Nathan proudly said, this was a place he had spent a fortune to get. Anyone who came here would be shocked.
"It's nice, no doubt about that. But with such a huge estate, how much does it cost to maintain it each month?"
Kelly looked around the estate. Besides Nathan, there didn't seem to be any servants or working Pokémon.
That must mean someone was definitely hired to maintain it regularly, so Kelly was very curious—how much did it cost to upkeep such a beautiful estate?
"Not too much. About 150,000."
Nathan replied calmly.
Boss. Absolute boss. Can't afford to mess with him. Can't afford to live like him either.
150,000 Pokécoins was equivalent to Kelly's monthly salary—and that's after he started following Nathan.
Before working with Nathan, he couldn't even make 150,000 in a month.
Three days after Kelly arrived, Evelyn also showed up.
Naturally, Nathan invited her to stay temporarily at his place too.
Of course, he definitely wasn't doing it to show off.
But once Evelyn arrived at his estate, Nathan realized—he had been flexing to the wrong person.
"Oh~ Not bad. About half the size of my family's estate."
That was the first thing Evelyn said after seeing Nathan's place.
Nathan felt deeply wounded after hearing that.
The estate he had gone through so much trouble to ahem—secure—was only half the size of hers?!
Comparing with Kelly made his place seem like the pinnacle of luxury.
But comparing with Evelyn… his place was just half as good.
Still, having Evelyn around had its perks—she could help with company affairs, and she often gave very useful suggestions.
…
Free Labor, Anyone?
And not just any labor—well-educated, free labor, delivered right to his doorstep.
If Nathan didn't take advantage of this, he'd be letting himself down.
While Evelyn was kept busy against her will, the fleet arrived!
Nathan, Evelyn, and Kelly took a car to the coast and boarded a naval vessel.
Seeing the disciplined soldiers on the ship, it was hard not to feel a strong sense of security.
"You two will be staying on this main ship. Let me know if you need anything."
Kelly told them after they got on board.
He led them to their rooms, and before they even had a chance to put down their luggage, the ship had already set sail.
Since this was the World Tournament, the selected island was located far from Celestia, the international organizers had to consider all participating countries, after all.
Knock knock.
Just as Nathan finished unpacking, he heard two knocks at the door.
When he opened it, he saw a soldier standing outside.
"Hello, Nathan. I'm Lucas Burks, the captain of this ship. You can call me Captain Burks," he greeted with a smile.
Soldiers from any country carried a certain air of casual confidence, and Lucas was no exception.
"Well, then I'll really call you Captain Burks."
Nathan chuckled.
He figured he'd be staying on this ship for quite a while—calling someone by their full name all the time just felt too distant.
"We'll be sailing for around six days. There are fishing rods and a rec room on board. If you get bored, those are your two entertainment options."
Captain Burks had mainly come to Nathan to prevent boredom from setting in.
After all, bored people do weird things—and if Nathan messed with something he shouldn't, it could become a real problem.
Lucas's words reminded Nathan—he would be stuck at sea for quite some time.
Why not go fishing?
Except… Nathan didn't mean regular fishing.
He meant fishing for Pokémon.
Catching regular fish didn't interest him, even though the sea was full of variety.
But if he could reel in a good Water-type Pokémon? That was worth more than a thousand fish.
Of course, catching Pokémon wasn't easy.
The ocean was vast, and not every area had Pokémon.
In fact, some places had huge stretches without a single one.
"You reminded me just in time—but I brought my own rod."
Nathan said as he walked back into his room and pulled a fishing rod out of his suitcase—at least, he pretended to.
In reality, the rod had come from the system shop—a special rod designed for catching Pokémon.
Ordinary rods couldn't handle it.
If a Pokémon bit the hook, a normal rod or line would snap in an instant.
But the rod from the system shop? A regular Pokémon couldn't break it.
Even strong ones would have to struggle a lot to snap it.
When Lucas saw the rod, he wasn't too surprised.
After all, they'd known about this voyage for a while. Bringing a rod made perfect sense.
Evelyn, having finished unpacking, came out and saw the two discussing fishing.
She became intrigued.
"You're going fishing? Let's go together!"
She said enthusiastically.
Nathan didn't refuse. Evelyn used one of the rods provided by the ship.
Fishing could be dull—but it was also full of anticipation.
The moment the line tugged and a fish came up, it always brought joy.
Under Lucas's guidance, Evelyn quickly reeled in a fish.
It wasn't big, but she was thrilled like a child.
Then she looked back at Nathan's fishing rod—no movement whatsoever.
"Looks like even our Pokémon-training genius has something he's not good at~"
Evelyn teased.
Nathan didn't respond.
After all, his bait was a pokeblock—regular fish weren't interested in that.
He wasn't aiming for them anyway.
Evening came. After fishing the whole afternoon, Nathan hadn't caught a single thing.
Evelyn, on the other hand, had caught three or four fish.
"Haha! Tonight I'm eating what I caught myself!"
Evelyn exclaimed happily, looking at her haul.
Nathan quietly packed up his gear and got ready to eat.
During dinner, Evelyn kept teasing him about his zero catch record.
Nathan just smiled without responding.
The more she laughed now, the more shocked she'd be later.
Come on—did he really want to catch fish? No. He wanted to catch Pokémon.
…
The next morning, encouraged by her success, Evelyn started fishing again.
Nathan joined her.
By midday, just as Evelyn was about to tease him again and head to lunch, Nathan's rod suddenly moved.
Lucas happened to be passing by and noticed the sudden pull on the line.
"That's a big one!"
He said with surprise.
"We'll see~"
Nathan replied as he began reeling it in.
Soon, the catch broke the surface—and both Evelyn and Lucas were stunned.
It was a Gyarados!
A Pokémon!
In that instant, Evelyn understood why Nathan hadn't been anxious yesterday.
Why he didn't mind her teasing.
Turns out… they weren't even fishing for the same thing.
It was like a kid bragging about their toy car in front of an adult—who then rolls up in a real car.
Not even on the same level.
"A Gyarados, huh? Nah, I'll let it go."
Nathan tossed the Gyarados back into the sea and packed up for lunch.
Honestly, he wasn't interested in Gyarados.
If it were a Champion Gyarados, then maybe he'd consider it.
But now that he had quite a few Pokémon, something this ordinary really didn't suit him anymore.
"Hey Nathan, can you tell me how to catch Pokémon while fishing?"
Evelyn came up to him during lunch, unable to hold back her curiosity.
She really wanted to catch a Pokémon too.
Compared to Nathan's catch, her regular fish suddenly felt meaningless.
"Use my rod and bait—pokeblocks."
Nathan didn't hide anything and told her directly.
He didn't expect to catch some rare or perfect Pokémon anyway—this was all just for fun.
After all, life at sea was really boring.
(End of Chapter)