Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 965: Chapter 1182: NPC?

Hearing Julian say the battle was over, Kartana immediately protested, "That doesn't count—I didn't get to dodge!"

Right after it had used its ultimate move against Steelix, and its body was exhausted—Melmetal, that sneaky guy, had launched an underhanded sneak attack.

"Enough."

Julian rolled his eyes and stopped Kartana, who was about to demand a rematch.

"This guy really can't handle losing."

Steelix looked at Kartana with pure mockery.

Just because this guy trained so intensely, it made the rest of them look lazy.

But in the end? It still got beaten down by the two of them.

"Then let's go again—I haven't had my fill of beating it up yet."

Melmetal bumped its fists together. Not landing those last two punches left it feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

If Kartana wasn't convinced, then they could just go another round.

"Both of you, stop it."

Julian glared at Melmetal and Steelix. These two really had some nerve acting proud—ganging up two against one wasn't exactly something to brag about.

And now they wanted a second round.

"But I do think a battle like this could happen once a week from now on," Julian said.

The moment he said that, the previously fired-up Steelix and Melmetal suddenly went quiet. They exchanged a glance and saw the same regret in each other's eyes.

Why did they have to talk back to Kartana?

Now look—wouldn't this mean getting sliced up by it every single week?

"Hmph. Next week, I'll definitely win."

Kartana let out a cold snort and flew out of the battle arena.

Its arrogant demeanor made Melmetal and Steelix grit their teeth.

You already lost—what are you being arrogant for? Where's the shame?

Anyone who didn't know better would think Kartana was the winner.

"Next time we have to win. We can't let that show-off keep showing off," Melmetal said seriously.

Steelix immediately nodded.

It might be a bit slow and lazy, but it still cared about its pride.

That show-off couldn't go a day without showing off—next time, they'd beat it senseless.

Looking at the two "lazy slackers" suddenly ignite with fighting spirit, Julian felt that what he did was the right call.

Their natural talent was in no way inferior to Kartana's—especially Melmetal. As a Mythical Pokémon, its innate potential was extremely high.

At the beginning, it had also been a hardworking, ambitious Pokémon with the great dream of taking down Metagross.

But later on—whether it was because it realized that dream was too difficult to achieve, or because it found Julian's laid-back lifestyle more comfortable—it gradually turned into a Pokémon that spent most of its time loafing around.

Julian felt he bore some responsibility too. After all, as a trainer, he should lead by example—but he himself spent most of his time slacking off.

That naturally made some of his Pokémon feel even more justified in slacking off.

Still, he comforted himself—he was their trainer—didn't that come with some privileges? It was fine for him to slack off, but if they slacked off, that was their fault.

"Dee~"

Seeing that the battle was over, Love tugged at Gemma, who was still in shock, and led her over to Julian.

Julian naturally recognized Gemma at a glance, but still pretended to be confused. "Love, who's this? A relative of yours?"

"Dee~"

Love lightly knocked Julian on the head.

What nonsense—she was a Pokémon, where would she get a human relative?

"Coach, stop pretending."

Gemma pouted, looking at Julian with a hint of grievance.

This girl was really something—she had actually tracked him all the way to his home. He wondered how she had figured out that the "handsome guy" back then was him in disguise.

Julian thought his disguise had been flawless—how had she seen through it?

"How did you guess it was me?" Julian asked curiously.

Back then, he hadn't brought the two little ones, hadn't brought Metagross, and had even changed his face—there was no way he should have been recognized.

Gemma then explained her reasoning.

The biggest giveaway was how affectionate the Poochyena had been with him.

"Mm."

Julian nodded in realization.

"You're pretty clever," he said, giving her a compliment.

"Of course."

Gemma lifted her chin proudly.

She didn't feel anything wrong with his comment—in fact, being praised by Julian was something countless people could only dream of.

"Just a bit lacking in strength, though."

"Well, I obviously can't compare to you, Champion Walker."

Gemma wasn't offended. After all, there was no comparison—Julian had already become an Elite trainer in his second year, and even as a freshman, his pseudo–Elite Metagross had defeated more than one Elite-level opponent.

Meanwhile, she was already in her third year and still only a pseudo–Elite.

"So, Coach… can you train me?" Gemma asked expectantly.

She had come to find Julian precisely for this reason—though of course, there were also some girlish feelings mixed in.

"No."

Julian shook his head. He had no intention of taking on a burden—it would be a thankless task.

Hearing his refusal, the brightness in Gemma's eyes instantly dimmed.

Love didn't intend to speak up for Gemma either. Bringing her here in the first place was already more than enough help.

---

[Ding!]

[Temporary Mission Issued]

[Mission Objective: Train Gemma and obtain a ranking in the Silver League]

[Reward: Champion: 1,000,000 points, Golden Legend Fragment x5, Rare Candy x3 (for use below Champion-level).

Runner-up: 500,000 points, Rare Candy x3 (for use below Pseudo-Champion level).

Third place: 300,000 points, Rare Candy x2 (for use below Elite-level)]

---

Just after refusing her, the System's voice sounded in Julian's mind.

Julian was momentarily stunned. He looked at the dejected Gemma and seriously wondered if she was some kind of NPC—these rare Temporary Missions had now triggered twice because of her.

Was this woman the System's secret daughter or something?

The rewards were also extremely generous—at least for winning the Championship.

"Well, I don't have much going on lately anyway. I suppose I'll agree."

Since a mission had appeared, Julian naturally had no reason to refuse.

Gemma, still lost in the disappointment of Julian's rejection, hadn't clearly heard what he said. So Love gave her a gentle nudge.

"Huh? What is it?"

Gemma asked in confusion.

"Dee~"

Love pointed at Julian.

Julian repeated, "I said yes."

The surprise came so suddenly that Gemma even thought she was hallucinating. Only when the Poké Balls at her waist started to gently shake did she confirm that Julian had actually agreed.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!!!"

Overcome with excitement, Gemma jumped up on the spot without caring about her image and tightly hugged Love.

"Thank you, Love!"

In her heart, she was sure it was because of Love that Julian had changed his mind.

"Dee~"

Love was also very happy.

But not because Julian had agreed to help Gemma—it was because of his attitude.

He had refused at first, but upon seeing her disappointed expression, he immediately changed his mind and agreed.

So there had to be something going on—her cub clearly treated this girl differently.

Julian: 'You're really overthinking it…'

*****

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