"Two Champion-level Pokémon… I can only handle one at most," Julian said with a frown.
Given his current strength, the fact that a Pseudo-Champion like him could even hold off or defeat a Champion was already remarkable.
Back in the Top-tier secret realm, facing Tapu Bulu, who had broken through to the Champion-level by borrowing the island's power, Julian had to send out all his main Pokémon.
Even then, Gengar had been on the brink of death, Aggron had been heavily injured, and several other Pokémon had suffered serious wounds.
It had cost him dearly just to seriously injure Tapu Bulu.
Now the enemy had two Champion-level Pokémon—and he didn’t even know if they were early-stage or mid-stage Champions.
If it was just a early-stage Champion, he was confident he could defeat or even kill it. If it was mid-stage, he might barely manage to hold it off.
But if it was at the late-stage Champion-level, then this operation should be called off outright.
And this was the case with just one Champion-level Pokémon.
Now there were two. Even if both were only early-stage Champions, it would still be a huge problem—he’d have to go all out with his entire team and even triple Mega Evolution—and there was still a high risk of casualties among his Pokémon.
"If no one can handle the other Champion-level Pokémon, then I refuse to participate in this operation," Julian said firmly.
He wasn’t about to risk his Pokémon’s lives just to show off.
Besides, this mission wasn’t a matter of national importance for Drakoria, so there was no need for him to take such risks.
"We’re here too, Julian!" Asher protested, looking displeased.
"Don’t joke around. We’re talking about Champion-level Pokémon here. The four of you together wouldn’t stand a chance," Julian said, rolling his eyes.
He knew they wanted to help, but the opponent’s strength far surpassed theirs.
Among the four, only Rowan was at the early-stage Pseudo-Champion level, while the other three were still at the peak of the Elite-tier. Did they really think they could take on a Champion?
If all four were Pseudo-Champions and the enemy Champion was only at the early stage, then maybe—just maybe—they could put up a fight, provided they coordinated perfectly.
"Elite Walker is on his way," Bellsprout suddenly spoke up.
"My dad’s coming? Then there’s nothing to worry about!"
Julian’s eyes lit up.
His father was a peak Pseudo-Champion. Unless those two Champion-level Pokémon were absolute monsters, his dad alone could handle both.
"But we’re pressed for time—we have to set off immediately. And Elite Walker still needs some time to arrive," Bellsprout added.
That was the crux of the problem.
If they engaged the Champion-level Pokémon and Jake hadn’t arrived yet, they’d be the ones in danger.
"Julian, whether or not we go ahead with this operation is up to you," Bellsprout said, seeing the hesitation in Julian’s eyes.
Julian cursed inwardly—'this guy is definitely doing it on purpose.'
'Damn spies, always so sneaky.'
If Bellsprout himself refused, it would look like he didn’t care about the nation's interest. But if he went ahead with it, then he would be putting their Pokémon—and Julian and the others—in danger.
So now the choice was conveniently dropped on Julian.
"Pierce, what do you think?"
Julian figured he should at least hear the others out.
Pierce answered immediately, all righteous and serious: "We do it. The nation’s interests come first. There are no cowards among Drakoria’s trainers!"
Julian smacked his forehead. 'Damn, I forgot this guy’s military.' He was one of those people who genuinely put the country first and didn’t care if he or his Pokémon died for it.
He shouldn’t have asked him.
Now, this guy had gone and backed him into a corner—if he refused, he’d be labeled a coward.
"Fine, let’s do it!" Julian slapped his thigh in reluctant agreement.
Anyway, if things really went south and his father hadn’t arrived yet, he’d just summon Mewtwo. With it around, even a hundred Champions would have to kneel.
"So where are we going now?"
Julian shot Bellsprout a rather unfriendly look—this sneaky bastard had set him up.
"Blue House. We assist the Ninth Councilor in becoming the new President of Wyvernia."
That was… quite the bombshell.
"The Ninth Councilor is our asset. Once he takes power, with our support, Wyvernia will completely break away from Celestria and become our…"
Bellsprout didn’t finish, but the implication was clear—'our backyard.'
'So, if we wanted to explore a Top-tier secret realm in our "backyard", that wouldn’t be a problem, right?'
'Damn, this really is a plan to boost Drakoria’s national power.'
Julian hadn’t expected that the Ninth Councilor was actually Drakoria’s puppet.
These political operatives were seriously impressive.
After all, any of the ten councilors could run for President—and each one had at least one, if not multiple, major chaebols backing them.
Blue House, Conference Room
As the Ninth and Tenth Councilors entered, President Isaac immediately demanded, "Ninth Councilor, what’s the meaning of this? Do you not realize those three pseudo-Elites could very well be Drakorian spies?"
Someone had already informed him about the Ninth and Tenth Councilors' earlier actions.
"Isaac, I’m doing this for your own good," the Ninth Councilor sneered.
"For my own good? More like you’re in bed with Drakoria, aren’t you?" Isaac laughed coldly, seething with anger.
The ten Councilors were roughly divided into three factions.
The Ninth and Tenth Councilors were one faction.
The Third, Fifth, and Seventh were another.
And the Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth supported Isaac.
With these four backing him and his position as President, he held the majority of power in domestic affairs.
The Ninth and Tenth Councilors were the weakest of the three factions.
But no one dared to underestimate them—the chaebols backing them were formidable. Though not as powerful as the Five Star Group behind Isaac, they were still among the top forces in Wyvernia.
"Me, working with Drakoria? Please—if anyone looks like they’re colluding with them, it’s you!"
Isaac stared at the Ninth Councilor as if he was a fool. He was already running himself ragged dealing with Drakoria’s pressure—how could he possibly be in league with them?
"Everyone, here’s the full record of Julian’s abduction. Take a look."
Ignoring Isaac entirely, the Ninth Councilor handed the documents to the other councilors.
The files detailed everything—from Julian being drugged and kidnapped at a grilled intestine restaurant in Verdance City to his transportation to a military base in Havenburg.
"After Julian was taken, our agent Selina confiscated his Poké Balls. She even scanned him—Gengar wasn’t in his shadow at the time."
"Stephen then brought him into the military base. As you all know, military bases have stricter security. If Gengar had been hiding in his shadow, it would’ve been detected immediately."
Most Ghost-type Pokémon could phase through walls or turn invisible, so any high-security facility always had detection devices. The walls were even lined with a special energy barrier to keep Ghost-types from phasing through.
And a military base? Even more so.
Even a Champion-level Ghost-type Pokémon couldn’t just sneak in undetected.
"On top of that, Julian was continuously injected with muscle relaxants during transport."
"No Poké Balls. Hands cuffed. Dosed with muscle relaxants."
"So how did he escape? And how did Gengar suddenly appear?"
Upto 30 chapters ahead on :-