Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 990: Chapter 1207: MagmortarChapter 991: Chapter 1208: Flintwood

"Master, we can leave now."

Seeing that Julian had already healed the Growlithe, Arcanine couldn't wait to get him to leave. That freshly healed Growlithe had already started licking Julian.

If Julian got even a little tempted, it might really end up with a new competitor.

So they had to leave quickly.

The power of a "little licking dog" was no joke.

If it weren't watching closely right now, that little Growlithe would probably already be clinging to Julian.

Julian clearly felt that this little Growlithe had the intention of following him, but the cold gaze from his own Arcanine behind him made him feel as if Slowking was staring at him.

"Ahem, let's go."

Julian stood up and jumped onto Arcanine's back.

He decided not to catch the Growlithe after all. He had just captured Zeraora, and he already had Arcanine—there was no need to add a regional variant one.

"Arf~"

Arcanine looked down at the little Growlithe's disappointed expression, its mouth curling upward. With a loud bark, it dashed off at high speed—using Extreme Speed.

Julian had expected this, so when he got on, he immediately lowered his body and grabbed onto its mane, preventing himself from being thrown off.

"Arf~"

The Arcanine leader looked at its dejected pack member and softly comforted it.

Arcanine leader: "That one's a petty dog—and extremely skilled at licking. You can't outdo it."

Hearing this, the little Growlithe was of course unconvinced. When it came to licking skills, even if he truly wasn't a match for that Arcanine right now, he was still young and had plenty of room to improve.

'Hmph. Next time that human comes, I'll make sure to please him so well that he kicks that bootlicker dog aside.'

Meanwhile, Arcanine was already carrying Julian on a rapid exploration of the crater region.

Earlier, it had found the temperature here quite pleasant and had been strolling at a leisurely pace. Now that it sensed danger here, it naturally wanted to explore at maximum speed and then get the hell out of this place.

Moreover, it had also smelled the scent of Houndoom here.

'Damn—another dog.'

There was even the scent of those vixen Ninetales.

Threats everywhere—they absolutely had to leave this place quickly.

Julian had originally thought they might find an Ultimate treasure here by the crater's magma, since large volcanic magma vents usually harbored precious items at their depths. Precisely for this reason, many Trainers rushed to explore any Secret Realm containing a volcano the moment they entered.

But precisely because volcanic magma was the most likely place to find treasures, nowadays whether it was a Secret Realm or a volcano in the outside world, most have already been explored by Trainers. The chances of discovering treasure were very low.

"Damn, is my luck really this bad?"

Looking at the Dowsing Machine, Julian couldn't believe his eyes. He was right here at the volcanic crater, yet the Dowsing Machine wasn't even showing a single red dot.

Forget about Ultimate treasures or sub-Ultimate treasures—there wasn't even a single ordinary treasure. This volcanic crater had absolutely nothing.

"It was you guys, wasn't it? You stole my treasure!"

Standing at the crater's edge, Julian glared at the Magmar and Magmortar leisurely soaking in the magma. He was certain they were the culprits who had swiped his treasure.

He activated his Probing Eyes to see which one of them it was.

Where he got this confidence from, no one knew, but Julian was utterly convinced this crater held an Ultimate treasure, and now that it was gone, these guys must have eaten it.

But according to the Probing Eyes, none of these Magmar or the few Magmortar had consumed any kind of treasures.

In other words, this volcanic crater most likely never birthed a treasure in the first place. Or, if there was one, some other Fire-type Pokémon had already devoured it.

The Magmar and Magmortar looked up at Julian, who was questioning them from the crater's edge, their expressions clearly saying: 'This guy's an idiot. Just ignore him.'

Treasure? What treasure? To Magmar and Magmortar, this magma was the greatest treasure of all.

"Doggo, take a piss. We're leaving."

Realizing he was being completely ignored, Julian wasn't about to take that lying down. He patted Arcanine's rear.

"Arf~"

Arcanine flashed a mischievous grin, then lifted its left hind leg and let loose directly into the fiery pit below.

'Is it raining?'

One unlucky Magmortar felt a cool sensation on its forehead and thought it had started raining.

Just as it was puzzling over this, a warning cry from its companion reached its ears.

"Whatever you do, don't look up!"

'Don't look up? Why shouldn't I look up?'

At a moment like this, whether you're a Pokémon or a human, you're almost guaranteed to look up—if for no other reason than sheer contrarian instinct.

The moment it tilted its head back, it saw a certain dog's leg, and the stream hit it square in the face.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"

Feeling the cool wetness on its face, Magmortar's lungs nearly exploded with rage.

"Pfft—!"

