Within just a few dozen seconds, Nathan was completely surrounded.
"Nathan, teach me how to train Pokémon~"
"I'm your fan, Nathan..."
The overwhelming enthusiasm made Nathan unsure how to respond.
And as time went on, the situation didn't ease up—it only grew more intense.
For a moment, Nathan didn't know how to handle it.
But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Julie arriving.
Strangely enough, Julie made no attempt to stop what was happening. She simply stood there, watching as Nathan was mobbed by students.
A sea of people can feel deeper than the ocean itself—and at that moment, Nathan was thoroughly submerged in it.
Time ticked by until 8:00 a.m.
Julie finally stepped forward when class was about to start.
Standing on the lecture platform, microphone in hand, she said,
"Alright, students, please return to your seats."
Just a second ago, Nathan had been engulfed in a human tide. The next moment, the crowd began to disperse.
There was no doubt that Julie's words carried real authority at Dawn University.
As the crowd cleared, a disheveled Nathan straightened his clothes and made his way to the podium.
His eyes radiated a deep sense of grievance.
"Now, let's give a warm welcome to the champion of the Pokémon Pacific Regional Tournament—Nathan Vesper!"
After saying that, Julie handed the microphone to him.
"Hello everyone, I'm Nathan Vesper. The Nathan who just got mobbed by fans because I don't have a bodyguard."
The moment he opened his mouth, laughter erupted throughout the lecture hall.
The mood was instantly lifted, and the crowd's emotions were fully engaged.
For this lecture, Nathan had come fully prepared to share his experience.
Having attended many lectures himself in his past life, he was well-acquainted with the general curriculum taught in the country.
But in his opinion, something was missing. This time, he wanted to use his own lesson to fill that gap.
"As a Trainer, I'm not particularly skilled in anything else, so I'll just share some knowledge about Pokémon."
As he spoke, he took out a Poké Ball and casually released Volcarona.
The moment Volcarona appeared, the hall erupted in gasps.
"This was my first Pokémon, and it's still the most powerful one I have."
Nathan gave a brief introduction, while Volcarona fluttered affectionately around him.
"Now, let me ask you all a question—how can you make a Pokémon truly powerful?"
He gently stroked Volcarona as he posed the question.
Students below eagerly offered answers, mostly centered around evolution and training.
…
After listening to their responses, Nathan shook his head.
"You're not wrong—but have you ever considered why my Pokémon are stronger than yours?"
He posed the question again.
This time, no one could answer.
Everyone knew the basics of strengthening Pokémon, and yet, none of those methods explained the clear power gap.
In the front row, Julie sat directly in the center, with a video camera set up behind her.
Nathan's lecture was being streamed live online.
Seeing that no one could answer, Nathan sighed. The sound of it, amplified through the microphone, echoed loudly in the hall.
"Seems like nobody knows—and this is exactly what I want to teach you today: Bond."
"Pokémon are creatures with self-awareness. Some people treat them as pets, others as tools.
But to me, Pokémon are partners—companions I can entrust with my back."
Everyone was familiar with the word "bond," but the way Nathan explained the concept of human-Pokémon bonding was something entirely new.
It was the first time anyone had heard this perspective shared so clearly.
"Let me tell you a story..."
Nathan used the example of Ash and his Greninja, telling the tale of their unique bond and special evolution.
The audience was stunned to hear how Greninja had undergone a unique transformation due to his Trainer.
Even viewers online were amazed.
And even Julie, an education professional, was taken aback.
In everyone's eyes, evolution was a fixed process.
A Pokémon would always evolve into its set form, and some could evolve uniquely through special items or conditions.
But evolving due to a personal bond with a Trainer? That was unheard of.
"If you want your Pokémon to undergo Bond Evolution, there's only one requirement: deep intimacy between Trainer and Pokémon."
Nathan directly revealed the core of Bond Evolution.
…
A single class that reshaped people's worldview ended before anyone realized it.
Even though Nathan had spoken for two full hours, the students felt like it passed in the blink of an eye.
To thunderous applause, Julie accompanied Nathan as he left the hall.
Meanwhile, the recorded video of the lesson began to circulate online.
Foreign students also shared the clip on their country's platforms after watching it.
Soon, Nathan's lecture began spreading rapidly from the capital outward.
By the next day, newspapers in various countries were already reporting on the content of his lesson.
"Famous" didn't begin to cover it—he had changed perspectives.
After the lecture, Nathan left Dawn University.
After all, he needed time to train his Pokémon.
Since he was already in the capital, it only made sense to explore one of the capital's mystic realms.
Who knew what he might find?
Nathan took a cab to the highest-level mystic realm in the capital.
S-Rank Mystic Realm—a massive expanse nearly equal to the size of two first-tier cities combined.
It housed Pokémon of almost every level and was perfect for Nathan's current needs.
After all, his roster now included Pokémon of all levels—and they all needed leveling up.
And as the Pacific Region Champion, Nathan still got free access to mystic realms.
"Saved myself a ton of money again," Nathan muttered as he entered the realm.
But just then, he remembered—
Wasn't the system store supposed to have finished upgrading by now? It had been more than 24 hours already.
Why hadn't it notified him?
"System, are you dead? Is the system store upgrade complete?"
[System Store upgrade complete. Host may now browse at any time.]
Hearing the system's voice, Nathan let out a sigh of relief.
As greedy as the system could be, losing it would be a true disaster.
Looking around the busy realm entrance, he decided this wasn't the place to open the store.
Riding his Flygon, he flew to a secluded spot and sat down to examine the upgraded system shop.
As expected, all the low-level items were gone.
The store now offered only higher-end goods—at much higher prices.
There were also five categories now: Consumables, Items, Recipe, Special Items, and God-tier Items.
The moment Nathan saw the "God-tier Items" section, he felt like it was a trap—one that was baiting him to fall in willingly.
Opening the "God-tier Items" category, Nathan nearly exploded in anger.
[Ho-Oh's Feather – 1,500,000,000 PokéCoins]
[Rayquaza Z-Crystal – 10,000,000,000 PokéCoins]
...
These items and their ridiculous prices were outright scams—designed to tempt and rob him blind.
"System, can you explain these absurd prices for God-tier Items?"
Nathan gritted his teeth.
If the system had a physical form, he might have already crushed it.
1.5 billion PokéCoins for Ho-Oh's feather was insane enough.
But 10 billion for Rayquaza's Z-Crystal? Outrageous!
[Host may browse limited-time discounted items.]
The system's response was simple—but it sounded suspiciously like mockery.
"You broke piece of garbage!"
Furiously, Nathan slammed the "God-tier Items" tab closed. The things inside were too tempting.
And precisely because they were too tempting, he couldn't keep looking.
He was afraid if he stared any longer, he'd be compelled to buy something.
And with his current funds, buying just one or two of those items would leave him flat broke.
Still, with the God-tier Items tab now available, if he couldn't find Ho-Oh's feather in the wild, at least he could buy it later.
Though he couldn't afford the God-tier Items yet, the other categories were within reach.
After all, Nathan was sitting on a respectable 15 billion PokéCoins.
Opening the Consumables tab, he found over a dozen types of pokeblocks.
Each had different colors, flavors, and effects.
There were also numerous healing items, all for Pokémon use.
The wide array of consumables made Nathan's eyes go blurry from browsing.
But after reviewing the category, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
(End of Chapter)