Hearing Nathan's words, Lily couldn't help but feel genuinely happy.
Her boyfriend had once again captured a powerful Pokémon.
It seemed that on the path of Pokémon training, she would never be able to catch up with him.
After coming out of the mystic realm, Nathan quickly brought Lily back to their home country.
The time spent abroad had served as a very relaxing break for him.
Now, it was time to begin the next phase—helping his Volcarona break through to the Legendary level!
Currently, Volcarona had already defeated one Legendary Pokémon.
If it could defeat two more, it would meet the system's conditions to ascend.
At the same time, Nathan was eager to see if his other Pokémon—like Mewtwo—might also have a chance to rise to the Legendary tier.
Among all the Legendary Pokémon he was aware of right now, only the trio—Suicune, Entei, and Raikou—came to mind.
As soon as the plane landed back home, the very first thing Nathan did was send Lily home safely.
As for Mickey, the moment he stepped off the plane, he was whisked away by Kelly.
When parting ways with Lily, she looked at him with such deep reluctance and affection in her eyes that Nathan almost couldn't bear it.
But steeling himself, he set off on his journey to challenge Legendary-tier Pokémon, something he had to do.
The first stop on his list: The Wandering Mountains.
The three Legendary Pokémon—Suicune, Entei, and Raikou—resided there long-term and were the perfect targets for a challenge.
Upon arriving at the Wandering Mountains, it didn't take Nathan long to find the three Legendaries.
However, his sudden arrival clearly disturbed them—none of the three looked pleased.
After all, they had just received the Ho-Oh feathers Nathan gave them and were busy studying how to improve their strength with them.
And now, out of nowhere, he barged in to interrupt them.
Anyone would be upset in that situation.
"Speak. What is it this time?"
Entei, the most hot-tempered of the three, was the first to ask.
Every time Nathan came to them, it was never just to chat.
There was always something going on. Always.
"I came here today to challenge you!"
Nathan's eyes gleamed with determination as he declared his intent.
These were three Legendary Pokémon!
Even if Volcarona couldn't defeat all three, the battle experience alone was priceless.
As his team's levels increased, the road toward Legendary battles would only grow longer,
and the number of Legendary Pokémon he'd eventually need to challenge would only increase.
When they heard his words, the three Legendaries looked at each other in disbelief.
They honestly hadn't expected Nathan to come here to challenge them.
Wasn't all of his Pokémon Champion-tier at best?
Why would he waste his time picking a fight with three Legends?
Was he just asking to get beaten down?
"Are you sure you came here to challenge the three of us? Not for something else?"
Suicune asked with a look of disbelief.
"Yes, I'm here purely to challenge you three!"
Nathan said firmly as he released his Pokémon: Mewtwo, Volcarona, and Frosmoth.
The three Champion-level Pokémon stood ready before him.
Now that Nathan had actually brought out his team, the Legendary trio had no choice but to believe him.
But they still didn't understand—why?
Why would he go out of his way to pick a fight with them?
Was there really no one else at his level to fight?
It's true that strong opponents were rare,
but finding a Champion-level Pokémon for a fair match wasn't exactly difficult.
Why jump so far ahead?
"Tsk, Nathan... Not to pour cold water on you, but based on your current team's strength,
coming here to challenge us seems like you're just asking to get steamrolled."
Raikou clicked his tongue, giving Nathan a helpless look.
They had known Nathan for a while now.
Although they wouldn't say their bond ran deep, there was at least a decent level of camaraderie.
And despite wanting to go easy on him, they couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the guy.
After all, he had given them three whole Ho-Oh feathers—he had done them a huge favor.
It didn't feel right to turn around and beat down his Pokémon now.
"Even if I get steamrolled, I still want to challenge you guys.
My Pokémon are about to break through to the Legendary tier,"
Nathan said, a little helplessly.
Honestly, if he had the choice, he'd much rather just grind XP by fighting Pokémon at the same level.
That method was slower, sure—but it was safe and reliable.
Challenging Legendary Pokémon? That was no small feat.
"That's why I wanted to battle you three—
to see if my Pokémon can push past their current limits and reach the Legendary stage."
Nathan said it lightly, but to the three Legendary Pokémon, his words were laughable.
All Legendary-level Pokémon reached that height only after long years—decades, even centuries—of accumulated strength and experience.
