Nathan's right eye stared coldly at the three Elite-level Pokémon as he spoke without a shred of emotion.
Unlike Nathan, most people's Pokémon cannot leave their Poké Balls on their own.
This had to do with the permissions granted by the trainer to their Pokémon.
Pokémon, after all, are much more dangerous than something like a big dog, and the Poké Ball's permissions act like a leash.
Because of that, only a very few people — especially someone like the blonde woman, whose physical combat ability was abnormally strong — would ever allow their Pokémon to exit the Poké Ball on their own.
Otherwise, why would she have spent time mastering grappling and close combat techniques?
Feeling the tightening grip around her throat and struggling to breathe, the blonde woman had no choice but to command her Pokémon, "Return, all of you!"
Once the three Pokémon were completely withdrawn into their Poké Balls, Nathan slightly loosened his grip — just slightly.
If necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to crush her windpipe completely!
Sensing Nathan's clear intent, the blonde woman finally abandoned any lingering thoughts of resistance and tried to bargain for her life.
"I am Tina Rost," she said in a cooling voice, sweat glistening on her forehead. "I was hired by the Dark Organization — Chiyou."
"They spent around nine million PokéCoins to purchase your information and assigned me the task."
At this, Tina couldn't help but twitch her lips slightly.
Nine million for intelligence — what a scam!
Nathan's eyes, however, flashed with a thoughtful glint as he asked coldly, "Dark Organization — Chiyou?"
"You don't actually think there's only one Dark Organization, do you?" Tina replied, as if it were obvious.
"The Dark Organizations don't follow the law, have no morals, and no bottom line. How could there be just one?"
"Most of them are just groups of lowlife degenerates banding together to survive," she added, her words dripping with disdain despite being under their employment.
"I don't care about these well-known facts," Nathan said, tightening his grip again. "Tell me — how many truly powerful Dark Organizations are there in this country?"
Feeling the noose tighten, Tina quickly shouted, "Only Chiyou! Only Chiyou is worth mentioning!"
Due to the lack of oxygen, Tina's originally charming voice became a bit hoarse — but somehow, that hoarseness made it sound even more seductive.
Some people really are born unfairly beautiful.
"Besides Chiyou," she added, "there are some minor groups like Black Dragon Society and Rocket Gang, but they're completely insignificant."
Listening to her, Nathan's expression remained cold, but inside he felt an overwhelming urge to mock them.
What kind of Dark Organizations are these?
Other than Chiyou, the rest sounded like a bunch of washed-up thugs from ancient times!
Clearly, he couldn't expect much sophistication from Dark Organizations — most members were barely educated thugs, apart from a few coerced office workers.
Even abroad, things were the same.
Groups like "Nidhogg," "Satan's Dinner," and "Lucifer's Wings" — the names sounded grand, but in practice, they were all the same degenerate trash.
Nothing like the Team Rocket or Team Aqua he remembered from his past life's anime — those might have had simple names, but they messed with Mewtwo, Kyogre, Groudon… true lunatics!
Finishing his mental rant, Nathan slightly loosened his grip on Tina's throat.
She didn't seem like a true Dark Organization member — more like a mercenary.
Since that was the case, killing her outright would be wasteful; she might still have some value.
But first, a little deterrence was in order.
"Steelix, come out!"
Using his Viridian Power to connect with Steelix, Nathan summoned the giant creature to intimidate Tina into submission.
Better to scare her thoroughly than to risk trouble later.
Even if it caused some hassle, it would at least make others wary!
[Five portions of supper!]
Awakening from its slumber, Steelix made its demands without hesitation.
Even after having Dynamax-enhancing cubes added to its diet, Steelix remained obsessively greedy about food — even more so than the famously stingy Scrooge McDuck!
Unlike Zeraora, who despite enjoying food had incredibly strong self-control.
"Five portions it is!"
Nathan agreed reluctantly.
The next second —
A Steelix larger than any normal Steelix slowly materialized behind him!
The aura it radiated was overwhelming, to the point that a few lurking Meowth fled in terror, some even losing control of their bowels!
Thankfully, no one was around to witness it — otherwise a viral urban legend would surely have been born.
…
"This... this is… Master-tier?!!"
Feeling the aura pouring from the Steelix, Tina felt her worldview crumbling.
Even when Nathan had overpowered her earlier, or shown murderous intent, she had remained composed.
She even still entertained schemes in her mind.
Because in human society, a Master-tier Pokémon is an absolutely insurmountable peak!
They are the trump cards of Champion-level trainers — even among the Elite Guadians and beyond, there was a saying:
" Master-tier Pokémon — the nation's final weapon!"
Such a Pokémon could easily destroy an entire city — they were essentially living, mobile nuclear weapons.
And now, a young man from an ordinary background had such a Pokémon?
Was this some kind of joke?!
Even among the wealthy Mist family, their prized protector Pokémon was only a veteran Champion-level Pokémon.
To own a Master-tier like this Steelix — that was something only the topmost families and organizations could dream of.
Even the Pokémon League, that behemoth spanning the globe, had fewer than ten Master-tier Pokémon worldwide!
As for Pokémon above Champion-tier — the so-called "Legendaries" — they were exactly that: mere legends.
If not for design flaws in appearance, they could be called gods!
"Work for me as a spy," Nathan said, letting go of the now stiff Tina and giving her a faint but friendly smile.
"Help me monitor the Dark Organizations' movements. How about it?"
In Tina's eyes, Nathan's still-handsome smile had completely morphed into the devil's grin.
"I... can I refuse?"
After a brief pause, seeing Nathan's crimson eye staring coldly at her, Tina weakly replied,
"Alright, I understand... I'll find a way to join Chiyou and report information to you periodically..."
At this point, regret flooded every fiber of Tina's being.
She regretted ever chasing the secret of Mega Evolution.
She regretted thinking she was invincible just because she had become an Elite at a young age.
Now, she had fallen into the hands of a young man she once would have looked down upon.
Seeing her obedient expression, Nathan recalled Steelix into its Poké Ball and decided not to intimidate her further.
But he still warned calmly, "I hope you don't get any clever ideas."
"I despise betrayal and double-dealing more than anything else. If you try to run without notifying me…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Tina's face paled again.
He had so many "chips" at his disposal that he wouldn't even need to personally send Steelix — countless strong trainers would be willing to help him for the secrets of Mega Evolution alone!
Apart from anything else, the secret of mega evolution is enough to make the Dark Organization spend a huge sum of money to hire a top trainer like Tina.
…
(TN: Welp, I thought Dark Spirit Organization was the name of the enemy team. I won't edit the past chapters I'm too ahead and I know it was mentioned already in the early tens already. Too much work and I'm lazy.)