However, by using the Awakening Fruit, if the Pokémon awakens the power of the Electric type, it will essentially gain an additional Electric-type energy.
That said, its original types—Fire and Bug—remain unchanged. So, any type advantages or disadvantages still apply based on its original typing.
To put it simply, using the Awakening Fruit adds a new power within the Pokémon, but doesn't change its fundamental nature.
Therefore, this fruit is extremely valuable.
As for the Viridian Power —there's no need to explain too much. It's a mysterious ability from the original series, considered a gift from nature or even a type of superpower.
Though it doesn't have any offensive capabilities, it allows the user to communicate with Pokémon and heal their injuries, making it incredibly useful in the wild.
In critical moments, there's no need to worry about not having medicine to treat your Pokémon.
And finally, the Ho-Oh feather and the Azure Flute.
The Ho-Oh feather is exactly what it sounds like—a feather from Ho-Oh.
The Azure Flute, despite its majestic name, is really just a flute. Its function is similar to that of the Soothe Bell, though the Soothe Bell is meant for Pokémon to carry, while the Azure Flute is for humans to use.
If used properly, it can help resolve sudden dangerous incidents involving Pokémon.
All in all, the rewards this time are incredibly generous.
As expected from the prize for winning the championship.
[Ding! Would you like to claim your rewards?]
"No."
Nathan refused without hesitation.
He still had to go receive the official championship prizes.
Not long after, staff members came to invite Nathan to the stage to collect his rewards. There were already several trainers waiting there—the top ten finalists.
That included Helen and the others.
When they saw Nathan, they greeted him with smiles.
"As expected, you really did win the championship."
"So jealous! You get to choose another great Pokémon."
"See you at the national tournament next!"
Nathan responded to each of them with a smile, and finally made his way to the center of the stage.
Then, a familiar face stepped onto the stage—Vice President Cloud.
As he walked up, he winked at Nathan, as if to say, "Surprised to see me here?"
The corner of Nathan's mouth twitched, but he remained silent and waited patiently.
Vice President Cloud was in charge of distributing the rewards.
One by one, he handed out the prizes to the trainers, until he finally reached Nathan.
Beside him, an assistant held three trays.
One tray held four Poké Balls for Nathan to choose from.
Another held four TM Discs—again, Nathan could pick one.
The last tray had a held item, an evolution stone, and a card containing one million Pokécoins.
Originally, the champion prize was supposed to be a Pokémon egg, but due to time constraints—and because Pokémon descended from Elite Trainers were rare and hard to come by—some of the eggs had already hatched during the tournament.
So now the Pokémon were placed inside Poké Balls for selection.
The four Pokémon inside were exactly the ones Nathan had seen earlier in the handbook.
Vice President Cloud smiled and asked, "Have you decided which one to pick?"
"Of course," Nathan nodded. "The Trapinch."
"The Trapinch, huh?" Vice President Cloud nodded approvingly. "A solid choice. You definitely need a good riding Pokémon right now. And even if you find a better one in the future, this one is absolutely worth training."
As he spoke, he picked up the corresponding Poké Ball and handed it to Nathan.
Then he explained the TMs.
Each TM was matched with a specific move, and each was carefully prepared in advance to suit the four available Pokémon.
Since Nathan had chosen Trapinch, he naturally picked the TM for Dragon Pulse, a move that suited it well.
As for the other rewards:
The Evolution Stone was an extremely high-quality Fire Stone—useless for now, but could be sold for good money.
The held item was Soft Sand, which boosts the power of Ground-type moves—clearly selected to match Trapinch.
After selecting all the rewards, Nathan was also presented with a trophy.
It was shaped like a Poké Ball, symbolizing honor. It was gold-plated—well, "gold-plated," but still quite impressive.
Definitely something worth displaying at home.
Holding the trophy, Shane stood beside Nathan and the other winners as they posed for photos taken by reporters.
Once that was over, Nathan was ready to leave.
But before he could go, Shane grabbed him and asked, "Kid, you're planning to challenge the Gyms next, right?"
"Yeah," Nathan nodded.
"When are you going to take the Elite Trial Exam?" Cloud asked.
Nathan shrugged. "Not for a while. I'll wait until Trapinch evolves at least. Otherwise, I can't even apply for it. And there's no rush, right? The national tournament is still far off."
