While Drakoria and Celestria were still bickering with each other over the Wyvernia issue, the instigator of this whole incident—Comrade Julian—was already sweeping through all three of Wyvernia's Top-tier secret realms.
Armed with Dowsing Machine, Julian's goal was very clear: the valuable treasures hidden within these Top-tier secret realms.
Even though these three Top-tier secret realms had long since been explored countless times by Wyvernia and Celestria, there was no way they could have found everything.
The more precious the treasure, the better it was usually hidden.
Those truly rare finds were exactly what Julian was after—he couldn't care less about ordinary loot.
As for Pokémon, even Cyan-grade potential ones were practically useless to him now. Blue-grade had to meet strict criteria—either matching his preferred types or being a rare species he actually wanted.
If it was something like a Blue-grade Koffing? Sorry, but you'd just be trade fodder.
The three Top-tier secret realms of Wyvernia were massive. Two matched the nation's total land area, while the third was even larger.
With areas that big, even with the Dowsing Machine in hand, it would take Julian at least twenty days to sweep through a single secret realm—and that was with him cutting down on rest.
But he wasn't in any hurry, so he took his time. All in all, it took him about a month to finish exploring just one Top-tier secret realm.
His haul? Three Top-tier treasures: two Fire-type and one Electric-type. The Fire-type items naturally went to Arcanine and Moltres.
As for Moltres, its wing—which had been pierced through by Leafeon before—was now mostly healed.
And Arcanine had looked down on Moltres quite a bit for that.
Arcanine: 'How could a mighty fire-type get its wing pierced by a grass-type? Absolutely disgraceful for our whole element.'
Moltres: 'You conveniently leave out the level difference, huh?'
---
At dusk, by the lakeside
Julian lay sprawled out on a lounge chair. Beside him was a small side table holding a glass of freshly made berry juice with ice—prepared by Slowking—which tasted really good.
Metagross lay lazily beside him, looking very content. Compared to a month ago, its condition had clearly improved a lot—about a third of the cracks on its body had already healed.
It would take at least three months for the cracks to fully close, and probably half a year for its injuries to completely heal.
Once its injuries were fully healed, Metagross's defenses would improve yet again.
Lucario and Garchomp emerged from the forest, arms stacked with firewood.
And yes—it was Garchomp, not Gabite anymore.
Turns out, after witnessing even a beast like Metagross nearly get shredded—and then learning that the attacker was an early-stage Champion Pokémon (which Metagross still obliterated)—the shock had triggered its evolution.
The sense of urgency in its heart had never been stronger—and just like that, it evolved.
Julian himself didn't really understand why this guy had been stuck at its previous stage for so long, only to evolve so suddenly now.
Metagross: 'Did it evolve because it felt good seeing me in such a miserable state?'
'If that's the case, this little brother deserves a beating.'
---
Pokémon: Garchomp (Dragon/Ground)
Level: 55
Potential: Blue
Ability: Rough Skin
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Gender: Male
Moves: Sand Tomb, Tackle, Sand Attack, Dragon Breath, Sandstorm, Bulldoze, Bite, Slash, Take Down, Dragon Rush, Crunch
TMs: Double-Edge, Scary Face, Protect, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Dragon Tail, Stomp, Outrage, Shadow Claw, Dragon Pulse, Brick Break, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Swords Dance
Egg Moves: Draco Meteor, Twister, Dig, Dragon Claw
---
Level 55—decent enough. In terms of combat power, it could handle pseudo-Elite opponents, but it wouldn't stand a chance against a real Elite-level opponent yet.
After evolving, Garchomp's lingering frustration finally faded. It even smiled more often—though given its naturally fierce face, the expression still looked intimidating.
Lucario used Fire Punch to ignite the firewood. Why not have Moltres do it? Because yesterday, that bird incinerated the entire pile of wood in one burst of flame.
And as for Arcanine—that silly dog was by the lakeside, catching fish. Magikarp, specifically.
It would dive in with a splash, then burst out of the water with a Magikarp clamped in its jaws.
Fire-types may be weak to Water-types in battle, but they were not actually afraid of lakes or oceans in everyday life—they could even bath in them. Even a Charizard's tail flame could be briefly submerged—just not for too long.
Arcanine proudly dropped the Magikarps it caught at Slowking's feet, clearly suggesting: 'Grilled fish for dinner tonight!'
But Slowking just tossed every last one back into the lake.
Slowking: 'Nothing but bones. Inedible.'
Magikarp were the most abundant Water-type Pokémon—so abundant they were basically a nuisance. Most countries didn't ban eating them—some even encouraged it.
Problem was, 90% of a Magikarp was bones, with the remaining 10% being stringy meat, organs, and scales. The tiny bit of edible flesh tasted terrible, so nobody bothered.
In contrast, Farfetch'd was delicious—especially since it came with its own leek, perfect for seasoning. In regions where Pokémon consumption wasn't banned, Farfetch'd nearly went extinct from overhunting.
Nearby, Kartana was helping Slowking prepare the ingredients. With a single flash of its blade, the food was sliced perfectly—you could measure it with a scale and not find a fraction of a millimeter's difference.
Still sulking over Julian's decision to exclude it from the battle against Leafeon—such a rare and worthy opponent!—it had resolved to ignore him for a full month.
"Kartana, that tree's blocking my sunlight—go chop it down."
Kartana: "On it!"
Meanwhile, Magearna, clad in a tiny apron, was diligently taking notes as Slowking-sensei taught it how to make seafood chowder, its face the picture of seriousness.
Just as Julian was squinting and relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, he suddenly heard Celebi's panicked voice:
"Julian! HELP! HELP!"
He turned his head—and his face instantly darkened.
Somehow, the little troublemaker had pissed off a swarm of Beedrill—500 to 600 of them—and was now fleeing straight toward him.
Seriously, this thing really had become spoiled under his care.
It was a late-stage Elite-level Pokémon, for crying out loud. How was it getting chased by a swarm of Beedrill that didn't even have a single pseudo-Elite among them?!
Julian was tempted to let it suffer, but then Celebi plopped directly onto his head, instantly redirecting the swarm's fury toward him.
"Take care of them!" Julian yelled.
The closest—Pupitar—reacted in an instant, whipping up a sandstorm that scattered the Beedrill swarm. Injured and overwhelmed, the Beedrill had no choice but to slink away, though they glared at Celebi before leaving—as if to say, 'You just wait.'
"What did you do?"
"Nothing! I just ate a bit of their honey and they started chasing me. So stingy!"
Beedrill rarely produce honey—and when they do, it's reserved exclusively for raising their future queen. Celebi had basically stolen royal baby food. Of course they went berserk.
"Is there any more?"
"Oh, there's plenty left. Should we take a bit more?"
"Let's go."
"Wait—we need backup!"
"Dragonite! Steelix! Aggron! Let's go hit it big!"
Beedrill swarm: 'Are they trying to wipe us out for good?!'
*****
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