"Team Josan…"
Since it was the final day of the tournament, the event was being held with an abundance of ceremony and fanfare.
As per the process, the host, Hana, once again introduced all the national teams.
"And now, the most surprising national team in this competition, Team Celestia
After introducing Team Celestia, the camera cut to their prep area.
"…"
Hana suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
Although she wasn't a commentator, as the host, witnessing such a scene left her speechless.
Nathan was sitting all alone in his team's prep area, surrounded by a pile of food, drinks, and various gifts.
The competitor, Nathan, didn't look nervous at all. Instead, he looked completely relaxed, casually picking and choosing from his heap of snacks.
Come on, dude! This is a competition! Can't you show at least a little tension?
Hana roared silently in her heart.
"Ahem… It seems Nathan did a lot of prep work yesterday and came here without even eating breakfast today."
After thinking for a moment, Hana awkwardly found a way to explain the situation.
Meanwhile, seeing this scene on the big screen, the members of Valar couldn't help but scoff and laugh disdainfully.
Showing up to the match with no prep was one thing, but having the leisure to eat like this?
"Nathan, the camera!"
A nearby admirer, seeing Nathan on the live broadcast, couldn't help but remind him.
Hearing someone calling out to him, Nathan glanced around and noticed several cameras aimed in his direction.
He awkwardly waved at them, though the bun in his hand made the gesture rather eye-catching.
"Next, let's welcome the two teams for the first match!"
The competition had officially begun—but today's schedule seemed slightly adjusted.
Nathan's match against Valar's team had been deliberately placed last.
Since Nathan had already faced all these opponents before and was familiar with their strategies, he wasn't particularly invested in their matches.
So, bored out of his mind, he sat there eating, drinking, and opening gifts.
From time to time, fans and admirers would stop by to say hello, and Nathan would warmly offer them various treats in return.
In the entire stadium, there was no other team prep area as chill and laid-back as his.
Truly one of a kind!
Intense and thrilling battles continued one after another.
Bit by bit, the food dwindled.
And Nathan's match was drawing closer.
Because it was the final day, every team sent their top players into battle.
As a result, the matches dragged on longer than usual.
By midday, barely two-thirds of the scheduled matches had been completed.
…
Bored out of his mind, Nathan was surfing at the internet on his phone in the prep area.
When he saw that pictures of himself had gone viral back home, he was dumbfounded.
All he did was eat a bread with a bit more enthusiasm—did they really need to take photos and post them online?
To make matters worse, netizens had even turned the images into memes!
After chatting for a while with domestic fans online, it was finally his turn to battle.
He had been waiting so long that he was genuinely bored.
"Now let's welcome Team Celestia and Team Valar onto the battlefield!"
Nathan put his phone away and slowly walked toward the arena.
Valar team followed close behind, their faces full of arrogance.
It was as if they had already claimed the title of Pacific Regional Tournament Champions for themselves.
Valar team only had five members, but every one of them commanded powerful Pokémon.
Whether in battle or in other areas, they were known for their focus on excellence rather than quantity.
"Nathan, let's hope you don't lose too miserably. Try to last long enough for me to step in," said Fujiwara Taka, looking at Nathan with disdain.
To think that he could beat four elite trainers from Valar with just one Pokémon—what a fantasy.
Fujiwara Taka didn't believe for a second that Nathan could last until he got a turn.
"Don't worry. Me losing miserably? That's never happened to me before." Nathan said with a light chuckle.
Come on, he had worked so hard over the past six days for one purpose—to grind Valar's team into the ground.
The first member of Valar team stepped forward—a short, chubby man whose face jiggled with every step he took, looking like a walking slab of pork belly.
He squinted his eyes and wore a sleazy smile.
The way he stared at Nathan made him uncomfortable, as though he were being ogled.
Is this guy into men or something? Nathan thought warily.
The chubby trainer eyed Nathan a few times before sending out his first Pokémon.
It was a Quagsire.
From its appearance, it didn't seem aggressive at all, and its demeanor was quite calm.
But Nathan didn't let his guard down—underestimating your opponent was the same as giving up on yourself.
This Quagsire was level 56, also a high-level Elite-tier Pokémon.
Still, Nathan couldn't figure out why this guy would train a Quagsire.
Honestly, in terms of combat capability, Quagsire was average at best among Pokémon.
Especially at a international-class tournament like this—it was rare to see anyone use a Quagsire.
"Nathan, send out your Pokémon," the chubby man said, squinting at him.
"You're that eager to see it? Fine, I'll show you," Nathan replied, taking out a Poké Ball.
"Come on out, Frosmoth!"
With a flash of white light, Frosmoth appeared on the battlefield.
The audience erupted in cheers the moment they saw her.
As expected from Nathan—he always delivered a surprise whenever he introduced a new Pokémon.
Frosmoth had a pure white body and sparkling blue eyes that looked like sapphires.
A diamond-shaped mark adorned its forehead, and a pair of large feather-like antennae sprouted from its head, adding a touch of cuteness.
Its wings were semi-transparent with snowflake-like patterns, gently flapping and scattering a trail of icy powder like falling snow.
Its tiny hands were crossed in front of its chest like a scarf, making its appear even more elegant.
"Wow! That's Frosmoth!? It's so beautiful!"
"Damn all of Nathan's Pokémon are either way too good-looking or way too cool!"
"I demand that Frosmoth and Volcarona breed immediately!"
…
As Nathan listened to the exclamations around him, his expression soured.
Whoever said that about Frosmoth and Volcarona can be dragged out and executed.
Even though Frosmoth and Volcarona looked very similar, having them mate was absolutely impossible.
After all, they weren't even the same species.
Plus, Frosmoth was a genderless Pokémon—how could it breed with Volcarona?
Fujiwara Taka's face darkened the moment he saw Nathan's Pokémon.
He knew exactly what that Pokémon was—it was the very Frosmoth he had once sought!
Yes, a long time ago, Fujiwara Taka had ventured into the Mountain Futu mystic realm.
He had wanted to capture an Ice-type Pokémon, but after searching high and low, he couldn't find one to his liking.
Just when he was about to give up and leave, he accidentally saw a Frosmoth flying in the sky.
But it flew too fast, and inside the mountainous terrain of the mystic realm, he simply couldn't catch up.
Afterward, he returned to the Mt. Futu mystic realm several times, but never encountered Frosmoth again.
He even tried climbing the snowy peaks of Mt. Futu.
At first, he made some progress, but the increasing blizzards made further ascent impossible.
In the end, Fujiwara Taka had no choice but to give up capturing Frosmoth.
Later, news of the Pokémon spread online.
Little did he expect that the one who actually caught the Frosmoth from Mt. Futu… was Nathan, all because of the rumor he himself had started!
While most people were still captivated by Frosmoth's appearance, a few sharp-eyed observers noticed something else:
The aura Frosmoth emitted.
It was… Champion-tier!
Nathan's second Champion-tier Pokémon!
"Did no one notice that Frosmoth is Champion-tier?" someone murmured in disbelief.
A Champion-level Pokémon—what a dream that was.
Raising a single Champion-tier Pokémon required mountains of resources and years of training.
And even then, such Pokémon remained incredibly rare around the world.
(End of Chapter)