Thinking about a certain Creation Alpaca, Nathan couldn't help but want to curse.
It was bad enough that he got cancer, but the fact that it even expelled the cancer cells and threw them at him was beyond frustrating!
However, even Nathan himself hadn't noticed it.
After waking up from the temptation of the pendant, his Viridian Power had become even stronger.
Not in the sense that it could heal more injuries, but the quality had improved!
To put it simply, if his Viridian Power was like a healing spell before, now it also had a purification effect.
"Call the police. This woman is a Pokémon thief. She probably has quite a record," Nathan suddenly said loudly after calming his emotions.
Lily nodded and cooperatively took out her phone to call the police.
The onlookers, realizing the situation, now looked at the girl with disdain and contempt.
In many people's eyes, a Pokémon thief was no better than a child kidnapper!
Forget about Nathan almost breaking her wrist earlier — even if he had actually broken it, most people present would only cheer him on!
As for trust issues, once Lily clearly made the call to the police, there was no more doubt.
Although the League usually handled matters related to Pokémon, the civilian security forces were just as trusted by the public.
By the time Nathan finished giving his statement and came out, the sun had already completely set.
But Nathan's mood was excellent.
Meeting Lily — if it hadn't been for that thief targeting Pokémon, Nathan might have even felt grateful to her.
"Lily, when are you going back to Poplar City?"
Buying a hand-grab pancake, Nathan asked while eating.
"In the next few days! Listen up — I've already collected all eight badges!"
Hearing Nathan's question, Lily immediately puffed herself up proudly.
"Right, I remember you were still two badges short, right? After the psychic badge in Emerald City, there are no more Gyms in either Poplar City or does near Mystic Realm..."
As if suddenly remembering something, Lily grinned mischievously, "Kiddo, you didn't cheat and make a deal, did you?"
"Come on, tell Mama, was it with that vice-president or did you tie up that Mist family girl?"
Despite Lily's teasing, Nathan suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
This wasn't gossip — this was a trap question!
Realizing this, Nathan immediately activated his survival instincts:
"Of course not! This mystic realm was very special, and now I've already become an Elite Trainer."
"As an Elite Trainer, if you have at least half the badges, you can take a special exam to register!"
Otherwise, Nathan wouldn't have stayed in the mystic realm for over ten days without bothering to challenge more Gyms.
At his current level, challenging Gyms wasn't as meaningful anymore — fighting real elite level pokemon was far more valuable!
Yes, you heard that right.
Although Elite Trainers could register for the tournament with half the badges, the exam required earning the recognition of an Elite Guardian — essentially battling an Elite Guardian on an equal footing!
But what did Elite Guardian represent?
In the entire nation, you might find one or two thousand Elite-level Pokémon.
Expand that to the entire world, and officially recognized Elite Guardian wouldn't even number a hundred!
That's how high the standards were for Elite Guardians and Champions here.
Each Elite Guardian was considered a national treasure.
Even with the same level restrictions, most challengers would still be completely crushed — much like how that blond guy fought Nathan before.
That's why it was about earning recognition, not about winning!
Hearing Nathan's answer, full of survival instinct, Lily was satisfied internally but still pretended to scold him:
"How could I have a son like you? Can't even flirt with a rich woman, not to mention a little girl!"
Nathan coldly laughed:
"Sweet daughter, who are you calling Mom here? Too bad, I had a gift for you — but not anymore!"
The moment she heard the word gift, Lily's eyes sparkled.
She immediately dropped the "Mom" act, pitifully and cutely begging.
In the end, she even called him Dad to get her hands on a white pendant — something Nathan had bought before running into her.
He wore a black one, so of course, Lily got the white one.
If someone familiar with her saw this cold high-school idol acting this way, they would definitely weep:
Why couldn't they even get a glance from her, but this guy gets everything?!
Talk about unfairness!
