When it came to human traffickers, Nathan had always harbored deep hatred toward them!
But Dyson's eyes flashed with determination as he said in a low voice, "If it weren't for the boss, Anna and I would've already caused a major incident… or even died by now!"
"To be honest, the only reason we managed to steal the Tyranitar's child was thanks to a journal we happened to pick up."
"This journal not only recorded Tyranitar's habits, but also contained information on the whereabouts of some rare Pokémon in the Wandering Mountains."
"It's just that Anna and I were too weak in the end, so we had no choice but to take the risk and steal Tyranitar's child!"
After listening to Dyson's lengthy explanation, Nathan finally understood.
He had always wondered—how could two treasure hunters from such humble backgrounds possibly steal a Tyranitar's child?
Usually, treasure hunters would be discovered the moment they stepped into a Tyranitar's territory—
And then promptly stomped to death by the ever-vigilant Tyranitar!
Before Nathan could say anything, Dyson had already pulled out a worn journal and handed it over.
"We know your Steelix is strong, boss. You roam the Wandering Mountains like it's nothing. But with this journal, it might save you quite a bit of time!"
To be honest, Nathan was really tempted—no longer as indifferent as he had been at the start.
"…Alright, fine. Give me your account details. As long as you two work hard and stick with me, making something of yourselves isn't just a dream!"
He nodded seriously, making the promise with a solemn expression.
Yep—he really was sold.
"If it were anyone else, I'd think they were just feeding us empty promises…"
"But if it's the boss, I believe him!"
Seeing Nathan accept the journal, Dyson didn't look heartbroken at all. Instead, he seemed far less reserved than before.
Clearly, this boy wasn't as tough as he pretended to be.
The same guilt Anna felt was rooted deep in his heart as well.
Only after handing over the precious journal did Dyson finally feel a heavy burden lift from his chest.
In a sense, these siblings were the true noble children born of humble beginnings.
But in this world, humanity was nothing more than the overlord of the planet.
After transferring 500,000 Pokécoins into the siblings' account, Nathan bid farewell to Dyson and Anna.
It wasn't that he didn't want to give them more…
It was just that 500,000 was already Dyson's limit of what he could accept.
That was a boy's pride—and Nathan wouldn't trample it.
"Come to think of it, I should be able to officially set up my studio once I get back, right?"
"Won't be long before I finally taste a bit of financial freedom!"
…
After parting with Dyson and Anna, Nathan recalled all of his Pokémon except for Flygon.
"Let's see… this journal probably belonged to some hunter, right?"
Riding on Flygon's back, Nathan rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
After skimming through the contents, he quickly confirmed this definitely wasn't something left behind by an elite trainer.
The odds of it being from a hunter? Easily over 80%!
Because most of it detailed Pokémon behaviors and rare sightings—
While things like the Wandering Mountains' terrain or maps were only briefly mentioned.
"Huh, there's even a Beedrill swarm here? Forget it, let's stick to the mission."
Reading the journal, Nathan began thinking about his next move.
Should he find a wild group to level up his Pokémon, or try to catch his seventh Pokémon?
If not for this journal, he would've definitely gone with the first option!
But then—
"Wait… Zeraora? There's a Zeraora around here?!"
Suddenly spotting a description in the journal, Nathan's eyes lit up.
Compared to Ampharos or Electivire, Zeraora was the true poster child of Electric-types!
Not to mention its potential and base stats were top-tier!
"Flygon, head southeast! Keep flying low!"
Eyes sharp, Nathan made his decision immediately.
A Pokémon like Zeraora was extremely rare in this world.
Pseudo-legendaries could still be bought with enough money, but Pokémon like Zeraora?
Only a handful in the entire League owned one!
If he missed this chance, Nathan would honestly cry.
"Flyy~"
Flygon nodded, and its speed instantly kicked up several notches beyond taxi mode!
Soon, a dense forest came into view—it looked quite unusual from afar.
"This must be the place."
Seeing the forest, Nathan actually felt excited rather than alarmed.
According to the journal, the hunter who wrote it spotted Zeraora in a forest like this one.
