Seemingly sensing that Julian and his Pokémon posed no threat, some bolder wild Pokémon even approached him after drinking.
The boldest of them all was a Rowlet—it actually tried to land on Julian's head! But Metagross quickly chased it away.
Julian: "I hate birds with no sense of personal space."
The main reason, though, was concern that the Rowlet might pose a threat to Julian.
This particular Rowlet was already over level ten, and once a Pokémon passes level ten, it can start to pose a real threat to humans.
If this Rowlet had landed on Julian's head and used Peck, it could have easily cracked his skull open.
You can hang around nearby, but don't get too close to me.
Otherwise, I'll feel unsafe.
Who knew if it was just being friendly or if it was sent by another trainer to assassinate him?
In a secret realm, you could never let your guard down. Just because a Pokémon looked cute didn't mean it wasn't dangerous—sometimes, carelessness came at a price you couldn't afford.
About half an hour later, Slowking emerged from the water.
Its sudden appearance startled a few nearby Pokémon.
"SlowKing, what did you find?"
Julian quickly walked over.
"Slow~"
Slowking removed the crown on its head and pulled out a dark blue orb the size of a marble from inside.
Julian examined it closely, but he couldn't recall seeing anything like this in any database—it was likely a unique treasure exclusive to this secret realm.
He activated his Probing Eyes to inspect it.
[Water Orb: Permanently raises a Water-type Pokémon's potential from Cyan-grade to Blue-grade (100% success rate). Useless on Pokémon already at Blue-grade or above.]
[Note: Similar orbs exist for Fire, Electric, Grass, etc., with the same effect.]
So, it was a treasure that improved potential—and a guaranteed one at that. However, it only worked on Cyan-grade Pokémon and was type-restricted.
For Julian, it was useless. He only had one Water-type Pokémon—Slowking—and its potential was already Blue.
In other words, even if he gave the Orb to Slowking, it would be useless.
However, out in the real world, this Orb could easily be traded for a Cyan-grade Pokémon or even a pseudo-legendary.
Raising a Pokémon's potential had always been one of the biggest bottlenecks limiting a trainer's progress.
Countless Green-grade Pokémon were stuck at the pseudo-Elite peak solely due to their potential.
That's why any item that could raise potential—whether potion or treasures—was astronomically more valuable than other resources.
And the higher a Pokémon's potential, the harder it was to improve further.
Most of the time, even if you had money and influence, it was incredibly hard to get your hands on items that can raise a Pokémon's potential beyond the Cyan-grade.
And right now, Julian was holding an Orb that could 100% guarantee elevating a Cyan-grade Water-type Pokémon to Blue-grade.
Blue-grade potential meant a Pokémon could reach the pseudo-Champion level.
In some small or mid-sized countries, a trainer with that kind of power would basically be a king—untouchable.
Even in Drakoria, a major country, there were only about twenty to thirty trainers at the pseudo-Champion level.
"Here, Slowking, you keep it."
Julian handed the Water Orb back to Slowking. Since it was useless to him, he might as well let Slowking hang onto it.
Anyone watching this from the outside would be absolutely furious.
A treasure this invaluable—something practically legendary—and Julian just casually said it was useless and didn't even bother to store it carefully. Instead, he gave it to his Pokémon to hold.
"Slow~"
Slowking nodded and tucked the Orb back into its crown.
Without the crown, Slowking looked plain dopey.
With the crown on, though, it carried a bit of an air of majesty—still dopey, but now with presence.
By this time, the sky had begun to darken. The surrounding was pretty nice: a waterfall, a pool of water, and a large open field nearby. At night, you could lie down and look up at the stars.
"Let's rest here tonight," Julian said.
His Pokémon nodded in agreement.
"Slowking, we're having hot pot for dinner!"
With that, Julian pulled out a portable stove, foldable tables and chairs, a portable power source, and all kinds of ingredients and seasonings from his system space.
Then, he released all his Pokémon.
The moment Julian's team appeared—especially Aggron with its fearsome appearance—the wild Pokémon nearby scattered in terror.
From the water, the Bruxish leader stared at the powerful Pokémon lined up on the shore. Even though some of them were a lower level than it, it had a gut feeling that any one of them could wipe the floor with it.
Bruxish Leader: 'Wait... I might be able to take on that one.'
It was eyeing Gabite.
Gabite was still stuck at level 47, not yet reaching level 48, when it would evolve into Garchomp.
It had been stuck at that level for over half a year. Despite plenty of resources and battles, it just wouldn't evolve.
While Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries were known for slow growth, being stuck on a single level for this long was unusual.
If not for the Probing Eyes confirming that Gabite was perfectly healthy, Julian would've thought it was sick.
He had even gone to consult his teacher, Wade, about it.
According to Wade, Gabite needed a special trigger to evolve—and that trigger might not be battle-related.
Maybe tasting its favorite food, witnessing something joyful, or meeting a special someone—any of these could be the key.
As long as Gabite was healthy, Julian wasn't in a rush for Gabite to evolve.
But Gabite didn't see it that way.
As a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary, pride was etched into its bones. Watching Julian's other Pokémon grow stronger and stronger—while it remained stuck in place, even failing to reach its final evolution—was unbearable.
The moment it was released, Gabite dashed straight into the nearby forest without a word.
Dragonite, the "big brother" among the Dragon-types, looked at Julian.
"Let it go," Julian said calmly.
Gabite was just venting its frustration by seeking out opponents.
It had been trying to force itself to evolve through battle, but that method had never worked. It was now stuck in a mental loop of frustration and impatience.
Julian had tried talking to it, encouraging it—but nothing worked.
Evolution had become a knot in Gabite's heart.
At this point, no words could change anything. Only evolution would resolve it.
"Metagross, keep an eye on it," Julian added.
Gabite's level wasn't that high, and the forest wasn't exactly safe. If it wandered too far and Julian couldn't reach it in time, that would be a problem.
"Meta~"
Metagross nodded.
Kartana: "Its desire to grow stronger is intense."
Julian replied flatly, "I know."
Kartana: "Aren't you going to help it?"
Julian: "It needs a trigger. And that trigger hasn't arrived yet."
Who knew what that trigger was? These kinds of things couldn't be forced. All he could do was wait.
Kartana gave a half-understanding nod.
For a Pokémon like it, whose head was full of dramatic battle fantasies and sword-swinging, the idea of a "fateful trigger" was almost too abstract to grasp.
"Slow~"
Slowking: Kartana, come help me slice the meat—and cut the bones too. I'm making a bone broth base.
Kartana (grumbling): "My blades will weep…"
Slowking: "You won't get dinner until you're done."
Kartana: "On my way! I fought today—I'm starving. Can I get extra portions?"
*****
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