After the ordeal with Alex, Julian had no desire to remain in the secret realm any longer, especially since he had already been pnning to leave.
He packed his belongings, pg Alex's Poké Balls and the treasures he carried into his bag.
Among Alex's Pokémon, three of them possessed qualifications and were all at the pseudo-Elite level.
Having killed Alex, Juliahese Pokémon—raised and bonded deeply with their inal trainer—would never willingly follow him.
Even if one did show loyalty, Julian wouldn't trust it. Who knew if the Pokémon truly wao join him or was waiting for the perfect ce to snap his neck?
Thus, he decided not to keep the Pokémon, but the treasures on Alex's body were aory entirely.
Alex's colle was impressive. For a oo have risen to such heights, it was no surprise he possessed numerous rare items.
Among them was one particur treasure that even Julian couldn't immediately identify.
The object wasn't very rge, roughly the size of a thumb, shaped like a water droplet, and had a pale golden hue.
Juliaally reviewed all known and doted tear drop shape treasures but couldn't pce this o was either undiscovered or simply an ordinary tri.
Too zy to keep guessing, Julian activated his Probing Eyes to identify the treasure.
Heart of Arceus: The primal blood of Arceus, taining its divine power. Usable by Pokémon of all eighteen types until its energy is depleted.
Note: When used by a single Pokémon, it achieve miraculous, fate-defying effects.
Julian's usually calm demeanor finally cracked as he read the information.
"Are you kiddihis thing is the primal blood of Arceus?"
He couldn't help but wonder whion had the audacity to injure Arceus and spill its primal blood. Eternatus, maybe?
No wonder Alex, a orainer, ursuing a multi-type strategy—it all made sense now with such a treasure in his possession.
The Heart of Arceus wasn't just a rare elemental treasure; it was a world-css artifact.
'Damn it, if I had some kind of vilin system, you, Alex, might have really been the 'Chosen One.' But now, everything you had belongs to me.'
"Metagross, get over here!"
Julian called, frowning wheiced Metagross still tormenting the corpses. Does this guy have some kind of sadistic hobby?
Havied enough, Metagross quickly flew over.
"Eat this"
Julian said, tossing the Heart of Arceus toward it.
Metagross opes mouth wide and swallowed the treasure in one gulp.
The Heart of Arceus could be distributed among all Pokémiven to a single Pokémon for maximum effect. Julian, not oo settle for mediocrity, had ation in choosing the tter.
Metagross had always been Julian's ace. He had poured the majority of his resources into nurturing it, knowing that the stronger Metagross became, the more formidable he would be as a trainer.
In turagross had tinuously proven itself, repaying Julian's trust. Just now, it had mao hold its ground against a peak Elite Pokémon while only being at the early stage of pseudo-Elite, even if it was with the aid of Mega Evolution.
Afterward, Julian had used a Peak Elite Experience Card, temporarily boosting his strength to the level of a pseudo-Champion.
With the Heart of Arceus now devoured, Julian eagerly anticipated what heights his Metagross might rea the future.
The Heart of Arceus, simir to the Fire Crystal, would be absorbed gradually by the Pokémoime. There was o worry about adverse effeetagross—it would only grow stronger.
"Well?" Julian asked, curious. "Do you feel any different?"
"Meta!~"
Metagross: I'm hungry
Julian: (;￣д￣)
---
At the advanced-level secret realm's entrance, Julian stepped out, his demeanor calm. Military persoatiohere quickly approached to perform their routine iion.
They meticulously checked Julian's items and pared them to what he had brought in, paying particur attention to his Pokémon.
Seeing that Julian had only captured one Pokémon, and it wasn't ae from within the secret realm, they soon allowed him to pass.
Alex's belongings, including his Poké Balls, were safely stored in Julian's system space, making them uable.
Oside, Julian pulled out his phone, which was now showing numerous unread messages. There was no signal ihe secret realm, so unication had been impossible.
Skimming through the notifications, Julian saw nothing of particur urgend didn't bother replying to eae. Instead, he dialed his grandfather, John.
"Ah, my dear grandson, you're out of the secret realm?"
Although Julian hadn't told anyone about his veo the secret realm, John had somehow found out.
"Yeah, Grandpa. I was ambushed in there"
There was silen the other end of the phone.
After a few seds;
"You're unharmed, right?"
"I'm fine."
"Do you knoas behind it?"
"All I know is that it involved the Dean family and possibly others. They bribed Alex, a third-year student from the Imperial Uy, to do the dirty work. Alex's dead now—I killed him. They even supplied him with three peak Elite Pokémon."
Another pause, this time heavier.
"I see, Grandpa will take care of it."
"Alright, I'll send over the Pokémon shortly."
With that, Julian ehe call.
---
For a family to send people to assassinate a rising star of the younger geion, it was a btant viotion of unwritten rules.
Rivalries and cshes between aristocratic families were on, but there were boundaries everyone respected.
If one family sent assassins after another's prodigy, what would stop others from doing the same? If such behavior became the norm, how many gifted youths would even survive to adulthood?
Of the over 500 Elite trainers in Drakoria, more than 400 came from big or small noble families. The rest were Elites born from ordinary backgrounds.
So, if you kill the prodigies of other families, you're not just severing the fate of an opposing family—you're also weakening the overall strength of Drakoria as a nation.
flicts between families were iable, but they must adhere to the rules. Targeting and assassinating the younger geion of rival families, however, was a clear viotion of those rules.
This crosses the bottom line for all the noble families. No family wants to see their own heirs fall victim to such schemes.
If you choose not to py by the rules and I find out about it, then don't bme me for what es .
---
Julian wasirely sure how many families had been involved in this plot against him. The only one he was certain about was the Dean family. With his grandfather's temper, it was safe to say the Dean family wouldn't st much longer.
He had Dragonite fly him to the outskirts of the city, where taxis were readily avaible.
For the sake of public safety and order, no flying Pokémon were allowed to be ridden over major cities unless in emergencies.
The only exceptions were lised couriers, like food delivery and postal workers.
Trainers could also apply for a flying lise, but the process was stri. Advarainers didn't even qualify to apply, and pseudo-Elites had only a slim ce of being approved.
Since Julian hadn't obtained a flying lise yet, he couldn't ride Dragonite directly into the capital. Instead, he took a cab.
"Driver, take me to the Gardevoir Hotel"
Although he had washed up daily while in the secret realm, the ditions there were far from ideal. Julian decided he'd treat himself to a nice di the hotel and stay the night before heading back to school the following day.
