The cold wind at the mountaintop was bitter and sharp, slashing at their faces like knives. Fortunately, all five of them were protected by Metagross's psychic power.
Otherwise, their exposed faces would've definitely been hurt by the wind and freezing temperatures.
Under the wind and snow, the visibility was less than ten meters, and some Pokémon with the Snow Cloak ability were extremely well-hidden in this weather.
There weren't many Ice-type Pokémon at the summit, but their levels were not low, at the very least, they were all Advanced-level.
"Ken~"
Blaziken beside Ember kicked away a sneaky Sneasel trying to get close.
This was already the fifth Pokémon Julian's group had repelled.
Julian was riding on the back of Arcanine, the warmth from the dog's body and Metagross's protective shield kept him from feeling the cold at all.
And this bit of cold, didn't bother Arcanine at all.
The dog even opened its mouth wide, swallowing snowflakes flying through the air.
The icy coolness felt great.
Not satisfied, it even took a big bite of snow from the ground, instantly getting snow all over its face.
This silly look earned a scornful glance from the equally Fire-type Blaziken.
Blaziken: 'Why are all Arcanine like this?'
Then it turned to look at the Arcanine under Ember—it was also eating snow.
"Your dog is seriously dumb," Julian said flatly.
"And you have the nerve to say that?" Ember shot back.
They both have husky-like personalities—where's your confidence coming from?
"My Arcanine is smarter than yours."
Silly or not, the dog's intelligence couldn't be denied.
"Sure."
Ember looked at Julian's Arcanine without much interest, then suddenly said, "Arcanine, your trainer fell off."
Julian's Arcanine froze the moment it heard that, then panicked and looked down by its feet, not seeing Julian.
Arcanine: 'Did he fall behind?'
With that thought, it started turning around.
Bonk
Julian, still on its back, smacked Arcanine's head in frustration. "She tricked you, you dummy."
Arcanine: "Oh good, you didn't fall off."
Julian held his head and looked at the cheerful Arcanine, unable to stay mad.
"Yeah, really smart," Ember said blandly at the scene.
Julian: "Hey, dumb dog."
Ember's Arcanine turned its head to look at Julian: "You calling me?"
Bonk
Ember smacked her Arcanine on the head, furious: "He called 'dumb dog', why are you responding?!"
She'd just won the last round, and now she'd lost again.
Ember's Arcanine: 'But Master, haven't you always called me 'dumb dog'?'
Julian, on the other hand, didn't look smug—he actually let out a sigh of relief. He'd just been worried that if he called out "dumb dog," his Arcanine might respond too. Luckily, he'd never called it that before.
"Froslass is back."
Rowan's voice interrupted the squabble between Julian and Ember.
After they had arrived at the mountaintop, Rowan had sent Froslass out to scout the area. With its Elite-level strength and Snow Cloak ability, there was basically no danger for it here.
Froslass returned to Rowan's side, saying something continuously.
The others looked at Julian, waiting for his interpretation.
Actually, as long as a trainer had a close bond with their Pokémon, even if they didn't have psychic abilities, they could roughly understand what their Pokémon meant through gestures and sounds.
But definitely not as accurately as Julian, who could understand 100%.
"Froslass is saying that there's a cold pool not far ahead," Julian said.
"A cold pool? There might be some treasures there," Rowan's eyes lit up.
Led by Froslass, the five of them reached the cold pool it had mentioned in about ten minutes.
It was a pool over two meters in diameter, with unknown depth.
In the -30°C environment, the surface of the pool wasn't frozen—not because the water was warm, but quite the opposite, the water inside was extremely cold.
And the deeper it went, the colder it got.
Just standing near the pool, the temperature felt even lower than the surrounding air.
If someone fell in, they would instantly turn into an ice sculpture.
Julian tried using his psychic power to probe the depth of the pool, but after reaching about eight meters, the intense cold had already blocked his ability from going further.
On top of that, Julian felt a massive wave of icy chill surging into his body, and his body temperature plummeted rapidly.
Frightened, Julian quickly withdrew his power.
"No good, my psychic powers can't go past eight meters."
Julian shivered; that sudden chill had made him feel like he was standing stark naked in the middle of an icy wasteland.
"Then I'll let Walrein go down and have a look," Rowan said.
