At this moment—
The battle on the field was still far from over. At the very least, Evelyn had no intention of giving up.
"Maybe I'll never be able to catch up to you when it comes to nurturing and training Pokémon, but at the very least, I won't lose in terms of a trainer's command skills!"
Her cool, clear eyes now burned with determination as she shouted another command to her Jolteon.
"Let them witness your power! Jolteon, use Sandstorm, then Double Team!"
With a sharp cry, the spiky silhouette of Jolteon, no longer bearing the cuteness of an Eevee, split into over a dozen clones amid the swirling sand!
These clones surrounded Zeraora from all directions, lying in wait. Even without attacking, their presence alone applied immense psychological pressure.
Up until now, Evelyn still had no intention of letting Jolteon use any Electric-type moves.
This isn't a game.
A Pokémon that constantly uses Electric-type moves naturally builds resistance to electricity over time!
It's like two tank builds fighting—neither can deal much damage, and the battle just drags on endlessly.
"Next, Quick Attack or Agility? …Agility!"
Rather than blindly ordering Zeraora to attack, Nathan's eyes glimmered with a strange light.
At the same time, Evelyn issued another command:
"Jolteon, use Agility! Completely shut down Zeraora's movement!"
Responding to Evelyn's command, Jolteon executed Agility with perfect coordination.
Combined with Sandstorm and Double Team, it was the very embodiment of chaos—like a horde of demons dancing!
"Tch… You think that by limiting Zeraora's speed, you can restrict my command ability too?"
Clicking his tongue, Nathan's expression turned a bit odd as he said,
"Please don't underestimate someone who's been battling wild Pokémon alone in the wilderness since the age of eight, alright?!"
"Zeraora, show them the results of our training! Use Chidori!"
Even though Chidori was a basic move Nathan developed specifically for his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the electric currents it generated still greatly boosted Zeraora's speed!
Damage wasn't necessary—speed was all that mattered!
After all, Jolteon wasn't a fully defensive Electric-type bruiser.
On the contrary—because of its agile body and decent electric power, Jolteon's defenses were quite low.
"Zorr!"
At Nathan's command, Zeraora immediately dropped its right arm vertically to the ground, while its left claw gripped its right wrist!
"Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzzzzt..."
Electric-blue lightning surged into Zeraora's paw in torrents, accompanied by a sound like a thousand birds chirping in unison!
"Do Electric-types even have a move like that?"
Tilting her head, Wendy asked with a hint of confusion.
Serene shook her head and replied,
"I can say with confidence—no, they don't."
"If I'm not mistaken, Nathan probably conceptualized and developed this technique entirely on his own with Zeraora!"
Upon hearing that, Wendy suddenly remembered—
Back at the Trial Tournament, that Pangoro had already demonstrated Nathan's wildly creative imagination and freakish execution ability!
"Speaking of which, I'm curious, miss. Was what Nathan said just now really true?"
"That he started battling with Pokémon alone in the wild at the age of eight?"
Ignoring Wendy's reaction, Serene suddenly turned to the head bodyguard with a soft smile.
She didn't believe for a second that the powerful Mist Family wouldn't have done any background check on someone so close to Evelyn.
This wasn't about good or evil—it was just basic precaution.
The lead bodyguard, to everyone's surprise, replied with a pleasant female voice:
"According to our investigation, he didn't lie."
"And even if someone started training Pokémon through battle from a young age, raising a Volcarona to Elite-tier strength at his age would still require an unimaginable amount of time and effort."
Only now did most of the bodyguards, and even Wendy, gain a clearer understanding of who Nathan really was.
This guy wasn't just some ordinary "genius" that could be casually described with that word!
Even Serene's exquisitely beautiful face showed a rare expression of emotion as she sighed in admiration:
"He really is… a born Pokémon trainer."
He had talent, determination, courage…
Truth be told, Serene had always been quite proud of her daughter.
But when compared to Nathan, the difference was immediately clear!
…
Back on the battlefield—
Evelyn didn't just stand there dumbly while Zeraora was charging its move.
The moment she sensed something was off, she quickly gave a command:
"Jolteon, interrupt their move! Use Tackle!"
