Novel Full Chapter 958: Chapter 1175: GuessedChapter 959: Chapter 1176: Figurine
Chapter 958: Chapter 1175: GuessedChapter 959: Chapter 1176: Figurine
After Drain Punch extracted the remaining energy of the sub-Ultimate treasure from Steelix's body, the effects appeared immediately.
As Steelix's aura fluctuated violently, after about a minute, it suddenly surged to a whole new level.
"It broke through," Julian said calmly.
"ROAR!"
After advancing to pseudo–Elite tier, Steelix let out a roar of exhilaration.
It could have leveled up to the pseudo-Elite tier half a year ago, but consuming that sub-Ultimate treasure had delayed its advancement for so long.
Naturally, it had been anxious, and since its trainer was about to participate in the League, if it didn't break through, they definitely wouldn't achieve a good result.
Under that kind of pressure, Steelix's temper had only grown worse.
"That's great, Steelix!"
Gemma threw her arms around Steelix, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.
Julian stood there silently, watching Gemma and Steelix.
The bond between a trainer and their Pokémon might even surpass family ties, romantic love, and friendship.
Because those kinds of bonds could be betrayed or abandoned for personal gain, but your Pokémon never would—they were willing to trade their own life for your chance to survive.
With the Temporary Mission completed, Julian naturally received the System's rewards.
600,000 points and five Mewtwo fragments.
"Let's go."
With nothing left for him to do, Julian turned to leave.
But before he had gone far, hurried footsteps sounded from behind.
"Coach, wait!"
Julian stopped, "Don't tell me you're trying to cling to me now?"
He looked at her warily. He had already fulfilled his promise—why was she still trying to stick to him?
Gemma's face flushed red. She actually had been planning to cling to him—or rather, stick close to Julian.
Who could blame her? Julian was so skilled that in less than an hour, he had helped her Steelix advance to the pseudo-Elite tier and even identified why it had been stuck at its previous stage.
To be honest, even her Elite-level father didn't possess such expertise.
Previously, she had assumed Julian was just a pseudo-Elite level trainer.
Now, she suspected he might actually be a young Elite.
Since there was no information about him on the Trainers' Association's official website, it was very likely he hadn't updated his records—and his bearing clearly suggested he came from a prominent family.
If one was born into a prominent family, it would make perfect sense for them to not have updated their information with the Trainers' Association after becoming an Elite-level trainer.
After all, people from major families didn't lack the resources provided by the Trainers' Association.
Moreover, this coach of hers was very likely the heir of some major family.
He wouldn't even tell her his name, was so mysterious, and on top of that, he had an extremely rare Pokémon, Lucario, by his side—there was no way his family background was ordinary.
'A Steel-type trainer...'
There were many Steel-type families in Drakoria. The strongest was undoubtedly the Walker family, while the second strongest was the Mark family in Rune Province.
"Coach, are you from the Mark family?" Gemma asked.
"No."
Julian shook his head.
The Mark family was the second-ranked Steel-type family. As the saying went, in literature there was no first, and in martial strength there was no second—the Mark family had always been the runner-up.
So the relationship between the two families was rather strained, with some lingering grievances.
Back when Julian had been poisoned, John and Jake's primary suspects were actually the Mark family, though they had no involvement.
Ultimately, it was discovered that the Wynn family was behind it.
Now, the Marks had long given up the idea of competing with the Walkers. The gap was simply too large—continuing to compete would just be foolish.
Just the fact that the Walkers had produced three champions in one generation was enough to make others crane their necks in awe.
"No? Then could you be from the fourth-ranked Steel-type family?"
Gemma continued asking. She was really curious about Julian's background.
The fourth-ranked Steel-type family? Which one was that? Julian actually had no idea. And what about the third-ranked one? He didn't know that either.
Gemma: 'The third-ranked Steel-type family is my own.'
"Alright, what else do you want?"
"Coach, since you've already helped me this much, can you train me until the League starts?"
"Although Steelix breaking through to the pseudo–Elite tier gives me hope of achieving a decent ranking, relying on Steelix alone definitely won't be enough to get an even higher placement—or even win the League."
Gemma said, her eyes full of anticipation.
Humans were creatures that were never satisfied.
Her original wish had only been for Steelix to reach the pseudo–Elite tier. Now, she wanted to win the League.
A big part of that was Julian's abilities—they had given her great confidence.
