"Good job! You actually managed defeat that Leafeon!"
Just as Julian was feeling distressed over his Metagross's injuries, he heard Jake's voice.
Turning his head, he saw Jake looking at him with a mix of amazement and satisfaction.
"As expected of my son—damn, you're awesome!"
Julian rolled his eyes, unsure whether the praise was directed at him, himself, or both.
Beside Jake stood his own Metagross, still holding the corpse of Serperior—and compared to Julian's, its condition was much better.
"The one that's amazing is Metagross, not me," Julian shook his head.
After all, it was Metagross who had fought the Leafeon.
"A peak Elite defeating an early-stage Champion—your Metagross is downright monstrous!" Jake said in awe as he studied the steel giant.
Then he glanced at his own Metagross.
Both of their Pokémon had split off from John's original Metagross, so why was the gap so huge?
One, at peak Elite, had defeated an early-stage Champion opponent, while the other, at Pseudo-Champion peak, had only just managed to win against an early-stage Champion—and still got plenty of scratches for it.
"Meta!"
Jake's Metagross: "What's with that look?"
"Hahaha—my son's so cool!"
Jake quickly changed the subject, laughing it off.
"But those injuries look pretty serious—will they affect its foundation?"
Looking at Julian's Metagross—its entire body covered in cracks, seemingly on the verge of shattering—Jake couldn't help but worry.
If its foundation was harmed and couldn't be restored in time, this Metagross might be stuck at Elite peak forever.
"They won't."
Julian shook his head.
Its injuries were indeed serious, but not enough to damage its foundation. Its accumulated potential was too deep—with such a solid base, harming its foundation was extremely difficult.
Moreover, these injuries weren't entirely a bad thing for Metagross.
As the saying goes, "break to rebuild". Once its injuries healed, its defense would actually be tougher than before.
This was a common trait among many Steel-type Pokémon.
Some trainers even intentionally damaged their Steel-type Pokémon's bodies to trigger this effect—only to overdo it, either crippling their Pokémon's potential or failing to provide enough resources for proper recovery.
So, attempting to boost a Steel-type's defense through "breaking and rebuilding" wasn't a simple task. Many ended up permanently ruining their Pokémon instead.
"That's good. Guess I worried for nothing. You probably have more rare treasures than your grandpa—let alone me," Jake said with a relieved laugh.
It was true. He and John had both benefited from Julian's help more than once—like the special potions that boosted their Pokémon's potential.
If not for those, their Pokémon's potential would never have improved so quickly.
If it weren't for Julian's potential-enhancing potions, which raised their Pokémon's potential from Cyan to Blue—or even Purple—Jake and John would have had to rely on almost all of their family's treasures to achieve the same.
And any treasure capable of improving a Pokémon's potential was exceedingly rare.
Even with the Walker family's status in Drakoria, obtaining such treasures would have required significant exchanges or sacrifices of other interests.
"Gen~"
Gengar had already brought William before Julian and Jake.
Seeing Serperior lying dead on the ground, and Leafeon barely alive or possibly dead too, William's composure finally crumbled. He kept mumbling, "Impossible… impossible…"
Two Champion-level Pokémon—one had died at the hands of a peak Pseudo-Champion, the other at the hands of a peak Elite.
The first was still somewhat understandable—after all, Jake's Metagross had reached early-stage Champion-level through Mega Evolution. But the latter?
Even after Mega Evolution, Julian's Metagross had only reached early Pseudo-Champion!
"It's not scientific… not scientific…"
The word "impossible" in his mouth had already turned into "not scientific".
In Drakoria, Julian's Pokémon had long become synonymous with "not scientific".
Of course, if people knew that his Metagross—at Pseudo-Champion-level after Mega Evolution—had defeated a Champion-tier Leafeon, even the most accepting trainers would start screaming "not scientific".
Because reaching the Champion level was like a mortal ascending to immortality.
Right now, Julian's Metagross was essentially: "Below Champion, I'm invincible. Against Champion, I trade one for one."
"What do we do with him now?" Julian asked.
Hearing this, William froze—his heart tightening. He quickly stammered, "Don't kill me! I'm the patriarch of the Lancaster family—the one in charge of Five Star Group! Alive, I can be of great use to you!"
To be fair, that sounded reasonable enough.
But—
"Kill him," Jake said flatly.
Gengar looked at Julian.
Julian nodded.
Why keep him around? For New Year's dinner?
Besides, could someone like this truly be controlled? Even if he was willing—what about the rest of the Lancaster family?
In a major clan, while the patriarch held significant influence, they never had absolute control.
"Spare—"
Squelch
Before he could finish, Gengar's hand pierced through William's throat.
"Gen!!!"
The Gengar hiding in William's shadow erupted in fury upon its trainer's death—but what awaited it was a peak Pseudo-Champion Metagross.
Once that Gengar was dealt with, Julian locked all of William's Poké Balls, then took out Leafeon's Premier Ball and recalled the unconscious Pokémon.
A Champion-tier Leafeon—it was priceless.
Although it would never serve the Walker family, they could trade it for an ocean of resources.
Just using it for breeding with other Pokémon would produce exceptionally strong offspring.
It was a shame that Serperior had been killed by Jake's Metagross.
You couldn't really blame Metagross for that, though. In a fight to the death—when the power gap wasn't huge—there was no such thing as "holding back."
And honestly, Julian's Metagross had also gone for the kill with that final Metal Claw against Leafeon.
But by then, Metagross was already on the verge of exhaustion—so the weakened strike only knocked Leafeon unconscious instead of killing it.
"Gehehe~"
Gengar was now happily absorbing Serperior's soul.
A Champion-tier Pokémon's soul—that was basically an Ultimate Ghost-type treasure in itself.
Calling Gengar the "Chosen one of the Pokémon world" really wasn't an exaggeration.
Despite barely participating in the battle, Gengar had reaped the greatest rewards.
A Champion-tier soul had become its nourishment.
After such a feast, Gengar had zero interest in William's soul—or even the other Gengar's.
"Leave Serperior's corpse with Gengar," Jake said.
Even dead, a Champion-tier Pokémon's body held immense value.
Its blood, flesh, skin, and bones were all premium materials.
If a Cyan potential Victreebel were to consume Serperior's remains, its potential would undoubtedly rise to Blue, and its strength could reach Pseudo-Champion tier within half a year.
After devouring Serperior's soul, Gengar patted its round belly—completely stuffed—before storing the corpse inside its dimensional stomach space.
*****
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