Another ten million—what a profit.
It was just a pity that things like this couldn't happen every day.
If it could, then he'd be raking in several billion a year.
After changing Poké Balls, this time the Gyarados didn't come out on its own.
Looks like it was very satisfied with the new ball.
"Hehe, now that you've got it, your Pokémon's monthly consumption of pokeblocks is going to go up by several dozen times."
Nathan chuckled as he watched Evelyn happily putting the Poké Ball away.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at him.
Her Pokémon—so if they eat more, that's her own concern.
Besides, it's not like she's ever seen Nathan being stingy when it came to his Pokémon.
Every time Nathan fed her Pokémon energy cubes, they were all brands she'd never even seen before.
Just by looking at them, she could tell they were on a whole different level from the ones she used.
But to be fair, looking at the quality of Nathan's Pokémon, it made sense.
Only top-tier pokeblocks were worthy of them.
-------------------------
After spending the whole day out at sea, by the time the weather started turning, Nathan's ship finally returned to land.
And as soon as he got back, Nathan received an official notice from the World Tournament committee.
The next round of competition would be held the day after tomorrow.
The rules would be the same as in the regular matches:
Each person brings three Pokémon—battle continues until all of one side's Pokémon are defeated to determine victory.
However, to advance, one had to win three matches.
The opponents would be randomly selected.
If a country lost to three other countries in a row, they would be eliminated from the tournament.
"That's it? This sounds way simpler than the points match."
Nathan asked, surprised.
The World Tournament staff member who had come to deliver the notice rolled his eyes at him.
"The first round was already much harder than this, okay?
And it wasn't even necessary to challenge every participant—just collect enough points."
"But you? You fought every single one of them.
And you did it in just seven days.
Compared to that, of course this seems easy."
"Depends on the country's strength, really.
The strong will obviously think it's easy."
The staff member replied with a forced smile.
After the staff left, Evelyn excitedly came up to Nathan.
"How about I go up there and show my face in the next round? Or even go first?"
If this were before, Evelyn really wouldn't have had the confidence to beat many opponents.
But now? Things were totally different.
She now had a Dynamax Gyarados.
Even though it was still technically at Elite level, its strength was easily comparable to some Champion-tier Pokémon.
Once she managed to raise it to Champion level, it would be a true game-changer.
By that point, she'd even have the confidence to challenge Nathan himself.
"Sure, if you're happy, go for it.
If you can carry us to advancement all by yourself, I'd be more than happy to just sit back and watch."
But right at that moment, the system popped up to ruin the mood again:
[World Tournament Mission – Phase 2 has begun.]
[Mission Objective: Assist Evelyn in defeating half of the opposing teams.]
[Reward: Random Formula (Formula level increases based on the number of opponents defeated).]
Upon hearing the system's voice, Nathan froze in place.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The first mission, while tiring, was guaranteed to succeed as long as he committed to it.
But this one? This one was insane.
Assist Evelyn in beating half the teams?
How was he supposed to pull that off?
What was he supposed to do—help her raise Gyarados to Champion level in a single day?
That was obviously impossible.
"System, when it's time for your family to visit your grave next year, make sure to let me know.
I'll burn some paper money for you too."
Nathan muttered in his mind.
To be honest, right after hearing the tournament staff explain the rules, Nathan had assumed Phase Two of the system's mission would be a breeze.
After all, with only three opposing countries, how complicated could it be?
But never in his wildest dreams did he expect the system to blindside him like this.
"Nathan? Nathan?"
Just a second ago, they had been chatting, and now Nathan had gone completely still.
Evelyn thought she had somehow upset him.
She nervously called his name twice.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how to help you beat more opponents."
He replied with a blank expression once he snapped out of it.
Smiling? No way. Not right now.
"Huh? Really? You really want me to get more stage time in the World Tournament?"
Evelyn asked in disbelief.
She had thought Nathan was mad at her—but now it seemed she had misunderstood.
Little did she know, Nathan was secretly plotting how to punch the system in the face.
