"Metagross, use Psychic—control him for me!"
Nathan said with a snort.
"You want to act all arrogant? Then let me show you what it feels like to fall from heaven to hell in just two minutes!"
"Tyranitar, use Protect!"
Gurney quickly shouted, trying to defend himself, but it was already too late.
Tyranitar was caught in Metagross's Psychic and couldn't move.
Though due to Tyranitar's massive size and strength, the control wouldn't last long.
"Metagross, use Takedown!"
Nathan followed up without hesitation.
Metagross folded its limbs inward and slammed into Tyranitar.
Though it wasn't as large as Tyranitar, Metagross's sheer body weight made it incredibly heavy.
The restrained Tyranitar had no way to dodge—
It could only watch helplessly as Metagross smashed into it.
Bang!
Tyranitar was knocked down and rolled across the ground.
"Metagross, don't give it a chance—use Meteor Mash!"
With Nathan's order, Metagross soared into the sky, its entire body turning into a blazing meteor.
A fist glowing with metallic brilliance extended forward, aiming straight at Tyranitar.
Gurney panicked—Nathan wasn't giving him any chance to recover.
"Tyranitar, dodge it, quick!"
But it was too late for words now.
Boom!
A deep, muffled thud of flesh being struck echoed—
Metagross's Meteor Mash landed squarely on Tyranitar.
Tyranitar grunted in pain, clutching its chest and rolling on the ground.
"This is the strength behind all your arrogance? Metagross, keep up the attack—use Flash Cannon!"
Back in the air, Metagross brought its limbs together.
A laser-like blast of energy shot down onto Tyranitar.
Tyranitar's special defense was undeniably high—its thick, resilient hide could resist many attacks.
But Flash Cannon?
This move often had an unexpected effect against such durable opponents!
As the laser beam slammed into Tyranitar, a faint gray hue began to spread across its skin.
"Metagross, now! Finish this with Hyper Beam!"
Nathan coldly pointed at Tyranitar.
With its Special Defense already lowered, Tyranitar couldn't withstand a full-power Hyper Beam.
The moment the beam struck, Tyranitar lost consciousness.
Gurney collapsed to the ground in defeat.
He had thought his plan was flawless—but who could've guessed it would end like this?
When Metagross had been injured earlier, he truly believed victory was in his grasp.
But in just a short amount of time, he had lost—
And lost completely.
-----------------------------------
"Go Nathan! Beat the crap out of him!"
"My God-tier Nathan is unbeatable! At this moment, I just want to ask: WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?!"
"A moment of silence for this poor guy. May his wife give birth to a child that look like Nathan."
"The winner is—Nathan Vesper!"
The referee stepped forward to declare the outcome.
"Nice work. I was fed up just looking at that guy."
After announcing the result, the referee whispered to Nathan.
Hearing this, Nathan smiled.
You really have a personality, huh.
The surrounding contestants cheered for Nathan too.
Indeed, putting arrogant people in their place—
It was a satisfying spectacle for everyone watching.
"Aiya, it was just a fluke. That guy's stronger than me. Winning was pure luck."
Nathan said loudly, sounding modest—
But anyone with ears could hear the sarcasm beneath his tone.
Hearing those words, Gurney wished he could crawl into a hole.
"Metagross, use Earthquake."
It was as if Nathan had read Gurney's mind.
With a mighty slam, a deep fissure tore across the ground.
Gurney stared at the crack, as if hearing Nathan whisper:
"There you go. Crawl into it."
Everyone around, and even viewers online, burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.
Nathan was just too thoughtful.
Knowing the guy was humiliated, he even provided a crack in the earth to crawl into.
"You just wait!"
Gurney growled bitterly.
He returned his Tyranitar and stormed off, as if staying a second longer might cost him his life.
The moment Gurney left, all the nearby contestants erupted in laughter.
His arrival had unexpectedly become a source of great amusement and relief.
Yes, they had lost points.
But seeing someone lose face even worse than them?
Suddenly, losing points didn't seem like such a big deal.
