The structure of the entire world could only keep being reshaped.
Nathan had read in history books that in the beginning, even a simple Caterpie could easily be sold for several hundred thousand.
The rarer and better-looking ones were far more profitable than they are now!
Most of today's wealthy families and major clans had accumulated their foundations during that time.
While Nathan was training his psychic abilities and letting his mind wander, he didn't notice—
A young woman wearing a mask, not particularly eye-catching, was watching him intently.
"This guy's kinda strange... is he training his psychic powers? But that's not how you do it!"
Seeing Nathan staring unblinkingly at a spoon, the young lady thought curiously.
And so—
Nathan stared at the spoon.
The young lady stared at Nathan.
And the spoon… was pointed at the young lady.
A true love triangle had formed!
After more than an hour had passed, and the girl was about to doze off,
Nathan's brute-force training method finally bore fruit!
Originally, he could barely move a single strand of hair with his psychic powers.
But now, the spoon actually stood upright on its own!
Though he still couldn't make it float in midair, Nathan was satisfied with this rate of progress.
A little effort each day meant he was getting closer to his big goals!
"Ah! It really moved!"
Hearing a soft, slightly airy, fairy-like voice,
Nathan finally realized there was a girl sitting next to him.
Though her face was covered by a mask, her bright, lively eyes sparkled.
"You didn't notice me?"
Slapping his forehead, Nathan remembered that he had been staring at the spoon the entire time since boarding the plane.
"Cough, sorry! I got a little too focused. Let's introduce ourselves—I'm Nathan Vesper, a Pokémon Trainer!"
Coming to his senses, Nathan greeted her with a smile.
Always polite first—well, no, being friendly had always been one of Nathan's trademark skills.
The girl froze for a moment, then said in a dazed but adorable tone,
"I'm Lira Woodsong, also a Trainer. I'm planning to capture and raise a Grass-type Pokémon."
Hearing her reveal her goal so openly right after meeting, the smile on Nathan's face turned a bit helpless.
How had naive girls like this not gone extinct yet?
After chatting with her a little more, Nathan realized that capturing a Grass-type was just a side objective.
Her real goal was to find a legendary Pokémon!
At first, Nathan was shocked—was he destined to run into legends everywhere he went?
But as she continued describing it, he started to feel that something was off.
According to Lira, this so-called legendary Pokémon wasn't very high in level or strength.
But it had a beautiful white silhouette and was extremely fast and agile!
Hearing that, Nathan's expression turned strange.
He was now pretty sure… this wasn't a legendary Pokémon at all.
It was likely an Ultra Beast or some other kind of extremely rare Pokémon.
"Wait a second… could it be Pheromosa?"
Thinking of the white-colored, lightning-fast Ultra Beast, Nathan's eyes lit up.
It wasn't just the strength and potential that caught his interest.
Pheromosa's beauty didn't lose out to popular Pokémon like Gardevoir either!
As they kept chatting, time seemed to slip by unnoticed.
By the time they arrived at Spring City, Nathan was even a little surprised—it felt too soon.
Lira might've seemed like a clueless sweetheart at first glance,
But she had actually traveled to far more places than he expected!
They could talk about just about anything.
After getting off the plane and saying goodbye to the young lady,
Nathan immediately sensed a totally different atmosphere from Emerald City.
The air was natural and fresh.
Passing through the outer facade of Spring City,
Nathan entered the real "Experimental City" and felt as if he had stepped into a hidden paradise.
There were no ordinary people here.
Everywhere he looked, he saw Grass-type Pokémon and Trainers accompanied by them.
"This place… is really something."
Looking down at a Bulbasaur by his feet, Nathan patted its head and smiled.
A city of Pokémon—it really was quite amazing.
Unfortunately, only Grass-types were known for being so gentle.
If someone tried to establish a city like this with other types, this Experimental City's experience wouldn't help much.
One misstep could easily lead to diplomatic incidents between Pokémon!
Just imagine—
If something like the Tyranitar incident in the Wandering Mountains happened in a Fire-type city…
Well, tough luck!
The city would be gone!
As he pondered these possibilities, Nathan started wandering through the city.
It was unlike any city he had visited before.
The biggest difference?
The average strength of the Trainers here was way higher.
Well, it made sense.
Anyone who could come here wasn't some average Joe.
In most places, having a Gym-level Pokémon was enough to be considered an ace Trainer.
But here? Every few Trainers you saw would have one!
Besides the various Grass-type Pokémon and unique buildings,
The Experimental City's most prominent feature might have been its battle arenas.
And there were no restrictions on the battle types either!
"I didn't expect to see a Water-type here… a Blastoise? Sheesh, not worried about getting shut down, huh?"
Seeing a Trainer passionately send out a Blastoise, Nathan clicked his tongue.
The guy might be a little foolish, but Nathan respected his choice.
Maybe he was another Ash-type trainer—an expert in counter-type matchups?
After walking around Spring City for a long time, Nathan still hadn't found a Pokémon that clicked with him.
It wasn't that he had absurdly high standards.
It just… didn't feel right.
"Guess I'll find a hotel first."
Thinking of his Pangoro, Nathan wasn't in any hurry.
He found a hotel with a Mongolian yurt-style theme and checked in.
Interestingly, there were very few human staff members here.
Most of the staff were Cherrim—some gentle, some acting like tsundere little girls.
They were surprisingly sincere and gave Nathan a unique experience.
After settling into the hotel, the first thing Nathan did was feed himself and his Pokémon.
Once that was done, he found a quiet spot to feed Steelix, then headed to the center of Spring City.
This was where the most battle arenas were concentrated,
And most of the spectators were Grass-type Pokémon, not Trainers.
He waited for quite a while.
When a field finally opened up, Nathan stepped forward and said:
"My Pokémon is Pangoro, almost at the peak of Gym-level."
"If you want to battle me, think it through carefully."
Pangoro was still at level 48, already more than halfway through it.
If it could break through to Elite level here, it'd be the perfect place.
As for Volcarona?
Well, the vice-chairman did mention a new secret realm, after all…
"No way, huh? This kid looks so young—does his Pokémon really have that kind of power?"
"What if he's exaggerating and ends up crying after getting beaten down?"
Some Trainers, noticing Nathan's age, began voicing doubts and suspicion.
They weren't against outsiders—but they did hate idiots.
Especially those who got their Pokémon hurt due to their own stupidity.
"Wait… isn't this guy the champion of the Trial Tournament?"
"I think his name was Nathan Vesper! And didn't he have a Volcarona at the Elite level?"
"Yeah yeah, I remember him too! Hasn't been that long—his Pangoro's gotten that strong already?"
Suddenly, a Trainer recognized Nathan.
One after another, others around him reacted with a look of realization.
The one who first spoke out rudely?
His face turned bright red—like a monkey's butt.
Just then, another Trainer frowned and muttered,
"Wait a sec! Didn't Nathan get that Pangoro less than half a year ago?"
"How could its strength grow so fast?!"
At that moment, a starry-eyed female Trainer gave him a disdainful look and explained:
"You must've been the worst student at school, huh? It literally says it in the textbooks!"
"A Trainer's level is often directly related to their strongest Pokémon—not necessarily the starter."
"In short, once you've raised one powerful Pokémon, your own level increases along with it."
"That makes it way easier to raise others later."
In simple terms:
Once you have a Pokémon at the Elite level, it becomes much easier to train your other Pokémon too.
Of course, anything above the Elite level wasn't so easy to grow.
Which is exactly why well-off families made sure their kids were partnered with a Pokémon from a young age.