"True." Cloud nodded and patted Nathan on the shoulder with a smile. "In any case, just keep giving it your all. I've got high hopes for you. If you ever need anything, come find me."
"Will do. Don't worry—I won't hold back if I need help."
"Alright, then. Take care."
..
Before leaving, Nathan said goodbye to a few fellow contestants, then hopped on a shared bike and headed home.
Along the way, his phone wouldn't stop buzzing—obviously a lot of people were messaging him.
When he got home, he was surprised to find his mother waiting for him.
"Mom? What are you doing home?"
"I came back to wait for you, of course," she said, beaming. "That's my boy! I knew you'd win. Come on, hand over that trophy—I'm gonna put it somewhere nice and visible."
"Oh."
Nathan handed over the trophy from his backpack, a bit speechless.
His mom carefully examined it with a big, proud smile, handling it almost as if it were fragile glass. As a mother, there was no doubt—she was beaming with pride.
After setting the trophy in place, she said, "Nathan, what do you want for lunch? You just won a championship—whatever it is, I'll make it for you."
"You seriously don't know what I like to eat by now?" Nathan rolled his eyes.
Her smile widened. "Alright then, I'll head to the market. You get some rest. Your dad actually told me to come home and cook a good meal for you."
"Isn't Dad gonna be swamped without you?"
"Swamped? Nah! He's been bursting with pride ever since you started competing. He couldn't stop bragging to every guest that his son was the one battling on TV."
Nathan scratched his head and laughed. "Next time I'll bring home the national championship trophy too."
"I'll be waiting, don't you forget it."
With that, his mother left the house.
Nathan returned to his room and immediately claimed the system rewards.
A bunch of items appeared before his eyes:
A fruit.
A flute.
A parchment map.
And a feather.
At the same time, Nathan felt as though his body was being bathed in a hot spring—unbelievably comfortable.
It was as if some mysterious power was reshaping his body.
"So, this is the Viridian Power?" Nathan muttered.
As the sensation faded, he could feel the difference—there was a new energy inside him, familiar yet strange.
It was undoubtedly the Viridian Power.
A flash of red light appeared.
Pangoro materialized in front of Nathan, scratching its head with a confused look.
"Boss, why'd you bring me out? Are we fighting?"
It was clearly speaking in Pokémon cries, yet Nathan could understand every word.
"Not bad at all," Nathan said with a grin. "This will make communicating with Pokémon way easier. No more struggling to learn Pokémon language."
And the best part? It was controllable.
Nathan could only understand Pokémon speech when actively using the Viridian Power. Otherwise, it all sounded normal again.
If Pangoro hadn't already gone to the temporary center to heal after the battle, Nathan would've liked to test the healing function too.
After familiarizing himself with the Viridian Power, Nathan returned Pangoro to its Poké Ball and picked up the parchment map.
The moment he touched it, a surge of information flowed into his mind.
[Mysterious Map: Follow its route and it will lead you to a Pokémon that you are currently strong enough to face. Whether or not you can capture it will depend on your own ability.
What's that? You thought it'd be a legendary? No, don't dream. It's not a legendary.
But its potential is unquestionable.]
"A Pokémon with high potential?" Nathan muttered. "I wonder what it could be."
He glanced at the route marked on the map. It seemed oddly familiar.
Scratching his head, he quickly sat at his computer, pulled up a national map, and began comparing.
"Just as I thought—it's there."
He quickly pinpointed the location from the mysterious map—it was in the Silverpeak Mountains near the ancient city.
That area was quite dangerous, though not officially classified as a forbidden zone.
In short, it housed powerful Pokémon, albeit in small numbers.
Even the more common Pokémon there tended to be at Commander-level strength.
For ordinary trainers, the place would be extremely dangerous.
But for someone strong, it was worth exploring.
"The ancient city… I think there's a Normal-type Gym over there too." Nathan started searching online again.
Before long, he confirmed it—there was a Normal-type Gym in that area.
"In that case, I can challenge the Gym and explore the Silverpeak Mountains at the same time."
With Volcarona by his side, he wasn't too worried about life-threatening danger.
After planning his route, Nathan stored the map and picked up the other two items—
The Awakening Fruit, and the Ho-Oh feather.