But this was also a good beginning.
After evolving into a Metang, Beldum could finally learn new moves—ones it couldn't master before due to its limited body structure.
For example, moves like Metal Claw, Bullet Punch, and Meteor Mash.
…
Buzz.
A healing power radiated outward.
Nathan activated his Viridian Force, treating the injuries of the Lycanroc.
Before long, the Lycanroc awoke. Feeling its recovery, it looked at Nathan with gratitude in its eyes.
"All right, Lycanroc, I've gotta go. If we get the chance, I hope we'll meet again," Nathan said with a smile as he patted its head, then stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked off into the distance.
In his very first battle upon entering the secret realm, Beldum had already evolved. That alone put Nathan in a great mood.
Next on his list was to evolve Trapinch.
And as for Metang, this was the perfect opportunity to learn new moves.
The top priority was Electric-type moves—those would come in handy during the upcoming gym battles.
Whoosh.
A gentle breeze brushed past his cheeks.
As Nathan continued deeper into the area, he encountered a few more wild Pokémon. He had Trapinch take the lead and defeat them one by one, allowing it to level up to 24.
Still, no evolution.
So, Nathan had no choice but to keep searching for more Pokémon.
"Metang, keep using magnetic sensing. Don't get lost," Nathan said, glancing back at the floating Steel-type following behind him.
At the moment, Metang was using a TM to learn a new move while simultaneously trailing behind Nathan. Thankfully, its unique psychic and metallic abilities made it easy to keep up. Otherwise, it might've drifted off without Nathan noticing.
Metang emitted a pulse of magnetic energy to signal it understood.
Trapinch happily followed beside Nathan, bouncing energetically and scanning its surroundings.
After a string of recent victories, the little guy was brimming with fighting spirit and confidence.
Just in time—
Roar!
A growl echoed ahead as a figure appeared.
With crimson fur, scarlet eyes, and a tall, upright frame—it was a Lycanroc in its Midnight Form. Unlike the previous one they'd encountered, this one could walk on two legs and looked very much like a classic werewolf.
There were quite a few Lycanrocs in this secret realm. This was the third one Nathan had run into. Earlier, Trapinch had already defeated one.
"Trapinch, get ready to battle," Nathan said with a smirk.
He wasn't going to pass up a free XP delivery.
Trapinch immediately dashed in front of the Lycanroc and gave it a provocative look.
A gleam of battle intent flashed through Lycanroc's red eyes. It lowered into a combat stance, let out a fierce howl, and charged forward.
"Sand Attack!" Nathan ordered calmly.
Trapinch moved swiftly. The moment Nathan spoke, it acted—this was a move it had practiced many times.
With a flick of its tiny claws, a cloud of dust flew into the charging Lycanroc's face, hitting it head-on.
Lycanroc staggered, rubbing its eyes frantically.
"Mud-Slap!" Nathan grinned and gave another command.
Trapinch followed up instantly. More clumps of mud shot forward, pelting Lycanroc while it was still wiping its eyes.
Sticky clumps splattered across its face—cleaning that up would take ages.
Roar!
Lycanroc let out an angry howl, still desperately trying to clear its vision.
"Charge in and Bite!" Nathan's voice came again.
Taking full advantage of the opening, Trapinch darted forward with no hesitation.
Just as Lycanroc finally cleared its vision and looked up, Trapinch lunged and bit down hard, drawing a cry of pain.
"Dig!" Nathan continued his seamless chain of commands.
This was a move Trapinch had learned back in the Silverpeak Mountains.
Its claws rapidly tore at the earth, and soon it had burrowed deep underground, waiting for Nathan's next order while tracking Lycanroc's position from below.
Roar!
Lycanroc stomped the ground in frustration, trying to locate its opponent underground.
Too bad it didn't know any Water-type moves—if it had spat water into the hole, Trapinch would've been in serious trouble.
Watching Lycanroc scanning the surroundings in frustration, Nathan smiled and said calmly, "Trapinch, startle it—then attack."
Still on high alert, Lycanroc glanced nervously around.
Just as it turned its head, a sudden shriek echoed from behind it, making it jump in alarm and spin around—only to see nothing.
At that moment—
Boom!
