"Roar!"
Steelix let out another loud roar.
Hmph! Crafty human, do you think I'm some three-year-old little Pokémon? This smart Steelix won't fall for your tricks. You're just coveting my treasure.
Thinking this, Steelix turned its head away, leaving Nathan with nothing but a proud profile view of its chin.
Nathan tugged at the corner of his mouth, but after taking a deep breath, he clenched his teeth and pulled out a new PokéBlock from his bag—a Rainbow Pokéblock, just one tier below the highest-grade Rainbow Pokéblock Deluxe.
It was packed with high energy and rich flavors.
In terms of taste, it was second only to the Rainbow Pokéblock Deluxe.
These things weren't cheap. Sure, he could afford them, but he worried that if Steelix did agree to come with him, he might have to feed it this kind of block every day.
At that rate, just feeding Steelix could cost him upwards of 100,000 a day—and that was for just one Pokémon.
But...
The moment Nathan pulled out the Rainbow PokéBlock, Steelix immediately turned its head back, eyes blinking eagerly at the treat. A look of longing appeared in its gaze.
This looked like the same thing it had eaten earlier.
This one looked even shinier... maybe it tasted even better?
That earlier bite had already left Steelix addicted—it was the most delicious thing it had ever tasted, and it was still savoring the memory of it.
Surely nothing could taste better than *that*, right?
Steelix thought to itself.
But before it could dwell on the thought any longer, Nathan had already tossed the Rainbow PokéBlock into Steelix's massive mouth.
"ROARRR!!"
Holy crap—that's delicious!
That was what Steelix felt deep in its heart.
It couldn't help but roar out, releasing the excitement building up inside.
However, the Rainbow Block was way too small for Steelix. It was more like a taste test—just a nibble—and though it left Steelix feeling a bit full, the flavor was gone too quickly.
That only made Steelix crave it more. Its big eyes blinked rapidly at Nathan, eyes filled with a very clear message:
I want more~
"You want more?" Nathan asked with a smile.
"Rrroar..."
Steelix hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Then come with me. How about that?"
Nathan pulled out a Poké Ball—specifically, a Heavy Ball he had purchased from the system shop, designed especially for Steelix.
"As long as you come with me, you can eat this delicious treat every single day."
Nathan spoke slowly, like a devil whispering in one's ear.
"Think about it. If you don't agree, then you'll be stuck eating dirt every day. Just dirt—how pitiful. Dry, tasteless, dusty dirt. You'd need to eat a mountain of it to feel full. That can't compare to the rich, tasty PokéBlocks. And with me, you'd get that every day... What a beautiful life that would be..."
"ROARRR."
Stop talking already!
Damn you, human—I'm starting to imagine it now...
Steelix began to hesitate. It was... tempted.
...
After a long moment of contemplation, it looked at Nathan and grunted softly.
If you want to capture me, you'll have to beat me in battle. And don't even think about touching my treasure!
Of course, Nathan understood what Steelix meant. He grinned.
"Relax. I'm not capturing you just yet—just making it easier for the future. Until I defeat you fair and square, I just want you to help me out when I'm in danger. How about it? I'm not interested in your treasure anyway—I've already got my own, haven't I?"
Hearing that...
Steelix glanced at the fragment of the Wishing Star around Volcarona's neck and snorted again.
That tiny little stone can't compare to MY treasure. Mine is unique—fit for a noble Steelix like me.
"So? Have you decided?" Nathan asked.
He didn't bother arguing with Steelix about the so-called "treasure." He only wanted to know whether Steelix had made up its mind.
As he spoke, Nathan thought for a moment, then pulled out another Rainbow PokéBlock from his bag.
Still a Rainbow Block.
The moment Steelix saw it, its eyes nearly popped out.
"ROAR!"
Human, touch me with your Poké Ball—now! Then give me the tasty treat in your hand. And from now on, I want to eat this every day—five times. No, six. No—way too little. I want to eat it LOTS and LOTS of times!
---
"Tch, turns out capturing it was easier than I thought."
Nathan looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand, a smile spreading across his face.
"You've already succeeded in capturing it. I'll be going now," Calyrexsaid as it flew over.
"Mm. Thanks again for your help," Nathan nodded, gratitude showing on his face.
This had been a massive gain for him. If nothing else, just getting a Gigantamax Steelix was enough to get him fired up.
Before, he had confidence to maybe reach the Top 16 in the National Tournament. But now?
If Steelix was willing to battle, even the championship title wasn't out of the question.
