Nathan asked curiously.
As long as it wasn't some impossibly harsh condition, he felt he could probably agree to whatever was asked.
"I want you to help me advance to the World-Class level!"
Xerneas' words were astonishing, completely unexpected.
To be honest, Nathan had never imagined that Xerneas' condition would actually be to advance to the World-Class level.
How should one put it… For other people, this condition would probably be unimaginably difficult.
Or perhaps not even possible at all.
But for Nathan, this condition was… just a tiny bit… ordinary, or even something he considered neither crucial nor impossible.
Yes—"dispensable" was the word.
Helping a Pokémon advance to the World-Class level, for Nathan, was nothing more than one of his own ultimate goals.
Even if Xerneas hadn't spoken up, he was already determined to find ways for his Pokémon to achieve that breakthrough.
Though this goal was incredibly difficult, something that might take an extremely long time to accomplish, Nathan had never once believed it to be impossible.
"Xerneas, do you know? I already have a personal goal—ten of them, in fact. My goal is to help all of my Pokémon advance to the World-Class level."
Instead of answering Xerneas' request directly, Nathan simply stated his own ambition.
But in truth, his ambition and Xerneas' request were aligned.
In other words, their goals did not conflict at all.
"It seems… starting today, I am a Pokémon who has found a master."
Hearing Nathan's words, Xerneas' mood instantly became excellent.
So good, in fact, that it could not be better—he had encountered a trainer whose dream matched his own.
To become the Pokémon of such a trainer—perhaps that was the greatest dream of all Pokémon.
Nathan burst into loud laughter, genuinely happy.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon squad that had been waiting outside hadn't been waiting very long when Nathan finally emerged.
Seeing his calm, expressionless face as he came out, they assumed that Nathan had failed to capture Xerneas.
"Sir, even if you didn't capture that Pokémon, it doesn't matter for someone like you."
"That's right—with your strength, there are plenty of powerful Pokémon you can capture."
…
Nathan swept his gaze across the squad, then suddenly split his face into a wide grin and laughed.
"Who said I didn't capture Xerneas? When I start training it in the Pokémon Six Styles, you'll be the first ones I call over!"
The entire squad froze at his words.
But moments later, all of them felt like their hearts had shattered.
They had just been kindly offering their instructor a few words of comfort—was it really necessary for him to torment them like this?
Unfair! Absolutely unfair!
Having successfully captured Xerneas, Nathan and Evelyn returned to the newly opened mystic realm.
Back here once again, the two of them, now familiar with the terrain, headed straight toward the place where they had previously encountered the mysterious illusions.
This time, with no one else around to interfere, Nathan had resolved to track down the Pokémon responsible for creating those illusions.
Evelyn, following at his side, could only pray silently in her heart: Please, anything but running into those Flygon again.
"Relax. We can't possibly be so unlucky as to bump into that Flygon swarm every single time."
Seeing how tense her expression was, Nathan offered words of reassurance.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at him.
Such lies could never be trusted.
Seeing her reaction, Nathan wisely decided not to push the matter further.
After all, saying more would only earn him more eye-rolls.
As he walked forward, Nathan lifted his gaze toward the distant horizon. The brightness of the sky filled his chest with ease and clarity.
He felt… comfortable. Ever since capturing Xerneas, it was as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.
As though nothing in the world could trouble him anymore.
"Evelyn, look at those dunes. Their color may be different from the sea, but don't they flow just like water?"
"See over there—those rolling waves of sand. Doesn't it make you feel much more at ease, just watching them?"
Nathan spoke while pointing at the undulating dunes in the distance.
But halfway through his words, he suddenly froze.
Something wasn't right.
There was no wind.
So how were the sands moving? How were these sand-waves being formed?
"It looks like trouble has found us again."
Nathan's eyes narrowed as he murmured while staring at the unnaturally shifting dunes.
Hearing this, Evelyn also turned her gaze toward the distance.
She could see it clearly too: the sand flowing like liquid down the slopes, even forming rolling waves in some places.
Such phenomena usually only happened for a few reasons—either it was caused by wind, or the shifting of the earth itself, or… the movement of a massive Pokémon.
