Chapter 228

One of the people next to him, following his gaze toward Joe, spoke a little timidly.

"What are you scared of? There's four of us—are we really afraid of just one Joe?"

"…"

Their quiet discussion didn't attract anyone's attention, and it quickly came to an end.

The four of them decided that no matter what, they had to seize that 30 million from Joe.

With that amount of money, the four of them could live it up for who knows how long. There was no way they were going to just give up on that kind of wealth.

Some weren't afraid, but some were. A few lone hunters, upon seeing Joe arrive, gave up immediately.

They wanted money, but they valued their lives more. If they really ended up facing off against Joe, they might not only lose the money but their lives as well.

…

As Nathan just began to recover from the dizziness of entering the mystic realm, he tripped over a stone underfoot.

Looking down, to his surprise, it was a Mage Evolution Stone—though this particular one was useless.

"Huh… Could it be that all the stones in this mystic realm are Mage Evolution Stones?"

Even though the stone was useless, it was still shocking to encounter one so quickly after entering the realm.

The probability seemed absurdly high! Nathan could hardly believe it.

Before, he had given up many resources just to obtain a single Mage Evolution Stone. Yet now, he was getting them so easily.

Casually tossing the stone into his backpack, Nathan continued deeper into the mystic realm.

According to the materials he'd studied, besides Evolution Stones, there were also "Babiri Berrys" in this realm.

When a Pokémon eats a Babiri Berry, its Special Defense is permanently increased.

(TN: I know it does not raised Special Defense but that's the berry the raw says so…)

However, acquiring a Babiri Berry wasn't easy.

That was because the strongest Pokémon in the realm guarded the tree it grew on.

The information Mayor John had provided Nathan did not include details about this Champion-level Pokémon.

It wasn't that John didn't want someone to investigate—it's just that no one had seen the Pokémon before being driven away.

This Champion-level Pokémon had several Elite-level offspring.

Too few people couldn't handle it. Too many would cause chaos.

So after all this time, no one had ever seen the Pokémon guarding the tree.

But that only applied to others.

For Nathan, seeing the offspring would be enough to determine the parent Pokémon.

After all, he knew everything there was to know about Pokémon species.

How could he not recognize a parent from its offspring?

After wandering for about an hour, Nathan had already found three Mage Evolution Stones.

Unfortunately, none of them were ones he could currently use.

Sigh~ Volcarona… When will I ever find your Mage Evolution Stone?

He touched the Poké Ball hanging from his chest as he spoke.

The Poké Ball containing Volcarona emitted a gentle white glow, as if telling Nathan not to worry.

Just as Nathan continued his search for more Mage Evolution Stones, he suddenly heard Pokémon cries up ahead.

He jogged toward the sound and soon saw the Pokémon making the noise.

A few adorable Mareep were playing joyfully in a small grassy field.

In the center of the Mareep group lay an Ampharos, resting.

One of the Mareep, curious upon seeing a human approach, walked up to Nathan and tilted its head as it stared at him.

"Hey there~"

Nathan waved and greeted it.

But instead of being touched by his friendly gesture, the Mareep got scared.

It let out two bleats and quickly ran back to the Ampharos.

The Ampharos opened its eyes upon hearing the commotion and looked toward Nathan.

Nathan activated Viridian power and asked,

"Do you guys want to eat this?"

He casually took out an pokeblock.

Before Ampharos could reply, the Mareep were already rushing over, drawn by the enticing aroma of the pokeblock in Nathan's hand.

If there were such a thing as trafficking Pokémon in this world, Nathan could've easily committed a crime.

Very few Pokémon could resist the temptation of pokeblocks.

"What do you want, human?"

Ampharos asked warily.

Since the discovery of this mystic realm, many humans had started appearing here.

One even tried to capture its offspring once—but was driven off by Ampharos.

So now, Ampharos was highly alert around humans.

Even if the thing Nathan held smelled incredibly tempting.

"How about a battle between one of your kids and my Pokémon? Don't worry, I'll heal them afterward and even give you more of these."

As Nathan spoke, he casually tossed the pokeblock.

The Mareep, seeing the delicious treat thrown out, immediately ran toward it.

But before they could reach it, Ampharos had already picked it up.

Ampharos sniffed the pokeblock, and unable to resist its aroma any longer, popped it into its mouth.

After experiencing the flavor and effects of the energy cube, Ampharos agreed to Nathan's proposal.

"After the battle, you'll treat my children's injuries and give us more of those."

Ampharos said seriously, though the hunger in its eyes had already betrayed its intentions.

"Of course. I keep my word."

Nathan replied, pulling out a handful of pokeblocks.

"Come out, Grovyle!"

The Mareep were only around level 30—perfect opponents for Grovyle to gain experience.

Seeing the Pokémon Nathan summoned, Ampharos called out to one of its children.

A Mareep hopped forward and stood opposite Grovyle.

The Mareep bleated twice, and sparks of static crackled across its wool.

As the static built up, its wool began to expand.

In just a few seconds, the Mareep's size had doubled!

Originally less than 2 meters long and around 1.2 meters tall, now—with the expanded fluff—it stood over 2 meters high, and looked nearly 3 meters wide!

"Grovyle, use Pound, then follow up with Leaf Blade!"

Nathan commanded.

Grovyle dashed forward, weaving left and right as it closed the distance with incredible speed.

Mareep tried to use Discharge, but missed due to Grovyle's high-speed movement.

Once Grovyle reached Mareep, it slammed its claws down—but something unexpected happened.

Its claws sank into the fluff, and it even got shocked!

Nathan was incredibly relieved that this happened inside the mystic realm and not outside.

If someone saw this, he—the national champion—would be laughed at to death.

After being shocked, Grovyle quickly retreated, shook its arms, and launched several Razor Leafs.

The leaf projectiles cut forward, but a glowing barrier appeared in front of Mareep.

"Light Screen!?"

Nathan immediately realized that Mareep had used the defensive move.

The Light Screen blocked the attack, and Mareep's wool quickly shrank down again.

Seeing this, Nathan knew what was coming next—an Electric-type move.

"Grovyle, use Quick Attack to dodge!"

With the command, Grovyle darted several meters to the side.

A pulse of Thunder Wave shot from Mareep toward where Grovyle had just been.

It missed, landing on the grass and scorching a wide patch yellow.

"Use Screech, then Leaf Storm!"

Grovyle opened its mouth, unleashing an ear-piercing noise like a construction site in full swing.

The Mareep, living long in the quiet mystic realm, couldn't bear the sound and buried its head in its fluff to block it out.

Even though Mareep had buried its head, Grovyle's assault didn't stop.

As it unleashed Leaf Storm, a powerful wind kicked up, forming a tornado-like vortex.

But the real strength of Leaf Storm wasn't in the wind—it was the razor-sharp leaves spinning within.

Accelerated by the gale, the leaves cut through the air like blades.

The Mareep, buried in fluff, was repeatedly sliced by the storm.

Its once beautiful and soft wool was shredded like drifting snow.

Soon, Mareep was covered in bloody cuts.

"Now! Finish it with X-Scissor!"

Grovyle's final blow ended the battle.

Nathan walked over to treat the injured Mareep.

But Grovyle's battles were far from over.

Just as they were grinding for experience, Ampharos suddenly left.

A while later, it returned—leading a massive group of Mareep.

"This… Is this what they call free experience delivery?"

Nathan stared in surprise at the large herd Ampharos had brought with it.

He had thought there were only a few… but he never expected such a huge group!

(End of Chapter)