At the same time, they deployed a few undercover agents.
Although the Dark Organization was cunning and extremely difficult to root out, it was still possible for the higher-ups to place a couple of undercover operatives inside. Normally, these agents weren't activated, but the current situation was different.
If the next outbreak happened in an area with high-level Pokémon, it would be extremely difficult for humans to fend them off.
"So what if it happens? Don't tell me you want me to go stop the Dark Organization myself?"
That line made it obvious—they wanted Nathan to go.
But Nathan had just come out of the secret realm. He hadn't even had a single bite of hot food yet!
"Exactly. Since you brought it up yourself, we'll send you for Grace City."
Mayor John shamelessly responded.
The higher-ups had ordered him to assign someone familiar with Pokémon outbreaks to assist. But after carefully considering his options, Mayor John realized there wasn't a single capable person in Grace City's military.
As for Elite Guardian Logan Gray, he didn't count as Grace City's personnel, so Mayor John couldn't dispatch him.
"…"
Nathan was speechless. He was just here to attend college in Grace City, yet somehow he kept getting roped into things like this.
"When do I leave? Where's the location?"
Truth be told, Nathan was quite eager to disrupt this Dark Organization's plans. They had even put a bounty on his head—if he didn't teach them a lesson, wouldn't that make him look weak?
"Haha, I knew you'd agree. The location is the Wandering Mountains. Just get there within three days."
Mayor John laughed heartily as he spoke.
Wandering Mountains?
Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at the name.
Of all the places in the country, they just had to pick the Wandering Mountains? Were they tired of living?
That mountain range housed the Three Legendary Beasts. If he went there, he might not even need to do anything—the Legendary Pokémon could wipe out the Dark Organization themselves.
"Alright, got it. I'll be there."
Nathan accepted the task.
After hanging up, he turned around and looked at the dinner table. The dishes had all been served—but nearly half of them had already disappeared!
"You…"
He stared in astonishment at Mira's stomach. She was just a woman—how did she manage to eat so much food?
"Sorry, I was starving…"
Since the dishes had arrived, Mira had been eating nonstop and hadn't realized just how much she'd consumed.
Nathan was utterly amazed by how much she ate during that meal.
After eating, Nathan took Mira out to buy a mountain of groceries.
He wasn't being excessive—he was just worried that if he left for a few days and came back, he might return to find not Mira the person, but Mira the corpse.
After returning to school and resting for a day, Nathan boarded a plane and set out for the Wandering Mountains.
On the flight, he browsed through the system's store aimlessly.
He noticed that ever since he started earning money faster, the prices in the system store had gone up as well.
It was like the system could monitor his income.
Every time he earned a big sum, the system store would conveniently refresh with one or two items that could wipe out his wallet.
"System, oh system, could you grow a conscience for once?"
After venting his frustration, the plane finally landed.
As soon as he touched down, Nathan found a hotel and got a good night's sleep. Then he packed his things and headed into the Wandering Mountains.
This time, he had another goal besides dealing with the Dark Organization—he wanted Entei to help suppress some of Charmander's bloodline power.
As for the Dark Organization, he really just planned to sit back and watch the show this time.
Of course, he was also interested in witnessing the strength of Raikou, Suicune, and Entei.
Sometimes, improving a Pokémon's strength didn't just come from training and leveling up—observing battles could also be a great way to learn.
Nathan had never had a formal teacher when it came to training Pokémon.
All along, he'd been figuring things out on his own.
Even with the help of the system, Nathan still felt that something was missing.
Now that Volcarona had reached a bottleneck in strength, simply leveling up wouldn't bring much improvement.
If he wanted to take Volcarona and his other Pokémon to new heights, observing the battles of Legendary Pokémon might be a great path forward.
Once he entered the Wandering Mountains, Nathan released all the Pokémon that needed to level up.
He also took out his golden Lucky Egg.
Among all his Pokémon, their strength levels had become polarized.