Messing around aside, Nathan just barely managed to sign up for the exam before the national tournament registration deadline.
"Closed-room assessments... No wonder they say Elite Guardian get special treatment,"
Lily couldn't help but click her tongue when she saw Nathan's registration form.
Closed-room assessments meant the Elite Guardian's word alone could decide whether you qualified or not!
Of course, Elite Guardians were prestigious figures who wouldn't risk their reputations just to help someone cheat.
After all, if you let in someone unqualified and they humiliate you later, your own face would be gone!
"Alright, let's prep tonight. Tomorrow, I'll give that Elite Guardian a big surprise,"
Stretching lazily, Nathan said with anticipation.
He was genuinely curious about which Elite Guardian he'd face.
"By the way, sonny, you really have no plans to take on some commercial endorsements?"
While walking, Lily clung to his arm and asked sweetly — so sweetly you might almost miss the casual way she called him "son."
"Why are you asking?"
Nathan asked curiously.
Although he was popular, he felt he was still a bit behind the truly top-tier Trainers.
At this stage, even breaking ten million for an endorsement fee would be hard — not worth the hassle.
It was tiring, time-consuming, and simply not cost-effective.
Yet when Nathan looked at Lily in confusion, she just smiled slyly and refused to answer, her mischievous expression never fading all the way back.
…
At the hotel where Lily was staying, Nathan booked a room and carefully restored his Pokémon's conditions before finally falling asleep.
The next morning,
Just as Nathan woke up, Lily was already banging on his door:
"Sonny, sonny, if you don't wake up, Mom's calling the cops!"
Listening to her shout outside, Nathan opened the door with a black line across his face:
"Sweet daughter, if you keep this up, you're gonna be a spinster forever, you know?"
Lily's face instantly froze at those words.
Nathan raised his eyebrows smugly — come on! Mutual destruction, right?!
After a bit of horseplay, Nathan washed up, fed his Pokémon, and treated himself to a street breakfast,
While Lily quietly sat by his side, watching him.
It was only at moments like this that they seemed like a genuine, normal couple.
At 9:30 sharp,
Nathan arrived at the League Branch.
"Go! You can do it! Don't tell me the so-called Rising Star of the League' can't even pass the national tournament qualifiers~"
Sitting in a corner, Lily cheered him on.
Rolling his eyes at her, Nathan stepped into the exam venue.
Sure enough,
it was a fully enclosed 1v1 battlefield.
Not only was it sealed off, but there wasn't even a referee!
As for Nathan's opponent —
the only distinctive feature was his long, flowing scarf.
"Fire Elite Guardian... Benedict Li?"
Seeing the figure's back, Nathan was a little surprised.
Benedict Li, now 38 years old, was a powerhouse among the League Elite Guardian.
His mastery over fire-type Pokémon was terrifying.
Whether in unknown Mystic Realms or against the Dark Spirit Organization,
his battle style could be summed up with one word — Reckless!
So much so that many people couldn't tell whether he was a Fire Elite Guardian or a Fighting Elite Guardian!
"You must be Nathan? Hello, League's Rising Star!"
Turning around, Benedict greeted him with a warm smile, showing no airs at all.
"Cough, Elite Guardian Li, you're too kind. That's just an internet nickname,"
"But honestly, I didn't expect to meet you today. It's truly an honor!"
Coughing awkwardly, Nathan responded humbly.
Seeing Nathan's calm demeanor, Benedict's gaze became even softer.
Youthful arrogance was fine, but early maturity usually led to longer success.
"No need for formalities. Let's get straight to the exam!"
"One-on-one battle. How about it?"
Although friendly, Benedict was very serious about the exam.
"Of course, no problem,"
Nathan nodded happily.
After all, he came here for the exam — the simpler, the better.
The only headache now was deciding which Pokémon to send out first.
Because, truth be told, Nathan didn't have a water-type Pokémon —
meaning no easy counters to Benedict Li's fire team!