Everyone nodded.
As an Ice-type, Walrein also had a thick layer of fat, so it should be able to withstand the cold pool's frigid energy.
With a splash, the plump Walrein dove into the pool. Under everyone's hopeful gaze, it came back up after about ten minutes—shivering.
Walrein's teeth chattered: "Cold, so f***ing cold."
Julian and the others: (￣∠￣)?
Rowan's face darkened slightly. "Walrein, you didn't reach the bottom?"
Walrein shook its head, indicating that after reaching a depth of about twenty meters, it could no longer endure the cold and had to retreat.
Although Rowan was a bit frustrated, his eyes were glowing.
The depth and chill of this pool was even greater than he'd imagined. That meant any treasure hidden inside would surely be of higher quality and rarity.
The question now was how to dive to the bottom of the cold pool.
Even Walrein couldn't withstand it, so the other Ice-type Pokémon he had were even less likely to manage it.
"Why don't we just blow up this cold pool?" Ember suggested.
"No," Pierce shook his head.
Blowing up the pool would mean completely destroying it, and that was like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
As long as the cold pool continued to exist, it could keep nurturing new treasures in the future.
"This secret realm doesn't even belong to our country, so why are you being so uptight?"
Ember rolled her eyes, finding Pierce annoyingly rigid.
If this was a domestic secret realm, of course she wouldn't suggest such a thing, nor would she dare.
But this place didn't belong to any country. It was possible they might only get to enter once, so why bother being cautious with the method?
"Let's think of other ways. If we can't come up with anything, then we'll blow it up," Pierce said seriously.
What Ember said wasn't wrong—if they didn't take the treasure now, wouldn't it just be left for others? Other countries might even blow up the cold pool without a second thought.
You cherish it, but others don't, and that just makes it a gift to your rivals. That would be plain stupid.
"Let Metagross go down," Julian said.
Metagross was a Steel type, and Ice type moves did little damage to it.
And as the perfect all-around warrior, Metagross had perfect stats in all areas. The cold that overwhelmed Walrein might not have much effect on Metagross.
Metagross nodded, and then plunged into the cold pool.
Metagross dove to a depth of about two hundred meters and finally reached the bottom of the cold pool. By this point, the temperature had already dropped to minus 150 degrees.
In such terrifyingly low temperatures, most Pokémon—regardless of type—couldn't endure it. Even Ice-types would struggle to survive.
No wonder even Walrein, known for its resistance to the cold, had almost frozen solid.
Even Metagross could feel waves of chill in this temperature. Though it could endure it for now, staying too long in such an environment would slowly corrode its defenses.
At the bottom of the cold pool, Metagross also discovered the corpses of many Pokémon: Froslass, Glaceon, Mamoswine, and others. These Pokémon had likely all been drawn in by the cold aura.
Some may have fallen in by accident; others might have been searching for treasures at the bottom. But they had underestimated the terrifying cold and were eventually frozen to death.
Because of the low temperatures, every Pokémon's expression was preserved vividly, as if frozen in time.
And as for the treasure at the bottom of the cold pool—right before its eyes lay a palm-sized crystal clutched in the mouth of a Mamoswine. The Pokémon's face still wore an expression of joy.
Sadly, that joy had eventually turned into endless fear.
Besides that palm-sized crystal, there were also many stones around, all faintly glowing with a blueish light.
Though it wasn't clear what these things were, Metagross's plan was simple: just bring them all up.
With Psychic activated, Metagross acted like a massive shovel, scooping out the entire bottom of the cold pool. The remains of the Pokémon were brought up along with the treasures.
By the poolside, it had been half an hour, and Metagross still hadn't resurfaced. This made Pierce a bit worried. But seeing that Julian's expression hadn't changed at all, and that he was even 'angrily' rubbing his Arcanine's head, he didn't think too much of it.
Julian kept rubbing Arcanine's head vigorously. The dog had embarrassed him just now, so he had to rub it a few times to teach it a lesson.
And Ember's Arcanine being a male too—well, it's not a good match, so stop staring at it.
Arcanine: 'I was only looking at it because it seemed kinda dumb.'
Ember's Arcanine: 'Why is this dumb dog staring at me all the time?'
