, I'll give it my all!"
Without hesitation, Nathan responded.
He didn't know why Raikou and Suicune harbored such resentment toward humans, or why Entei was weakened—
But to befriend a Legendary Pokémon, Nathan would never pass up such an opportunity!
Raikou and Suicune looked surprised by how readily he agreed.
Entei's voice rang out again in his mind.
[Human, I need the mark Ho-Oh left on your body. Even knowing this, are you still willing?]
Ho-Oh's mark?!
Nathan was startled.
He had thought that time Ho-Oh's projection looked at him was just petty vengeance from the ugliest Legendary pokemon…
But to think Ho-Oh actually left a mark on him?!
After a moment's internal struggle, Nathan firmly replied:
"If it can help you, Lord Entei, I'm more than willing."
"However, I do have one request. I hope that none of the Elite-tier or stronger Pokémon in the Wandering Mountains will attack human cities."
"Of course, I'll also communicate with the human authorities to ensure they don't disturb the mountains without reason."
This time, Raikou and Suicune looked at Nathan with entirely different eyes.
No longer as a human, but almost like some new kind of being.
Noticing their gaze, Nathan pretty much figured out the situation.
It was probably the hunter's fault again!
Anyone who could create such a detailed field guide clearly did more than just observe.
It all made sense now.
Suicune, Raikou, and even Zeraora's bias likely stemmed from that same hunter—
A prejudice not against a person, but against the entire human race!
Maybe they wouldn't strike first, but they clearly resented humans deeply.
Nathan couldn't help getting pissed.
If that hunter wasn't already dead, Nathan would've beaten him to a pulp!
Entei's gaze grew even more approving and kind. It felt Nathan was truly worthy of being chosen by Ho-Oh.
[Human, you're quite impressive. We accept your request. In addition, you may make one more wish.]
Hearing this, Nathan couldn't help but smile.
All that effort building goodwill had paid off!
Legendary Pokémon really weren't petty after all!
As for Ho-Oh's mark?
Honestly, Nathan didn't feel bad about giving it up—he actually felt relieved.
Who knew if Ho-Oh had been listening to his internal grumbling all along?
If Ho-Oh was that petty, Nathan could've been burnt to a crisp by now!
Very soon, a radiant point of light resembling a star emerged from Nathan's body—
And slowly merged into Entei.
Then, Entei's majestic form was wrapped in a molten cocoon, glowing with a divine warmth.
"Ho-Oh's power is really this strong? Just a mark, and it can have this kind of effect?"
Watching this scene, Nathan couldn't help but click his tongue in awe.
There was no doubt—
Entei, Raikou, and Suicune were all absurdly powerful.
Definitely above level 81!