Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 1043: Chapter 1260: Transactions

In this world, there were plenty of unmarried, ultra-eligible bachelors, but if you had to name the single most desirable one of all, it would undoubtedly be Julian.

He had family background, looks, physique, strength, personality, and even First-class Legendaries. Practically every fantasy a woman could have could be found embodied in Julian.

And yet, a man like this was still single, without even a rumored girlfriend. This matter had already been labeled by some bored netizens as one of the "Eleven Great Mysteries of the Century."

Why eleven? Because it originally was the Ten Great Mysteries.

But Julian's appearance caused the list that had remained unchanged for several years to become eleven.

If Julian showed even the slightest interest, all it would take was a crook of his finger, and plenty of women would jump into his bed—no strings attached, no need for him to take any responsibility whatsoever.

Holding the Monkey Wine that could increase lifespan by thirty years while being stared at by so many burning gazes, Gemma surprisingly did not feel much pressure.

Instead, she handed the Monkey Wine over to her grandfather, Roy.

She was only in her early twenties.

She was only in her early twenties now, and although she was certainly tempted by the wine, she knew the most fitting candidate for it was her grandfather—the current strongest member of the Stein family.

Looking at the Monkey Wine in his hands, Roy felt somewhat emotional.

He had, of course, used lifespan-extending treasures before; in total, they had added over sixty years to his life. So even though he was now in his seventies or eighties, under normal circumstances he could still live well past one hundred eighty.

Now, with this Monkey Wine, living past two hundred wouldn't be an issue.

He had struggled for seventy to eighty years just to gain that sixty additional years of life. Yet his granddaughter's single birthday banquet had brought him benefits comparable to half his life's efforts.

"Gemma, when the time comes, you can freely choose any two treasures from the family vault."

Roy was certainly not the type to take advantage of his own granddaughter.

Had it been anything else, he might very well have declined, but faced with this lifespan-extending Monkey Wine, he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Really, Grandpa? Even that treasure?" Gemma asked excitedly.

Roy nodded.

Among the family's treasures was a Steel-type Ultimate treasure, which Roy had originally intended to use when he made his breakthrough to Champion tier.

Yet he knew that, in all likelihood, he would never get the chance to become a Champion—not because this treasure was now going to Gemma and he'd miss his opportunity.

But because if using an Ultimate treasure was all it took to become a Champion, he would have used it long ago.

Rather, it was because his potential was limited. After becoming a Pseudo-Champion, increasing his strength had become extremely difficult.

Whether he would ever even reach the peak of Pseudo-Champion level in his lifetime itself was a complete unknown. So using an Ultimate treasure might ultimately just be a waste.

Better to leave the Ultimate treasure for a clansman with greater talent.

Although he had yet to find such a clansman—even his own son Gavin's potential would likely top out at Pseudo-Champion at best.

And among the other direct-line members of the Stein family, there were indeed some with outstanding talent, but none were true Champion prospects.

It wasn't until Gemma suddenly rose to prominence because of Julian that he finally saw hope.

Gemma was only in her third-year of university, yet she already had six Pokémon at the pseudo-Elite level.

With that kind of strength, she would be considered exceptionally outstanding even at Imperial University.

Of course, this was largely thanks to Julian's help.

Without Julian continuing to support her from behind, the rate at which her strength increased would return to what it was before.

And Gemma understood this profoundly.

Those ten days of training under Julian had been like living in hell—extremely exhausting and painful.

Yet the increase in her strength had materialized before her eyes in a visibly day-by-day manner. And now, the pace of her improvement was nowhere near what it had been before.

Having experienced that rocket-speed progress, only to now find herself back to bicycle speed, the sense of loss was immense.

Once the banquet ended, Julian and Jake took their leave.

But the news that Julian had gifted Monkey Wine capable of extending one's lifespan by thirty years at Gemma's birthday banquet quickly spread across the entire nation through the mouths of the guests present.

Many families immediately contacted Roy, hoping to purchase the Monkey Wine from him, even offering Ultimate treasures in exchange.

If the Stein family wasn't strong enough, there was absolutely no way they could have held onto such an item. Even if these people didn't dare target the Stein family directly because of Julian, they could still have used other methods to pressure them.

Some of the treasures offered even tempted Roy greatly, but he still refused. After all, his own lifespan mattered more.

At the same time, Julian also had the Steel Guards secretly spread news that he still possessed more Monkey Wine capable of extending lifespan by thirty years.

The moment that news came out, representatives from all the major families flocked toward the Walker family.

Some sought out Henry, others John and James.

Even Jade, who was still attending kindergarten, had her little friends asking her to help contact Julian.

No one doubted the authenticity of the news.

If Julian had only possessed this single portion of Monkey Wine, there was absolutely no way he would have given it to Gemma.

No matter how good his relationship with Gemma was, it wouldn't warrant giving her such a precious treasure.

So there was only one explanation: Julian still had more of the thirty-year lifespan-extending Monkey Wine in his hands.

The news that was deliberately spread said that Julian still had three or four more portions of the Monkey Wine.

For some powerful figures in various clans—those on the verge of dying from old age, or those with hope of breaking through to the Champion tier but whose remaining lifespan was running short—the news of the Monkey Wine immediately gave them a lifeline and renewed hope for survival and breakthrough.

The Walker family also made an official declaration: they were willing to trade the Monkey Wine, but only in exchange for Ultimate treasures, with Steel-type Ultimate treasures given priority.

In terms of value, the thirty-year lifespan-extending Monkey Wine was indeed comparable to an Ultimate treasure, and in terms of rarity, it even surpassed ordinary Steel-type Ultimate treasures.

Things like Ultimate treasures—most major clans or top-tier aristocratic families had a few, more or less, stashed away.

Some were saved for personal breakthroughs, others were reserved for clan geniuses, and some had simply been kept because their Typing didn't match anyone.

In the end, Julian exchanged the Monkey Wine for four Steel-type Ultimate treasures.

[Steel Fang: Increases the hardness of the teeth; the power of biting-type moves is increased by 50%.]

Julian gave this Ultimate treasure to Steelix.

Truth be told, Arcanine would also have been a suitable fit, but the mutt was currently off training in the secret realm.

And with its massive set of jaws, Steelix could definitely bring out the full power of the Steel Fang.

As for the remaining three Steel-type Ultimate treasures, they wouldn't have much effect on his own Pokémon, so Julian gave them to his father and grandfather.

After trading away four portions of the Monkey Wine, Julian still had some of the thirty-year lifespan-extending variety left, but he no longer intended to keep trading it.

At the very least, no further trades would happen in the short term.

If too much of this stuff appeared, its value would plummet, and then some sharp minds would definitely figure something out.

Besides, he had already traded for four Steel-type Ultimate treasures from the various clans; presumably, there weren't any better Steel-type Ultimate treasures left.

Perhaps other clans might still be hoarding superior Steel-type Ultimate treasures and simply refused to trade because the Monkey Wine wasn't tempting enough for them at the moment.

But Julian wasn't in a hurry though.

After all, as long as he had the Champion Ambipom, he could harvest a batch of Monkey Wine like this once every ten years.

It was practically a stable income stream of Ultimate treasures.

*****

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