The companions around it burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Sure, what Arcanine did was way out of line—but since it didn't happen to them, it was hilarious.

"I'll kill you!"

This Magmortar was actually a Pseudo-Champion. Enraged, its flames shot skyward, even causing the magma below to erupt violently.

But Julian had already mounted Arcanine and fled.

With Arcanine's speed, even if Magmortar grew a few extra legs, it still wouldn't be able to catch up.

Hearing the furious but futile roars behind him, Julian felt a wave of satisfaction. "That's what it gets for ignoring me. Good job, doggo."

He patted the Arcanine beneath him.

"Arf~"

Arcanine: "I've got something even bigger. Want to go drop a load on them?"

"Let's skip that one. A little one was fine, but a big one would just be too immoral."

Julian shook his head, looking rather disgusted. This dog was even more twisted than he was.

"Let's go. There's still a small part of the crater left to explore. Once we're done, we'll head to the next location," Julian said.

This area was small to begin with, so it wouldn't take much time.

Arcanine strode forward, carrying Julian as they continued exploring the crater.

Just as they were about to finish, and Julian had stopped paying much attention to the Dowsing Machine, a massive red dot suddenly appeared on the screen.

But Julian's attention was elsewhere, so he didn't notice.

Fortunately, Celebi, who had been lying on Julian's head the whole time, happened to spot the large red dot.

"Julian, there's a treasure!"

Celebi tugged on Julian's hair.

Julian looked down and instantly saw the huge red dot indicating an Ultimate treasure. His expression immediately lit up with excitement.

"So it was here all along."

Julian hadn't expected the treasure not to be in the magma, but instead at the base of the volcano.

According to energy distribution, the Fire-type energy at the volcano's base should be the lowest, with the highest concentration definitely being within the volcanic magma.

That was why the probability of finding treasures inside volcanic magma was usually the highest.

At the volcano's base, let alone ordinary treasures, even Fire-type Pokémon were relatively scarce. Only very weak Fire-type Pokémon would live at the foot of a volcano.

"Doggo, let's go!"

Following the location displayed on the Dowsing Machine, Julian immediately patted Arcanine.

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"Not good, doggo—speed up! Someone's snatched our treasure!"

After spotting the red dot indicating an Ultimate treasure, Julian had ridden Arcanine and rushed over. But before they were even halfway there, he saw the red dot start to move.

This instantly made Julian panic. A moving red dot meant the item had been taken by another Pokémon.

If it were any ordinary treasure, Julian wouldn't have cared. But this was an Ultimate treasure—and one he had spotted first, even if he hadn't arrived yet.

Therefore, it was his. How could some other Pokémon snatch it out from under him?

He was the one who did the snatching; there was no way he was going to be the one getting snatched from.

[T/N: I'm the one who knocks!]

"Hurry up! It's highly likely a Fire-type Ultimate treasure. You know exactly who that's meant for!"

To make Arcanine run even faster, Julian added a bit of motivation.

The moment Arcanine heard that, it was fired up.

A Fire-type Ultimate treasure—something they found together—then it was most likely meant for it.

Now some Pokémon dared to steal from this dog? It was going to bite them to death.

"Arf!"

Arcanine's heart blazed with fury, and its Extreme Speed suddenly increased by another fifty percent. This was no longer running too fast—it was practically flying too close to the ground.

Even though Julian thought he had a death grip on Arcanine's mane, faced with this breakthrough in speed, he was still flung right off its back—and a tuft of dog fur came away in his hand.

"F**k!"

Julian cursed mid-air as he was thrown off, but he wasn't panicked.

Because Arcanine had already executed a slick turn and caught him. After landing steadily, it continued charging toward the red dot's location.

"Woohoo! That was smooth!"

Lying on Arcanine's back, Julian couldn't help but shout—he had to admit, the dog's move just now was seriously cool.

Arcanine heard that and felt immensely pleased with itself. It also thought it was pretty cool just now, too.

At full speed, they arrived at the red dot's location in under two minutes. The red dot was still moving—but in a back-and-forth pattern.

Julian looked at the Dowsing Machine in confusion, even wondering if it was malfunctioning. Why would the red dot keep moving back and forth?

It seemed like something was being tossed around.

"Arf!"

"Hey, you monkeys—get out of here!"

Arcanine barked at the dozen or so Chimchar in front of them.

After all, they were about to look for the treasure—these monkeys would just get in the way.

Two little Chimchar who had been tossing a wooden stick back and forth for fun were startled by Arcanine. Wide-eyed with fear, they immediately followed the rest of their troop and fled the scene.

For weak Pokémon like them, how could they dare have any objections?