Another ten minutes passed, and Metagross finally flew out from the cold pool, followed by the treasures and the frozen bodies of some Ice-type Pokémon.
It tossed the treasures and bodies onto the ground, then floated in front of Julian, placing what it believed to be the most valuable item from the cold pool right in front of him.
"Ice Core."
Seeing the palm-sized crystal in Metagross's hand, Julian blurted out instinctively, though he didn't dare touch it.
If a human were to hold the Ice Core, they'd turn into an ice sculpture in just a second.
Don't be fooled by how small it looked, the cold energy sealed inside was enough to make it snow in an entire city for three months straight.
This thing could definitely be considered an Ultimate treasure for Ice-types.
Not only could it enhance the potential of Ice-type Pokémon—even those with Blue-grade potential—it might even upgrade that potential to Purple if one was lucky enough.
Of course, using it would also boost the power of Ice-type moves to some extent.
Out of the five of them, the most excited was naturally Rowan, since he was the only Ice-type trainer. Still, he didn't immediately ask for it.
Pierce took out a palm-sized military-grade device, took some photos of the Ice Core, and logged it. Once done, he turned to Julian and said, "Let Rowan have this. If we want to get off this island, we have to boost our strength first, or we won't stand a chance against Tapu Fini."
"Once we're out of here, Rowan, you'll need to give something equivalent in return to Julian and the rest of us. Of course, Julian gets the biggest share."
"If we find more resources later, we'll distribute them by type, just like now. Once we're out of the secret realm, we'll settle based on the value of the treasure and compensate the others accordingly."
"Sounds fair?"
Julian: "I have no objections."
The other three nodded as well.
This distribution plan had actually been agreed on before entering the secret realm.
Any treasure found that could be used immediately should be used right away. You never knew what kind of dangers might be waiting ahead. If you hesitated to use a treasure and ended up losing it to someone else, it would be a waste.
Using treasures to power up as soon as possible gave you the best shot at surviving what came next.
"Thanks, Julian."
Rowan gratefully accepted the Ice Core from Metagross using his Abomasnow.
The Ice Core was one of the finest Ice-type treasures. Even in the Willow family, it was incredibly rare. If they did have any, getting even a thumbnail-sized piece would be considered a huge deal.
But now, he had a whole palm-sized crystal all to himself.
Julian was, of course, the one he owed the most gratitude to.
Without Metagross, it would have been nearly impossible to retrieve the Ice Core without damaging the cold pool.
Now they had the Ice Core, and the pool was still intact.
Perhaps in a hundred years, a new Ice Core would form again.
A hundred years to produce such a treasure wasn't really that long.
"Tch, show-off."
Seeing Rowan grinning so hard his gums were showing, Asher muttered unhappily from the side.
Rowan, caught up in the excitement, didn't hear Asher's comment. Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.
As they watched, Abomasnow swallowed the Ice Core. It gave a visible shudder, then its level rose from 78 to 79.
Only one step away from the peak of Elite-tier.
Absorbing the Ice Core would take quite some time. But even if Abomasnow just lay there and rested, the energy from the core alone would be enough to push it to pseudo-Champion level.
"Pretty lucky, huh."
Ember's face showed a trace of envy.
After all, this was an Ultimate Ice-type treasure. If it had just been an ordinary Ice-type item, she wouldn't have cared much, but something at this level held a value far beyond that of any regular treasure.
"I'll take these stones, then."
Julian pointed at the dozens of Ice Rocks that Metagross had brought over—altogether, they probably weighed about a ton.
Ice Rocks were considered quite valuable outside. They constantly released cold air, making them perfect for pseudo-Elite Ice-type Pokémon to absorb. On top of that, their soft and smooth texture made them excellent materials for carving.
The other four naturally agreed.
These things were way too heavy for them to carry anyway.
Julian released Aggron and Steelix. Aggron started munching on the Ice Rocks like they were jelly, biting down chunk after chunk.
The cold emitted from the Ice Rocks was like drinking ice-cold cola on a hot day.
Compared to Aggron's fast pace, Steelix ate much more slowly.
After all, Steelix was a seasoned rock-eater. If no one else had been around, Julian would've just stored the Ice Rocks directly in his system space.
But since they were being watched, he let Steelix out too, figuring he may as well let it enjoy the feast.
