"This is probably food for Pokémon, right? Tell me, what makes it worth you coming here personally?"
Giving up on further observation, Serene looked at Nathan and asked.
If it were just ordinary Pokémon food, it wouldn't hold much value.
After all, human society had already made plenty of progress in that area.
Aside from Pokéblocks, there were already countless products like energy bars and nutrient paste for Pokémon!
Even if a new one hit the market, it'd be nearly impossible to break into the already saturated market!
Shrugging slightly, Nathan replied with full confidence in his eyes, "It's called an Pokéblock, and as you guessed, it's for Pokémon."
"But its goal isn't just to meet a Pokémon's nutritional needs!"
"A Pokémon's appearance, development, and even strength can be quickly improved by eating these Pokéblocks!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man who doubled as the referee sneered and said, "That's the same tired line from old ads years ago. Who's going to buy that?"
It was just like the health supplements in Nathan's previous life—this world's Pokémon food industry was much the same.
The ads were full of hype, but even the high-end luxury products didn't offer any real effects.
In fact, some Pokémon became over-nourished, which made training even harder!
Nathan didn't mind the skepticism. Instead, he smiled and said, "That's easy to test. I've got a bunch of different types of Pokéblocks. For rookie Pokémon, you'll start to see obvious changes after just two meals overnight."
He didn't even bother bringing up Miss Evelyn's endorsement, which was nearly as powerful as an official League certification.
He had the skill and the confidence—there was no need to fear doubt.
In fact, Nathan's Pokéblocks spoke for themselves!
He didn't even need to use the red cube that had tempted the Steelix—his own handmade ones were more than enough!
Seeing how confident he was, Serene licked her alluring cherry lips and said, "Alright then, let's give it a try!"
"If the results are real, I'll personally come visit you tomorrow."
"OK, then I'll be looking forward to your visit, Gym Leader Lee!"
(TN: To those who forgot, Serene's lastime is Lee)
With that, Nathan left behind a set of Pokéblocks and walked off.
He wasn't interested in the beautiful woman's body—once his goal was met, he naturally didn't linger.
After he left, the part-time referee turned to Serene and asked, "Gym Leader, do we really have to go this far?"
"Over the years, we've seen so many frauds make bold claims, and not one of them turned out to be real."
Even now, there's no Pokémon food on the market that delivers on the wild promises from their ads.
Put simply: "Images are for reference only."
But Serene looked at the Pokéblocks in her hand and chuckled. "Trying it won't cost us anything. If this stuff is real, things are about to get interesting!"
"At the very least, more than 90% of those who rely on fake ads will be lining up on the rooftop ready to jump…"
She didn't say the rest out loud, but she was definitely gloating in her heart.
After all, she'd been tricked by those ads herself in the past—even the referee had been a victim!
And those con artists always insisted that the limits of Pokémon food had already been reached—there was no way to make further progress.
So they shamelessly pushed their "for reference only" ads and raked in huge profits.
Time passed quickly.
Serene brought the Pokéblocks to some recently hatched baby Pokémon and began feeding them.
The next morning…
Thanks to her excellent biological clock, Serene got up early and checked on the little ones.
A Charmander, a Froakie, and a Treecko—all starter Pokémon!
Yep, one of her simps had provided them enthusiastically.
"Huh… this kind of change…"
The beautiful woman had still been a bit sleepy, but after seeing the transformation in the Pokémon, she instantly woke up.
She quickly pulled out photos from yesterday to compare!
Nathan had given her a full set of Pokéblocks, but Serene had only used the ones that boosted coolness, beauty, and development.
After comparing the photos, her captivating eyes were filled with shock.
Charmander, Froakie, and Treecko had all undergone obvious changes!
The transformation wasn't something earth-shattering.
Froakie and Charmander just looked like they had some beauty filters applied.
But still—
They had only eaten one meal!
"So many varieties… such mature research results?"
"But why is it in Nathan's hands, of all people?"