She felt that with Julian's help, she could definitely go much further in the League—perhaps even win it all.
"Heh, dream on."
Julian let out a cold snort.
With the time it would take to train her, he might as well lie on the sofa and play games.
The new season of Pokémon Glory was launching today, and he was planning to go back and play—he really couldn't be bothered with her.
"I'm leaving."
With a wave of his hand, Julian turned and left.
Gemma wanted to chase after him, but realized her body wouldn't move.
'Psychic!'
As she watched Julian's departing figure, that word instantly came to mind.
It wasn't until Julian's figure had completely disappeared that her body regained the ability to move.
"Who exactly is this guy? If he wasn't lying and he really is a Steel-type trainer, then why don't I know him?"
Gemma was filled with curiosity and confusion.
After all, she came from the Stein family—the third-ranked Steel-type family.
If Julian truly came from a Steel-type family as well, with his talent, there was no way he would be an unknown figure—yet she had never heard of such a person among the Steel-type families.
'Psychic powers, Lucario, the café, and that Poochyena who was unusually affectionate with him… he's about 1.89 meters tall… and that outfit—right, I think I saw it in Celebi's short videos.'
Thinking of that, Gemma quickly opened TikTok, went to Celebi's profile, and started scrolling through the videos one by one.
Celebi treated posting on TikTok like sharing moments on social media—posting just once a day was considered few.
In fact, today alone, before the day was even over, two videos had already been uploaded.
'Not this one… not this one… not this one…'
After scrolling past dozens of videos, Gemma finally stopped at one and tapped the screen.
The video showed Julian making a reckless remark to Love, saying he was all grown up and wanted to move out, followed by Love disciplining him with a rolling pin.
At the time, the whole internet was joking about how low Julian's status was in the family hierarchy.
And in that video, Julian was wearing exactly the same outfit as her coach today—although the pants were different, the shoes and shirt were definitely the same.
"Oh my god! Coach is actually Champion Walker!"
Now Gemma finally confirmed that her coach was indeed Champion Walker. Even though his face looked different, altering one's appearance was an incredibly simple matter for a strong trainer like Julian.
"My idol! I was actually in such close contact with my idol!"
Gemma was completely entranced. Among Steel-type trainers, there were hardly any who didn't admire Julian.
Julian had elevated Steel-types to an entirely new height—one that seemed almost unattainable.
*****
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Someone capable of getting into Silver University certainly wasn't foolish. Based on all the clues, Gemma quickly confirmed her coach's true identity.
While excited, she was also full of regret—why hadn't she thought of it sooner?
It was only after the coach had left that she pieced together who he really was.
She lightly smacked her own head in frustration.
"Gemma, you let Champion Walker slip right out from under your nose!"
"Hmph, Coach, you think you can shake me off? No way."
Muttering to herself, Gemma already had an idea in mind.
Meanwhile, Julian had already returned home and was naturally unaware that his identity had been guessed. Not that it would matter to him even if he knew.
Now that he was home, what could she possibly do about it anyway?
"Cos~"
Seeing Julian return, Nebby happily opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of cola, and handed it to him.
Nebby's considerate behavior brought a slight smile to Julian's face as he gently pinched its cheek and said, "Thanks."
"Cos~"
Nebby happily shook its head.
---
Pokémon: Cosmog (Psychic)
Level: 23
Potential: Gold
Ability: Unaware
Held Item: None
Gender: Genderless
Moves: Splash, Teleport
TMs: None
Egg Moves: None
Note: In the distant past, it was called the "Child of the Stars." It is said to be a Pokémon from another world, though the exact details are unknown.
---
It had taken over two years to go from Level 1 to its current Level 23.
Truly worthy of being a First-class Legendary evolution line—this growth rate was absolutely astonishing, especially considering it had been fed Pokéblocks specially provided by the System.
For Pokémon, the higher the level, the longer it took to level up.
For a First-class Legendary like Nebby, that time frame was even longer.
"I don't even know if I'll live long enough to see you become a true First-class Legendary."
Holding Nebby in his arms, Julian smiled wryly. It wasn't that he was being pessimistic—it was just a sudden, heartfelt thought.
Compared to the long, enduring life of a First-class Legendary, the human lifespan was hardly even a fleeting moment.
"Cos?"
Nebby looked up, not quite understanding what Julian meant.
