As soon as the system notified him that the cross-dressing mission was complete, Julian immediately changed back into his normal clothes. Seeing an extra 10,000 points added to his account, he grinned and cheerfully declared:
“Give me a dozen more missions !”
Over the course of the day, he had managed to find eight treasures—each one of them would cause countless Trainers to fight desperately over them if they were placed out in the open.
If Julian hadn’t been so picky, he probably could’ve filled his entire backpack within a day.
Aside from Annis, he hadn’t encountered any other Trainers that day—not even a single Elite-level Pokémon.
On this island, human trainers no longer posed any threat to Julian.
And among the wild Pokémon here, other than the island guardian Tapu Lele, the strongest was Moltres—and that was already his Pokémon now.
Unless someone from Celestria crossed the sea to come here, Julian was completely safe on this island.
And honestly, if Celestrian Trainers did come, they’d be the ones needing to worry about their safety.
With Moltres joining his team, it wasn’t just about gaining a pseudo-Champion-level Pokémon.
With Julian’s resources poured into it, even if Moltres’s level didn’t increase for now, its actual strength was rising rapidly.
After exploring for another half a month, Julian finally decided it was time to leave the island.
After all, he had already collected every treasure he deemed valuable.
“Why haven’t Pierce and the others arrived yet?” Julian muttered.
It had already been more than a month since he left Poni Island. With Pierce and the others’ strength—and the treasures they should have found—their Pokémon should’ve reached the peak of Elite-level by now.
Although Tapu Fini was a pseudo-Champion, with their combined tactical skills and peak Elite-level Pokémon, defeating it shouldn’t have been too difficult, right?
Pierce and the others: 'You think the four of us are freaks like you?!'
Tapu Fini wasn’t an early-stage pseudo-Champion—it was mid-tier.
Trying to defeat it solo, even at peak Elite strength, was still extremely difficult.
Originally, Julian had planned to wait for them before leaving, but now that they were still nowhere in sight, there was no way he’d keep waiting.
If they didn’t come, he’d just leave. Either way, he’d left behind enough “scraps” on the island—resources that would be enough for the four of them to digest and grow stronger, assuming they could even find them.
Reaching the edge of Akala Island, Julian shouted, “Tapu Lele, I want to leave the Island!”
As soon as he spoke, the pink guardian Tapu Lele appeared in front of him.
Tapu Lele: "Finally leaving, you scourge?"
Julian’s face darkened. 'This guy really has no manners—what’s with the insults right off the bat?'
But Tapu Lele wasn’t wrong—Julian was a scourge.
In that earlier battle with Babath trainers, he had practically shaved a section of the island bald, like a person suddenly losing a patch of hair right on the crown of their head.
And if it hadn’t stepped in to contain the aftermath of the battle, a full quarter of the island would have been devastated.
On top of that, did this guy have radar for eyes or what? He somehow knew the exact locations of so many hidden treasures—and his taste was ridiculously picky. He dismissed most of the items as not good enough.
As the island’s guardian, Tapu Lele had a perfect understanding of every corner of Akala Island. It was fully aware of every treasure’s location and could draw on the island’s power for great strength.
But because it was tied to the island, it couldn’t take any of the treasures born from it.
Still, it had its little selfish desires. For a few treasures it truly liked, while it couldn’t take them, it could hide them better—so well that not even the native Pokémon would find them.
And yet under those circumstances, Julian somehow located them with pinpoint accuracy—not just once, but repeatedly.
At this point, Tapu Lele was half-convinced he must be some kind of island guardian too.
It could only stand by helplessly, watching a thief sneak into its home and steal away treasures it had hidden with care—unable to stop him.
That had filled it with rage.
And to top it off, Julian shamelessly stole its tool bird, Moltres!
With old grievances and new grudges piling up, calling Julian a "scourge" was already putting it mildly.
Over the past two weeks, seeing Julian comb through every corner of the island, Tapu Lele had known he’d leave eventually. Yet it still had to wait until 'today' for him to finally go.
Julian, for his part, had no idea Tapu Lele bore so much resentment toward him. He even thought the Pokémon was rather nice.
After all, it was the one who brought him the Flame of Life from inside the volcano, informed him about the trainers on the island, and even cleaned up the mess when his battle with the Babath trainers got out of control.
Didn’t all that prove Tapu Lele had a good personality?
Tapu Lele: 'Swap places with me, and let’s see how you’d feel.'
Of course, as the one who benefited, Julian had no reason to think Tapu Lele was "bad."
Tapu Lele: "Let’s begin. Today, I’m going to teach you a proper lesson."
It had been waiting for this day for a long time—finally, a legitimate reason to battle this guy.
That said, Tapu Lele did take Julian very seriously. His strength was no joke.
Pokémon: Tapu Lele (Psychic / Fairy)
Ability: Psychic Surge
Moves: Astonish, Confusion, Withdraw, Aromatherapy, Draining Kiss, Psybeam, Flatter, Aromatic Mist, Sweet Scent, Psychic, Extrasensory, Psyshock, Mean Look, Nature’s Madness, Moonblast, Tickle, Skill Swap, Psychic Terrain
“…Stronger than Tapu Fini,” Julian remarked.
Tapu Fini was level 85, while Tapu Lele was level 86.
Julian had originally thought that the island guardians were all at the same level—but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Hearing Julian’s praise, Tapu Lele huffed: “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re flattering me.”
It tried to maintain an angry expression, but the smug grin on its face betrayed its delight.
This time, Julian didn’t send out Metagross. Instead, he chose Moltres.
Pokémon: Moltres (Fire/Flying)
Moves: Gust, Leer, Ember, Safeguard, Wing Attack, Flamethrower, Agility, Ancient Power, Incinerate, Air Slash, Roost, Heat Wave, Sunny Day, Hurricane, Endure, Overheat, Sky Attack
TM Moves: Take Down, Acrobatics, Fire Spin, Flame Charge, Air Cutter, Fire Blast, Protect, Flare Blitz, Aerial Ace, Fly
Note: Due to consuming a Blaze Stone, the power of Flamethrower is doubled.
Previously, Moltres' level had dropped from 83 to 81 due to injuries, but now that it had fully recovered, its strength had returned.
Compared to before it was caught by Julian, Moltres now felt it had become at least 50% stronger.
In the past, the fastest way for it to grow stronger was by absorbing magma energy.
Now? All it had to do was eat PokéBlocks.
"Eating can make you stronger."—Steelix’s words of wisdom.
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