"Why isn't she back yet?"
Nearly twenty minutes had passed. While it wasn't a particularly long time, not being able to see how Slowking was doing made Julian a little worried.
The main concern was Slowking's lack of combat ability. If it were Metagross down there, he wouldn't be concerned even if two hours passed.
After ten more minutes, if Slowking still didn't return, Julian planned to send Metagross in.
Even though the water would restrict Metagross's movements, it would still be better than waiting above with nothing to do.
"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 to Dragonite, handing the "seaweed" over to Julian.
Julian examined the "seaweed" closely. Its leaves were crescent-shaped, and he immediately recognized what it was.
"This is Water Moon Grass."
Water Moon Grass looked very similar to regular aquatic plants and grew among them, so ninety-nine percent of people would overlook it even if they passed by it.
Now he understood why Slowking had taken so long—it had been searching for the Water Moon Grass among a mass of ordinary water plants.
The Water Moon Grass was even extracted with its roots intact.
Its biggest value lay in improving water quality, which, in turn, would subtly enhance the 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, consuming Water Moon Grass could even save a life.
It was essentially like ancient thousand-year ginseng, a miraculous medicine.
Most treasures could only be used by Pokémon, but Water Moon Grass was beneficial for humans too.
Because of this, it was extremely popular among the upper class. 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.
Julian placed the Water Moon Grass in his system storage.
He planned to take it home for his grandfather, John. Out of his family, his grandfather, being the oldest, would benefit the most from it.
In such a large lake, it was likely there were more Water Moon Grass plants.
After recalling Slowking, Julian instructed Dragonite to fly around the lake at 50-kilometer intervals, using a grid-search pattern to find more Water Moon Grass.
Sure enough, he soon found another. This time, Slowking was quicker, locating the Water Moon Grass in just a few minutes.
"Keep going," Julian said excitedly.
They hadn't even explored a tenth of the lake yet, and they had already found two Water Moon Grass plants. If they searched the entire lake, they might find over a dozen or perhaps other treasures as well.
Water Moon Grass was actually a rare mutation of regular aquatic plants, with a one-in-a-billion chance of occurring. The probability was slightly higher in high-quality lakes one.
However, the treasure hunt didn't go entirely smoothly. Shortly after finding the second Water Moon Grass, Julian encountered a Pokémon blocking his path.
It was a Feraligatr, glaring at Julian and roaring at him repeatedly.
The message was clear: this was Feraligatr's territory, and Julian's sudden intrusion wasn't welcome. However, it seemed willing to let him go if he offered something in return.
A pseudo-Elite Feraligatr—no wonder it had the confidence to stand in Julian's way, even though he had Metagross and Dragonite by his side.
Most Pokémon wouldn't dare approach them unless they were at least Elite level, with the exception of Magikarp, who weren't exactly 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, and Metagross instantly understood. It teleported directly above Feraligatr's head and delivered a powerful Thunder Punch, knocking it out blissfully.
The residual electricity from the punch even managed to 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 than the last two.
Now he had three Water Moon Grass plants—one for his grandfather, one for his family, and one to place in the pond at his villa. It was perfect.
A single Water 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 stronger the purification effect.
By the time Feraligatr groggily woke up, Julian was long gone. It roared in frustration, but eventually returned home in defeat.
Once back, it felt something was wrong—the comfortable feeling its home usually had was gone. It felt like an ordinary place now, much like the Blastoise's territory nearby, with no special appeal.
If it weren't for the unchanged surroundings, it would have thought it was in Blastoise'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 an Elite Pokémon, Gyarados commanded a large territory, which also happened to be densely populated with Magikarp.
From above, the lake appeared red, thanks to the countless Magikarp crowding the waters, giving the entire lake a crimson hue.
Anyone with 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 entered this Secret Realm would have scoured it thoroughly.
Trainers knew well that strong Pokémon's territories often held treasures.
So, in these realms, the stronger the Pokémon, the poorer its territory tended to be—most of the good stuff had already been taken by Trainers.
Unless a Pokémon was strong enough to defend its treasures and consistently repel incoming 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 constantly harassed by Trainers passing through.
Not only do they rob it, but they also beat it up.