"Vibrava hasn't learned many moves yet, so this is all it can do for now." Nathan shook his head and said with a helpless expression on his face.
"Are you being modest or bragging?" Derek replied with a wry smile as he walked up to Nathan and held out his phone. "Let's exchange contact info."
"Sure."
Nathan took out his phone and added Derek as a friend.
Felix also walked over and looked at Nathan as he asked, "I just got the news—not going to lie, I'm a bit surprised. I didn't expect you to apply for the Elite Trainer assessment."
Since Felix was a Gym Leader, it was only natural that he would receive this kind of information.
Nathan wasn't surprised. He just shrugged and smiled. "I'm really interested in Pokémon from all over the world, so of course I want to go exploring."
Hearing that, Felix nodded in understanding. Derek, however, looked surprised. "You actually applied for the Elite Trainer assessment? That means you already have three Pokémon that meet the requirements?"
"Yeah." Nathan nodded slightly.
Seeing him confirm it, Derek gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive."
Getting to Gym-level might look easy, but it's not as simple as it seems.
Among those who had participated in the previous trial tournament, Nathan was probably the only one who had three Gym-level Pokémon by now—though Evelyn might also be an exception, considering she had the advantage of wealth and resources.
As for the others, it was pretty much impossible unless they received help from their elders.
If they were raising Pokémon purely on their own, it was hard to even get two to Gym-level. Even then, maybe only one or two people could manage it.
"By the way, since you've applied to be an Elite Trainer, you'll probably take on exploration missions. If so, I hope you'll consider taking one issued by my family."
"Your family?" Nathan raised his eyebrows, clearly curious.
Derek nodded. "My family recently bought an island, but lately, there's been something weird going on. It's been covered in thick fog, and we haven't found anything useful despite sending people in. It's very strange—might be caused by some Pokémon."
As he explained, Derek wore a helpless expression.
It didn't take long before Nathan understood the situation.
Derek's family was in the aquaculture business. They bought an island with the intention of using it to raise Water-type Pokémon, which would benefit the family's business.
But recently, the island had become completely shrouded in fog, reducing its value significantly. That's why they issued an exploration mission.
Originally, that island wouldn't have been worth making into an exploration mission. But not far from it was a group of islands filled with powerful wild Pokémon, making it dangerous to approach.
That archipelago was the real target of the mission, while Derek's family island was just a side objective.
Regardless of whether someone explored the archipelago or Derek's family island, they would receive a separate reward.
Still, no one had figured out what was going on with Derek's family island.
Many trainers had gone there recently—none were harmed, but they also didn't find anything.
With how persistent the fog was, it clearly wasn't a natural phenomenon—it had to be the doing of a Pokémon.
If they didn't resolve the issue, the island would basically be a wasted purchase for Derek's family.
"Hmm, sounds interesting. If I get the chance, I'll check it out. But we'll see when the time comes." Nathan said with a grin.
"Alright." Derek nodded. He had only brought it up on a whim. For some reason, just looking at Nathan gave him a strange sense that Nathan might actually be able to solve the problem.
"If you go, you might even find an unexpected reward."
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in Nathan's mind.
Hearing the familiar voice, Nathan was instantly shaken. 'Calyrex?'
"Yes, it's me."
'Holy crap, how are you talking to me? Are you nearby?'
"No, it's because you carry my mark. And thanks to my Psychic powers, I can contact you over long distances and observe your surroundings."
'So that means… if I'm ever in danger, you'd know?'
"Yes, but don't count on me to help unless you're about to die."
'That's fine. As long as you'll step in if it gets that bad.'
Nathan smiled slightly. On the surface, he kept chatting with the two in front of him, but inside, he was feeling excited.
This basically meant he had another powerful backer.
Even encountering a violent Legendary Pokémon might not be off the table now.
At the very least, as long as Calyrex was around, his life wouldn't be in danger.
But...
Calyrex's earlier comment made Nathan fall into deep thought.
'An unexpected reward?'
'What could it be?'
A Legendary Pokémon?
Or another rare Pokémon? Or maybe a special item?
Nathan couldn't help but feel curious and excited.
…
That place wasn't somewhere he would go to immediately.
Even if he planned to go, it would still take some time.
After chatting a bit more, Nathan returned to his hotel.
The next day.
Nathan arrived at the Pokémon Center to undergo the Elite Trainer assessment.
The assessment was essentially just a Pokémon battle to verify that all three of his Pokémon were at or above Gym-level strength.
