This cave was incredibly spacious. Nathan lit a campfire right inside and planned to rest for the night before continuing onward.
Later that night, Nathan fed his Pokémon some pokeblocks. Seeing the Electrivire watching eagerly from the side, he casually tossed a couple it's way too.
These weren't the same low-grade pokeblocks he usually traded with the Electrivire. This time, what he gave were the high-quality rainbow pokeblocks that he reserved for his own Pokémon.
The Electrivire immediately ate one of the different pokeblocks, and to its surprise, it felt a significant boost in power.
"This is incredible!"
the Electrivire exclaimed in awe.
"Of course,"
Nathan explained.
"These pokeblocks are much more expensive."
…
The next morning, Nathan resumed his mechanical, assembly-line-style work. This monotonous task dragged on for four full days before he finally finished sorting everything.
But it wasn't all tedious—there were a few pleasant surprises along the way.
For instance, he found Charizard's Z-Crystal. However, he wasn't sure if Hotfoot could still use it, since Hotfoot's evolution had already diverged from its original path.
But that wasn't even the biggest surprise.
The true jackpot was when he discovered an X Mewtwoite.
Although Mewtwo was a Pokémon Nathan had rescued and hadn't raised from a young age, its strength was no less than any of his long-trained partners. Mewtwo's innate talent was so overwhelming that even with minimal nurturing, it had grown incredibly powerful.
Still, against extremely strong opponents, Mewtwo had started to show some limitations. It could win, yes—but the risk of being defeated was always present.
With this X Mewtwoite, however, that all changed.
This stone allowed Mewtwo to Mega Evolve—in this case, into Mega Mewtwo X.
Of course, Mewtwo had two Mega Evolution forms—X and Y—each requiring different stones. But now that he had the X stone, how far off could the Y stone be?
Even with just the X Mewtwoite, Mewtwo would become nearly unbeatable in all of Pacific.
Nathan had only found two usable items—one Z-Crystal and one Mega Evolution stone—but that was already beyond his expectations. There were countless species of Pokémon and just a few of his own; finding evolution stones that matched his team's needs wasn't easy.
"Alright, finally done! Electrivire, let's make our trade."
Nathan turned and called out to the sleeping beast nearby.
The Electrivire immediately perked up when it heard its name. The past few days by Nathan's side had been sheer bliss. Every time Nathan fed his Pokémon, he'd toss a couple of those rainbow cubes to the Electrivire too.
"So, how many pokeblocks can I get for these?"
it asked eagerly.
Nathan looked at the pile of nearly a thousand Z-Crystals and Mega Evolution stones at his feet, did a quick calculation, and replied:
"I'll give you a thousand pokeblocks."
At first, the Electrivire felt a little disappointed. After hoarding stones for so long, it had expected more in return.
But Nathan noticed the expression and chuckled.
"Wait... you didn't think I was talking about the old, low-level pokeblocks, did you?"
Nathan grinned. No matter how stingy he could be, he wasn't going to shortchange a partner who had helped him so much.
"Wait... don't tell me—"
the Electrivire's mind immediately jumped to the rainbow pokeblocks Nathan had fed it before.
If it really got a thousand of those, it would be a massive win!
Nathan promptly purchased 1,000 rainbow pokeblocks from the system store. The system thoughtfully packed them into five large boxes.
"Each of these five boxes has two hundred rainbow pokeblocks,"
Nathan said, making sure to emphasize the rainbow part.
The Electrivire was so excited, sparks of electricity surged across its body.
Just a few days of eating and relaxing with Nathan had already boosted its strength significantly. With a thousand of these rainbow pokeblocks, not only could it evolve even further, it could probably power up a few of its kin too.
Maybe it could even evolve an Electabuzz into a second Electrivire!
"But I can't carry all these stones right now. Leave them here for now. I'll send someone to move them later."
These nearly 1,000 Z-Crystals and Mega Stones wouldn't fit in Nathan's small backpack. Fortunately, the mystic realm was located in Grace City, so it wouldn't be hard to send people over. If it had been elsewhere, it might've required multiple trips.
Nathan dug through the pile of stones and pulled out two identical Butterfree Mega Stones, keeping one in his bag.
"Hold on to this one,"
he said to the Electrivire, handing over the other.
"If someone comes with a matching stone, let them take the rest of the stuff."
"Don't worry!"
Electrivire thumped its chest.
"While you're gone, no human besides the one you described will be able to get close!"
Even if it hadn't promised, it would still guard the stones—after all, it had to protect its own rainbow pokeblocks.
Once out of the mystic realm, Nathan immediately called Grog, asking him to bring about a dozen strong men to carry the goods.
Roughly two hours later, Grog arrived with his crew.
"Boss, what's the situation?"
These days, Grog looked at Nathan the way a son-in-law might look at a father-in-law—full of respect and admiration.
"Take this stone. Go into the mystic realm with your team and bring out the goods. Just follow the map—you'll find the cave."
Nathan handed him the Butterfree Mega Stone and a hand-drawn map.
"Why do I need a stone just to carry stuff?"
Grog asked, puzzled.
"Well, unless you think you can handle a horde of wild Pokémon, you might want to keep that with you."
Nathan rolled his eyes.
Grog nodded, took the stone and map, and headed into the realm with his crew.
As for Nathan, he left the mystic realm immediately and rushed toward Grace City.
He couldn't wait to see Mega Mewtwo X!
…
Back in the mystic realm, Nathan had intentionally avoided mentioning to the Electrivire that evolution stones could trigger Mega Evolution.
After all, the beast wasn't his Pokémon. If it ended up leaking that information, things could get messy for Nathan.
Upon returning to Grace City, he went straight to the school.
There, the school had a private training chamber, which was the perfect place for what he had in mind.
He raced all the way back, eager and excited, and released Mewtwo the moment he stepped into the training room.
Ever since becoming one of Nathan's Pokémon, Mewtwo had contributed immensely to his journey. Now, with the X Mewtwoite, Nathan was certain that Mewtwo would become an even greater help.
If Volcarona was his signature Pokémon, then he believed Mewtwo would become his second hallmark.
"Mewtwo, let me see what you look like after Mega Evolution!"
He held out the Mewtwoite X. The stone's power activated, releasing a beam of white light that enveloped Mewtwo, who stood clad in its tattered armor.
Soon, Nathan saw Mewtwo's silhouette start to change.
Before the evolution, Mewtwo was around two meters tall, with a tail over a meter long—nearly as long as its body.
Though the white light hadn't fully faded, Nathan could already tell that Mewtwo's tail was getting shorter, and its height was increasing.
Gradually, the light dissipated, and Mega Mewtwo X appeared before him.
Unlike before, Mewtwo's tail no longer curled behind it—it now stood straight and firm. Its limbs had grown thicker and more muscular, and two pauldron-like structures had formed on its shoulders.
Even Mewtwo's once-small ears had become long and sleek.
Its armor, once scarred and worn, had transformed into a more rugged, brutal design.
If the pre-Mega Mewtwo had a sleek and balanced physique, the post-evolution Mewtwo X was a walking embodiment of power.
Nathan was already tall—over 1.8 meters—but standing before Mewtwo X, he felt like a child in comparison.
As he gently touched the still-scarred armor on Mewtwo's body, Nathan couldn't help but sigh.
"If it weren't for these scars, Mewtwo would definitely be one incredibly handsome Pokémon."
(End of Chapter)