"It's nothing. Just grow up well."
Julian smiled.
"I wonder where Solgaleo has run off to now."
He couldn't help but think of Solgaleo, who had entrusted Nebby to him and then immediately vanished without a trace.
"Cos?"
Nebby: "That big lion?"
Nebby asked curiously.
"Haha, yes, that big lion. So you still remember it."
Solgaleo's appearance was indeed just like a big lion.
"Mm."
Nebby nodded. Although it had been asleep most of the time back then, it could still sense Solgaleo's presence.
"Pii—"
Just as Julian was playing with Nebby, he heard the cry of a Pidgeot.
The next moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Slow~"
Slowking, who was cleaning the living room, glanced at Julian, signaling him to answer the door.
Love had gone out grocery shopping.
"Go open the door."
Too lazy to move, Julian gave Nebby a gentle pat, and the little one eagerly flew off to answer the door.
Naturally, this earned him a disdainful look from Slowking.
"Pii~"
Pidgeot: "Pidgeot Express, I have a package for you. Please sign for it."
The Pidgeot, wearing a small courier company cap, saw the Pokémon at the door. Even though it didn't recognize Nebby, it immediately handed over the delivery slip.
"Cos~"
Nebby nodded and pressed its little paw print on the slip.
Then Pidgeot flew off, leaving behind a large package roughly a meter in both length and width.
Despite Nebby's small size, it was quite strong—with one lift, it hoisted the box up.
"Cos!"
It placed the box in front of Julian with an expression that clearly said, "Praise me!"
"Good job."
Julian patted its head.
Then he turned his attention to the box.
"Did Celebi or Jirachi buy something?"
He hadn't bought anything online recently, though the two little ones often did—but usually small items. This was clearly something big.
But after looking at the recipient's name on the delivery slip, Julian realized that he himself had ordered this.
"It wouldn't be that Zekrom figurine, would it?"
He suddenly remembered that a month ago, he had pre-ordered a Zekrom figurine. He hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
Anyone who had pre-ordered figurines knew how slow the process could be—shipping within four or five months was already considered fast.
Opening the package, sure enough, it was the Zekrom figurine.
After assembling it, Zekrom—soaring through the clouds—appeared before Julian.
Both its pose and expression were crafted with incredible precision.
No wonder it had cost him 900,000—the materials used were also exceptionally expensive.
Of course, compared to limited-edition figurines, this price was hardly worth mentioning.
Carrying the figurine, Julian made his way to the third floor.
The Walker family villa only had three floors, but each floor spanned a massive five to six hundred square meters, naturally containing plenty of rooms.
Since the Walker household rarely had guests, most of the rooms remained empty.
The largest room on the third floor, over a hundred square meters, had been transformed into Julian's dedicated space for storing figurines.
Stepping inside, one could see various Pokémon figurines everywhere—roughly forty or fifty pieces, each crafted with extraordinary detail.
The total value of these figurines exceeded a hundred million.
As the saying went: for an otaku, one wall of figures could equal an apartment in the capital.
Julian didn't know if that applied to other otakus, but for him, one wall really could buy a house in the Imperial Capital.
At the very center of the room stood a life-sized Arcanine figurine. Oddly enough, its fur was red.
A normal Arcanine had orange fur with black stripes.
This figurine, however, had red fur with black stripes.
That's right—this figurine was modeled after Julian's own Arcanine.
And it had only been made because Arcanine had pestered Julian for days until he finally agreed to commission a custom life-sized figurine.
Once completed, the figurine had been placed here, with Arcanine insisting it occupy the most central spot.
Arcanine's fiery red fur wasn't actually a shiny variant; originally, when it was a Growlithe, its color had been normal.
It was only after consuming the Fire-type Ultimate treasure, the Fire Crystal, that its fur gradually shifted from orange-yellow to the current red.
Finding a spot, Julian placed the Zekrom figurine.
"Next time, I'll see if there's a Reshiram figurine."
Now that he had the Black Dragon figurine, it was only right to have the White Dragon one as well.
To some extent, every collector had a touch of completionist obsession.
"Cos?"
Nebby: "Where's my figurine?"
Noticing that none of the figurines represented it, Nebby grew anxious, fearing Julian didn't love it anymore.
"I'll have one custom-made for you later," Julian said with a smile.
"Cos~"
Nebby nodded excitedly.
*****
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