As for Melmetal, it fed on metal, not rocks—otherwise, with its appetite, it could probably finish off several tons of Ice Rocks by itself.
In the end, there were still over a thousand pounds of Ice Rocks left untouched.
Aggron: 'Give me a sec… I can still eat…'
Over a month later, Julian and the others had more or less finished exploring the entire Poni Island. They had pretty much been to every corner of the island.
They had indeed found quite a few treasures, but as for Ultimate ones, the only one that qualified was the Ice Core they had discovered earlier.
Even without the Dowsing Machine, the five of them had managed to find a good number of valuables—proof that this newly emerged Top-tier secret realm was the real deal.
If Julian had used the Dowsing Machine, he surely would've found even more, maybe even another Ultimate treasure.
During the exploration, they also encountered several trainers from other countries.
Tapu Fini had mentioned before that a total of 21 trainers had come to Poni Island. Excluding the two trainers who had been killed by Julian's group, and the five of them from Drakoria, that meant there were still 14 trainers unaccounted for on the island.
Out of those 14, they ran into five, each from a different country.
Besides Drakoria, Celestria, Gallia, Anglia, and Volkaria had each sent five trainers into the secret realm.
For other countries, most could only send one or two trainers based on their strength. Very few had the qualifications to send three.
To protect their own trainers and maximize their gains, some smaller countries had chosen to form alliances.
The five trainers Julian's group encountered were acting under such an alliance.
No conflict broke out between the two sides.
Those five trainers were from neutral nations, and upon realizing they had run into the five trainers from Drakoria, they immediately handed over all the treasures they had found.
With that kind of understanding, Julian's group naturally didn't lay a hand on them.
In fact, they had never intended to attack them in the first place. Even if those trainers hadn't handed over anything, Julian and the others still wouldn't have made a move.
Of course, if those people had dared to strike first, they wouldn't have had a chance to survive.
As for the remaining trainers on the island, Julian's group hadn't encountered them.
Maybe it was pure coincidence, or maybe those trainers were already dead.
"I'm planning to leave Poni Island tomorrow."
At night, a campfire crackled as the five of them sat in a circle.
Compared to how cautious they had been at the beginning of the expedition, a month of exploring and gathering intel had made them much bolder.
The strongest Pokémon on this island was the guardian Tapu Fini, who had pseudo-Champion strength and could become a full Champion by borrowing the island's power.
As for the trainers from other countries, they were all weaklings, and there were no true rival nations present.
With the other four around, Julian couldn't just take out his Dowsing Machine, and in a Top-tier secret realm like this, where treasures lay everywhere, simply searching by hand could mean it'd take forever to find anything truly good.
After accompanying them for over a month and finally finishing the exploration of Poni Island, Julian naturally prepared to leave.
After all, as long as they didn't actively provoke Tapu Fini, neither the wild Pokémon nor the other countries' trainers on the island would pose a threat to them.
Fortunately, leaving the island required defeating the guardian. Otherwise, Julian really would've felt bad about ditching the other four.
"Mhm, which island are you planning to go to?" asked Pierce, with a nod.
Julian had already obtained the authority to leave the island. If he stayed any longer just to keep them company, it would simply be a waste of time.
"Akala Island," Julian said.
Akala Island was to the west of Poni Island. As for why he chose it, it was purely because it was the closest island.
"Once we defeat Tapu Fini, we'll come find you right away. Be careful on your own," Pierce warned.
Even though Julian was strong, Pierce couldn't help but worry about him heading off alone to Akala Island.
Going to Akala island was like switching to a brand new map—exploring it all over again could be extremely dangerous and complicated.
"Relax, even if I run into the five trainers from Celestria, I'm confident I can handle them," Julian replied, full of confidence.
As he spoke, Gengar suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Gen~"
Julian nodded and said to the other four, "They're here."
Upon hearing that, Ember sneered and said: "Guess they just couldn't help themselves."
"Greed moves the heart."
Asher said as he sipped the freshly brewed tea.
About 3,000 meters away from Julian and his group, five people wearing uniforms from different countries were slowly making their way forward.
These five were from small countries. Though their nations were wealthy, the overall strength of their trainers was weak, the strongest among them was only at the pseudo-Champion level.
All five of them were at mid-Elite tier.