They weren't strong enough anyway—so losing was inevitable.
Might as well enjoy the ride.
-----------------------------------
Amid this cheerful atmosphere, Nathan quickly gathered all the points on the island.
Or rather—more than all the points.
Gurney's defeat had awarded him an extra point.
He stayed busy until it was time to sleep, but seeing the system task still more than halfway incomplete gave him a headache.
This damned system was clearly trying to work him to death to avoid giving him any rewards!
He'd worked his butt off for two whole days—
And still hadn't broken 600 points.
And that was only from fighting relatively weak contestants.
By the final day, getting even 50 points would be considered a miracle.
"System, couldn't you have set the point requirement lower?"
Lying in his tent, Nathan complained to the system, completely exasperated.
[System Shop: Discount Items Have Been Refreshed!]
Hearing this, Nathan's desire to punch the system flared up again.
He didn't even need to look. He knew it was some trap.
Still, curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the system shop.
And once he saw the newly refreshed item—
He just wanted to slap himself.
Why did I have to speak?
Wouldn't it have been better to just sleep and prepare for tomorrow's challenges?
[Double Points Card: Grants double points when completing specific tasks. Price: 50,000,000 PokéCoins.]
"You bastard. But I'm not buying it!"
Nathan gritted his teeth at the system.
This was clearly a scam!
"Nathan, who are you talking to?"
Evelyn's voice came from the tent next door.
She was the only one camping beside Nathan.
"Nothing. Just a spam call."
Cold sweat dripped from Nathan's forehead.
Damn system. Why did it have to refresh that card right now?
His slip of the tongue almost exposed everything—
Luckily, it wasn't anything he couldn't cover up.
Because if people found out he had a system...
Nathan figured he'd have to carry a silver needle to restaurants just in case.
Who knows which country might get greedy and try to cut him up for research.
With that final complaint, Nathan drifted off into a deep sleep.
Buy that damned points card?
Not a chance.
Even if it killed him—
Even if he failed the point requirement—
He'd never surrender to the tyranny of the system.
The next morning, Nathan got up early, washed up, ate quickly, and dived straight into a new day of challenges.
---------------------------------
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
And by now, Nathan's name was burned into the hearts of every contestant.
In just seven days, he became unforgettable.
"Monster." "Lunatic."
That was how everyone referred to him now.
Seven days—
Every single day, Nathan spent over ten hours challenging opponents.
Just watching him was exhausting—
Yet Nathan never stopped, not once, for the entire week.
During those seven days, Nathan achieved his goal—the system's task.
1,172 points.
Not one point less.
There wasn't a single contestant he hadn't challenged.
At first, the progress was fast—300 points in one day.
Then it slowed to 200+, then less each day.
But the time he spent each day only increased.
No choice.
That damn system just wanted to squeeze money out of him.
"System, after all this effort, if you don't give me a decent reward, I swear I'll skin you alive!"
Lying in his tent, Nathan didn't want to move even a finger.
If given a choice now—
He'd abandon everything and just sleep.
Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
[Drawing reward…]
[Congratulations! You've received: Pokédex (Basic Edition).]
"What the hell?!"
Realizing he'd shouted, Nathan quickly added,
"Hmph, lame protagonist in this novel!"
In the tent next door, Evelyn heard him and chuckled inwardly.
After so many days of continuous battling, he still had the energy to read?
-----------------------
"System, are you messing with me? A Pokédex? You think I need that?"
Nathan was speechless.
He'd lived in the Pokémon world for years—
What kind of Pokémon didn't he know?
In fact, not just Pokémon from his own region—
He knew nearly every species in the world.
Seven days of sweat and blood, and the reward was a Pokédex?
A book of things he already knew?
[Host, please remain calm. This reward was drawn at random. Any item from the system shop has a chance of appearing.]
Perhaps the system felt guilty.
It actually offered an explanation for once.
Though its response was flimsy and unconvincing—
It was, at the very least, an attempt at sincerity.
(End of Chapter)