Jolteon executed her command with pinpoint precision.
With the speed boost from Agility and the cover provided by the clones, unless the opponent was something like a Tyranitar or Aggron,
Jolteon should've been able to interrupt any move that required charge time at the same level.
But alas, there are always exceptions.
Especially when it comes to Chidori, a move Zeraora had refined through countless real battles!
As Jolteon approached, Zeraora let out a cold smirk.
"Zorr!"
With a feline roar that sounded part tiger, part panther, Zeraora's body blurred into a streak of blue and gold afterimages!
By the time Evelyn, Wendy, and the others watching could locate Zeraora again—
It was already standing behind Jolteon and all her clones, head slightly lowered.
"It's over. Zeraora's Chidori was largely inspired by Scyther's Aerial Ace, you know!"
Patting his head, Nathan spoke with absolute confidence.
As soon as the words left his mouth—
All of Jolteon's clones disappeared in an instant, and the real Jolteon collapsed unconscious to the ground!
"One strike… and it took out all the clones and the real Jolteon?"
"A technique like a one-draw sword slash?"
Serene's beautiful eyes sparkled as she licked her lips and murmured.
Nathan just kept surprising her again and again.
If she didn't have a daughter—and if that daughter wasn't so dead set against her finding someone new—
this stunning woman might've really developed feelings for this monstrous young man.
…
As the loser, Evelyn didn't seem sad or bitter.
Instead, she returned to her cool, composed demeanor.
As the daughter of the Mist Family, she enjoyed certain privileges—but she also had responsibilities to maintain the family's image.
Over time, she'd developed the habit of concealing all her emotions.
…
"You worked hard, Zeraora."
Nathan gently recalled Zeraora back into its Poké Ball and whispered his thanks.
As if it heard him, the Poké Ball gave a gentle shake—
As if to say, "You're welcome."
"You won… As expected of the League's rising star. Your reputation is well-earned."
Evelyn also retrieved her Jolteon and shook her head as she spoke.
She had initially been a bit unwilling to accept losing to Nathan.
She even thought Nathan had only won thanks to some lucky catch—a pseudo-legendary Volcarona.
But today's battle had slapped her jealousy right in the face.
Zeraora was at least five levels lower than Jolteon—
Yet the battle had been completely one-sided.
Was it because Zeraora was just that strong, and Jolteon just that weak?
Maybe.
But at the root of it all—
It was Nathan's superiority as a trainer that made the real difference.
Not that Evelyn lacked talent—far from it. She was no pushover.
But as the only heir of the Mist Family, she simply didn't have the freedom to devote herself wholly to training Pokémon like Nathan could.
Add to that the fact that Nathan's system store helped fill the gap in resources—
And this was the result.
In everyone's eyes now, Nathan was nothing short of a flawless prodigy trainer.
A genius whose sheer effort made others feel admiration… or despair.
"People are overhyping me. Really, you're just lacking a bit of hands-on battle experience."
Nathan held up two fingers and smiled humbly.
But somehow—
Whether it was Evelyn, Wendy, or Serene…
They all felt like, through that tiny gap between his fingers, they could see the stars and galaxies of the universe!
"Come on, let's sign the contract already. I still have piano lessons this afternoon."
Rolling her eyes, Evelyn turned and walked toward the door of the arena.
Tch, so what if he's been battling in the wild since he was eight? No need to show off about it!
Even as that thought surfaced in their minds, everyone who thought that also found themselves filled with admiration—or even affection—for Nathan.
In a world where Pokémon reign supreme, Nathan was the definition of that one kid from someone else's family.
And yet Nathan himself had no awareness of that.
Following behind Evelyn, he was still marveling at how extravagant rich families were—
The way they raised Pokémon was so diverse and colorful!
…
After returning to the room, Nathan carefully examined the contract and even summoned Metagross to verify its contents.
Only after confirming everything was in order did he sign his name.
Seeing this, neither Evelyn nor the bodyguards were offended.
In fact, they respected him even more.
This was the real world—
A place that didn't require blind trust, but caution and diligence.
Sure, many people liked trusting, simple-minded kids they could rely on—
But aside from Wendy, every adult present had experienced the harsh lessons of reality.