Take the three of them, for example:
It had taken them over a hundred years to break through.
Even with Ho-Oh's help, the process was barely manageable.
And Nathan? None of his Pokémon were even ten years old.
It's true that Pokémon trained by humans could grow faster than wild ones, thanks to advanced resources and careful management.
But breaking through to the Legendary tier?
That was not something that could be done with talent and resources alone.
If it were really that easy, wouldn't the world be full of Legendary-tier Pokémon by now?
They all knew Nathan had extraordinary talent when it came to training Pokémon.
But talent alone wasn't enough.
The leap from Champion to Legendary was a chasm that required far more than just talent.
"Nathan," Suicune said solemnly, "I understand your desire to help your Pokémon break through,
but as someone who's been through it, I have to give you some advice..."
"Maybe you've been able to boost your team quickly using all kinds of resources,
but when it comes to crossing the threshold into the Legendary realm,
it's not something you can brute-force. I think you'd be better off letting your Pokémon build up strength over time."
Suicune's voice was filled with concern, clearly speaking from experience.
They didn't want to see Nathan waste his time.
He had already gifted them such valuable feathers—
they felt a responsibility to stop him from going down a fruitless path.
"Yeah, Nathan," Raikou chimed in,
"If you think Volcarona and the others have hit their ceiling, why not train a different team?"
"Exactly," Entei added, despite his usual bluntness.
"Kid, we may be Pokémon, but we're way older than you.
Breaking through to the Legendary tier isn't something you can rush."
Even hot-tempered Entei joined in with a rare bit of wisdom.
But in their words, Nathan could hear it clearly:
"You're not strong enough."
If ascending to Legendary status were so easy, would they have remained the strongest beings in the Wandering Mountains for so long?
"But..."
Nathan started to speak, only for Entei to cut him off directly.
"Enough. I know what you're going to say.
But listen, every Legendary Pokémon—without exception—
reached that level after centuries of accumulation."
"You might have plenty of resources, and that's great.
Maybe in ten years, sure, you could help one of your Pokémon cross that threshold. But not now."
Entei rambled on and on, his speech getting longer and longer.
Nathan almost wanted to cry.
He was just here to challenge some Legendary Pokémon.
Did they really have to talk him down like this?
"Ten years"?
What do you mean ten years?
I have a cheat system, you know!
I just need EXP to level up my Pokémon!
All I have to do is fight Legendaries and I'll get the breakthroughs I need!
If I had to grind like a wild Pokémon, wouldn't I spend my whole life
never seeing a single one of my partners reach Legendary level?
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Nathan quickly raised his hand, making a silencing gesture.
If he let them keep talking, they might just convince him that he wasn't worthy of Legendary-level breakthroughs.
"I'm just here to challenge you guys, okay?
Even if it's a beatdown, I'll take it. That's what I came for."
Nathan said helplessly.
Sigh...
This was the first time he realized that even challenging a Legendary Pokémon could be this complicated.
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have said anything about breakthroughs at all.
"Fine then," Suicune said, finally giving in.
"Since you insist, we'll reluctantly agree to fight your Pokémon."
After all, Nathan's team was still Champion-level.
They wouldn't be wasting much time by indulging him in a quick fight.
"But let me be clear," Nathan added seriously,
"You are not allowed to go easy on me.
If any of you hold back, this whole battle is meaningless."
He wasn't worried about anything else.
He just didn't want his hard-earned challenge to be dismissed because they were 'going easy.'
If they pulled their punches, even the system wouldn't recognize the battle.
"Don't worry," Entei replied, a strange glint in his eye.
"We definitely won't be holding back."
Hold back?
Not a chance.
If they did, wouldn't Nathan keep coming back to challenge them over and over again?
That would be a total waste of their time.
Entei had already decided:
When the battle began, he would hit hard—
so hard that Nathan would think twice before ever doing this again.
But clearly, they were underestimating Nathan.
"Alright then. Are we going to fight here?"
Nathan asked.
Back during the World Tournament, his battle had wiped out an entire island.
It didn't seem appropriate to fight inside the Wandering Mountains.
"Of course not!"
All three Legendary Pokémon said in unison.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Damn, levels. Why can't the author show numbers or something or at least status screens. And what about the seed of power needed to breakthrough to legendary level.