"We'll be staying in this city for a while. Starting tomorrow, we're heading straight into the mystic realm."
Nathan pulled out his notebook and said, "Mimikyu, start working on that TM I gave you yesterday. Pangoro..."
Looking at the towering figure of Pangoro, Nathan stroked his chin in thought.
Pangoro was a bit tricky to arrange—not because he didn't know how to train it, in fact, there were still a few moves it hadn't finished learning—but the hotel's training facilities weren't quite suitable.
Pangoro's strength was overwhelming, and even though the training room was made of special materials, it could still end up damaged.
After thinking it over, Nathan picked up Pangoro's Poké Ball and said, "You'd better return for now."
After recalling Pangoro, Nathan resumed planning.
He then began his own preparations.
Tomorrow, he would enter the mystic realm, planning to spend a few days inside to help his Pokémon level up before coming out to challenge the Gym and head toward North City.
At the same time, Nathan also intended to try a new fear-based training method for Mimikyu.
Thinking about how Mimikyu had spent the previous night watching horror movies, Nathan smirked. He grabbed his phone and downloaded even more horror films, thinking they might come in handy inside the mystic realm.
The day passed quickly.
Early the next morning, Nathan got up, got ready, packed up, and set off toward the mystic realm.
The B-rank mystic realm in River City was located far from the urban area. Even taking the subway took a full hour.
That's because B-rank mystic realms, when merged with reality, could have significant side effects. As a result, the city had to be relocated quite a distance away.
"B—" referred to the classification code of the mystic realm.
The realm itself was vast and teeming with all kinds of Pokémon. Of course, it also meant there were many dangerous ones.
According to the information Nathan had found, this mystic realm housed an ancient Ghost-type Pokémon.
However, even this one wasn't the most powerful being in the B-rank realm.
..
A wave of dizziness hit.
Nathan had entered the mystic realm.
This trip wasn't free—it cost 100,000 Pokécoins to get in.
Naturally, the higher the realm's rank, the steeper the entry fee.
After entering, Nathan found himself at a clearing in the forest. Around him, vendors were still bustling about.
He registered his coordinates, then quickly left and headed in a chosen direction.
Not long after, Nathan took out his Poké Balls and released Pangoro, Metang, and Mimikyu.
Mimikyu, being small, floated directly up to Nathan's shoulder.
Nathan plugged in his earphones to his phone, pulled up a horror movie, and handed it to Mimikyu.
Mimikyu began watching on its own while Nathan pressed on.
The mystic realm was divided into three major zones:
The coastal zone
The forest zone
The mountainous zone
It was incredibly vast, and the variety of Pokémon within was equally impressive.
"Let's explore the forest first," Nathan mused, continuing without slowing.
But just then—
Whoosh!
A sharp sound sliced through the air.
A swift shadow lunged at Nathan.
Pangoro reacted immediately, grabbing the figure mid-air and flinging it aside. It crashed to the ground with a soft thud.
"Hissss!"
It was an Arbok, glaring coldly at Nathan, flicking its tongue, its aura exuding advanced-level power.
"Pangoro, take it out! Get close with Quick Attack and follow up with Hammer Arm!" Nathan commanded coldly.
He had no mercy for wild Pokémon that ambushed him.
He hadn't expected to get attacked so soon, but it was understandable—not all Pokémon were friendly. Some were downright hostile, and Arbok was notoriously disliked by Trainers for its habit of ambushing humans.
"Grrr!"
Following orders, Pangoro surged forward, vanishing from his spot.
Having reached Gym-level strength, Pangoro was far from weak.
In mere moments, Pangoro was in front of Arbok, launching a powerful punch.
The sheer force and terrifying speed left Arbok no time to dodge—it was struck directly and sent flying.
"Metang, lock on and use Thunderbolt at full power!" Nathan's voice rang out again.
Electricity surged around Metang as it tracked the airborne Arbok. Without hesitation, it released a bolt of electricity that hit the target dead-on.
With the earlier punch and now this electrical blast, Arbok instantly lost its ability to battle and fainted.
Glancing at the unconscious Arbok, Nathan said, "Let's go. Keep moving."
As for healing it?
No. Nathan had no intention of treating a wild Pokémon that had just tried to kill him.
…
"This spot looks nice."
After walking for a while, Nathan arrived beside a lake. His eyes lit up. He set down his bag and pulled out a special incense.
It was designed to attract Pokémon.
Lighting it, Nathan waited patiently.
He planned to stay in the mystic realm for a few days, and this lakeside seemed perfect for camping.
It might get dangerous at night, but with Volcarona around, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Before long, the grass in the distance rustled.
A head poked out, looked at the incense, then at Nathan.
"Metang, looks like your opponent's here," Nathan said with a smirk.
Metang nodded and flew toward the Pokémon, eyes flashing with a hint of provocation.
The wild Pokémon let out a furious cry in response.
It was an Amoonguss—Grass/Poison-type.
Angered by the challenge, Amoonguss opened its mouth and spewed a stream of corrosive, purple poison.
"Don't worry about it, Metang! Charge in with Zen Headbutt!" Nathan ordered.
That was a Toxic move—highly poisonous—but Metang, being a Steel-type, was completely immune to it.
Metang's forehead glowed as it shot toward Amoonguss with incredible speed.
Bang!
Amoonguss was slammed and sent flying.
The toxic fluid splattered on Metang's body but simply slid off its polished steel surface, leaving no trace.
Infuriated, Amoonguss began trembling as it absorbed sunlight furiously.
"Going for Solar Beam?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected it to know such a move. But then he chuckled. "Metang, use Psychic, then charge in with Agility + Iron Head and Zen Headbutt combo. End the battle."
While charging up for Solar Beam, a Pokémon couldn't move—canceling would waste the charge.
That's the difference between wild Pokémon and those trained by humans: wild ones often used inappropriate moves without thinking about timing.
Metang's eyes flashed as Psychic power surged.
Amoonguss cried out in pain, its solar charge still ongoing.
Metang then accelerated, combining Iron Head and Zen Headbutt as it dove once more.
Bam!
Amoonguss was struck again, sent flying with a pained expression.
"Finish it. One last Zen Headbutt."
Metang obeyed.
Another Zen Headbutt connected, flipping Amoonguss' eyes white as it fainted.
[Your Pokémon 'Metang' won the battle, gained experience points, and leveled up to Level 34!]
The system's voice rang out in Nathan's mind.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, in a shadowy region...
A pair of eyes opened, glimmering with curiosity as they looked toward the direction of the battle.
"How interesting..."
"To have so many marks etched on your body... It's the first time I've ever seen a human Trainer like this in all my years.
Truly fascinating."
"But still..."
...
Nathan had no idea that he was already being watched by a mysterious Pokémon not long after entering the mystic realm.
Right now, Nathan was tending to the injured Amoonguss.
After healing it, he gave it an energy cube. Amoonguss happily devoured it and left, showing no anger about being hurt earlier.
But not long after it left, another wild Pokémon appeared.
Thanks to the incense still burning, more and more Pokémon were being drawn to the area.
Since they were in a forest, the next one to appear was, unsurprisingly, another Grass-type—this time, a Gym-level Vileplume.
The towering Vileplume didn't show any hostility. Instead, it curiously observed Nathan and his Pokémon.
Nathan's eyes lit up—not because he wanted to catch it, but because he had something he wanted to try.
"Hello, Vileplume. Want something to eat?"
Nathan held out an energy cube with a smile.
Vileplume gently took the cube in its little hands, looked at it with curiosity, sniffed it, then took a bite.
"Ding-ling~"