The leaves on the trees, which had once been a vibrant emerald green, had now turned completely yellow and brittle. The once-lush grass carpeting the ground had withered as well, drying up into lifeless husks.
In some areas, one could even see faint traces of charred black, as if the land itself had been scorched by fire.
Everything—trees, grass, earth—was waiting for that single spark to ignite into an inferno.
"Volcarona, unleash your widest-range Hurricane and Fire Spin!"
Nathan shouted the command as he quickly ran toward the edge of the forest.
Volcarona was naturally unafraid of fire, its very being born of flames. But Nathan was still human—flesh and blood. Confronted with fire directly, he could not help but feel fear.
Responding to his order, Volcarona summoned Fire Spin once more.
But this time, the swirling inferno it produced was nothing like the previous ones.
Now, with so much dry fuel—withered grass and brittle leaves—the flames flared with even greater ferocity. The temperature skyrocketed, burning hotter and brighter than before.
And with the Hurricane strengthening it, the Fire Spin no longer resembled a mere whirling flame—it had transformed into something akin to a raging tornado of fire, a blazing dragon-shaped vortex roaring across the forest.
Once Nathan had sprinted clear of the woods, he turned back. The sight of the forest now completely engulfed in roaring flames made him grin.
He was smiling broadly, genuinely happy.
If it had been other kinds of Pokémon, perhaps Nathan would have hesitated to be this ruthless. But against Golbat, he felt no mercy.
After all, Golbat lived by feeding on the blood of other Pokémon. Entire colonies of them thrived on draining countless Pokémon dry, and no one could say how many creatures had died in their fangs.
This time, though, with such a massive fire raging through the woods, Golbat by the thousands were perishing in the flames.
And as they burned, Nathan could clearly see Volcarona's experience bar rising steadily upward.
One after another, the system prompts rang out in his mind, informing him that Golbat had been defeated. The notifications refreshed so rapidly that they nearly overlapped.
The blaze raged on for almost five minutes before it finally began to slow and weaken.
"Can you help me control this fire?" Nathan asked, turning to Xerneas at his side.
The fire had spread far and wide. If it continued unchecked, it could easily consume vast tracts of land.
When Nathan had ordered Volcarona to set the fire, it was only meant to eradicate the Golbat swarm. If the flames spread any further, countless other Pokémon could lose their habitats.
That was something Nathan wanted to avoid.
Xerneas nodded gently, agreeing to lend its aid.
Once it had agreed, Xerneas immediately acted. Seven-colored light radiated outward from its majestic body, forming a vast dome that sealed off the burning forest.
As the flames spread outward and came into contact with this radiant barrier, they were abruptly halted, unable to move beyond the shimmering wall of light.
Inside the dome, Volcarona continued its work, pursuing the Golbat that had not yet succumbed to the fire.
After enduring such relentless flames, only a pitiful few Golbat still remained alive within the forest.
Among them was the champion-level Golbat leader. But even it, though once so fearsome, now hovered weakly, its wings tattered, its body scorched, on the verge of death.
Within only a few minutes, the fire gradually weakened, its fury spent. Volcarona finished off the last surviving Golbat, ending the battle completely.
Through this fight, Volcarona's level skyrocketed, rising directly to level seventy-seven.
Although the peak of the Champion tier was technically level seventy, breaking into the Legendary rank required surpassing level eighty.
This alone showed just how steep the climb to Legendary truly was.
(TN: Ok this might answer some of my question. Master level is probably for 71-80 that don't have potential to breakthrough the legendary level. I thought that Seed of Power was enough guess author forgot about that.)
As for the even more unfathomable "World Class" rank, Nathan dared not even think of it yet. To defeat a World-class Pokémon was still far beyond what he could imagine.
Once Volcarona had finished, Xerneas dispelled the rainbow-colored dome.
It then summoned a Rain Dance, and heavy rain began to pour down over the forest. Sheets of water cascaded, quenching the last embers until the fire was completely extinguished.
"You did well. At this rate, it won't be long before you reach the Legendary level."
Nathan rubbed Volcarona's head as he praised it.
"Vool!"
Volcarona let out a proud cry, lifting its head with a haughty expression.
That pose made it look unbearably cute.
Yet Xerneas frowned slightly at Nathan's words.
Volcarona was still clearly Champion-level—so why did this human insist it would soon ascend to Legendary?
As a Legendary Pokémon itself, Xerneas knew well just how difficult such a breakthrough was.
Why, then, was this human so confident in his Pokémon? Was this some form of encouragement? A way to inspire Volcarona by instilling belief in it?
"Do you truly have such confidence that you can help it become a Legendary-level Pokémon?" Xerneas asked at last.
