But this kind of mystic realm... it's really not for them.
"Don't pull me into this. I don't dare go either. I don't have the confidence to survive in a place like that."
Evelyn quickly put some distance between herself and Nathan, afraid he might not find anyone else to go with and drag her along instead.
Nathan shrugged. As expected. But fortunately, he hadn't planned on going with anyone else.
After all, there were very few people stronger than him. As for those weaker, Nathan didn't see the point.
Once he had packed his things, Nathan headed straight for the Mt. Fudo mystic realm.
This mystic realm was located at the summit of a mountain in the Valar nation.
Before the mystic realm appeared, Mt. Fudo was a very popular tourist destination in Valar.
But after the emergence of the mystic realm, the number of visitors significantly dwindled.
Thankfully, the system had helped him out by giving him the "Universal Language Mastery" skill. Otherwise, he'd have needed to hire a translator.
The vehicle could only take Nathan to the base of the mountain. From there, he had to hike up on his own.
Since this wasn't his own country, Nathan didn't dare ride his Pokémon up the mountain. If someone mistook him for a threat and attacked, that would be no fun.
So, he obediently climbed step by step. On the way, he even saw some beautiful girls in traditional Valarian attire.
He couldn't tell you if the scenery was breathtaking, but he could tell you this — the girls certainly were.
After almost an hour of climbing, he finally reached the summit.
That was only because Nathan had good stamina and climbed quickly.
At the summit, Nathan saw the entrance to the mystic realm. Just like back home, it was guarded by Valarian soldiers.
He quietly queued up with the others. Fortunately, ever since Pokémon had appeared around the world, currency had been unified.
Now everything was priced in Pokécoins.
After paying 100,000 Pokécoins, Nathan received the qualification to enter the mystic realm.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by freezing snowflakes.
He pulled a thick coat from his backpack and put it on.
"Tsk tsk, what a view. If not for the threat of Pokémon attacks, this place would be great for sightseeing," Nathan couldn't help but remark as he gazed at the snow-covered landscape.
Of all the mystic realms he had been to, this was the most beautiful one.
No doubt about it.
But Nathan didn't come here just for the view. He had a specific goal.
Before arriving in Valar, he had already studied information about this mystic realm.
Inside, there was a Pokémon he had long coveted.
And this Pokémon was both similar and opposite to his Volcarona.
It was also a moth — but an Ice-type.
Its name: Frosmoth.
It did bear a resemblance to Volcarona in appearance, but its typing was pure Ice.
However, the information Nathan had found was very limited. There was no confirmation that this Pokémon appeared 100% of the time in the realm.
But if it did appear — and he managed to capture one — just imagining himself walking around with both Pokémon…
It would be nothing short of awesome.
Wiping the drool from his lips, Nathan stopped himself before it froze in the cold.
…
While Nathan was exploring the mystic realm, Leo finally had his match.
But this particular match made Leo and several other Celestian contestants furious!
Leo's opponent was one of Valar's seeded players — Watanabe Shoji.
Watanabe's strength was undisputed, which is why he was a seeded contestant.
However, during the match, some of the things he said were absolutely unbearable.
"So this is a Celestian person? What a piece of trash."
"Figures. All Celestian are just talentless garbage."
(TN: Lmao, classic Valar vs China, I'll try removing some of it if it goes too far.)
...
From the very start, Watanabe's words were disgusting.
Although Leo wasn't fluent in Valarian, he could still understand curse words.
Hearing his opponent insult his country like that — Leo couldn't take it.
Right off the bat, he sent out his strongest Pokémon.
But the gap in strength was just too wide. Even using his best, Leo still lost to Watanabe.
In the next two matches, Watanabe took it even further — turning into a full-on trash talker, hurling insult after insult at Celestia while battling.
From the preparation area, Evelyn and the others felt like jumping in and beating Watanabe up.
But they knew they couldn't. Doing so would get them disqualified.
That would only make their opponent even happier.
The only way to fight back was to defeat him — on the battlefield.