Naturally, the assessment was simple for him and quickly passed.
Nathan stayed at the Pokémon Center for about three hours before heading back to the hotel.
As soon as he got back, the first thing he did was pick up his phone and open a special app.
The screen showed a Poké Ball icon, and in the center was a field to input a password. It looked like only those with the right password could access the app's content.
Nathan already knew the password.
This was a dedicated app for Elite Trainers.
Its name was simple: Exploration.
Each Elite Trainer had a unique code they could use to log in.
Nathan now had a temporary code. Once he completed three exploration missions, he'd officially become an Elite Trainer.
After entering the code, Nathan finally accessed Exploration, which looked like a forum interface.
The forum had three categories:
[Discussion!]
[Missions!]
[Intel!]
Discussion was where Elite Trainers could post and talk.
Missions was where exploration tasks were listed.
Intel was a shared database of information gathered by Elite Trainers.
Nathan clicked into the forum, and rows of posts popped up.
[Question: Where can I find a decent Charmander? Will pay for reliable info.]
[Anyone got intel on the Great Snow Mountains? Offering good money.]
[Looking for teammates for a Jade Mountains expedition.]
[Massive island appeared in the Brightwater Lake Triangle—looking to explore, anyone want to team up?]
[I'm a Champion-tier trainer planning a trip to the Ghost Gate in Summer Meadows —anyone want in? Rewards split 50/50.]
Nathan skimmed the posts. Most were either people asking about Pokémon or looking for teammates, and the destinations they mentioned were all extremely dangerous places.
After browsing for a while, Nathan shook his head and tapped into the Missions section.
Once again, a flood of posts appeared.
[Solo / Jadeveil Mountains!]
Details: Investigate local environment, general Pokémon species present, and the number of powerful Pokémon (danger involved—choose carefully).
Reward: 3 million PokéCoins, choose three types of B-grade resources.
[Team / Whispersand Flats!]
Details: Rumor of a Tyranitar above Gym Leader level—verify if true (extremely dangerous—choose carefully!)
Reward: 100 million PokéCoins, choose 5x C-grade resources, 5x B-grade, 3x A-grade!
[Solo / Misty Swamp...]
...
Reading through the tasks, Nathan frowned.
These missions were undeniably dangerous.
Most of them involved remote and wild areas rarely visited by humans. If something happened, even calling for help might be too late.
However, the rewards were also extremely generous.
The lowest-paying tasks still offered 500,000 PokéCoins and a selectable resource.
No wonder people said being an Elite Trainer was a way for people from humble backgrounds to access rare resources.
It was risky, but the pay-off made it worthwhile. Nothing in life comes free.
Nathan soon found the mission Derek had mentioned—the one related to his family's island.
[Solo / Overseas Archipelago (With Side Mission)!]
Details: Investigate the safety and current state of the overseas archipelago. Determine the presence and strength of powerful or dangerous Pokémon. Includes a separate side mission with different rewards—details available upon accepting the task.
Reward: 2 million PokéCoins, resources...
Nathan read through the task. He wasn't too interested in the resources—he just wanted to see what kind of "unexpected reward" Calyrex had mentioned.
Still, he didn't accept the mission right away.
Instead, he continued browsing the other tasks.
He ended up spending about four or five hours on the Exploration app before finally logging out with a deep breath, eyes filled with anticipation.
"Let's hope these exploration missions don't disappoint me."
He murmured to himself while looking down at the Poké Balls on his belt, a grin tugging at his lips.
"Next up... it's time to evolve you, little guy."
Nathan had already mapped out his plan for the three exploration missions.
He'd start with the one related to Derek's family island.
But before leaving River City, he needed to evolve his Vibrava.
Only as a Flygon would it be able to carry him while flying.
While Vibrava could technically fly now, it didn't have the stamina for long-distance travel.
….
Another day passed.
On the next day, Nathan entered the mystic realm, found Gengar, handed over everything Gengar had asked for, and also left Volcarona with it.
"Jejeje." Gengar played with the phone in its hand like a prized treasure, then looked at Nathan and asked, "How long are you planning to stay in the mystic realm this time?"
"Of course I'm staying until you finish training Mimikyu and Volcarona. I need this time to help Vibrava level up too. So, hurry it up, alright? I've got important stuff coming up soon." Nathan said, spreading his hands.
Gengar nodded. "Jejeje, won't take long. At most a week—don't worry."