"Why isn't she back yet?"

  Nearly twenty minutes had passed. While it wasn't a particurly long time, not being able to see how Slowking was doing made Julian a little worried.

  The main was Slowking's ck of bat ability. If it were Metagross down there, he wouldn't be ed even if two hours passed.

  After ten more minutes, if Slowking still didn't return, Julian po seagross in.

  Even though the water would restrict Metagross's movements, it would still be better than waiting above with nothing to do.

  Ten mier…

  "Metagross, get ready to go down."

  Julian pulled out a breathing apparatus, one for himself and one for Metagross. He had already stripped down to his shorts.

  Just as Julian was about to dive in, Slowking suddenly surfaced. Luckily, Julian steadied himself and didn't fall in.

  "Are you hurt, Slowking?" Julian quickly asked.

  Slowking shook her head, holding something that looked like a piece of seaweed.

  Using her psychic powers, Slowking floated up tonite, handing the "seaweed" over to Julian.

  Julian examihe "seaweed" closely. Its leaves were crest-shaped, and he immediately reized what it was.

  "This is Water Moon Grass."

  Water Moon Grass looked very simir tur aquatits and grew among them, so y-nine pert of people would overlook it even if they passed by it.

  Now he uood why Slowking had taken so long—it had been searg for the Water Moon Grass among a mass of ordinary water pnts.

  The Water Moon Grass was everacted with its roots intact.

  Its biggest value y in improving water quality, which, in turn, would subtly enhahe health of the Pokémon living in it.

  For humans, drinking water infused with it could promote increase in life span and prevent illness.

  In cases of severe injury or near-death, ing Water Moon Grass could even save a life.

  It was essentially like ahousand-year ginseng, a miraedie.

  Most treasures could only be used by Pokémon, but Water Moon Grass was beneficial for humans too.

  Because of this, it was extremely popur among the upper css. However, despite its high demand, it had been discovered in the wild only a few times.

  When someone did find it, they generally kept it rather than selling it due to its rarity and efficacy.

  Juliahe Water Moon Grass in his system ste.

  He po take it home for his grandfather, John. Out of his family, his grandfather, being the oldest, would be the most from it.

  In such a rge ke, it was likely there were more Water Moon Grass pnts.

  After recalling Slowking, Julian instructed Dragoo fly around the ke at 50-kilometer intervals, using a grid-search pattern to find more Water Moon Grass.

  Sure enough, he soon found ahis time, Slowking was quicker, log the Water Moon Grass in just a few minutes.

  "Keep going," Julian said excitedly.

  They hadn't even explored a tenth of the ke yet, and they had already found two Water Moon Grass pnts. If they searched the entire ke, they might find over a dozen or perhaps other treasures as well.

  Water Moon Grass was actually a rare mutation ur aquatits, with a one-in-a-billion ce of . The probability was slightly higher in high-quality kes like this one.

  However, the treasure hunt didn't go entirely smoothly. Shortly after finding the sed Water Moon Grass, Julian entered a Pokémon blog his path.

  It was a Feraligatr, gring at Julian and r at him repeatedly.

  The message was clear: this was Feraligatr's territory, and Julian's sudden intrusion wasn't wele. However, it seemed willing to let him go if he offered something iurn.

  A pseudo-Elite Feraligatr—no wo had the fideo stand in Julian's way, even though he had Metagross and Dragonite by his side.

  Most Pokémon wouldn't dare approach them uhey were at least Elite level, with the exception of Magikarp, who werely known for their sharp mind.

  Right at the heart of Feraligatr's territory, there was a red dot—likely another Water Moon Grass.

  Julian gave Metagross a look, aagross instantly uood. It teleported directly above Feraligatr's head and delivered a powerful Thunder Punch, knog it out blissfully.

  The residual electricity from the punch even mao stun several other Water-type Pokémon nearby, leaving them floating on the surface, eyes rolling.

  Slowking dove into the water and, after a short while, surfaced with another Water Moon Grass. This one was even thicker tha two.

  Now he had three Water Moon Grass pnts—one for his grandfather, one for his family, and oo p the pond at his vil. It erfect.

  A sier Moon Grass could purify 1200 cubic meters of water, which was almost the size of a swimming pool. Of course, the smaller the area, the strohe purification effect.

  By the time Feraligatr groggily woke up, Julian was long go roared in frustration, but eventually returned home i.

  Once back, it felt something was wrong—the fortable feeling its home usually had was go felt like an ordinary puch like the Bstoise's territory nearby, with no special appeal.

  If it weren't for the unged surroundings, it would have thought it was in Bstoise's home, not its own.

  'Is it just an Illusion? Or did that silver creature mess up my brain?'

  --

  "Dragonite, be careful. We're entering that Gyarados's territory now."

  As ae Pokémon, Gyarados anded a rge territory, which also happeo be densely poputed with Magikarp.

  From above, the ke appeared red, thanks to the tless Magikarp crowding the waters, giving the entire ke a crimson hue.

  Ah a phobia of densely packed things would likely faint at the sight.

  Julian preferred to avoid fighting that Gyarados if possible. His time in this high-level Secret Realm was limited to just a month, and he didn't want to waste it on unnecessary battles.

  Besides, there wasn't anything of real value in Gyarados's territory. The red dots were small and not worth the effort.

  In the past, Gyarados's territory must have held many treasures, but any capable Trainer who ehis Secret Realm would have scoured it thhly.

  Trainers knew well that strong Pokémon's territories oftereasures.

  So, in these realms, the strohe Pokémon, the poorer its territory teo be—most of the good stuff had already been taken by Trainers.

  Unless a Pokémon was strong enough to defend its treasures and sistently repel ining Trainers, its territory would end up barren.

  Thinking about it this way, this Gyarados was rather pitiful. Despite being at mid-Elite strength, it was stantly harassed by Trainers passing through.

  Not only do they rob it, but they also beat it up.