After forming an alliance earlier, they had managed to collect a good number of treasures on the island. With those items, they expected to break through to late stage of Elite in the near future.
With their alliance of five, they could hold their own in most situations, as long as they didn't run into trainers from Drakoria or Celestria.
But fate wasn't kind, and they ended up encountering the Drakorian team.
Afraid the Drakorians might kill them, they didn't hesitate to hand over all the treasures they'd collected so far.
And the Drakorians left them alive.
But instead of continuing their search for treasures, the five began plotting how they could take out the Drakorian trainers. That way, they could make a major profit in one swoop.
Not only would they get back their own treasures, they'd also gain everything the Drakorian trainers had found, and most importantly, their Pokémon.
Tempted by such a huge rewards, even though they knew failure meant death, the fire of greed still burned brightly in their hearts.
As the saying goes—'fortune favors the bold'.
"We can't move any closer. This distance is just about right. Any further and we might be spotted."
The man at the front of the group was holding a Whimsicott in his arms.
Whimsicott had a unique trait—it was extremely sensitive to the powder it gave off. Even over distances of thousands of kilometers, it could catch the scent.
Earlier, when they'd found those treasures, he had secretly smeared them with Whimsicott's powder. Not even the other four in the alliance knew about this.
What he was thinking… well, that went without saying.
Now that the treasures were taken away, and they wanted to find the Drakorian team again, his only option was to deploy Whimsicott. If not for their shared interests and a common enemy, the other four would've likely kicked him out long ago for that sneaky move.
But then again, who's to say the other four hadn't done the same behind his back?
When the prize was tempting enough, things like alliances? Just empty words.
If there was a First-class Legendary Pokémon standing right in front of you, waiting to be captured, and all it would cost is killing one of your teammates, would you do it?
Julian: 'Even hesitating for a second would be disrespectful to the Legendary.'
Pierce and the rest: 'Agreed.'
As for these five, their bond was even weaker. Give one of them something shiny enough, and who knows? They might turn traitor on the spot.
In truth, all five of them were constantly guarding against each other, terrified that a single misstep could turn them into someone else's stepping stone.
The five of them were eating dinner. Of course, it wasn't anything fancy, just a few cans of beef and some edible berries they had found.
Once heated, the canned beef actually tasted pretty good.
Rustle rustle—
Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps and the sound of leaves being brushed aside not far away. Rowan stuffed the last bite of beef into his mouth.
Then his expression changed.
He stood up and shouted, "Who's there?!"
Abomasnow beside him let out a warning roar at the same time.
Julian and the others stood up too, eyes fixed on the man stumbling toward them.
"It's me! It's me! Drakorian friends it's me!"
A Trainer came panting into view, his face as pale as paper. A long, slanted gash could be seen across his chest, with fresh blood still pouring out.
By his side floated a Drifblim, also covered in wounds, looking like it might collapse any second.
"Jeff?"
Pierce recognized him.
This was one of the five foreign Trainers they had run into earlier.
"Yes! Yes, thank you for remembering me, my Drakorian friends."
Jeff raised both hands to show he meant no harm. The motion seemed to tug at his wound, and his face twisted in pain.
"What happened to you?" Julian asked with a frown.
"We were ambushed by a powerful unknown Pokémon. The four who were with me, they're all dead. I'm the only one who made it out alive…"
As he spoke, Jeff burst into tears.
Honestly, the acting wasn't bad.
If they hadn't already known he was faking, his performance could definitely have fooled quite a few people.
And the injuries on both him and his Pokémon were real too.
That wound across his chest, if not treated in time, he really would die from excessive blood loss.
Elsewhere, Jeff's four companions were about 3,000 meters from Julian and the others, back at the place they had previously been.
"Are you sure it's okay to send Jeff alone?" one of them asked.
He wasn't worried about Jeff's safety, but he was more afraid that the guy would keep something for himself, or even bolt entirely if he succeeded.
"He wouldn't dare. We took all the meds off him. He might try to pocket something, but there's no way he'd run."
"Still, he's got guts, going there alone like that."
"Tch. If he pulls it off, he gets the biggest cut."
Luring Julian's group in while pretending to be critically injured, whoever did that was risking their life. So naturally, the biggest reward had to go to them.
And Jeff, this brave 'warrior' had stepped forward on his own.
