It immediately startled Squirtle, leaving it frozen in place.
"Mimikyu, take the opportunity—use Shadow Sneak!" Nathan gave the next command without hesitation.
"Q~"
Mimikyu's shadow extended beneath it, quickly looping behind Squirtle before launching a sudden strike.
Seeing this, Sam shouted in a panic, "Squirtle, dodge!"
"Squirt~!"
Squirtle snapped out of its daze at the sound of his voice and tried to dodge, but it was clearly too late.
Bang!
Shadow Sneak struck Squirtle directly, sending it flying and crashing to the ground.
But taking just one hit wasn't enough to knock Squirtle out of the fight. It quickly got back on its feet.
Sam immediately followed up. "Squirtle, Rapid Spin! Charge!"
"Squirt~!"
Squirtle retracted into its shell, which began spinning rapidly as it charged toward Mimikyu at high speed.
"Mimikyu, use Baby-Doll Eyes, then Shadow Sneak," Nathan said calmly, without a trace of panic.
As he finished speaking, a glint of light flashed across Mimikyu's eyes as it stared at the incoming Squirtle. Baby-Doll Eyes, a Fairy-type move, didn't deal damage, but it could lower the opponent's attack.
Right after using Baby-Doll Eyes, Mimikyu's shadow extended again.
But at that moment, Squirtle's attack had already arrived. It crashed fiercely into Mimikyu's body—but surprisingly, the hit didn't seem to do any damage. It only made Mimikyu's disguise wobble a little.
"How's that possible?" Sam exclaimed in shock.
The next second, Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak struck again from behind, sending Squirtle flying once more.
The corners of Nathan's mouth curled into a smile. "Mimikyu, rush it—use Astonish!"
"Q~"
Mimikyu nodded and dashed toward Squirtle.
Just as Squirtle was getting up from the ground and lifting its head, it found Mimikyu right in front of it.
Suddenly, from beneath Mimikyu's cloth, a sharp screech rang out—harsh and terrifying—causing Squirtle to stumble back in fear, its face filled with panic.
"Let's finish it, Mimikyu—Hex!"
"Q~"
Mimikyu released a ball of shadowy energy like a wisp of ghostly fire. Since the two were close, the attack instantly hit Squirtle.
Squirtle cried out in pain, but didn't fall just yet.
"Shadow Sneak," Nathan ordered again.
Mimikyu's shadow quickly spread from beneath its feet.
Bang!
A direct hit.
Squirtle was blasted back, fainting on the ground with no strength left to fight.
[Your Pokémon 'Mimikyu' has won the battle and gained experience points. Level increased to 17!]
"Nice work, Mimikyu. Come back," Nathan said with a smile, recalling Mimikyu into its Poké Ball.
Sam also recalled his Squirtle and smacked his lips. "Boss, you're still as strong as ever."
"Not bad yourself. I didn't expect you to catch a Squirtle," Nathan replied with a grin.
The two then headed to the nearby Pokémon Center to heal their Pokémon.
Afterward, Sam went home.
Nathan wandered around a bit before returning to his place.
Once home, he asked his mom for a sewing kit, then went to his room and released Mimikyu.
"Q~?"
Mimikyu looked at Nathan with curiosity.
"Here, this is for you."
Nathan handed Mimikyu the sewing kit.
"Q?"
Mimikyu tilted its head in confusion, clearly not understanding what it was for.
Nathan helplessly took out his phone, found a tutorial video on how to use a sewing kit, and handed it to Mimikyu to watch.
Meanwhile, he opened the system shop to buy a few TMs (Technical Machines) for Mimikyu.
Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw, then Phantom Force and Charm. As for Dazzling Gleam...
After a moment's thought, he bought it as well, though he wasn't in a rush for Mimikyu to learn it.
Next to him, Mimikyu finished watching the video and finally understood the purpose of the sewing kit. It carefully held the kit and let out a joyful sound.
"Q~!"
"As long as you like it," Nathan smiled, gently patting Mimikyu on the head.