"Now that I look at it, this really does look like Viridian Forest. No wonder there's a Beedrill swarm nearby."
As a green Caterpie fell from a tree, Nathan returned Flygon to its Poké Ball.
This kind of terrain wasn't suitable for Flygon to fly through.
And Volcarona wasn't a good choice either.
If it accidentally started a wildfire, who knew what could happen?
Walking deeper into the forest, most of the sunlight was blocked out by the canopy.
"Damn… finding a Zeraora in here is no easy task."
After walking for over half an hour, Nathan muttered with a bitter smile.
After another full morning of searching, Nathan looked at a strand of golden fur in his hand and sighed.
"…Guess I'll make lunch first."
He released Pangoro, Mimikyu, and Flygon to feed them before taking care of his own meal.
No campfire today—he just pulled out a few self-heating food packs. In a short while, hot meals were ready to eat.
About ten minutes later, Pangoro and Metagross finished eating and started exercising.
Only then did Nathan sit down to enjoy his own food.
The aroma of the food quickly filled the air, attracting plenty of Butterfree and Pidgey nearby.
Luckily, Pidgey's diet included Caterpie, but not Butterfree.
Otherwise, these two species wouldn't coexist so peacefully.
Seeing the wild Pokémon, Nathan didn't mind.
As he ate, he also fed some spare Pokéblocks to the wild ones.
After all, by nightfall, he would be making more anyway.
Out in the wild, Volcarona and the others always had their best meal at dinner.
But just as everything seemed peaceful, a flash of gold appeared!
"Zorr~!"
Letting out a low, warning growl, a golden figure standing on a tree branch sniffed the sweet aroma in the air.
Nathan stiffened and spun around instinctively.
There stood a humanoid, golden-colored Pokémon, its eyes locked on the Pokéblocks nearby.
It looked just like a bipedal feline—with golden fur, streaks of blue and black across its body…
And a pair of deep blue slit-pupiled eyes focused intently on the food. It was clearly hungry but extremely wary of Nathan.
No doubt about it—this was the Zeraora mentioned in the journal!
"An elite-grade one… and nearly a shiny Zeraora at that!"
"Talk about searching high and low only to find it by chance!"
Normally, Zeraora's fur was yellow. You could often judge a Pokémon's quality by its coloring.
But the one in front of Nathan was a brilliant, pure gold!
Its body was lean and streamlined—no visible muscles, yet radiating explosive power!
Why didn't he think it was a shiny Zeraora? Simple—shiny Zeraora were black and white, based on the white tiger.
"Wait a minute… this Zeraora seems to really like Pokéblocks?"
Noticing the Zeraora's gaze, Nathan's mouth curved into a smile that could make your spine tingle.
Given how wary it was, if he tried to battle, it might just run away.
So, Nathan simply sat back down and began prepping ingredients to make more Pokéblocks.
"Pangoro, Volcarona, Metagross—don't make any sudden moves."
As he worked, Nathan gave a calm command to his team.
His Pokémon quickly relaxed—except Metagross, who still stared at Zeraora with its cold, emotionless gaze.
That alone was enough to make Zeraora sweat under pressure.
But the lure of Pokéblocks made it unwilling to leave.
Before long, a fresh batch of steaming Pokéblocks was ready in Nathan's hands.
Pangoro stared at them with teary eyes, though its belly was already full.
As for Zeraora—its eyes had locked onto the food like a predator.
"Zorr~!"
Even as it growled, it still kept a wary eye on Nathan.
"Go ahead and eat. I mean you no harm."
Activating his Viridian Power, Nathan gave a warm, friendly smile.
Zeraora's alertness visibly eased up—its stomach even growled audibly.
Nathan took a few steps back in sync with that sound.
Less than a minute later, Zeraora finally approached the Pokéblocks and began eating heartily.
Its mood shifted from guarded to content.
Watching it eat, Pangoro had tears rolling down both cheeks again.
Why doesn't it have a bottomless stomach like a Snorlax?!
Still, Nathan took out some Poké-snacks and carefully approached Zeraora bit by bit.