He even said that if they succeeded, no one was allowed to fight him over Julian's Metagross, or that beautiful woman. Both would be his.
Just thinking about Ember's seductive face and alluring figure made the four of them feel something rising.
"That woman better not die," one of them said.
"Compared to the woman, I care more about the Metagross. A pseudo-legendary and shiny too, are we really just going to let Jeff have it?"
"What, you planning to go back on your words? The five of us formed an alliance. Don't be that guy."
"The Metagross goes to Jeff, he's taking a huge risk after all. And don't forget, that the Drake family guy definitely has a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary too, it won't be any worse than Metagross."
The four of them continued discussing how to divide up Julian and the others' Pokémon and resources once the plan succeeded, and Ember too.
"Ke-ke-ke—"
A strange sound suddenly echoed from behind them.
All four froze. Their first reaction was to look for the unfamiliar Pokémon.
They clearly had Pokémon on guard at their sides, and even Psychic-types actively scanning the surroundings. So how had something gotten this close?
The four Pokémon beside them—all mid-tier Elite level—immediately launched attacks toward the white Gengar that appeared out of nowhere.
That Gengar was at the peak of pseudo-Elite level, and the four of them were mid-tier Elites, so how had that Gengar gotten this close without them noticing, but they outnumbered it and the power gap between them was obvious.
Skuntank struck first, slashing down with Shadow Claw, sending a sinister trail of darkness slashing toward Gengar.
But the next second, the target vanished without a trace.
"Mr. Mime! Use Psychic and scan around!" one of the trainers shouted.
Ghost-types were elusive and could turn invisible. But there were still plenty of ways to detect them.
Swish—
Gengar reappeared behind the Mr. Mime, and with a squelch, a Shadow Punch struck right through its back, Mr. Mime struggled to turn around.
But it could no longer see Gengar, because it had already vanished again.
"A white Gengar—that's Julian's!"
There were many Gengars out there. But a white one? In the entire world, there was only one—Julian's.
Hearing that, the expressions of the other three turned pale.
If it really was Julian's Gengar, then it could only mean one thing, that their plan had been exposed. And they knew all too well what the price of failure would be.
"Dragonite! Draco Meteor!"
As if to confirm their worst fears, the Dragonite soaring in the sky unleashed a dazzling yet terrifying barrage of "fireworks."
There were dozens of meteor-like blasts, each the size of a van.
Draco Meteor wasn't just flashy, it was built to wipe everything off the field.
Faced with a full-area bombardment of Draco Meteor, the four of them scrambled to send out more Pokémon.
But then came more voices, making them despair even more.
"Regirock, Earthquake!"
"Charizard, Air Slash!"
"Abomasnow, Blizzard!"
A deafening roar shook the earth, like the end of the world itself. And in this apocalyptic storm, the four people and their Pokémon didn't last long.
A few minutes later, the aftermath of the attacks faded, and Dragonite landed beside Asher.
Meanwhile, Gengar was circling Julian with its signature laugh. Taking advantage of Julian's distraction, its wet, slimy tongue licked him right across the face.
Julian fell into a paralyzed state.
He bit down, and a Cheri Berry was swallowed.
Gengar didn't see Julian pull out the berry from his pocket at all.
Then how had he cured the paralysis?
Seeing Gengar staring at him with a confused expression.
Julian gave him a side glance and said smugly, "Little tricks."
'I knew you were gonna pull that move, so I stuck a Cheri Berry in my mouth in advance.'
Ember felt that Julian and his Pokémon were all a little weird in the head, one way or another.
Pierce, on the other hand, looked a bit regretful. "All those Pokémon are dead."
With the Pokémon gone, the four trainers were naturally done for as well.
Their Pokémon were already no match to begin with. With coordinated attacks like that, it'd be a miracle if any of them survived.
It's just a pity that mid-tier Elite Pokémon, several of them, died.
"These bastards deserved to die ages ago. If you hadn't stopped me, Pierce, I'd have killed them long ago," Ember said disdainfully.
Among the five of them, the one with the greatest killing intent wasn't Pierce from the military, but Ember.
On the contrary, Pierce was actually the least bloodthirsty of the group. Because among the five, he was the most righteous, always standing by his principles—'if you don't offend me, I won't harm you'.