Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 995: Chapter 1212: Monkey Wine

Those softly glowing Berries were called Glimmer Berries—another variety of Berry currently undiscovered by the outside world. Their sole function was to emit a faint light during the night.

They were inedible and possessed no nutritional value whatsoever.

"Zera!"

Zeraora called out toward the countless pairs of gleaming green eyes ahead.

Before long, an Ambipom emerged from the thickets.

And not just any Ambipom—this one was at the mid-stage Elite-level.

An Elite-level Pokémon would be considered a formidable presence in any ordinary Secret Realm. But here in the Primal Secret Realm, it was only average—neither exceptional nor weak.

There were simply too many Elite-level Pokémon here.

"Zera~"

Zeraora exchanged a high-five with one of Ambipom's tails, their expressions brimming with joy. It was clear they hadn't seen each other in quite some time.

Ambipom's gaze shifted to Julian, then back to Zeraora, its eyes clearly asking: 'Who's this?'

"This is my Trainer."

Zeraora said it without hesitation. After all, it truly had come to acknowledge Julian.

Ambipom was visibly surprised. It knew Zeraora well—a true free spirit, a wanderer at heart. That such a Pokémon would one day willingly accept being bound to someone was unexpected.

Zeraora: 'No choice—this guy had dirt on me… and he offered way too much.'

By then, Julian had already approached with Metagross by his side.

"Hello, Ambipom."

He extended a hand.

Ambipom also extended its hand (tail-hand) and lightly shook his, curiously observing this human.

Anyone who could make Zeraora willingly follow them must be someone special.

Ambipom said, "You came at just the right time. The batch of wine I brewed five years ago is finally ready to drink."

At this, Ambipom's expression turned eager and excited.

Both Aipom and Ambipom shared a habit of gathering various Berries to brew wine—commonly known as the "Monkey Wine" in the outside world.

However, due to the sheer variety of Berries used—often with no record of which ones went into a given batch—combined with the fact that most Berries were inedible for humans and the fermentation was entirely wild and natural...

All these factors combined meant that Monkey Wine was, generally speaking, not suitable for human consumption.

Unless the Aipom or Ambipom had been specially trained to use only human-edible Berries for brewing, only then could humans safely drink the resulting wine.

And when prepared correctly, long-term consumption of such wine could even strengthen the body and improve overall health.

For this reason, authentic Monkey Wine commanded an exorbitant price on the market.

Under Ambipom's enthusiastic invitation, Julian made his way to its tribe's territory.

This Ambipom was also the tribe's leader—the strongest among them. The entire tribe consisted of over a hundred Aipom and more than thirty Ambipom.

Such population sizes were a common sight all across the Aipom Hill.

Ambipom brought out a container resembling a coconut shell, filled with an amber liquid.

This was undoubtedly the Monkey Wine it had mentioned.

[Five-Year Old Monkey Wine: When consumed by Pokémon below the pseudo-Elite-level, it can increase their level.]

[Note: Due to the inclusion of numerous Berries inedible to humans, consumption by a human will result in immediate death.]

"I don't drink—I'm allergic to alcohol."

Seeing Ambipom offer him a bowl of the Monkey Wine, Julian quickly shook his head. He had no intention of testing whether his "Mega Pallet Town Physique" could withstand this brew.

The last thing he wanted was to poison himself to death out of sheer curiosity—that would be a spectacularly stupid way to go. Though he probably won't die, but stomach troubles were entirely possible.

'Allergic to alcohol? What does that mean?'

Ambipom didn't understand the words, but it grasped that Julian was refusing the drink. It thought the human was simply failing to appreciate a fine thing, but didn't press the matter further.

"Just give Julian's portion to me!"

Celebi swooped in and snatched the rejected bowl right out of Ambipom's hands, gulping down a large mouthful.

"Delicious!"

A blissful expression spread across Celebi's face as it savored the taste.

"Oh-oh!"

Seeing that the Mythical forest spirit genuinely liked its wine, Ambipom's face lit up with joy. Clearly, its brew was excellent!

Enthusiastically, Ambipom poured additional bowls for Zeraora, Metagross, and Jirachi too.

"This is so good, Julian—are you really not drinking?"

Having tasted Monkey Wine for the first time, Jirachi was instantly captivated by the flavor. It felt genuinely sorry that Julian was missing out.

It even hovered its own bowl temptingly in front of Julian's face.

"Not drinking."

Julian turned his head away.

But honestly? Inside, he was more than a little tempted. The aroma wafting from the wine was genuinely appealing.

Unfortunately, as a human, it was simply off-limits to him.

That night, they stayed in Ambipom's territory.

The next morning, as Julian was enjoying the breakfast Slowking had prepared, he noticed that the Ambipom and Aipom were each carrying a sealed container and heading eastward in a steady procession.

Only a small portion of the tribe remained behind.

"Where are they all going?"

Julian asked Zeraora, who was lounging beside him.

He also noticed that the Ambipom leader from yesterday wasn't here.

"It's a Tribute," Zeraora replied.

"At the very center of Aipom Hill lives an early-stage Champion Ambipom. It's the ruler of this entire region."

"It governs all the Aipom and Ambipom here."

'Early-stage Champion?'

Julian was a bit surprised. In the two regions he had explored before, aside from the Kleavor and Lilligant in their respective Arenas, the strongest Pokémon he'd encountered were only at the peak of Pseudo-Champion tier.

He hadn't expected that, even before reaching the King's domain, there would already be a Champion-level Pokémon here.

As for whether this Ambipom was a King Form Pokémon itself, Julian didn't think so.

Because both Kleavor's and Lilligant's Arenas shared a distinct trait: aside from the King Form Pokémon themselves, no other Pokémon lived within their territories.

But on Aipom Hill, the combined population of Aipom and Ambipom numbered well into the millions.

Furthermore, if this Ambipom truly possessed the King Form, an early-stage Champion seemed far too weak.

"What's inside those containers?"

Julian gestured toward the sealed containers the Aipom and Ambipom were carrying.

"Monkey Wine."

"That Ambipom gathers all the Monkey Wine offered as tribute and subjects it to an even more mysterious secondary brewing process."

"Legend has it that the wine it ultimately produces possesses a flavor unmatched anywhere in the world, and it grants tremendous boosts to both a Pokémon's potential and its actual strength."

As Zeraora spoke, a look of genuine longing flickered across its face.

"Today, every single Aipom tribe on the mountain will present a portion of their Monkey Wine as tribute to their grand leader. It happens once every decade. We're lucky to have stumbled upon it."

Unlike Zeraora's longing, Julian's mind was filled with a different image: all those "toxic" wines that humans couldn't drink… mixed together into something even more "toxic."

*****

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