…
The next day.
Nathan woke up and looked over to see Mimikyu beside him, still watching horror movies with earbuds in, holding his phone. He couldn't help but show a helpless smile.
Ghost-type Pokémon were usually more energetic at night, so Mimikyu hadn't slept at all. Before going to bed, Nathan had handed his phone to Mimikyu and queued up over a dozen horror movies he'd downloaded long ago—enough to play through the night.
He just didn't expect Mimikyu would still be watching in the morning—and clearly enjoying it, too.
Shaking his head, Nathan got up to wash, had breakfast, and fed his Pokémon. Then, carrying the gift he'd previously prepared, he headed to Lily's house.
Yeah.
He only stayed a few minutes.
Why? Because Lily's mom was too enthusiastic, urging him to start dating Lily already.
After returning home, Nathan began preparing to leave the next day for River City, and from there, head toward North City.
"Metang is currently level 33—still eight levels away from gym tier. Only then can I challenge the Elite Trainer exam. If everything goes smoothly, it should be able to evolve into Metagross once it hits that stage."
Nathan stroked his chin in thought.
Eight levels.
Reaching that in a short time wouldn't be easy.
He needed the right training location.
River City...
"There's a B-rank secret realm there. Most of the Pokémon in a B-rank realm are at Commander level."
Nathan's eyes lit up as he remembered. He quickly sat down at his computer to check the details.
Sure enough, a confident smile appeared on his face.
"It really exists. Then this secret realm should be perfect for leveling."
Though it might be dangerous, it could give Metang a significant boost.
Normally, rookie Trainers couldn't enter B-rank secret realms—unless they had a Elite-tier Pokémon.
Fortunately, Nathan had one.
So, he didn't need to worry.
After packing up and booking a flight, Nathan waited until his parents got home that evening and let them know he'd be leaving.
The next morning, he boarded a flight to River City.
But before leaving, he made one last stop at the secret realm where the Elite-tier Pidgeot lived and traded some energy cubes for ten Salac Berries, then left.
At this point, Nathan had five Pokémon:
Volcarona (Fire/Bug)
Pangoro (Fighting/Dark)
Vibrava (Dragon/Ground)
Metang (Steel/Psychic)
Mimikyu (Ghost/Fairy)
Nathan wasn't the kind of Trainer who specialized in one type.
He aimed to collect and train Pokémon of all types.
And the sixth Pokémon would be a big deal.
These six were his core team, and they'd get top priority in terms of resources and training.
As for the sixth one, Nathan already had some ideas—at least in terms of type.
"A Water-type, or a Grass-type might be a good choice," he thought aloud.
There were plenty of solid options.
What he really wanted was a Lapras—that'd double as a water transport.
For Grass-types, Venusaur or Snivy would be great.
While pondering this, time passed quickly, and the plane arrived in River City by the afternoon.
Nathan took a cab to his pre-booked hotel, dropped off his luggage, then released all of his Pokémon—except for Volcarona.
"Alright, it's time for some treats," Nathan clapped his hands with a smile.
His Pokémon looked at him with curious expressions.
Nathan pulled out the berries he'd prepared.
Not just ordinary ones—these were high-grade berries considered actual resources.
Salac, Liechi, Petaya, Ganlon, and Apicot berries.
They boosted Speed, Attack, Special Attack, Defense, and Special Defense, respectively.
He had four of each kind—enough for each Pokémon to have one of each.
Nathan winced a little. "Alright, everyone take one of each and eat up."
He was really feeling the sting—these berries had cost him over 12 million from the system shop.
More than half of his entire net worth—gone.
But he had no choice.
If you don't invest in your Pokémon, they won't grow stronger.
Thankfully, he still had a few million left. Enough for now.
But once he had more Pokémon, that wouldn't last long.
Each Pokémon chomped down their five berries.
After they finished, Nathan immediately said, "Alright, now that you've eaten—time for training!"
...
TN: Man I just wanna sleep and not wake up.