They could increase the budget by at most five billion Pokécoins.
When Nathan received the reply, he was absolutely thrilled.
With that kind of money, he didn't believe there was anything in the system shop he couldn't afford!
Because he had given a definitive answer, Kelly quickly came to see Nathan with the card.
"Here's the card. The full amount is on it—15 billion Pokécoins, not a single coin missing."
Kelly's hands trembled as he handed over the card to Nathan.
That much money was something he'd never even dared to dream of in his lifetime.
"It's fine. I doubt you'd dare touch that money anyway."
Nathan grinned.
Kelly rolled his eyes. If he actually dared to touch that money, his life would be over.
This was state-provided funding to recruit Legendary Pokémon—if he misappropriated it, not even fleeing the country would save him from being hunted down.
"But... can I ask for something?"
Kelly looked at Nathan, a bit hopeful.
"What is it?"
"Can I meet one of the Legendary Pokémon? I've never seen one in my life."
Kelly looked a bit embarrassed.
Nathan thought something serious had come up, but it turned out to be this.
"It's not impossible. During the World Tournament, if I run into an opponent I can't beat, I might just bring one out."
Nathan pondered for a moment and replied.
But honestly, in this world, there probably wasn't anyone he couldn't defeat anymore.
"Alright, I better get back and report. I probably won't ever get to see that Legendary Pokémon after all."
Kelly sighed, turned around, and left.
After Kelly left, Nathan lay in the hotel's presidential suite, browsing the system shop.
But then he suddenly remembered—he was already the Champion of the Pokémon Tournament in the Pacific Region.
Where was the reward?
Hadn't he completed the mission?
"System, I completed the mission, didn't I? Where's my reward?"
Nathan immediately called out to the system in his mind.
[The reward is ready. The host can claim it at any time.]
The system's voice rang out in his mind.
Nathan was speechless. So, the system was just waiting for him to ask?
If he hadn't remembered, would the system have just kept the reward for itself?
What a shameless system. When it came to scamming its host, it was truly first-class.
"Claim the reward!"
He worked so hard to finish that mission—of course he wanted the reward.
[Reward distribution: One Ho-Oh Feather…]
As soon as Nathan gave the command, the system's voice started rattling off a list of rewards.
But when Nathan checked his inventory, he instantly wanted to curse.
Yes, he had indeed received one Ho-Oh Feather—a very valuable reward at his current stage.
But the other two rewards? They looked like trash the system was trying to clear out.
Just as Nathan was about to complain, the system's voice chimed again:
[System shop upgrade in progress. Estimated time: 24 hours.]
"System, are you kidding me?"
Nathan asked mentally, but the system ignored him. Clearly, it really had gone into upgrade mode.
Considering the reward contents and the sudden upgrade, Nathan was certain the system was using the mission reward as an excuse to clear out junk inventory.
Aside from the Ho-Oh Feather, everything else could be bought in the system shop—and they were all dirt cheap.
Things like the worst quality Pokéblocks, Caterpie eggs… if it was worthless, it was in his inventory.
He was staying in a presidential suite, and the room was filled to the brim with all this stuff.
It wasn't complete junk but it was all so low-level that it was totally useless to him.
And he couldn't even sell it easily.
It gave Nathan a massive headache.
After thinking for a while, he could only call Kelly again.
Dealing with all this stuff—well, that was what "secretaries" were for, wasn't it?
Just twenty minutes after leaving, Kelly returned to Nathan's suite.
But the moment he entered, he was utterly stunned.
What was this?
How did Nathan's room suddenly fill up with so many training resources?
And even a few Pokémon eggs?!
"Ahem… well… the fans were a bit too passionate. They insisted on giving me gifts."
Faced with all this stuff, Nathan had no choice but to come up with a flimsy excuse.
Kelly understood that Nathan had many secrets—but that didn't matter.
What did matter was how to deal with all this stuff.
Even if they donated it to the military, most of it would be useless there.
"So, you called me here just to deal with all of this?"
Kelly looked at Nathan, speechless.
There was so much that even moving it would take ages.
"I mean… I don't have anywhere else to put it. You figure out where it would be best to send it. I don't want any money for it."
Nathan said generously.
Now that he had 15 billion Pokécoins, he couldn't care less about selling this junk.
"Send it to the orphanage then."
Kelly made the call and had a truck come over.
After over half an hour of packing, the room was finally cleared.
It took two truckloads to move it all.
With the room cleared, Nathan grabbed the Ho-Oh Feather and headed straight for the Wandering Mountains.
As a Trainer—not even 20 years old—with three Legendary Pokémon following him…
Just the thought of it was exhilarating.
Even if they were only temporarily accompanying him, most people wouldn't even dare to dream of something like that.
On the way, Nathan kept thinking about what the system shop would look like after the update.
But then he thought of the "reward" he had just received—and got a bad feeling.
Was the system upgrade targeting his 15 billion Pokécoins?
The timing was too suspicious.
He had just received the money—and now the system was upgrading?
Was that just coincidence?
What really raised suspicion were those so-called rewards.
It had cleared out a bunch of low-tier resources—probably to replace them with higher-tier ones.
"Crap, system! Stop the upgrade!"
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the system was eyeing his money.
He shouted at the system in his mind—but of course, it ignored him.
…
After calling out to the system more than a dozen times without a response, Nathan started to panic.
He seriously considered finding a place to hide that 15 billion Pokécoins.
He was now certain:
If the system had a human form, it would definitely be rubbing its hands together with an evil grin, scheming how to make him spend it all.
Soon, Nathan arrived at the Wandering Mountains.
As usual, Volcarona flew into the sky to send a signal.
But this time, within just two minutes, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei appeared all at once.
"Holy crap! You guys were just waiting for me?"
Nathan was startled by the sudden appearance of the three Pokémon. That was way too fast.
In the past, even five minutes was considered quick. Now they showed up in two?
"Well? Have you made your decision?"
Entei asked eagerly the moment they landed.
It couldn't wait to get its paws on that Ho-Oh Feather.
Its eyes were wide, staring directly at Nathan's black backpack—clearly waiting for him to pull it out.
"I've made my decision. I'll take all three of you to the World Tournament.
But I can only give you one Ho-Oh Feather for now."
Nathan said boldly.
He had the feather—so he could afford to be this cocky.
"Really? Where's the Ho-Oh Feather?"
Entei's already wide eyes grew even wider.
It even pushed its face right up to Nathan's.
Startled, Nathan quickly took two steps back.
He was honestly afraid Entei might get so excited it would burst into flames and roast him on the spot.
"Calm down! I'll give you the feather, but once you accept it, you're committed to following me!"
Nathan pulled out the Ho-Oh Feather casually.
The moment the feather appeared, Entei immediately pounced, snatching it from Nathan.
"Alright, give me a Poké Ball. I'm going to study this feather inside the Poké Ball!"
(End of Chapter)