"Tomorrow, you all should take the earliest flight out of here."
Nathan spoke with a tightly furrowed brow.
The fact that Valar had already laid its intentions bare meant that the situation had become truly serious.
What troubled Nathan the most wasn't their threats — to be honest, he wasn't afraid of those.
What he was worried about was the people around him, like Evelyn.
If it were just himself, whether he encountered members of a Dark Organization or was targeted by Valar, he could handle it.
But what about Evelyn and the others?
Sure, Evelyn was strong, but Yue's Pokémon had practically no combat ability.
If the Valarians used Yue against him, how could he possibly sit back and do nothing?
"Alright."
Yue wasn't stupid. Without a decent mind, she wouldn't have made it this far even with Ai Jie's help.
It was clear that Nathan was trying to protect her. With her weak Pokémon, she was more of a burden than a help to Nathan.
Hearing Yue agree, Nathan let out a small sigh of relief.
He had been afraid that the couple would insist on staying in Valar with him.
"Get some sleep. Leave early tomorrow."
With those words, Nathan closed the door and returned to bed.
Looking at the task his system had just issued, Nathan felt that this might be the most difficult mission he had ever received.
The hardest part was the phrase "successfully return to your home country."
If Nathan was right, then he likely couldn't return to his country by plane or ship anymore.
If a nation truly wanted to target someone within its own borders, it was just too easy.
"Sigh, I'll take it one step at a time. Tomorrow, I'll tell Evelyn and the others to return home too."
Nathan sighed and soon drifted off to sleep.
…
The next morning, when Nathan arrived at the Murakami Arena, he noticed that Evelyn and the others didn't look so good.
"What's going on?"
Nathan asked with concern.
"Did the Valarians not come to talk to you yesterday?"
Evelyn's expression lit up slightly when she saw Nathan.
"They did. But I turned them down."
As soon as he heard Evelyn's words, Nathan knew they hadn't only approached him.
But their efforts were pointless — Evelyn's family owned a large domestic corporation. There was no way she would commit treason. Otherwise, her entire family business would be doomed.
As for the others, even if they joined Valar, it wouldn't help their team much.
"I was going to talk to you all about it, but since you already know, it saves me the trouble."
"You should all go back home today."
Nathan said seriously.
Everyone looked a little stunned. They hadn't expected Nathan to be the one to suggest that they return first.
"No way. There's no way I'm leaving you here alone."
Leo immediately refused without hesitation.
Abandoning a teammate and letting them face danger alone in a foreign country — that was something Leo could never do.
Nathan was a bit surprised by Leo's stance. Back during the competition, Leo had lost badly to him.
Yet now, he was the first to step up and speak out.
"So, what, do you want to stay here and drag him down?"
Evelyn interrupted before Nathan could speak.
Evelyn was not someone who would burden others.
At this point, she and Yue were thinking the same thing — they needed to leave quickly to avoid holding Nathan back.
She believed in Nathan's strength, and even more in his Pokémon's ability to get him home.
But she didn't believe her own strength would help him at all.
The group fell silent. Her words were blunt, but undeniably true.
"I'll go book the tickets now. You're all coming with me."
Evelyn said as she turned.
Everyone exchanged glances and could only follow her helplessly.
There was no farewell.
Nor was there any need for one.
Once they were gone, Nathan took a deep breath and walked into the Murakami Arena.
The already-seated Valarians smirked when they saw Nathan enter alone.
The match started quickly, and it was as if yesterday's incident had never happened.
Nathan remained calm as always, watching the ongoing matches and preparing to step onto the field.
As the rounds passed, it was finally Nathan's turn to compete.
Today's opponent was a team from Sunderland Country.
In Pacific, Sunderland Country was considered one of the stronger countries, and its team was definitely more capable than the Josan Nation's.
Adjusting his clothes slightly, Nathan walked slowly into the arena.
When everyone saw him enter alone again, they were still shocked.
Even though he had faced an entire national team by himself yesterday, seeing it happen again was just as impactful.
Once both sides were in place, the match began.
Nathan immediately released his Metagross, while Sunderland Country team hesitated for a moment before sending a female trainer to face him.
Seeing the woman before him, Nathan was pretty sure: Sunderland Country must be the island Amazon.
All their women seemed strong and well-built.
"Please go easy on me,"
the female trainer said in Celestian.
"It's a battle. Just do your best,"
Nathan replied fluently in her native tongue.
Upon hearing this, the audience was stunned.
Is this guy a monster or something?
It's one thing to be a Pokémon expert — but now you speak foreign languages too?
And not just one?
Yep, people really can't be compared.
Once the translator conveyed their conversation, everyone started feeling sorry for the woman.
"Do your best" might sound like encouragement coming from others.
But from Nathan, it basically meant: you're going to get wrecked.
Of course, maybe he was just trying to be encouraging…
But in reality—
"Metagross, use Agility! Follow up with Take Down!"
"Now Sandstorm!"
"Stomp!"
…
A flurry of uninterrupted attacks rained down, and the woman's expression went from bad to worse.
Turns out, Nathan's "do your best" really was directed at her — she needed it.
Was this even human behavior?
Her Pokémon only managed to hit Metagross four times total — and none of the hits caused any real damage.
…
A rapid barrage of attacks completely wiped out the female trainer's first Pokémon.
Whether on the field or online, many were accusing Nathan of being shameless.
Couldn't he show some mercy to a girl?
"I take my battles seriously,"
Nathan said solemnly after defeating the first Pokémon.
"You… Come out, Gyarados!"
The woman wanted to say something, but remembering how ruthless Nathan had been earlier, she chose to stay silent.
Words couldn't compare to actions in battle.
With a roar, the towering Gyarados was released onto the field.
Nathan's eyes widened slightly — a level 59 Gyarados!
Just two levels away from the Champion class.
Good thing he hadn't underestimated her based on her earlier politeness.
Otherwise, he might have suffered a setback this round.
If she had raised a level 59 Gyarados, she definitely wasn't as gentle as she looked.
Metagross, seemingly provoked by Gyarados's roar, let out a loud cry in return.
The two towering Pokémon faced off, creating a strong visual impact!
"Gyarados, use Leer!"
Gyarados's eyes burned with fury as it stared down Metagross.
Metagross froze slightly as the Leer hit, as if momentarily dazed.
"Now! Use Dragon Tail!"
Noticing Metagross's hesitation, the woman gave her command.
Gyarados surged forward through the air.
In a flash, it reached Metagross and spun around.
Its massive tail whipped toward Metagross with force.
Metagross, having just snapped out of it, could only raise its arms in a hurried attempt to block the blow.
(End of Chapter)