Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 1020: Combee And Roselia

"The island below is a rose island. If this place was outside, it’d be a top-tier social media hotspot," Julian remarked while riding on Dragonite’s back, looking down at the island blanketed in roses.

It was currently the peak blooming season for roses, so the entire island was covered in a vibrant tapestry of blossoms in full bloom. Even from high up in the sky, Julian could catch the faint, sweet fragrance of roses carried on the breeze.

A riot of colors stretched across the hills and fields as far as the eye could see. Aside from roses, there were almost no other plants in sight, which was why this place was full of Roselia, with many of these "roses" being actually Roselia in disguise.

The ruler of the island was a Roserade at the Pseudo-Champion level. Julian wasn’t sure of its exact level—this information had come from a Sandslash he’d defeated on the nearby Sandgem Flats, when he had passed through the area.

"Julian, there are a lot of Combee down there."

Celebi, perched on his head, pointed out, watching the many Combee flitting between the roses, their tiny wings beating busily as they collected nectar.

Given that the island was dominated by roses, it made sense that the most common Pokémon here would be Combee and Roselia.

Combee loved gathering nectar, and rose nectar was one of their favorites, so it was perfectly normal to find so many of them here.

Honey produced by Combee had long been known for its health-boosting and vitality-enhancing properties when consumed regularly, making it a highly prized tonic. Its price varied greatly depending on the level of the Combee that produced it.

Especially honey from Elite-level Combee—its price could reach tens of thousands per gram, even more expensive than gold, though its effects were exceptionally potent.

Beyond boosting health and vitality, it also offered life-extending benefits.

Anything linked to increasing lifespan was bound to come with a hefty price tag.

Even though the lifespan increase from Elite-level Combee honey was modest—at most seven or eight years—compared to other longevity-enhancing treasures, it was still remarkably rare.

Honey from Elite-level Combee was essentially the only lifespan-extending treasure that could be bought with money—though at an exorbitant price, of course.

Due to its scarcity, it took at least three years of careful production to yield honey with life-extending effects.

This created intense demand from wealthy families eager to purchase it for their elders. But with only a limited supply available each year, not everyone could get their hands on it.

If your family background was strong enough, and your own strength was formidable, then you stood a chance to obtain it.

Moreover, such things rarely ever circulated on the open market.

Even the Combee honey that was available for purchase in regular markets was very expensive for the average person.

"Julian, with so many Combee down there, there must be plenty of Combee honey. Let's go get some!" Celebi said, its mouth watering at the thought.

Even the most ordinary Combee honey was incredibly delicious. Adding just a little to desserts or using it as a sweetener in certain dishes could elevate their flavor by a whole grade.

That was why this ingredient was highly prized by chefs.

Similarly, Pokémon with a sweet tooth absolutely adored Combee honey, especially Heracross. Its resistance to this honey was almost zero; to get a taste, it could unleash unimaginable fighting spirit.

As a fellow foodie, Celebi naturally wanted to get its paws on some of that honey.

At Julian's waist, the Poké Ball containing Slowking was also gently shaking.

Slowking, being a chef, was also extremely eager to get its hands on some top-quality Combee honey.

While the Walker family had the means to acquire premium Combee honey, the supply was ultimately limited.

Since even Slowking wanted some, Julian naturally had no reason to refuse.

He didn't have Dragonite land immediately. Instead, he instructed it to follow a Combee that had just finished collecting rose nectar. By trailing it, they could find out where its hive was located.

The number of Combee on this island was enormous. At a glance, the island below seemed to consist of nothing but roses and Combee. Their population seemed no smaller than the swarm of Beedrill Julian had encountered when he first entered this secret realm.

The happy Combee, having just finished gathering nector, was completely unaware that it was being followed.

On this island, aside from the ruling Roselia, the second most powerful group was the Combee swarm. Furthermore, the Combee and Roselia populations had a cooperative relationship.

The beautiful roses that blossomed on Roselia's arms weren't just for show—they also produced large amounts of nectar that the Roselia themselves couldn't use.

This was where the Combee came in.

Combee would collect the nectar from the flowers on Roselia's arms and later share a portion of the fermented honey with Roselia.

Thus, a symbiotic partnership was formed.

This cooperative relationship was quite solid, which explained why the entire island was dominated by just two major groups—Roselia and Combee—along with a few smaller populations.

After following this Combee for about half an hour, Julian finally saw its hive.

It was a giant honeycomb structure, nearly a hundred meters tall. Countless Combee were flying in and out of it, and a large number of guards were stationed around its perimeter.

The Combee species had a unique characteristic: as long as a single Vespiquen existed within the hive, other Combee would be unable to evolve, even if they reached the required level—unless they chose to leave the colony.

So despite this massive Combee population, there was only one Vespiquen among them.

Julian hadn't seen the Vespiquen yet; it was probably inside the hive.

"The security here is pretty tight," Julian observed.

He counted over a dozen Elite-level Combee and three Combee at the early-stage Pseudo-Champion level. Below the hive, there was also a large number of Roselia.

Trying to get a taste of Combee honey? Just these defensive forces alone would be enough to stop most Pokémon in their tracks—and keep them there permanently, as nutrients for the soil.

"It smells so good! Jirachi, can you smell it?" Celebi sniffed the air, its face wearing a look of bliss.

Jirachi nodded. "Yeah, I can smell it. It really is wonderful. Julian, let’s hurry up and take back what’s ours!"

Having spent so much time with Celebi, Jirachi was no longer the simple, innocent Pokémon that had just awakened from its meteor.

Now, it knew how to be sarcastic, how to lie, how to insult others, and it had developed a thick skin. In short, it had gained all sorts of "qualities"—both good and bad.

The way it so naturally claimed the Combee honey as "theirs" left Julian a bit speechless.

But it really did smell incredible.

The quality of the honey here must be exceptionally high; otherwise, such a rich, sweet aroma wouldn’t have carried all the way up into the sky without being scattered by the wind.

Meanwhile, Slowking’s Poké Ball was shaking even more vigorously now.

It was rare to see the usually calm Slowking become so excited.

Patting Slowking’s Poké Ball, Julian said calmly, "No rush, no rush."

*****

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