Trapinch burst from the ground right beneath Lycanroc, slamming into it with a powerful blow, earning another cry of pain.
"Finish it—Bite!" Nathan ordered once more.
Trapinch opened wide and sank its jaws into Lycanroc again.
The powerful strike ended the fight.
Lycanroc collapsed, thoroughly outmatched and spun in circles by Trapinch's relentless combo.
Buzz.
A pale white light surrounded Trapinch, wrapping it in the glow of evolution.
Generally speaking, Pokémon with two evolutionary stages evolve into their first form fairly easily—the second stage, however, often takes more time and effort.
Trapinch's first evolution was into Vibrava.
Seeing that light, a smile crept across Nathan's face.
"It finally evolved… but I wonder how long it'll be before it becomes a Flygon?"
He murmured softly, his eyes fixed on the evolving Trapinch.
Inside the glow, its shape began to shift.
When the light faded, a new form hovered in front of Nathan.
Green wings, a long tail, and a tan body.
It looked a bit like a mosquito. Its wings flapped rapidly as it zipped up to Nathan, letting out a cheerful cry—clearly much faster now.
Vibrava—the evolved form of Trapinch.
Trapinch had been Ground-type, but after evolving into Vibrava, it was now Ground/Dragon-type.
From here on out, it would be able to learn Dragon-type moves.
..
[Name: Vibrava]
[Ability: Levitate (Immune to Ground-type attacks)]
[Type: Ground + Dragon]
[Description: Vibrava, the Vibration Pokémon. The evolved form of Trapinch. It flaps its wings rapidly to create ultrasonic waves.]
[Level: 26 (21–30: Advanced Tier)]
[Moves: Sand Attack, Mud-Slap, Astonish, Bite, Dig, Dragon Breath, Sandstorm]
Two hours had passed since the evolution. Thanks to the power boost that came with its new form, Vibrava had already gone through a few more battles, pushing its level up by another two points—now at Level 26.
One noteworthy change was the shift in its Ability—from Hyper Cutter to Levitate.
This kind of change was fairly common among Pokémon.
A prime example was Slaking.
In its first stage as Slakoth, it had the Truant ability, which made it incredibly lazy—even in battle, it would rather take a hit than bother to dodge.
But after evolving into Vigoroth, its Ability became Vital Spirit, giving it boundless energy. It couldn't even fall asleep, nor be put to sleep by moves.
Then, upon evolving again into Slaking, its Ability reverted to Truant—much to the dismay of trainers everywhere.
Were it not for that natural Ability, Slaking would probably be one of the most sought-after Pokémon.
So, Nathan wasn't surprised by Vibrava's shift in Ability.
Some species were just like that—it was in their nature.
Still, Levitate wasn't bad at all. It gave Vibrava immunity to Ground-type attacks.
For Nathan, though, what really mattered was the new moves learned during evolution—particularly Dragon Breath and Sandstorm.
Sandstorm functioned as a weather effect that dealt gradual damage to most Pokémon not resistant or immune to it.
But Dragon Breath was something else entirely.
Learning Dragon Breath upon evolution was a sign that Vibrava had an extraordinary affinity for Dragon-type moves.
That meant it would be much easier for it to learn more Dragon-type techniques in the future.
Thanks to Dragon Breath, Vibrava's combat ability had risen to a whole new level.
Rumble… Rumble…
The ground shook in front of Nathan.
Vibrava was engaged in yet another battle.
This time, its opponent was a massive Onix—over eight meters long. The enormous creature roared in fury.
To Vibrava, Onix was a giant.
But at this moment, that giant was being toyed with—completely at Vibrava's mercy.
Onix's body was riddled with wounds, all caused by Vibrava.
Roar!
Onix swung its huge tail, now glowing gray and white—it was using Iron Tail.
Fast and incredibly powerful.
But Vibrava dodged it with ease.
"Vibrava, finish it—Dragon Breath!" Nathan called out.
Vibrava's wings buzzed furiously, emitting a high-pitched noise before launching a blast of energy.
The Dragon Breath attack slammed directly into Onix.
Despite its size, Onix was a massive, stationary target—perfect for Vibrava to land a clean hit.
Boom!
(TN: Hello everyone, thank you for the reviews btw. Next bonus chapter is when we reach 100 stones.)