Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 989: Chapter 1206: Jealous Arcanine

Seeing Arcanine baring its teeth at him, Julian revealed an awkward smile. Just moments ago, when he first saw the regional forms of Growlithe and Arcanine, he had indeed entertained a few thoughts in his mind.

But after thinking it over, he quickly suppressed that idea.

Back when he had tamed Moltres, Arcanine had been dead set against it, afraid that adding Moltres would threaten its own position as the sole Fire-type on the team.

Julian had to say a lot of nice things before it finally agreed.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Arcanine had feared. As soon as Moltres joined, its share of Fire-type resources immediately dwindled.

In the past, whenever Julian obtained a Fire-type Ultimate treasure, it would go solely to Arcanine. But now it had to be split evenly with that stupid bird. And to make matters worse, that stupid bird was even stronger than it now.

If it weren't for its good looks and its ability to "act cute and please," its competitive edge would be almost gone.

Now, with Zeraora—who was only slightly less handsome than itself—newly added to the team, Arcanine's sense of crisis had grown even stronger.

As a dog, it understood dogs best.

The defining trait of dogs wasn't just barking—it was being good at ingratiating themselves.

Its trainer only needed one "devoted dog." If another one appeared, wouldn't its position be in danger?

And knowing its trainer's fickle nature—always favoring the new over the old—its own competitive standing was already weak. So it absolutely could not allow its trainer to tame a second bootlicker.

'Maybe I should just bite them all to death.'

With that thought, Arcanine turned a fierce, menacing glare toward the three regional-form Arcanine and the twelve Growlithe. The strongest among them was only at the Elite-level.

One Crunch from Arcanine would be enough to kill them all.

Smack!

Julian slapped Arcanine on the head and said irritably, "Calm down, I'm not going to catch them."

He did have a bit of interest at first—after all, the regional variant form of Arcanine looked quite cool—but seeing how hostile his own dog was, he gave up the idea.

Whether from the slap or from hearing Julian say he wouldn't catch them, the fierce glint in Arcanine's eyes instantly reverted to its usual clear, goofy innocence.

"You're still my favorite dog."

Julian said as he rubbed Arcanine's large head.

"Arf!"

Arcanine was just as easy to appease as ever. Hearing its trainer's words, its tail wagged so fast it was almost like a propeller.

At the same time, it looked smugly at the other Arcanine.

'Trying to be a "devoted dog" like me? Not a chance——I won't even leave you a window for you.'

"Arf~"

Arcanine: "Master, let's leave quickly."

Even though Julian had already said so, Arcanine still wanted to get away from this "troublesome place" as soon as possible, in case Julian changed his mind.

And if it ever smelled this kind of scent again in the future, it absolutely wouldn't bring Julian over.

Among the scents of canine Pokémon it recognized, there was now one more added to the list.

"Wait. If we leave now, that Growlithe will probably die. You wouldn't want to see your own kind die just like that, would you?"

Julian patted Arcanine and pointed at the Growlithe that had been lying on the ground the whole time.

'As long as you don't catch them, anything else is fine,' Arcanine thought to itself.

Julian walked toward that Growlithe, but soon the third Arcanine—the strongest one, at the early-stage Elite-level—stepped in front of him.

Within a pack, it was the leader's duty to protect the weaker members.

Although it sensed no malice from this human, that wasn't grounds to let him approach one of its injured member.

"That Growlithe needs treatment. I can heal it. You should know its condition is very serious right now."

Julian stopped his own Arcanine and spoke to the regional one.

Because canine Pokémon had the highest loyalty toward humans—and since he himself had an Arcanine—Julian was willing to help them.

If it had been something like a Caterpie instead, he would've likely followed the law of nature: survival of the fittest, letting it fend for itself.

Hearing Julian's words, the Arcanine leader showed a thoughtful look as it glanced at the weakened Growlithe.

It had already tried every possible method it knew of to treat it, but nothing had worked. All it could do was watch helplessly as it grew weaker by the day.

Death seemed inevitable.

But now this human said he could save it?

After hesitating for a moment, the Arcanine leader stepped aside to make way.

Julian smoothly made his way over to the injured Growlithe. Since the leader had given its consent, the surrounding Growlithe did not show any hostility toward Julian.

"What a serious wound…"

Looking closer, he saw that on both sides of its waist were fist-sized bloody holes. The surrounding flesh had already begun to rot, and through the wounds, he could even see its internal organs faintly pulsating.

With such injuries, an ordinary human would have died long ago. Only a Pokémon's physique could endure something like this until now.

"This was caused by some Pokémon biting it, right?" Julian asked.

The Arcanine leader had already come to his side and said solemnly, "It was bitten by a Centiskorch."

Centiskorch was a rather ferocious Fire-type Pokémon. Cannibalism within its own kind wasn't anything unusual.

The fact that this Growlithe had been bitten by a Centiskorch like this and hadn't died on the spot was already a stroke of luck.

"Can it be saved?"

The Arcanine leader asked nervously.

The reason Growlithe and Arcanine were so rare was because they reproduced very little. A pair might produce less than two eggs in their entire lifetime.

And after evolving into Arcanine, reproduction became even rarer.

For them to form a group like this was already remarkable. Losing even one Growlithe would be a significant blow to their pack.

"It can."

Julian nodded. The external injuries were indeed severe—even in a Pokémon hospital, treating this wouldn't be easy. But for him, it wasn't much of a problem.

"Endure it."

Julian said to the Growlithe.

He then took out a small knife and cut away all the rotting flesh around the wounds. The Growlithe's willpower was exceptionally strong; it didn't make a single sound throughout the entire process.

"Tough little guy," Julian said with a smile.

Then he sprayed a Potion onto the wounds.

"Celebi, Heal Pulse."

With the combined treatment of the System's Potion and Celebi's Heal Pulse, the wounds on the Growlithe's abdomen began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In less than a minute, the flesh had completely regenerated. The new tissue looked very pink and tender, though the fur hadn't grown back yet.

"It's done. Just rest well from now on," Julian said.

"Grow…"

Growlithe licked Julian's palm, expressing its gratitude.

Julian instinctively reached out to pat its head, but suddenly his body stiffened. Slowly, he retracted the hand he had extended.

Arcanine: 'If you dare pat it, I'll bite this little brat to death.'

*****

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