He wasn't even the president—why should the entire League listen to him?
After all, the true Pokémon League was a massive organization spread all across the world.
Though it was extremely decentralized, when it truly mattered, no one dared to challenge its real power!
Thus, Shane was truly powerless to intervene at this point.
The only thing he could do was come ahead of time to inform Nathan and have him prepare.
"Don't worry. Tomorrow morning, you'll see for yourselves," Nathan said confidently, rubbing Volcarona's Pokéball.
"The evolution that surpasses evolution... If the League wants its secrets, they can only rely on me!"
However, Shane frowned and said, "Nathan, don't lie to me. I'm on your side, you know."
"If someone manages to figure out this so-called 'super evolution' tomorrow, won't you lose face big time?"
To this, Nathan simply smiled lightly and replied,
"Ever since I asked the League to collect unusual stone resources, it seems no one has ever paid attention to a particular kind of stone."
"Relax—even the chance of the world ending tomorrow is higher than someone randomly figuring out super evolution."
Nathan was this confident for two main reasons.
First, the Key Stone!
The League could gather Mega Stones, sure, but even now, Nathan hadn't seen a single Key Stone appear!
Without the key, how could they possibly trigger mega evolution?
As for "bond evolution"? That was even more ridiculous.
Not to mention how Greninja achieved bond evolution in the anime...
Even just considering Nathan's own case:
The combination of a legendary Pokémon's seed of power, psychic abilities, the Viridian Power, and the deep bond he shared with Zeraora...
So many factors stacked together—it was basically something impossible to replicate!
Second, the current societal environment.
This world was nothing like the increasingly utopian worlds seen in the anime, and definitely not like the complete utopia that certain llama-like Pokémon lived in.
Very few people truly bonded with their Pokémon.
Those who became Trainers certainly weren't going to become scientists!
With all these factors together, discovering and studying mega evolution was far harder than it might seem.
That was why Nathan had such unshakable confidence!
Even though Shane was operating in a different communication channel, it didn't stop him from understanding what Nathan implied.
"Hiss... Could it be that super evolution is tied to a specific stone... Wait, I get it now! I'll contact the higher-ups right away!"
"Nathan, rest assured. As long as you perform well tomorrow, they might even deploy an entire army of Pokémon for you!"
Whatever Shane imagined, he got so worked up that he even changed how he addressed Nathan, quickly reassuring him.
Nathan didn't care what direction Shane's thoughts were heading in.
Seeing that the results were achieved, Nathan smiled with satisfaction:
"Relax. You can even tell them that the Pokémon I'll be using for super evolution tomorrow... won't be Zeraora."
Compared to Zeraora, it would actually be easier to use Metagross for mega evolution, since he had both the mega stone and the key stone ready.
It wouldn't even cost much energy.
Upon hearing this, Shane gasped audibly, almost rushing over to hug Nathan's leg in excitement.
What a joke!
If someone like Nathan—an absolute monster—emerged in the Poplar City Branch, and if he really figured out super evolution, Shane's future career would be unstoppable!
Not to mention, Shane was already closely tied with Nathan—uh, that sounded wrong—
Ehem, rather, he had high hopes for Nathan.
Even if Shane hadn't favored him before, he would have no choice but to cling to Nathan's golden thigh now!
With real results right in front of them, no one would dare to doubt it.
Especially since Nathan's Metagross had already demonstrated an extraordinary, almost unnatural level of power today!
…
Thanks to Shane's tireless efforts, and the League's top officials constantly analyzing the changes in Nathan's eye color (important note),
every place connected to Nathan was preemptively protected—even before the Black Spirit Organization could make a move!
Notably, the Fire-type Elite Guardian member Benedict Li personally stormed an important Black Spirit Organization base!
Of course, all of that would happen a bit later.
As for now, unaware of these developments, Nathan directly bypassed Evelyn and contacted her father, Arthur Mist.
Not only that, but he also got in touch with Zoe Xue and her father.
No one knew exactly what they discussed—the content of their conversations was sealed under the highest level of confidentiality.
Only after hanging up did Nathan finally lie back on his bed and let out a small sigh of relief.
…
"Everything is ready, all that's left is the east wind," he murmured.
"Black Spirit Organization, you'd better not come after me directly..."
"Because I'm waiting for you."
