"I came to warn you not to enter the forest. There are three mid-stage Champion-level Regis stationed there," Julian stated his purpose.
And Mew was also sleeping by the Ancient Giant Tree.
If they woke it up, Norman and the others didn't exactly have the "good guy" label—Mew might just obliterate them on the spot.
The mention of three mid-stage Champion-level Regis left everyone stunned.
Norman was at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level. And even at his full strength, he could barely match an early-stage Champion.
A single mid-stage Champion would be enough to crush him, let alone three. And these weren’t just any three.
Norman knew the Regi trio possessed combination moves. Even if Duke was here, he’d be no match for them.
No one doubted Julian’s words. Given his status, there was no reason for him to lie. Besides, Drakoria would eventually send teams deeper into the Ruin, and they would inevitably head toward the forest.
"If you insist on going, I won’t stop you. But Nicole won’t be joining you," Julian said.
He had said all he needed to. If these people were determined to seek their own doom, that was on them.
If not for Nicole, he wouldn’t have even appeared before them.
Norman exchanged glances with the other two Pseudo-Champion trainers, then said, "We’d better not go."
They weren’t idiots—Julian had warned them clearly. If they still stubbornly charged in and got targeted by three mid-stage Champions, the sheer power gap alone would make escape impossible.
At their level, they still had the spirit for adventure, but knowing when to hold back was just as crucial.
If they hadn’t known about the three Regis, that would have been one thing. But now that they did—and had no countermeasures—pressing on would simply be suicide.
"However, the outskirts of the forest is still fine, as long as you don’t get near the Ancient Giant Tree."
"And there are quite a few new varieties of berry species there," Julian added.
All of these berries had been discovered by Slowking, and Julian had picked quite a lot himself.
The botanist grew excited at the mention of new berry species.
Berries were the primary ingredients for making Pokéblocks and medicinal items for Pokémon.
The discovery of new berry varieties would naturally lead to more comprehensive advancements in both fields, as well as significant benefits for Pokémon training.
And if these new berries turned out to be unique to this Ruin, Drakoria could monopolize one or even several types of them.
Three days later, Julian had already left the Ruin with Nicole, while the rest of the expedition team continued their exploration inside.
Julian wanted to leave the Ruin, but he didn’t feel at ease leaving Nicole inside. So, he simply decided to bring her out with him.
Although Nicole was disappointed that she couldn’t continue exploring the Ruin, she still followed Julian out. She didn’t want to become a burden later on.
Seeing how understanding she was, Julian felt somewhat moved.
As for whether the exploration team would run into trouble—well, that wasn’t his problem anymore.
Since Nicole was an ordinary human and couldn’t handle the strain of instant teleportation, Metagross had to fly them out of the Hara Desert slowly.
Originally, the Ruin was located inside the Champion-level Tyranitar’s cave. But now that the Ruin had appeared, Tyranitar obviously couldn’t stay there anymore.
So, after the exploration team entered the Ruin, John had a… "friendly" discussion with Tyranitar, and eventually, the beast agreed to relocate.
Otherwise, the moment Julian and Nicole stepped out of the Ruin, they would’ve had to face that Tyranitar first.
This was something Nicole had told Julian—otherwise, Julian had been planning to sent out his own Tyranitar to use its "charm" as a distraction.
Once back in the outside world, Julian immediately sent a message to his grandfather, then scrolled through his social media feed. After not checking it for over half a year, there were quite a few updates.
Julian turned into a 'liking machine', giving thumbs-ups to every post.
Luis: "Brother Julian’s not around… Miss him."
Shen: "Peak Pseudo-Elite Machamp, the most handsome Machamp alive—breeding fee: 10 million per session."
'Still strapped for cash, huh?' Machamp had turned into a breeding tool—but he seemed to enjoy it.
Dad: "Didn’t come back empty-handed today." (Attached: fishing photo)
Grandpa: "Who wants to go to Catherine’s concert with me?"
'And you still say there’s nothing going on between you two? Posting this on Moments—do you think Grandma wouldn’t notice?'
Frank: "Somehow, I’ve already become the homeroom teacher for the senior-year special recruitment class."
'Wait… I’m already a senior?'
Uncle: "Congratulations to myself for ending my single life." (Attached: marriage certificate)
Julian had already scrolled past when he suddenly froze, then swiped back up. Taking a closer look—yep, that was definitely his uncle.
Checking the date, they’d registered their marriage on Valentine’s Day. Uncle had a romantic side after all.
'So this is my aunt…'
Julian examined the marriage certificate photo. The woman wasn’t strikingly beautiful, but she had an unmistakably gentle aura.
'This must be Uncle’s childhood sweetheart.'
He opened the family group chat, and sure enough, the member count had gone up by one.
> Family’s Favorite Julian: "Uncle, you haven’t held the wedding yet, right?"
Julian hadn’t seen any wedding photos on his uncle’s feed, so most likely they had only registered the marriage, without holding the ceremony yet.
> The Man Who Will Hook Kyogre: "Brat, you’re finally out! Got anything good?"
Julian casually uploaded a photo of the massive Ambrosia he’d found.
> Family’s Favorite Julian: "From now on, our family can easily live 300-400 years." (Photo attached)
> Head of the Family: "Good grandson… is that Ambrosia?"
> Family’s Favorite Julian: "Grandpa’s got sharp eyes!"
'Such a large specimen… Does this mean I might actually live long enough to catch Kyogre?' Jake was overjoyed at the thought.
> Blissful Chairman: "Julian, is this your wedding gift for me and your aunt?"
> Head of the Family: "Your uncle insisted on waiting for you to come out before holding the wedding."
> Blissful Chairman’s Wife: "Hello, Julian. I’m Alice. Thank you for healing me."
> Blissful Chairman: "Alice, no need to be polite with him. He’s family."
> Family’s Favorite Julian: "Uncle’s right, Auntie. No need for formalities. Now that I’m out, you two can set a wedding date."
> The Man Who Will Hook Kyogre: "Big Brother, when the time comes, I’ll fish you up a Gyarados for your wedding gift."
Without Julian, Alice would never have woken up. So, while Henry and Alice had already registered their marriage—the actual wedding was delayed until Julian returned from the Ruin.
Exiting the chat, Julian suddenly realized Nicole was leaning limply against him, her breathing a little heavy.
'Huh? Wait a sec—my hand…'
His left hand, which had been resting on her waist, had somehow… migrated upward without his notice.
Julian: "I swear, this hand has a mind of its own. You believe me right?"
Upto 30 chapters ahead on :-