Nathan sighed and recalled Mewtwo.
Everyone around was shocked as they looked at Chad. They had never seen him in such a state.
"With you like this, I won't continue the battle."
After saying that, Nathan grabbed his backpack and walked straight out.
"Come back here! Fight me! I need to prove that I won't lose to you!"
Chad shouted angrily.
"Enough!"
Yue looked at Chad sadly. Seeing him like this really broke her heart.
Perhaps because of Yue's words, Chad gradually calmed down.
Just when everyone thought the situation had come to an end, Chad suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The staff in the studio panicked, and the director immediately pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance.
Though there were medical personnel on-site, they were only equipped to handle minor injuries—and this clearly wasn't an external wound.
When the ambulance arrived, Chad was rushed to the hospital. Yue followed closely behind.
Now it was Nathan's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Crap... I think I just played the villain for once," he muttered, stunned.
This whole scene looked incredibly familiar.
Wasn't this like one of those stories where the protagonist gets beaten by the villain, gets injured, and then goes on to trigger a miracle encounter?
Why did he become the villain?
Shaking his head, he hailed a taxi and asked the driver to follow the ambulance.
At the hospital, Chad was already on an IV drip.
"How is he?" Nathan asked Yue, who was standing by the hospital bed.
No matter what, Chad ended up in the hospital because of him, so there was no way Nathan could just leave.
Yue shook her head and said, "Not great. The doctor said he collapsed from acute emotional distress."
The director, who had followed the ambulance, returned with a medical report.
Seeing that both Nathan and Yue were there, he said,
"The doctor said his health wasn't great to begin with. He hasn't had proper rest in a long time. This emotional stress just pushed him over the edge."
The director sighed deeply.
"How did this happen? Wasn't the filming schedule supposed to be pretty relaxed?"
As someone in the entertainment industry and a close friend of Chad's, Yue was very familiar with the project he was working on.
"Sigh…"
This had been going on for a long time.
Chad had worked extremely hard to get to where he was.
To improve his acting, he spent nearly every waking moment either filming or refining his craft.
On top of that, he had to train his Pokémon. You could say he scheduled every hour of his day to the max.
But everyone knew that Chad didn't care much for fame or money. He wasn't working this hard to get rich.
I've hired Chad to act several times, and many people know this too—he was doing it all for you, Yue.
If it wasn't to support your journey, he probably wouldn't have pushed himself this hard.
But it's also because of your presence that Chad achieved so much.
This incident was just a catalyst.
Even without Nathan provoking him, Chad would have collapsed eventually.
It was just a matter of time.
We tried to persuade him to slow down many times. But every time, he just replied with one line:
"For her, it's worth it."
…
Now Nathan wanted to run, but it was too late.
His gut was stuffed with emotional "dog food," and he still had some in his mouth he hadn't swallowed yet.
The two people at the hospital bed were still showering each other in affection.
It was a heartwarming story, a touching scene—but Nathan really wanted to cry.
"What did I do to deserve this? Do you have to force-feed me this much dog food?" he complained internally.
By now, tears were already welling up in Yue's eyes.
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Nathan opened it and was surprised to see Kelly.
"You finally show up? If you hadn't come, I was about to explode from all this."
Nathan gave Kelly a resentful look.
"???"
Kelly, who had rushed over in a hurry, looked confused.
He had no idea what Nathan meant.
By the time he got to the airport, Nathan was already gone.
Using airport security footage, he saw Nathan leave with Yue.
He rushed to the studio, but Nathan had already left for the hospital by then.
Now he finally caught up—only to witness this melodrama.
"Let Chad rest. I'm heading out. When he wakes up, tell him that if he still wants to challenge me, he's welcome."
Though his words sounded friendly, Nathan had already made up his mind:
If Chad dared to challenge him again, he'd beat up Chad himself along with his Pokémon.
Being forced to eat dog food even while lying in a hospital bed—this was something Nathan simply couldn't tolerate.
After leaving the hospital, Nathan got into Kelly's car.
"So, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"
Kelly couldn't help but ask once they were on the road.
"You got a dog at home?"
Nathan ignored his question and asked his own.
"No. I'm too busy—I don't have time for that," Kelly answered honestly, still confused.
"Oh, I see."
Nathan pulled out his phone and dialed Lily.
"Son, what's up?"
To make sure Kelly also got to experience some "dog food," Nathan even turned on the speaker.
"Gramps, I'm training my Pokémon right now!"
"Don't work too hard. You need proper rest to stay in peak form…"
…
Kelly got the message—and he was full too.
For the entire ride, Nathan kept making calls, offering gentle, affectionate words to various people.
It was all essentially premium-grade dog food, and he force-fed it to Kelly all the way until they arrived.
Only then did he finally hang up.
After getting out of the car, Nathan found himself standing in front of a large courtyard.
There were no high-rises nearby—only this simple, traditional compound.
Outside stood armed soldiers on guard, each accompanied by at least one Pokémon.
And the weakest of those Pokémon were at the Gym Leader level!
"Stick close to me. Don't wander off."
Kelly said quietly, then led Nathan toward the courtyard.
Before they even entered, Kelly took out his ID and handed it to the guards at the gate.
After carefully inspecting the ID and glancing at Nathan, the soldier finally let them in.
Inside the courtyard, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.
Two elderly men with white hair were playing chess beneath a tree, and children occasionally ran by laughing.
Kelly brought Nathan to a room and stopped at the door.
"Alright, go in. I'll wait for you outside."
Nathan nodded and stepped in.
As soon as he entered, he smelled a faint scent of sandalwood.
The room was small, around twenty square meters, and simply furnished—a bookshelf and a desk.
"You're here. Have a seat."
A middle-aged man at the desk said calmly.
Nathan nodded respectfully and sat down across from him.
Though Nathan didn't usually care much about rank or titles, he definitely recognized this person—
This was an Elder.
He was now sitting across from an Elder… or rather, he was sitting in front ofthe Elder.
"Tired from the journey?"
The Elder smiled and asked.
"Not really. Planes are fast nowadays—no time to get tired."
Even if Nathan had just come back from a battlefield, he wouldn't dare say he was tired in front of this man.
Hearing Nathan's reply, the Elder chuckled.
"Relax. I'm not here to scold you."
As he spoke, the Elder picked up the teapot beside him and personally poured Nathan a cup.
Nathan accepted it with both hands.
Even though he was told not to be nervous, how could he not be?
This was a true national leader.
And he was just a national champion—barely even counted as important in comparison.
"Nathan, you're planning to enter the World Championship, right?"
The Elder asked in a calm tone, like a senior talking to a younger generation.
Nathan nodded honestly. "Yes, I definitely plan to participate this time."
But inwardly, he was puzzled.
Why would the Elder suddenly bring up the World Championship?
Shouldn't he be asking about Legendary Pokémon?
"Do you have confidence in getting a good result?"
The Elder asked again.
(End of Chapter)