The newly acquired ones were too weak, while the older ones had already hit their growth ceilings.
This was a troubling issue for Nathan.
The World Tournament was approaching, and he would soon be facing powerful trainers from around the globe.
He'd need Pokémon of every type and attribute, especially those that could counter his opponents' elemental advantages.
If he didn't have proper counters, losing to a bad matchup would be a real possibility.
Failure simply wasn't an option for him—especially not in battle.
"Time to fight! I hope you can all grow stronger as quickly as possible!"
Nathan spoke to his Pokémon.
Grovyle, Eevee, and the rest all responded enthusiastically.
And with the appearance of their first wild opponent, the training battles officially began.
Not long into the fight, Nathan's phone rang.
He hadn't gone too deep into the mountain range yet, so there was still reception.
"Nathan, have you arrived at the Wandering Mountains?"
"I have. Since you called, let the local team leader know—they can all fall back. As for the trash that is the Dark Organization, I'll wipe them out myself!"
…
"I'll wipe them out myself!"
Mayor John couldn't stop replaying that sentence in his head.
What kind of trump card did Nathan have to speak with such confidence?
This was a Dark Organization they were talking about—a group that even the nation found difficult to handle.
Yet here was Nathan, boldly claiming he could destroy all the members involved in this operation—on his own.
"Are you sure?"
It took a long pause before Mayor John cautiously asked, clearly still in disbelief.
"What's there to be unsure about? I said I'd wipe them out myself, and I will."
Nathan reaffirmed without hesitation.
Even after the call ended, Mayor John was still reeling from Nathan's commanding tone.
Is this the power of a national champion?
Mayor John reported Nathan's words to the higher-ups. After deliberation, they decided to station troops at the outskirts of the Wandering Mountains.
They wouldn't send reinforcements in, but they would stay on standby as an emergency backup.
Just in case Nathan failed—they wanted at least a little reaction time.
Meanwhile, the Dark Organization had already begun setting up their plans deep within the mountains.
Unlike in the ocean, this time they used a vaporized chemical agent with similar effects—it could also induce a massive Pokémon riot.
They had hidden their control machinery inside a secret mountain cave.
More than a dozen operatives were assigned to guard it.
This time, they were planning for every single Pokémon in the Wandering Mountains to go berserk.
They had even deployed dozens of drones into the area.
Each drone was tasked with spraying the vaporized agent across the range.
It must be said—this Dark Organization had been lucky.
Lucky enough not to encounter Nathan as soon as he entered the mountains.
If they had run into him right away, their entire operation might've ended before it even started.
But at the same time, they were also terribly unlucky.
Because the ones who would be dealing with them this time—weren't humans.
They would be facing three Legendary Pokémon.
And no organization like theirs could possibly resist such overwhelming power.
While rapidly training, Nathan gradually made his way deeper into the Wandering Mountains.
Returning to this familiar place gave him a strange sense of comfort.
He even spotted a few Elite-level Pokémon he had seen before.
Back then, he hadn't dared approach because he lacked the strength.
But now, it was a different story—his Volcarona had far surpassed the Elite level.
Seeing them again made him wonder if he should try sparring with them.
Eventually, Nathan arrived at the same spot where he had previously encountered Raikou, Suicune, and Entei.
"Raikou! Suicune! Entei!"
Sitting atop his Flygon, he flew to a mountain peak and shouted out to the three Legendary Pokémon.
"What the heck? Don't tell me they're not in the Wandering Mountains anymore?"
After yelling for several minutes with no response, Nathan began to panic a little.
He had already spoken so boldly—if he couldn't find them, he really would be on his own against the Dark Pokémon Organization.
"Volcarona, come on out."
He touched the Poké Ball on his chest.
"Vol!"
Volcarona flapped its blazing wings as it emerged.
"Go up, and release your flames at full power!"
Nathan commanded.
(End of Chapter)