Or perhaps the movement of an entire Pokémon swarm.
The first two possibilities were highly unlikely inside a mystic realm.
Which left only the latter two.
"...Nathan, I swear—even if I follow you on these resource expeditions in the future, I'm dragging Lily along. If I have to die, then you and your wife are both coming down with me!"
Evelyn gritted her teeth, furious.
Nathan quickly released Volcarona, swung himself onto its back, and rose swiftly into the sky.
From above, he looked down and finally saw it—an endless, dark mass crawling across the ground.
Upon closer inspection, his eyes widened.
Those enormous, disproportionate heads… it was a swarm of Durant.
But the numbers—this was too many.
Far more numerous even than the Flygon swarm they had encountered before.
Fortunately, at least this time, these Durant couldn't fly.
"Hurry and get on your Pokémon!"
Nathan called down to Evelyn.
She immediately released her flying-type partner and rose to join him in the air.
From high above, the two of them watched as that dark, seething carpet of Durant poured endlessly across the land beneath their feet.
Only after the swarm had finally passed did Evelyn exhale in relief, ready to descend again.
"Wait—don't rush. Let's observe a little longer, make sure they don't circle back."
Nathan stopped her.
Truthfully, running into two enormous swarms in succession—and in places not far apart—was far too strange.
Especially with Durant.
Durant were notoriously territorial Pokémon.
If they spotted any other creature intruding on their domain, they would almost certainly attack without hesitation.
With so many Durant gathered, their territory had to be enormous.
And yet, the Flygon swarm they'd run into earlier also operated in this same region.
Two massive swarms able to live together in such proximity…
If there wasn't some hidden cause behind it, Nathan wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, the Durant swarm appeared once again.
Only this time, they were on their way back.
"Perhaps if we follow these guys… we'll find the real answer."
….
(TN: Starting this part the story went bonkers. There's a missing part here and on the raws so It doesn't make since.)
The three people released their own Pokémon. As the partners of Trainers, of course these Pokémon would obey their commands.
"What a nuisance."
Nathan frowned as he glanced at the Pokémon they had summoned. Fortunately, they weren't very strong.
Right now, Nathan's anger toward this Malamar was boiling.
As a Pokémon, no one had provoked it—yet it deliberately chose to stir up trouble against humans.
"Evelyn, I'll leave these three to you."
He turned to his companion.
Evelyn nodded. Though she couldn't handle a legendary-level Pokémon, dealing with a few Trainers was still within her ability.
"Don't worry, leave them to me. I can take care of this."
With that, she pulled out several Poké Balls and sent her Pokémon into battle.
As for the three controlled humans and the Malamar itself, Nathan wasn't particularly worried.
What truly concerned him was the two massive swarms they had just seen—the Flygon and the Durant.
If Malamar somehow manipulated those swarms to return, facing that kind of overwhelming number would be terrifying, even for him.
"End it quickly."
Nathan gave the order firmly, then commanded his Frosmoth into the skies.
The nuisances were already being held back by Evelyn. Now, his sole focus was Malamar.
"Frosmoth—use Icy Wind! Mix it with Stun Spore!"
At his command, a chilling gust surged forth, but this time it wasn't an ordinary Icy Wind.
Carried within the freezing air were countless golden particles of paralyzing powder.
Frosmoth's attack spread across a wide area. Malamar, seeing the blizzard of powder sweeping in, tried to dodge—but with nowhere to escape, it had no choice but to brace itself.
The bone-chilling cold slammed into Malamar's body. On top of that, the Stun Spore embedded in the wind seeped into its skin, leaving its massive tentacles tingling and numb.
Even its two enormous arms could no longer move smoothly.
"Beautiful hit! Frosmoth, follow up with Aurora Beam!"
Seizing the advantage, Nathan immediately pressed forward.
Brilliant rainbow light condensed before Frosmoth and fired straight at Malamar.
The paralysis slowed Malamar's movements, leaving it unable to dodge.
But Malamar was no ordinary foe. It refused to sit there and be struck down.
In an instant, it conjured a shimmering Light Screen before its body.
A thin, translucent wall of light appeared just as the Aurora Beam shot forward.
(End of Chapter)