Staring up at the snow-white ceiling, Nathan's gaze grew terrifyingly calm.
He could endure the Black Spirit Organization targeting him personally—after all, he wouldn't really suffer much.
On the contrary, he could even win hefty compensation from it.
But if they targeted the people around him to use them as leverage—
That was something he would never tolerate!
"Vol~!"
The Pokéball at his neck opened on its own, and Volcarona, now even larger than before, appeared.
Thanks to consuming Dynamax Energy Pokéblock daily, Volcarona's gigantamax traits had become more pronounced, and its strength had skyrocketed alongside it!
"I know. Thank you, Volcarona. With you around, there's nothing to fear."
Feeling the warm energy radiating from the dormant symbol on the back of his hand, Nathan's gaze finally softened.
Just then, the Pokéball containing his Steelix also shook lightly.
A smile tugged at Nathan's lips.
"Alright, alright. I know you're the most reliable one. With you around, we've got nothing to worry about either."
"Let's hurry up and complete your gigantamax transformation. Once that's done, I'll teach you how to use combination moves and mega evolution!"
After pacifying his Steelix, Nathan realized that his previously tense mood had relaxed significantly.
Probably no one would ever guess—
Nathan, who possessed Dynamax Energy Pokéblock, was just one step away from completely taming a Master-tier Steelix!
…
After waking up early and settling his growling stomach, Nathan returned to his hotel room to continue his research into optimizing and innovating Pokéblocks.
He had to admit, the master-level insights provided by the system were truly invaluable.
At the very least, Nathan had already begun experimenting with Pokéblocks that could enhance Volcarona's affinity with fire.
"Fire-type combination moves, huh? I'm really looking forward to it."
Glancing at the scattered papers around him, Nathan sighed a little in admiration.
Combination moves + mega evolution + gigantamax + shiny form...
Once Volcarona broke through the level 80 barrier, it probably wouldn't be weaker than a real legendary Pokémon!
Still, success came step by step.
Nathan wasn't in any rush—he was just making preparations ahead of time.
Around 10:30 AM, Nathan slowly got up and headed toward the tournament venue.
"Today's opponent is Roger Ent, a guy from the Western side of the world."
"Don't underestimate him," Zoe said seriously as they sat inside Evelyn's stretched Rolls-Royce.
"He's actually one of the hot favorites to win not just in our division, but the entire national tournament!"
As for why Zoe was here—it was simply because she had shamelessly latched onto Evelyn and refused to leave.
Worse than any obsessive fan.
"A favorite to win? His main Pokémon is... Gyarados?"
Nathan muttered while browsing the information Evelyn had provided.
On his phone screen appeared a photo of a blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager with a smirk that could be seen as either mocking or dismissive.
He looked only two or three years older than Nathan.
His main Pokémon was a Gyarados, roughly at the Gym tier, around level 47.
Much like Nathan, he had a habit of solo-sweeping opponents with a single Pokémon.
Moreover, the guy was also a celebrity Trainer, boasting ridiculously high popularity.
Despite not having shown even one Elite-level Pokémon yet, he was already considered a major championship contender.
"If he's a championship contender, he should be pretty strong, right?"
Nathan scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit uncertain.
After all, he had been hoping to put on a dazzling, overwhelming performance today—if the opponent was too weak, that would be disappointing.
But Zoe eagerly raised her hand like a student answering a question and said,
"I know, I know, Idol! That guy is definitely strong. His other two Pokémon are practically at Elite level!"
Hearing that, Nathan nodded thoughtfully.
By now, with the division tournaments reaching the final stages, most of the real powerhouses were starting to emerge.
While the real excitement would come in the main tournament's 6v6 full battles,
even in this final scramble for top eight, top four, and championship spots within the divisions,
Elite-level Pokémon were becoming quite common.
It might even create the illusion that Elite-tier Pokémon were no big deal.
But people didn't realize just how many prestigious universities would bend over backward to produce even one graduate with an Elite-level Pokémon!
…
Upon arriving at the venue—the Ice Field arena—the stands were packed to the brim.
Almost 80% of the crowd was chanting Roger Ent's name, waving signs and banners.
Oh right, one thing worth mentioning:
Anyone participating in the national tournament basically had to switch their nationality to Celestial Star
Very few locals from other countries would go so far as to change their nationality just to compete in another country's tournament.