Finally, something that doesn't cost ten figures at the drop of a hat.
In the "Recipe" category, prices were slightly higher, but buying one or two could easily lead to profit.
After all, his studio—no, it should be called a company now—was only operating two main products, and the rate of making money was as easy as siphoning water.
…
The "Items" category consisted entirely of held items for Pokémon—things like collars to boost speed or bracelets to increase strength.
All kinds of them, too many to count.
Then there was a final, special category that wasn't just limited to items for Pokémon.
It also included things that Nathan himself could use.
Even the "Language Mastery" skill he already owned was found in there.
"System, I'll give you that—you're not completely heartless."
After seeing the upgraded system shop, although the "God-tier" items were still ridiculously expensive, the rest of the categories were relatively decent.
"But what's with these limited-time discounts?"
[Today's Discounted Item: Rayquaza Z-Crystal; 7,000,000,000]
"…"
Nathan suddenly realized he had overestimated the scammy system again.
A discount on a Rayquaza Z-Crystal? Who the hell would buy that!?
Shutting the system store with a grimace, Nathan hopped onto his Flygon and began searching for wild Pokémon in the mystic realm.
It didn't take long before he found a suitable group—
A group of Pikachu, no less!
In a forest clearing, countless yellow figures were bouncing about—super easy to spot.
These Pikachu were mostly around level 20 to 40.
"Come out, Charmander!"
Nathan released his Charmander. Ever since its bloodline issue was resolved, he hadn't brought it out for any real training.
Now was the perfect time. So many Pikachu—great matchups for Charmander.
"Charr~!"
As soon as it came out, Charmander let out a loud roar toward the sky. If it were a bit bigger, that might've looked cool.
But as it was now, its little roar just came off adorably fierce—"milk-rage cute," as Nathan dubbed it.
"Go stir up some trouble!"
Nathan pointed toward a nearby Pikachu.
Charmander, looking adorably aggressive, locked eyes with a level 25 Pikachu.
It charged in with a Tackle. The unsuspecting Pikachu, mid-play, got hit out of nowhere and spun around angrily.
With a flick of its electrically charged tail, it smacked Charmander across the face.
Charmander got quite the shock from that.
Furious, the flame on its back blazed higher.
It opened its mouth and spat a small ember at Pikachu.
Pikachu dodged quickly, its cheeks starting to spark.
Charmander wasn't backing down either—the flame on its back split, forming a spiral around its body.
"Pikaaa!!"
With a shout, Pikachu fired a bolt of lightning at Charmander.
At the same time, Charmander's fire spiral lashed out at Pikachu.
Their attacks collided mid-air—BOOM! A fiery explosion.
"…That flame…"
Nathan frowned at Charmander's fire.
Normal Charmander flames were orange, regardless of the move.
But Charmander's fire had a tint of white in it.
Sure, extremely high temperatures could turn flames white, but this didn't seem like a temperature issue.
It felt like… another element was involved.
Opening Charmander's stat panel, Nathan was stunned when he saw its typing:
[Name: Charmander]
[Type: Fire + Dragon + Fairy] [Level: 19 (11–20: Growth Tier)]
"…Huh?? Why does Charmander have Fairy typing!? Don't tell me…?"
Images of a Charizard mating with a Fairy-type Pokémon flashed through his mind.
Honestly, Charmander having Fairy typing was beyond shocking—on par with the first time he saw Mewtwo.
"Charr~!"
While Nathan was still processing the new typing, he suddenly heard Charmander's roar.
Looking over, he saw that Charmander had already defeated the Pikachu.
Nathan hurried over, healed the Pikachu, and gave it a pokeblock to eat.
The Pikachu looked at him with thankful eyes before running off.
But before Nathan could analyze why Charmander had Fairy typing, a chorus of "Pika~ Pika~" sounds came closer.
He looked up and saw that the Pikachu Charmander had just fought had brought back a whole crowd of Pikachu!
They were everywhere—in trees, on the ground… surrounding him completely.
Charmander, who had just been basking in his victory, shrank back and nervously hid behind Nathan.
One Pikachu? No problem.
This many? Even one-on-one, Charmander would drop from exhaustion before getting through them all.
The Pikachu who had fought earlier came up to Nathan, pointed at itself, then at Charmander.
It waved its little arms wildly while chirping "Pika Pika" nonstop.
Nathan got a headache just watching it, so he quickly activated his Viridian Power.
Once activated, he could finally understand what the Pikachu was saying.
"That thing from earlier—can we get some more of it? They all want a chance to battle him too."
Hearing that made Nathan ecstatic. These Pikachu wanted to battle for pokeblocks?
Yes please.
"I've got plenty. If you guys want to battle, line up one by one."
This was exactly what Nathan had hoped for.
Pokeblocks were something he had in abundance—he could make more anytime.
Though there were a lot of Pikachu, having just Charmander fight them all would be too much.
So Nathan released the rest of his Pokémon that needed training.
Soon, his entire team was surrounded by a sea of Pikachu, engaging in battles and gaining levels.
After fighting, some of the Pikachu even brought berries for Nathan to eat.
Looking at this scene, Nathan could only say:
"If this is what training Pokémon can be like, let me do this forever."
When his Pokémon got tired, he'd feed them cubes.
If they got injured, he'd heal them.
This routine continued until nightfall, when Charmander and the others were too exhausted to go on.
Nathan dismissed the Pikachu crowd, returned all his Pokémon, and set up his tent to rest.
…
The next morning, the Pikachu were back again.
After a good night's rest, Charmander and the others were refreshed and ready for battle.
And so, the fighting resumed.
This time, Nathan even started giving tactical instructions and correcting his Pokémon's flawed battle habits—making their fighting styles more refined.
But this peaceful training didn't last long—suddenly, thump thump noises echoed across the area.
The ground trembled slightly with each thump.
Nathan grew alert. Anything causing that kind of commotion had to be a big guy.
But to his surprise, the Pikachu around him didn't react at all.
They just kept doing what they were doing, as if nothing had happened.
Grinding his teeth, Nathan summoned Flygon and had it take him into the air.
The higher they climbed, the more he could see.
Finally, at around 200 meters up, he saw the source of the commotion.
And he immediately understood why the Pikachu weren't panicking—
The giant causing all this noise was… also a Pikachu!
Normally, Pikachu stand about 50 cm tall at most.
Some smaller ones might be only 30-something cm.
But this Pikachu walking in the distance?
It was over ten meters tall…
Nathan had seen bigger Pokémon before, but a Pikachu this size?
What, did it eat two Wishing Star for breakfast?
Even Dynamaxing had its limits, didn't it!?
Watching this Gigantamax Pikachu getting closer and closer.
Hovering in the sky, Nathan watched as the giant Pikachu approached.
Very soon, it arrived at his location.
"…"
Landing back on the ground, Nathan looked up at the massive Pikachu in speechless disbelief.
He had to admit—up close, it was even more shocking.
"Pika Pika~"
"Pika~"
(End of Chapter)