The match ended with Leo losing 0-3.
Watanabe, drunk on his victory, continued insulting Celestia on camera.
Since the tournament's rules didn't prohibit such behavior — and the competition was held in Valar — there were no officials to intervene.
Watanabe became rampantly arrogant.
"You've got that so-called champion Nathan, right?" he said smugly as Leo was leaving the stage. "Tell him that if he dares set foot in Valar, he's just another piece of trash!"
Leo stopped and turned around.
"Hmph. You beat me. But even if all of your national contestants teamed up, they still wouldn't be a match for Nathan."
Watanabe blinked, then burst out laughing.
"Haha! Did I hear that right? A Celestian guy actually said something so delusional? Fine then — I'll wait for Nathan to come fight me."
Whoever was operating the camera — whether by accident or on purpose — gave Watanabe a ton of screen time.
All his remarks were included in the broadcast. When he delivered the last two lines, they even zoomed in for a close-up.
Millions back in Celestia were watching.
Even if they didn't understand Valarian, they could read the subtitles.
"Heh, typical Valar. Getting cocky after beating Leo. Let's see how smug they are when Nathan steps in."
"Hold on — the master of toxic comebacks is already working on his next masterpiece."
"100,000 people are signing a petition: please, Nathan, beat them so bad they cry in the restroom!"
"Already bought my ticket. Got a sack ready too. We're short two teammates for a sneak attack mission."
Safe to say — Watanabe had enraged the entire country.
Lily, who was also watching the match, was livid. She hadn't joined this year's global competition, but that didn't stop her from getting furious.
She picked up her phone to call Nathan — but it didn't connect.
"You little rascal… can't even get you on the phone when it counts. You better make us proud!"
Nathan's parents felt the same.
They had taken time off just to watch his matches.
They hadn't expected to see someone publicly insulting their son.
Nathan's mom went on a full rant — her shouting echoed throughout the whole building.
Back at the hotel, Leo and the rest of the team were all gathered in one room, silently brooding.
"Why is no one saying anything? Don't you have anything to say about this?" Evelyn finally broke the silence.
"What else can I say? I lost," Leo said in defeat.
Losing to that kind of person — Leo was truly ashamed.
"So, what if you lost? I haven't!" Evelyn snapped. "Can't you act a little more like a man? Failure is just the beginning of success!"
Sure, Leo lost. But the rest of them hadn't yet.
As long as they could win in the upcoming matches, they could still rub Valar's face in the dirt.
"I…" Leo opened his mouth to respond, but the words didn't come.
"Guys, check online — Watanabe just posted something!" one of the other contestants said, looking at his phone.
Everyone quickly pulled out their phones.
After seeing Watanabe's post, Evelyn was so angry she smashed her phone.
"From this moment on — anytime we go up against a Valarian player, I want everything you've got. Make them learn a lesson they'll never forget!"
Evelyn said through gritted teeth.
It was a shame they weren't beginner trainers anymore.
If they were, Evelyn would've already called home and had stronger Pokémon sent over.
But their current teams were already strong — and trained specifically under their command.
"Yeah! We can't let them act so arrogantly!"
"Screw it — we'll fight to the end!"
The remaining contestants, who hadn't yet competed, all agreed, their anger boiling over.
"Tonight I'll have someone send over some healing supplies. When you battle, even if your Pokémon are on the verge of death, I'll make sure they recover!"
Evelyn's words were icy cold.
Her meaning was crystal clear: win or lose, they were going to cripple the enemy Pokémon.
Even if it meant their own teams took heavy damage.
It might sound ruthless — but compared to Valar, it was nothing.
To publicly insult Celestia in front of the entire world — that was something no one could tolerate.
Unfortunately, they couldn't check who their future opponents would be.
In the early stages of the tournament, match-ups weren't announced.
If they were, Evelyn could've come up with targeted strategies.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of any of this, Nathan was still deep within the mystic realm...
Searching for that elusive Frosmoth.
(End of Chapter)