Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 985: Chapter 1202: Zeraora's Secret

Julian hadn't expected that even after bringing out four First-class Legendaries, this guy still refused to submit. These were Legendary beings—their status was like immortals in ancient human society.

If you saw an immortal, wouldn't you be excited? Wouldn't you jump with excitement and obey whatever they said?

Yet Zeraora showed them absolutely no respect.

Zekrom didn't have a good temper. Seeing how uncooperative Zeraora was, it unleashed the full, crushing pressure of a First-class Legendary directly upon it.

"Pff—"

The next second, Zeraora spat out a mouthful of blood. Its body seemed to suffer a massive impact, and it was sent flying, crashing through countless trees before finally coming to a stop.

It was severely wounded and fell unconscious, barely breathing.

With injuries like that, if it wasn't treated in time, it would definitely die.

Of course, Julian wouldn't just let it die. He used a potion to stabilize its condition, but for it to wake up, it would probably take until nighttime.

"Gengar, go take a look. Find out what's going on in that head of his. Is it really just about freedom?" Julian said.

He was genuinely curious why Zeraora refused to become his Pokémon. With eight Champion-level Pokémon and four First-class Legendaries, anyone with a functioning brain should understand that following him would give them a far broader future.

As for its claim of rejecting him for the sake of freedom, Julian didn't really believe it.

Would someone really give up their life—and the chance to become a Champion—just for so-called freedom?

Besides, following him only meant slightly less freedom than before, not complete loss of it.

Julian suspected there had to be another reason why this guy refused to join him.

"Ghehe~"

Gengar grinned and turned into a shadow, diving toward Zeraora. Using dream-based abilities, it dug out the deepest secrets hidden within Zeraora's heart.

An hour later, Gengar emerged wearing an expression of absolute shock.

"Well? What did you find?" Julian asked curiously.

"Gen! Gen-gar!"

Gengar: "Incredible. Absolutely incredible. The things this guy has done couldn't be further from his tough-guy image!"

Julian's gossip-loving heart immediately ignited. He hooked an arm around Gengar's neck—well, the little round guy didn't actually have a neck—and whispered eagerly, "Tell me in detail."

And so Gengar recounted everything it had witnessed in Zeraora's dreamscape. Julian kept letting out exclamations of amazement throughout the story.

"Damn, this guy is really something!"

"So you can even do that?!"

"Absolutely shameless!"

These reactions quickly piqued Celebi and Jirachi's curiosity. Celebi flew over and eagerly asked, "Julian, what happened? Tell me!"

"Julian, I want to hear too!" Jirachi immediately chimed in.

But Julian shook his head with a mysterious smile. "Can't tell you. But I already know how to handle this guy."

As he spoke, he glanced at the unconscious Zeraora on the ground with a confident expression, as if he had it completely figured out. Zeraora, as if sensing something, even showed a pained expression while still unconscious.

Night fell. Slowking and Magearna were busy preparing dinner, while Julian and the two little ones were glued to their handheld consoles, playing games.

With no internet in the secret realm, handheld games were their only option.

There were plenty of great handheld games nowadays—some just as fun as Pokémon Glory—though Julian and the two little ones still preferred Pokémon Glory more.

Meanwhile, Zeraora, who had been unconscious for most of the afternoon, slowly woke up.

Julian glanced at it and said calmly, "Awake, Lightning Hero?"

Zeraora, still groggy from just waking up, suddenly heard Julian utter that utterly embarrassing old nickname, and instantly shot up from the ground.

Stammering, it asked, "W-what did you just call me?"

It stared nervously at Julian, hoping it had misheard.

The corner of Julian's mouth curled slightly upward, "I said, awake, Lightning—"

Before he could finish, Zeraora hurriedly cut him off.

"Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear it!"

Covering its ears, it shook its head frantically, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Lightning Hero? Julian, who are you calling that? It sounds so cringe," Jirachi set down its console, looking up curiously.

It had been focused on its game earlier and hadn't heard clearly—only catching those few words.

But Jirachi's focus was still no match for Celebi's, though. Celebi was still playing without even looking up, and judging by its expression, it was at a critical moment in the game.

The moment Jirachi said the words "Lightning Hero," Zeraora's body gave an involuntary shudder.

Then it lifted its head to look at Julian. No matter how much it had been beaten before—even when facing Reshiram and Zekrom—its gaze had always remained firm.

But now, that resolute look was gone. In its place were pleading and pure terror.

"Focus on your game."

Julian patted Jirachi on the head, then handed his own handheld console to Nebby, who had been watching him play. Nebby gleefully accepted the device.

"Come with me, Lord of Thunder."

Julian walked over to Zeraora and said calmly.

Crack—!

Hearing that title, Zeraora, who hadn't even recovered from "Lightning Hero,"—was hit with another devastating blow. Its entire body seemed to turn gray, as if it were about to crumble into dust.

Julian paid it no mind and walked off to the side. Snapping out of its daze, Zeraora's color slowly returned. It gritted its teeth, and immediately hurried after him.

"How... how do you know that?"

Seeing Julian stop, Zeraora asked anxiously.

This secret was something it had planned to take to the grave. How on earth had Julian found out? It made no sense.

"Know what?" Julian asked, pretending to be confused.

Hearing that, Zeraora felt a surge of frustration. After hesitating for a long time, it blushed and stammered, "I mean… I mean… that…"

But it simply couldn't bring itself to say those embarrassing titles.

"Oh, you mean 'Lightning Hero' and 'Lord of Thunder'? Those painfully cringe nicknames?" Julian said with a look of sudden realization.

"Ahhh! Stop saying it—don't say it!"

Zeraora covered its ears again, its toes curling in embarrassment as if it wanted to dig a hole in the ground. The expression on its face was one of pure agony—worse than death itself.

It took quite a while for its emotions to settle, and the first thing it did was glance around frantically. Only after confirming that no one else was there besides Julian did it let out a quiet sigh of relief.

*****

Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-

patreon.com/ReduxMagister