Gently stroking Charmander's noticeably more handsome little head, Serene muttered to herself.
She could already imagine that once Nathan grew powerful enough,
the entire human society would undergo a major shift!
At the very least—
If those fraudsters did nothing in response, they really might end up lining up on rooftops!
Assuming, of course, that merchants and capitalists could continue doing as they pleased in the world of Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Nathan had no worries at all.
When morning came, he simply ate, drank, and relaxed.
…Until his phone suddenly rang.
Opening the screen, he saw a new message pop up:
Wendy:[Be at the airport to pick me up at 10 sharp. Or else… face the consequences~]
Glancing at the time—it was already 9:00.
"Flying overnight… what, is she in a rush to reincarnate or something?"
Rolling his eyes, Nathan muttered as he looked at the message.
Still, by 9:30, he had tidied himself up and headed to the airport.
Maybe someone important was arriving.
There were even people holding up support signs at the airport.
"Tsk, celebrities in this world have it rough."
Thinking back to how stars were treated in his previous world, Nathan couldn't help but sigh.
In this world, even celebrity trainers rarely had die-hard fans.
Once someone reached a certain level of strength and was still fairly young, they could naturally gather a large fanbase.
For example, there was a current League Champion in their thirties—nearly forty—who still had tons of obsessed fans.
On the other hand, celebrity trainers who burned money to build a public persona and ran around doing PR all day…
might not even be as popular as Nathan.
After the plane landed, Nathan held up a sign he had drawn himself.
Well, calling it a "sign" was generous—it was just a piece of cardboard with "Wendy Dale" written in big characters.
Complete public humiliation!
Why? Simple—Nathan didn't want to wait around too long, and this made him easy to spot.
It worked like a charm.
Not long after he held it up, a girl wearing a beret and a face mask came over and dragged him away.
…
After pulling Nathan into a light jog out of the airport, Wendy finally removed her hat and mask.
"Hey, seriously, is this how you welcome a guest?"
Rolling her eyes, Wendy was clearly speechless.
She wasn't someone who cared much about appearances,
but this prank was a bit much.
"Alright, alright, my bad. As an apology, how about two pieces of good news?"
Nathan admitted he had gone a bit far and quickly struck a pose as if begging for mercy.
"Talk. If even someone as loaded as you calls it good news, it's probably not something ordinary."
Walking behind him, Wendy asked curiously. She hadn't shown even a hint of real anger from the start.
Nathan smiled calmly. "The funding issue is settled—50 million PokéCoins. The contract will be signed today and the money should arrive shortly."
"Also, we don't need to worry about advertising. I checked online yesterday—Gym Leader Lee is way more famous in Emerald City than I thought."
"Even if you're just a breeder, you could ride this wave like a pig flying in a storm!"
Looking at Nathan's confident and handsome face, Wendy suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
But she quickly buried that feeling and smiled like a seasoned senior. "Not bad, little brother!"
"Though… using the word 'pig' with a girl—don't you think that's a bit much?"
(TN: The word Pig is probably a character from the Wendy's Chinese name Bai Wenwen)
As she said this, her smile turned dangerously sweet.
A big flashing DANGER sign lit up in Nathan's mind.
"Cough cough, just a metaphor, just a metaphor—don't take it personally."
He quickly coughed and shrugged.
The two chatted idly as they left the airport and got into a taxi.
But instead of heading straight to the hotel, Nathan took her around Emerald City for a bit and picked up some food for her.
Even in this world, airplane meals were expensive and still tasted bad.
"This city… really is nice."
After getting a general feel for Emerald City, Wendy couldn't help but sigh.
Living and working in a city like this might actually be pretty good?
As for safety—there was Gym Leader Lee, who had a whole army of simps.
Even dark Pokémon organizations would have to think twice before making a move.
Not because Serene was stronger than them—
but because the dark organizations themselves had to stay in the shadows.
Just as Nathan was about to say something, the phone in his pocket started ringing again.