Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 984: Chapter 1201: Unyielding Zeraora

Zeraora couldn't understand why the human who had just saved it now wanted it to follow him—which essentially meant working for him for life. Although a life-saving favor was indeed hard to repay.

But asking for its entire life in return—wasn't that going too far? It was only a little over fifty years old; it still had a very long life ahead.

It was a wanderer—roaming the world and upholding justice was its calling.

And this whole mess had started because it had helped a female Scyther from a Scizor clan run off with her lover, which was why it ended up being hunted by them.

Put nicely, it was chivalry; put bluntly, it was sticking its nose where it didn't belong.

But what it didn't know was that the female Scyther had already had offspring.

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Pokémon society was very different from human society. Humans generally followed monogamy—although affairs existed, they weren't legally recognized and were usually kept hidden.

Among Pokémon, however, only a small number followed monogamy.

Most Pokémon practiced polygamy, especially in clan-based groups.

The strongest Pokémon in a clan—the leader—often had priority mating rights over the females in the group.

And some Pokémon that lived alone would simply mate once and leave—hit it and quit it—leaving the female to raise the offspring alone.

Then there were species like Beedrill, which practiced polyandry, a one-female-multiple-male structure. Many Bug-type Pokémon followed this pattern.

After all, the defining trait of Bug-types was how prolifically they reproduced. Take Beedrill, for instance—a regular Beedrill could lay an egg every half month.

A Queen Beedrill, on the other hand, could produce an egg every few days, or even one every single day.

"So, you're not willing?"

Julian looked at Zeraora, whose expression practically screamed 'I refuse to sell my soul to you', and felt like he'd been too lenient with this creature.

"Not willing."

Zeraora shook its head. How could it possibly agree to something like that?

It was a wanderer—a free spirit longing for the open road.

"Beat it up—just don't kill it."

Julian glanced at Moltres, then turned and walked away.

At the moment, he didn't actually have any Elite-level Pokémon on hand. Aside from Bisharp, who was only at the pseudo-Elite level, all his other Pokémon were either Pseudo-Champions or Champions.

Thinking it over, he realized there was indeed a gap in the strength levels of his Pokémon.

How could a situation like "a shortage of talent in the middle ranks" happen to him? Luckily, Zeraora showed up right on cue, filling that vacant Elite-level slot in his roster.

He didn't even bother sending a Pseudo-Champion Pokémon to beat Zeraora up—he directly had Moltres, a Champion-level Pokémon, take action. After all, it was bullying either way; letting a Champion handle it would guarantee most effective results.

Before long, Moltres came back dragging Zeraora behind it like a dead dog. The creature was charred black all over and looked pretty miserable, but its injuries weren't actually that severe.

Moltres knew this guy was going to be a future teammate, so of course, it hadn't gone all out.

After healing Zeraora, Julian asked, "Had enough? Ready to become my Pokémon yet?"

He figured that after getting a beating and seeing that he was a Champion-level Trainer, the guy would give in.

But Zeraora still stubbornly shook its head. "I admit defeat—but I still can't be your Pokémon. I'm a wanderer."

"Gengar, you're up," Julian said expressionlessly.

"Ghehe~"

Zeraora went down again.

Julian healed it once more and asked, "Changed your mind yet?"

"I'd rather die than lose my freedom!"

"Nice. You've got guts."

Julian gave it a thumbs-up.

"Dragonite, your turn."

Another beating ensued.

Zeraora: "I will never submit!"

"Kartana."

Zeraora: "Is that all you've got?"

"Aggron."

Zeraora: "I love my freedom!"

"Lucario."

Zeraora: "How many Champion-level Pokémon do you even have?!"

Zeraora was knocked flat again, but this time Julian didn't heal it. It just lay there staring at him, wide-eyed and stunned.

In all his years, this was the first time Julian had encountered someone as stubborn as Zeraora—and not just stubborn, but a complete bonehead.

Normally, with a life-saving favor and overwhelming strength on display, most Pokémon would at least feel admiration, if not outright submit gladly when invited.

But Zeraora completely refused to follow any expected logic.

"So, are you going to agree to become my Pokémon or not?" Julian asked.

Although Julian felt a bit annoyed at Zeraora's refusal to appreciate kindness, he also felt an odd sense of excitement.

The more it resisted, the more he wanted to conquer it.

"Over my dead body."

Zeraora closed its eyes, lifted its head, and remained just as resolute as before.

"Very good—got backbone."

Julian gave it another thumbs-up, then healed its injuries yet again.

"Milotic."

Zeraora: "Charm doesn't work on me."

"Duraludon, Arcanine, Steelix, Salamence, Tyranitar... Celebi."

Julian sent out all his Pokémon one after another, until even Celebi got a turn.

Although Celebi wasn't particularly strong, it was still a Pseudo-Champion. Against an Elite Zeraora that had already lost its fighting spirit, if it still lost, Julian would seriously have to "educate" it—otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.

By this point, aside from Metagross, Slowking, Magearna, Bisharp, and a few First-class Legendaries, every single one of his team members had taken a swing at beating Zeraora up.

Yet this guy still hadn't yielded.

Even Julian was starting to find the situation absurd.

He couldn't tell whether to call it unwavering conviction, or just sheer pigheadedness?

This was the first time he had encountered such a hard-headed opponent.

Back when Steelix had practically begged to join him, he'd looked down on it for lacking pride.

But now that he'd found one with pride—a backbone made of solid steel—he suddenly realized he actually preferred agreeable types like Steelix.

So what now? Let it go? He wasn't willing.

"Reshiram, Zekrom."

Julian finally pulled out his trump cards.

As the two First-class Legendaries made their appearance, Zeraora's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You even have First-class Legendaries?!"

"Deoxys, Jirachi," Julian added.

Two more First-class Legendaries appeared. Though their auras were noticeably weaker than the first two, to Zeraora, it made no difference.

Any one of them could erase it from existence with a sneeze.

Jirachi, rarely getting a chance to show off, crossed its arms and said smugly, "It's not too late to repent. I could personally take you on as my underling."

Zeraora: "I still have my dignity."

*****

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