In the eyes of ninety-nine percent of the people watching, it was as if Zeraora just whooshed behind Dragonite.
After the Chidori strike landed,
a flash of lightning slashed through the air.
By the time Zeraora reappeared in everyone's vision, it had already undergone Bond Evolution.
Then, with a final blow, it sent Dragonite straight back home!
Forget about seeing it clearly — most spectators simply wore the same expression as if they were watching divine magic.
"Damn it, I'll have to rely on you now, Beedrill!"
Unable to field another pseudo-legendary and not daring to send out her true ace at Elite level, Cecil gritted her teeth and released a Beedrill.
To be fair, it wasn't bad.
It was level 50, noticeably larger than a normal Beedrill, and its colors were even more vibrant.
However...
"Zeraora, Quick Attack!"
One command. A flash of lightning.
Zeraora suddenly appeared behind Beedrill, casually flicking its twin lightning blades.
The next second—
Boom! Beedrill collapsed heavily to the ground!
…
Meanwhile,
inside a pouch on the sidelines, the little Charmander, still confused about the situation,
watched Zeraora's figure with its big, innocent eyes, as if somehow understanding something important.
Perhaps it was due to the earlier battle with Dragonite,
but the small scale on Charmander's forehead became even more prominent.
On its back, two tiny bumps had also started forming —
barely noticeable unless someone touched them.
It was likely that when the first person found Charmander's egg, they hadn't expected anything special from it,
much like no one would bother hatching a double-yolked egg.
But the concentrated dragon energy within this Charmander was far beyond ordinary —
its monstrous potential was even more ridiculous than a pseudo legendary Pokémon egg.
Still, Charmander had been lucky:
because under Nathan — someone who understood Mega Evolution —
this "monster" could be shaped into an overwhelming strength for the world to see.
…
On the battlefield,
Cecil sent out her final Pokémon: Blaziken, around level 48.
Looking at Zeraora, who now resembled a Thunder Demon God,
her face turned terribly pale.
For the first time since becoming a Trainer, Cecil — the proud "perfect daughter" — felt truly powerless.
Though both were using Pokémon below Elite level,
Nathan was younger than her by a considerable margin!
And yet against a serious Nathan, her carefully nurtured Gym-level aces were annihilated within seconds.
Don't underestimate Gym-level Pokémon even in the finals of the National Tournament, a Trainer having three Elite-level Pokémon was extremely rare.
Meaning —
in standard 6v6 matches, Gym-level Pokémon were usually the true backbone of a team!
Now, facing Nathan's eerie, ice-cold heterochromatic eyes,
Cecil actually felt fear.
All her past pride and achievements felt utterly worthless in front of this teenager.
If not for a final shred of rationality, Cecil might have pulled out her true trump card already.
"Zeraora, finish it!"
Nathan's voice was cold and mechanical, giving Cecil no time to think.
Naturally, there was no accident.
Cecil's Blaziken might have been strong,
but in front of Zeraora, whose speed in Bond Evolution broke all limits,
any resistance was laughably futile.
Ultimately... defeat!
"With this kind of strength, you dared to challenge me? I hope I'll see you again in the main tournament,"
Nathan said coldly as he recalled Zeraora back into its Pokéball,
leaving the arena without looking back.
As a player already famous across the internet,
it was no surprise that Nathan was immediately filmed and uploaded online.
Besides the usual meaningless admiration, envy, and jealousy,
the main discussions revolved around Nathan's true abilities —
Why did his eyes change color?
What was the secret behind his Bond Evolution?
Of course, many of Cecil's admirers and suitors started criticizing him too,
claiming that Nathan lacked chivalry, had a violent temper for someone so young, and so on.
However, no one dared to go too far with their words —
after all, both the heiress of the Mist family and the young princess of the Xue family were currently "sticking" to Nathan.
And with the future prospects of Pokéblocks and Bond Evolution,
who would be stupid enough to openly oppose him?
They weren't fools.
Faced with these harmless accusations,
Nathan, for once, responded on Weibo:
"Anyone who dares to challenge me must be ready to bear the consequences!"
Nathan wasn't a great villain,
nor was he a pure good guy.
If he had to describe himself,
he would probably call himself an absolute egoist.
That "self" was divided into two parts:
one part was Nathan himself and those close to him;
the other was undoubtedly his Pokémon.
…
After returning to the hotel from the Pokémon Center,
Nathan carefully placed Flygon on the soft bed.
Flygon was still unconscious.
Although Dragonite's Hyper Beam hadn't been fatal, it certainly wasn't merciful either.
Even after treatment, Flygon would need another day or two to fully wake up.
"I'm sorry, Flygon,"
Nathan murmured, stroking Flygon's body.
His gaze was complicated —
a mix of frustration, guilt, and fury towards Cecil.
In this tangle of emotions,
Nathan eventually fell asleep beside the bed.
Because of this, he didn't notice —
on the back of his hand, the twin-wing symbol was glowing faintly even in the darkness,
like a star in the night sky.
"The power of dragons... is far from limited to this..."
A vague thought flickered and then disappeared.
What nobody knew was that within Flygon's body,
its Dragon-type energy was now surging uncontrollably.
Moves like Dragon Dance and Outrage were appearing in Flygon's subconscious as if learned naturally.
Kroxus hadn't done much —
he simply unlocked a limitation within Flygon.
To ordinary Pokémon — even to legends like Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, or even Arceus —
this would be a daunting task.
But for Kroxus,
it was simple.
Because few knew the real secret:
Kroxus was the true origin of all Dragon-types.
Arceus had used a huge portion of Kroxus power to create the Reverse World and its master —
the Pokémon known as Giratina.
Meanwhile, Arceus's remaining power created the other types,
splitting itself among various elemental plates.
The reason Fairy-types naturally countered Dragon-types
was due to Arceus's subconscious hatred of the "dragon" power it had buried within itself.
This was an absolute secret in the Pokémon myths.
Even mighty beings like Ho-Oh only knew a tiny fraction —
and most Legendary Pokémon didn't even know Kroxus existed.
If Nathan ever found out the truth,
he would finally understand why the Dark Spirit Organization was so obsessed with dragons,
and how Charmander had accumulated such an astonishing concentration of dragon energy.
…
The next morning,
Nathan woke up with a rare case of back pain.
Even knowing Flygon wouldn't awaken yet,
he still prepared a huge batch of pokeblocks tailored for Flygon's taste.
What Nathan didn't notice, however,
was that Flygon's outward appearance had subtly changed since yesterday.
Its dragon traits had become more pronounced,
while its dragonfly-like features had slightly diminished.
It didn't drastically change Flygon's overall look —
just made it seem a little more handsome and majestic,
like a character photo polished with beauty filters.
…
Leaving the hotel, Nathan headed back to the tournament district.
The remaining two matches didn't really matter —
after all, there weren't even trophies for the division champions.
Originally intense battles had turned more into exhibitions for the audience's enjoyment.
But Nathan, true to his usual style of "if I can finish it in seconds, I will,"
ended each battle swiftly.
Unsurprisingly, he took the championship.
In return, he was given — not even a trophy — just a certificate.
No banner, no official plaque.
So stingy!
Nathan muttered inwardly,
but he also understood —
with eight divisions in total, this championship didn't carry too much weight.
Historically, not many divisional champions made it to the final eight.
It was no wonder the semifinals and onward prioritized entertainment over fierce competition.
The crowd got a good show,
the players didn't suffer major losses —
a win-win situation.
After finishing the divisional tournament,
Nathan didn't immediately rush to the capital.
…
(TN: You can't trash talked Nathan the author will get angry XD)