"Until we meet again, human."
The King's ethereal voice echoed, and then it vanished from Nathan's sight.
Presumably, it was heading off to deal with the mystery realm and Palkia.
Nathan was curious how they were going to resolve that.
But obviously, it wasn't something he could get involved in.
"Today's a good day... for the ordinary folk~"
Humming cheerfully, Nathan waved toward Flygon. After climbing onto its back, they headed toward a different area—not North City.
He was heading toward a place with fewer powerful wild Pokémon.
He wanted to do some training, but this nearby area was too dangerous, full of strong wild Pokémon.
At the same time, Nathan pulled up Steelix's stats panel. After all, this Steelix now basically counted as his Pokémon.
---
[Name: Steelix]
[Ability: Rock Head (No recoil damage from moves that cause self-injury)]
[Type: Steel + Ground]
[Description: Steelix, the evolved form of Onix. Its body is made of compressed metal fragments that glint with a silvery shine. It's said that if an Onix lives long enough, its body eventually becomes as hard as diamond.
[Level: 80 (Level 71–80: Master Level)]
[Moves: Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Crunch, Dragon Breath, Double-Edge, Earthquake...]
Savage!
Absolutely fierce.
That was Nathan's first impression after reading through the stats.
Not only was Steelix an Master-class Pokémon, it was at the peak of that class.
To be honest, among human Trainers nowadays, the highest-tier Pokémon usually capped at Elite level.
Sure, Pokémon beyond Elite rank did exist—but Trainers who had them could probably be counted on one hand. And those Pokémon rarely saw battle.
In this kind of environment, with Steelix on his side, Nathan felt like he had hit the jackpot.
Even if Steelix didn't always fight for him, just having it gave him a huge boost in confidence.
More importantly, Steelix could Mega Evolve.
And if it Mega Evolved while Gigantamaxed...
Considering that Mega Steelix would become even larger...
And it was already huge right now—once it evolved again, it might take up a fifth of the entire tournament arena.
That would be terrifying.
On top of that, this Steelix had a great hidden ability—Rock Head. Definitely a solid trait.
All in all, for Nathan, this Steelix was a total beast.
"Not bad at all," Nathan said, smiling as he clipped Steelix's Poké Ball onto his belt.
He was feeling pretty damn good.
"Tch, once I get a chance, I should go meet with Rowan—the Earth-type Elite Guardian," Nathan muttered to himself.
Rowan was one of the national Elite Guardians, a master of Ground-type Pokémon.
If they ever met, and he showed off his Steelix...
Man, if he could see a look of envy on a Guardian's face, that would be so satisfying.
"Flyy!"
Flygon's voice called out.
Nathan looked down—their destination had arrived: a wide open plain.
It sat at a border zone and had no official name.
But even at a glance, Nathan could see plenty of wild Pokémon roaming below. Mostly Grass and Normal types, with a few Poison and Dark types.
He even spotted a couple of Mareep.
"Electric-types, huh..."
"Hmm. Maybe later."
Nathan muttered to himself as he turned his gaze away from the Mareep.
"If I can't find a suitable Electric-type later, Mareep might not be a bad option."
In terms of looks alone, its final evolution, Ampharos, wasn't bad at all. And Mega Ampharos was even more stunning and majestic.
But for now? Nah.
He already had six Pokémon on hand.
Though this world didn't limit Trainers to just six Pokémon, it was still impractical to carry too many Poké Balls.
If you carried too many, you'd have to put them in your backpack—and if the bag got lost, well, that meant your Pokémon were basically gone too.
Besides, most Trainers didn't capture too many Pokémon.
Why? Simple reason:
No place to raise them.
This wasn't like the anime where excess Pokémon were teleported to a professor.
Here, there were no professors raising Pokémon for you. If you caught too many, they stayed at your house.
You had to feed them yourself, every single day.
And you had to let them out for walks regularly, too.
Without a big enough estate, the average Trainer could only manage about six Pokémon.
Even if you caught more, they'd usually be small Pokémon you could let out in a yard.
For Nathan to catch more in the future, he'd need his own Pokémon ranch or breeding facility—only then could the Pokémon he didn't keep on him be properly cared for.
At most, he could carry eight Pokémon. No—nine, if he hung one Poké Ball around his neck.
Any more than that just wasn't feasible.
Shaking his head, Nathan set his sights on a flat area below and said,
"Flygon, let's head down there. That spot looks good—perfect to set up camp for the next few days."
"Flyy!"