Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 860: Chapter 1077: Tough Times

Gengar continued pulling things out of its belly, the pile already nearly as tall as a small hill, yet it showed no signs of stopping. Its hands moved so fast they became blurs.

What's more, the items it took out grew more and more absurd: half-eaten potato chips bag, a half-used pack of napkins, some props it used for pranks, like masks and fake daggers, and even a stack of magazines.

Two magazines even landed right by Julian's feet.

The cover of the left magazine featured a winking, flirtatious Gardevoir, while the right one showed a human beauty in a bikini.

Clearly, the target audience for the left magazine was male Pokémon, while the right one catered to human males.

Julian had quite a few male Pokémon around, so it was uncertain which of them had secretly bought it.

But as for the human male...

Seeing the disdainful looks from Metagross and Dragonite, Julian's face flushed red as he protested, "I didn't buy this! Why would I even need something like this?!"

It was like being caught with mud on your pants—even if it wasn't shit, it still looked like it.

With his looks, background, and physique, he could attract women with just a snap of his fingers. Why would he ever need something like this?

"Meta~"

Metagross: "The two things don't contradict."

After all, men being men, even with a stunning wife at home, they might still sneak around sometimes.

Seeing Metagross's expression that seemed to say, 'No need to explain, I get it,' Julian was nearly driven to madness.

'Why are you, a genderless Pokémon, acting like you know all about this?!'

To prove that the magazines hadn't been stashed in Gengar's belly by him, Julian angrily shouted, "Gengar! Who put this magazine in there? Was it Celebi?"

Julian strongly suspected Celebi, but he had no evidence.

"Oi, don't accuse me! As a genderless being, why would I ever do something like this?"

Celebi's words made Julian feel like choking on his own spit—he was almost angered to death.

In the past, when Julian called it genderless, Celebi felt discriminated against. Now, it was using its genderlessness as a shield.

Gengar tilted its head, having long forgotten who had put the magazines in its belly. However, seeing the human female on the cover, it turned its gaze toward Julian.

"Ahhh, why are you looking at me?"

Meeting Gengar's gaze, Julian really felt like crying. He could accept it if Gengar said it forgot or didn't know, but staring at him like this was clearly an attempt to frame him.

"Hmph, blockhead, the eyes of the masses are sharp," Celebi crossed its arms, looking at Julian with a smug expression.

Inwardly though, Celebi wanted to rush over and kiss Gengar a few times. Who would have thought it would take its side? Clearly, the blockhead had lost the affection of his Pokémon.

When the time came, all it needed to do was raise its arms, and the followers would gather like clouds. Joining forces with the two First-class Legendaries (Zekrom and Reshiram), the five Champions (Metagross, Dragonite, Aggron, Moltres, and Gengar), along with its dear buddy (Jirachi), Celebi would overthrow the tyrant's cruel rule.

From then on, the world would enter the first year of the Celebi era.

As Gengar pulled out the last of the things from its belly, it felt incredibly light and relaxed, as if it had just had a spa treatment after a long, tiring day. Even though half a month's worth of salary went down the drain by going in, coming out felt absolutely refreshing.

The alternate space inside Gengar was vast and could hold many things, but the more it stored, the slower Gengar's movements became.

In ordinary battles, being a bit slower wasn't a big deal; with some clever tactics, it could still easily win.

But this time, the opponent was Lilligant. Its King form not only countered many of Gengar's sneaky tricks but it also had a passive ability which increased its speed.

After this series of moves, Gengar found itself completely suppressed.

To win this battle, it had to empty out everything in its belly.

"Gen~"

Gengar called out to Julian.

'I'll deal with you after this battle.'

Julian snorted inwardly and stored everything Gengar had pulled out into his system space.

However, things like the half-eaten bag of chips, half-finished bottle of cola, half-eaten pack of spicy strips, and even the half-bitten fried chicken leg—Julian didn't put these into his system space. Instead, he threw them all to Celebi and Jirachi.

"Mine, mine, these are all mine!" Celebi hurriedly caught them.

Jirachi looked curiously at the half-eaten items. "Celebi, why did you only eat half of these things?"

Jirachi really couldn't understand. These were all things Celebi loved, and it had never seen Celebi leave any leftovers before. Yet now, there were so many half-finished items.

"Hmph, you have no idea how stingy the blockhead was before you arrived. He limited how much of these goodies I could eat every day. I was afraid I'd finish them too quickly and wouldn't know when I'd get to eat them again."

"So back then, I'd eat half of the good stuff and hide the other half in Gengar's belly for later."

Tears welled up just talking about it. As it spoke, Celebi felt like those years were truly tough, and it was almost moved to tears by its own hardships.

Back then, Julian was worried that Celebi would ruin its health with junk food, so he limited its daily intake. Later, he discovered that as long as Celebi ate Pokéblocks, its health wouldn't suffer and it would even gain strength steadily over time.

So he gradually stopped restricting it.

Once Celebi was given more freedom, it indulged in eating and drinking to its heart's content, completely forgetting about the "treasures" it had stored in Gengar's belly.

"Jirachi, the comfortable life you have now is all thanks to the struggles I went through back then." Recalling the past, Celebi's expression grew wistful.

Jirachi also remembered how, as soon as it had joined Julian, Celebi had taken it out to eat and drink without restraint. There was no mention of hardship whatsoever.

For a moment, it looked gratefully at Celebi, the one who had brought it this "golden age."

Seeing Celebi's smooth talk and Jirachi convincing itself, Julian gave each of them a light flick on the forehead.

"Gen~"

Gengar called out to Julian again.

Although its speed had returned to normal, its chances of defeating Lilligant were only around 60-40, with 60 in its favor. That win rate still felt a bit low.

So it needed to further boost its strength—after all, its level was still lower than Lilligant's.

"Got it."

Julian nodded, then straightened his expression as he shouted, "Gengar, Mega Evolve!"

Ever since he had become a Champion, his Pokémon had rarely Mega Evolved, as it was rare to encounter opponents who required Mega Evolution to win.

Even during Metagross's battle against Kleavor—when the opponent was a peak Champion—Julian hadn't Mega Evolved Metagross.

Thinking this, Julian sighed inwardly.

'Seems like it's still a bit weak.'

As soon as he sighed, Gengar's displeased voice echoed in his mind.

"That's because the opponent counters my style too well."

After Mega Evolution, he and Gengar were mentally linked—whatever he thought, Gengar knew.

*****

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