"Of course. Because my Pokémon are different from all others."
Nathan's voice was calm but firm, brimming with certainty.
For ordinary Pokémon, whether wild or raised by trainers, ascending to Legendary required endless accumulation over years, decades, even centuries.
And even then, success was far from guaranteed. Many Pokémon remained stuck at Champion for their entire lives.
Take, for example, that Gengar he had encountered before.
It had lived for at least five hundred years, yet still lingered at Champion-level—forever just one step away from Legendary, and yet unable to cross that final barrier.
"Different how?" Xerneas pressed curiously. It had seen nothing unusual in Volcarona compared to other Pokémon.
"Well… explaining it in detail would be a bit complicated. But simply put, this ability is unique to my Pokémon. No other Pokémon possesses it."
Nathan couldn't exactly tell Xerneas about his system. So he gave a vague answer.
But he hadn't lied. This ability was indeed exclusive to his own Pokémon.
After all, in this entire world of countless trainers, no one but him had a system.
"Then if I were to become your Pokémon… would I too be able to reach World-class quickly?"
Xerneas's eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
It had never cared much about becoming Legendary—it had been one since ages long past.
But the elusive World-class… that was a power it had always longed for.
With such strength, it might even have the ability to travel to the moon and plant a verdant oasis there.
"Uh… that's hard to say for sure. But yes, if you were my Pokémon, your advancement would be much faster—many, many times faster—than anyone else's."
Nathan gave a helpless smile. He understood just how immense Xerneas's power was, but even so, against a World-class Pokémon, it still fell short.
World-class Pokémon could casually level a mountain with a single strike. If they fought at full strength, they could obliterate entire mountain ranges.
Xerneas was far from that level.
Still, its words had sparked an idea. Perhaps recruiting Xerneas could be approached from the angle of promising it advancement toward the World-class rank.
"You mean to say… even ascending to World-class, you can hasten it?"
Though Nathan hadn't outright promised it, he had clearly admitted that he could accelerate the process.
That alone was enough to shake Xerneas.
Among all the Pokémon it had ever known, it had met only one World-class being: Rayquaza.
And even that was a fleeting encounter—just long enough to exchange a few words.
From that brief conversation, Xerneas had learned that Rayquaza had spent over a thousand years climbing to the World-class rank.
A thousand years… to Xerneas, that was no more than the span of a single slumber.
But during such long sleeps, a Pokémon's strength did not increase.
If power could grow during slumber, Xerneas might have become World-class long ago.
Taking all its hibernations into account, its age ranked among the top five of all Pokémon alive.
"I am certain. So long as your strength is sufficient, I can guarantee that within ten years, you'll ascend to World-class."
Nathan swore firmly.
This wasn't empty boasting. It was the truth.
If Xerneas could defeat a World-class Pokémon even once, Nathan's system would allow him to grind the experience needed to push it to level one hundred, attaining the World-class rank.
"I'm beginning to find you harder and harder to understand, human."
Xerneas spoke with genuine shock in its voice.
It had seen countless trainers and Pokémon across its long existence.
But never once had it encountered a human—or even another Pokémon—who dared to guarantee something so outrageous.
To promise that a Legendary would become World-class within a mere decade?
Nathan was the first. And likely the last.
"Hehe, I have many secrets. But if you truly became my Pokémon, I promise I could make you World-class~"
Nathan said with a playful, almost teasing tone, his words carrying a tempting allure.
Xerneas did not respond immediately. It remained deep in thought.
Yet inwardly, it was shaken.
This awakening was hardly its first. Perhaps the second, perhaps the fifth, perhaps the tenth. Its memory, blurred by the endless ages, no longer kept track.
But across all those countless years, it had always been a Legendary Pokémon—and never more.
World-class had always been so close… yet impossibly far.
Perhaps… perhaps this human was truly worth considering.
"Let me think it over. But you are, without doubt, the most interesting human I have ever met."
After a moment of contemplation, Xerneas finally spoke.
As a Legendary, it did not carry arrogance. Rather, Xerneas was more like a sage—calm, thoughtful, weighing every decision with care.
Nathan, hearing its words, did not feel disappointed. For Xerneas to even say such a thing meant he was already very close to success.
[Warning! Warning! The host's actions have awakened the strongest being in this mystic realm—a Legendary-level Pokémon!]
[New mission updated: Punishment!]
[Defeat this Pokémon. Free the creatures of this realm. Help them reclaim themselves!]
[Mission reward: Pokémon experience!]
As Nathan conversed with Xerneas, the sudden chime of the system echoed in his mind, leaving him stunned.
Back when he had first entered this mystic realm, he had already felt something was… strange.
(End of Chapter)