Julian had already noticed the wooden stick those two Chimchar were playing with. The stick's movement pattern matched the red dot's movement on the Dowsing Machine perfectly.

Now that they were taking the stick with them as they fled, the red dot on the Dowsing Machine was moving along with them.

It couldn't be more obvious.

"Doggo, that stick is the Ultimate treasure! Stop them!" Julian quickly shouted.

"Arf!"

Arcanine swiftly blocked the Chimchars' path. Looking at the jet-black wooden stick clutched in one Chimchar's hand, it growled, "You monkeys can go. The stick stays."

The little Chimchar looked reluctant. The stick was perfect for throwing. And holding it gave it a very comfortable feeling.

But this huge dog was staring it down, teeth already bared.

If it didn't hand it over, the dog would probably maul it.

Urged on by its companions, the Chimchar reluctantly placed the wooden stick on the ground.

Looking at the stick on the ground, Arcanine's eyes shifted a few times. Then, it suddenly lunged, mouth gaping wide, aiming to bite down on the stick.

'Since Master said it's probably a Fire-type Ultimate treasure, I'll just eat it first. That way, there won't be any left for that stupid bird.'

The dog's plan was actually quite good. But Julian knew his dog's personality all too well. The moment he saw those eyes shifting, he knew the guy was up to something.

Sure enough, Arcanine lunged to bite the stick—but its jaws snapped shut on empty air.

'Where's the stick?'

Arcanine looked at the empty ground in confusion.

The wooden stick was already in Julian's hand; he had just used his psychic powers to retrieve it.

[Flintwood: Formed when ancient Fire tree died naturally and was accidentally buried deep underground, then subjected to eons of extreme pressure and heat, resulting in this Fire-type Ultimate treasure.]

[Effects: Increases the power of Fire-type moves by 30%; increases Burn chance by 70%. When hit by a Fire-type move, damage taken is reduced by 50%. When hit by a Water-type move, damage taken is reduced by 20%.]

Reading the Flintwood's effects, Julian's eyes lit up.

This was actually a top-tier Ultimate treasure, and you could even call it a sub-World class treasure. As it actually provided four types of stat boosts.

It increased Fire-type moves power, raised Burn chances, and reduced damage taken from both Fire-type and Water-type moves.

Generally speaking, if a treasure increased the power of a certain Type's moves by more than 20%, it could already be classified as an Ultimate treasure—though only the most ordinary kind.

If it boosted two attributes, it was a mid-tier Ultimate treasure. Three attributes made it high-tier, and four made it a top-tier Ultimate treasure.

The Flintwood before him was clearly a top-tier Ultimate treasure.

Moreover, regardless of its tier, any Ultimate treasure had the effect of enhancing one's potential. Naturally, the higher the tier, the greater the enhancement to one's potential.

Julian's eyes were practically glowing—and Arcanine had already noticed.

Arcanine: 'This treasure must be really incredibe.'

So it stared at Julian with burning anticipation. Whether it could surpass that stupid bird all came down to this moment.

"Here."

Noticing Arcanine's gaze, Julian handed it over, somewhat speechless.

"Just bite it up and swallow it."

The moment he finished speaking, Arcanine crunched the Flintwood into pieces and gulped it all down in one go.

"How did an Ultimate treasure like this just end up lying on the ground?" Julian muttered to himself.

Most Ultimate treasures were hidden exceptionally well, practically burying themselves ten thousand meters underground if they could.

"Meta~"

Metagross: "Probably ejected by a volcanic eruption."

"That's the only explanation that makes sense," Julian nodded.

It was also fortunate that the energy of most Ultimate treasures was extremely restrained. Even a Champion-level Pokémon wouldn't necessarily detect an Ultimate treasure with such contained energy.

Let alone those little Chimchar. To them, it was merely a nicely shaped stick that felt comfortable to hold.

The thought of eating the stick had never crossed their minds.

It was just like a rough stone containing top-grade jade. The vast majority of people would simply treat it as an ordinary rock. Who would actually pick up that rock and think to split it open?

Most Ultimate treasures worked on the same principle. They might produce fluctuations while first appearing, but after that they looked quite ordinary.

At present, the types of Ultimate treasures discovered and documented by human society were still quite limited. And most had been found by chance. Because Julian had a Dowsing Machine, many of the Ultimate treasures he had found were varieties never before recorded.

Or perhaps they had been discovered, but only by one or two individuals who then kept it a secret.

After all, why on earth would you go around telling people, 'I've found an Ultimate treasure that's never been discovered before'?

That was practically the same as announcing, 'I have an Ultimate treasure. Come kill me and take it.'

*****

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