But halfway through, such an incident had occurred. Now, not to mention finding Pokémon resources, they hadn't even caught sight of much at all.
"This wasn't my intention, things just got delayed. Once we've delivered the Cocoon of Destruction, I'll personally take you to deal with that Pokémon."
Nathan grinned as he spoke.
A promise made was a promise he would keep—Nathan was someone who always followed through. This delay had truly been an accident. But in the end, it was only about transporting the Cocoon of Destruction, nothing more than a temporary setback.
Yet Evelyn now found herself doubting his words very much.
Amidst the roaring sound of the propellers, their destination soon came into view.
When they finally arrived, Nathan had Mewtwo carry the Cocoon of Destruction into the mystic realm. Simply leaving the Cocoon sitting inside made Nathan uneasy, so he deliberately asked Xerneas to cover it.
Xerneas' method was simple yet wondrous.
Under the influence of its life energy, a tree sprouted from the ground. Then, under its control, the tree completely wrapped itself around the Cocoon of Destruction.
Before long, everyone stared in awe as if witnessing a miracle. The small sapling rapidly grew into a massive tree, tens of meters tall, with a trunk two to three meters thick. Within its core, the Cocoon of Destruction was sealed away.
With this kind of concealment, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to locate the Cocoon again.
Having resolved the matter of Yveltal, Nathan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, when he first encountered Yveltal, he had been very tense. He feared something unexpected might occur during the battle.
Fortunately, although six people had died and numerous Pokémon had fallen before Yveltal was subdued, the ending was still a favorable one.
At least now, he would never again have to worry about Yveltal.
"What will you do next?"
Nathan turned toward Xerneas, who seemed lost in thought.
Originally, the only reason it had been by his side was because of Yveltal. Now that Yveltal had been dealt with, Xerneas no longer had any reason to continue following him.
Indeed, Xerneas itself hadn't really considered what it would do afterward.
In the past, every battle with Yveltal had ended in both suffering heavy injuries. Inevitably, their clashes concluded with both retreating into slumber, only to awaken once more and resume the cycle.
It was as though their awakening and their sleep existed for one sole purpose—to continue fighting.
But this time was different. With Nathan's help, it had not ended in mutual destruction. Instead, Yveltal had been utterly defeated, one-sidedly.
"I don't know," Xerneas murmured, still staring blankly at the massive tree.
To be honest, it had never thought this day would come. To feel so at ease, with no pressure, no constant fear of Yveltal awakening to wreak havoc on the world—this was new.
"Then do you plan to remain here, guarding the Cocoon of Destruction? Or… will you come with me?"
Nathan asked carefully, his heart a little nervous.
After all, Xerneas was a very special Pokémon.
And his relationship with it was peculiar as well.
He wasn't truly its Trainer. Xerneas had never been captured by him.
And yet, man and Pokémon had traveled together for quite some time.
Of course, compared with the long existence of Xerneas, this was hardly any time at all.
But in truth, Xerneas had very little time awake in the first place. And whenever it did awaken, it was nearly always rushing to confront Yveltal.
These days spent alongside Nathan had been some of its most carefree days in millennia.
During this time, it had witnessed the unique qualities of humans like Nathan.
It had also seen his distinct way of raising Pokémon.
It remembered vividly that not long ago, Nathan had managed to help his Pokémon advance to the legendary tier.
And it wasn't just one Pokémon—two of them had advanced at the same time.
"I'll need to think about it."
For once, Xerneas found itself genuinely unable to decide.
If this had been in the past, when any human asked such a thing, its answer would have been obvious—remain behind, and guard the Cocoon of Destruction.
But now, it hesitated.
Nathan, hearing this, did not press further. Instead, he simply led the members of the Pokémon Squad out of the mystic realm.
When they reached the exit, Crane asked curiously, "Instructor, you still haven't captured that Pokémon?"
He had assumed earlier that because Nathan could command it in battle, it must already have been captured. Only now did he realize that wasn't the case.
Still, this was what separated an instructor from ordinary trainers. Even without capture, Nathan could command a legendary Pokémon. For others, trying to command one they hadn't captured would be extremely difficult—if possible at all—often requiring some cost or price to be paid.
And judging from the conversation earlier between Nathan and Xerneas, it clearly wasn't as though he had paid some price in order to command it.
"No," Nathan shook his head, "its mission was to confront that cocooned Pokémon. I was merely accompanying it to find that foe."
Of course he wanted to capture Xerneas. But that was easier said than done.
A Pokémon with its own will, its own mind—such a creature could never be captured simply by force of will alone.
"Instructor, could you perhaps tell us about that Pokémon?"
Crane's curiosity about Xerneas had only grown after hearing this.
Nathan chuckled, not bothering to hold back. He began explaining to the squad what he knew of Xerneas.
In truth, Nathan didn't know much himself.
But he had the Pokédex gifted by his system.
And in that Pokédex was detailed information on countless Pokémon.
So, he began to recount what the Pokédex had recorded about Xerneas.
That explanation lasted nearly a full hour.
"Wow, Instructor, Xerneas has such a long and storied history! And you know it all?"
"Instructor, I just realized—your strength isn't a coincidence. There's a reason you're the strongest."
"No wonder you're so powerful. Even your knowledge of Pokémon history is unmatched!"
…
After hearing the story, the squad was deeply impressed.
Truthfully, their own understanding of Pokémon never extended beyond move types, attribute counters, and battle tactics.
As for history—most of them didn't even know the history of their own Pokémon, let alone others.
"All right, that's enough for today. You all should head back out first. I'll wait here alone for a bit."
Nathan waved them off, signaling that they didn't need to say more.
Understanding that he wanted them gone, the squad respectfully left.
"I'm here."
The moment they departed, Xerneas' voice sounded in Nathan's ear.
Hearing that familiar tone, Nathan's heart leapt in joy.
Could it be… that Xerneas had decided to follow him?
"Are you… willing to come with me?"
He turned, looking toward Xerneas, who had silently approached.
Under his hopeful gaze, Xerneas nodded.
At once, Nathan felt as though the very sky above had begun to glow.
A legendary Pokémon! Xerneas itself! The Pokémon that embodied life!
After all his effort, it was finally willing to follow him!
But before he could rejoice for long, Xerneas spoke again.
"I can become your Pokémon. But I have one condition."
It declared firmly.
While Nathan had been recounting its legend earlier, Xerneas had been deep in thought.
And what it thought about most was how Nathan had helped two of his Pokémon ascend to the legendary tier.
The truth was, Xerneas had already lingered at the legendary level for an extremely long time.
Yet even now, it had not found any way to advance further—to become a world-class Pokémon.
This recent one-sided victory over Yveltal had only underscored for it the importance of strength.
If its power were great enough, would it need to endure millennia-long sleeps?
No. If it were strong enough, all it would need to do was defeat Yveltal once every thousand years.
"And what is that condition?"
Nathan asked.
(End of Chapter)