--------------------
That night, lying inside his tent, Nathan listened to the sound of raindrops falling gently on the canvas.
He scrolled endlessly through the system shop, browsing page after page.
By his side, he had already piled up a mountain of items—all of them prepared for Evelyn.
More precisely, for her Gyarados.
Although its Dynamax form was already ridiculously overpowered, sheer size alone wasn't enough to guarantee victory.
"Hasn't eaten any special defense potions yet? Gotta buy some!"
"Speed-boosting fruit? Better get some of that too—could come in clutch during battle."
"…"
All the way until late at night, Nathan finally finished his shopping spree.
Looking at the mountain of goods around him, he winced in pain.
He had just earned ten million from Evelyn—
and now, in less than one night, he had blown over a hundred million.
"Nope, this won't do. Tomorrow I've got to make Evelyn reimburse me—
Otherwise, I'll be at a huge loss!"
Nathan muttered, glancing at the piles of bottles, vials, and berries beside him.
---------------------
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Nathan emerged from his tent.
"Evelyn! Evelyn! Get up!"
He shouted twice outside her tent, trying to wake her up.
Evelyn, still sound asleep, unzipped the tent flap and stared at Nathan, who looked completely energized despite the dark circles under his eyes.
"Nathan, we don't even have a match today—what are you doing?"
She had been so excited last night over getting a Dynamax Gyarados that she hadn't fallen asleep until very late.
"Exactly because we're not battling today—get up!
Bring your Gyarados and come with me!"
Nathan grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a few gentle shakes.
This was about his mission reward—how could he not be worried? How could he not be in a rush?
The formula reward he could live without, but the final reward was something he couldn't ignore.
Twenty-something minutes later, Evelyn emerged from her tent, still rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"You—grab those bags and come with me to a place with no one around."
Nathan pointed at the overstuffed backpack by his feet.
It was nearly half as tall as a person and packed to the brim.
Evelyn looked at it and felt like Nathan was just messing with her.
"You seriously expect me to carry that?"
She glared at him, annoyed.
"Everything in there is for your Gyarados.
If you're planning to just lose your first match, go back to sleep.
Otherwise, pick it up."
Nathan's voice was cold.
That "little bag" had cost him several hours of browsing last night—
and over a hundred million PokéCoins.
He hadn't even asked her for the money yet, and now she was complaining about carrying it?
"Really? I'll carry it right now!"
Evelyn immediately perked up.
She bent down, grabbed the enormous backpack, and hoisted it up onto her back in one go.
Turns out, when women are truly motivated, their strength can absolutely crush a man's.
The two grabbed the breakfast that Nathan had asked Kelly to prepare, and set out riding their Pokémon.
Because of Dynamax Gyarados's massive size, it was best to find a remote location—
They wanted to maintain the element of surprise, after all.
Also, it'd be safer.
That Gyarados had a criminal record, after all.
They arrived at a deserted coast area, and Nathan told Evelyn to release Gyarados.
She did as instructed and waited quietly for Nathan's next move.
"What are you just standing there for?
You expect me to raise your Pokémon for you?
Didn't I already give you everything you need?"
Nathan covered his face—he really didn't know what to say to her anymore.
Only then did Evelyn realize—oh, she was supposed to do the training.
She had assumed Nathan had some special training method in mind.
Well, technically there was: leveling up, grinding XP.
But that method only worked for his own Pokémon, and this Gyarados's level was so high already…
It would barely make a dent in just one day.
Evelyn opened the backpack and saw a variety of items—bottles, jars, fruits of all kinds.
Most of the fruits she recognized—they boosted various Pokémon attributes.
She immediately opened Gyarados's mouth and poured all the fruit in.
But for a Gyarados of this size, even that much was barely enough for a single bite.
Not even enough to get stuck in its teeth.
After Gyarados finished the fruit, Evelyn looked at the bottles and vials still in the bag and frowned.
She had no idea what most of them were for.
(End of Chapter)