Novel Full Chapter 999: Chapter 1216: Ceremony Begins
Chapter 999: Chapter 1216: Ceremony Begins
Three days later, all the leaders of the Aipom tribes across Ambipom Hill had arrived. Each leader brought along some members of their tribe.
Julian took a look—there were roughly over five thousand tribe leaders present, and every single one of them was at least at the peak of pseudo-Elite level.
Among these five thousand-plus leaders, nearly two thousand were at the Elite-level.
And among those nearly two thousand Elites, more than thirty Ambipom had reached the Pseudo-Champion level.
Without exaggeration, this force was sufficient enough to destroy most countries in the outside world—even powerful nations like Celestria or Volkaria would find it troublesome to deal with them.
"Let's begin! Present your Monkey Wine!"
Seeing that all the Ambipom leaders had gathered, the Champion Ambipom shouted: "The ceremony begins!"
"Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!"
All the Ambipom leaders let out excited cries.
Then, one Ambipom leader leapt up from below to stand before the Champion Ambipom and opened the container holding its wine.
Its face was full of nervousness—like a student anxiously waiting for their exam paper to be graded.
Julian watched this scene with curiosity.
The Champion Ambipom picked up the wine container, gave it a gentle sniff, then shook its head and handed the wine back.
"Not good enough. It still needs improvement. You might consider adding some Grass Berries to the next batch."
The Ambipom leader accepted its wine with a disappointed expression, but vigorously nodded after hearing the advice.
'Not this year… but in ten years, I'll return. And next time, my wine will definitely be chosen.
One by one, the Ambipom leaders came forward with their wine.
The Champion Ambipom always started by smelling the brew. If the aroma met its satisfaction, it passed the first hurdle; then it would take a small sip.
If the flavor was lacking, the second stage was considered a failure.
However, it would still offer suggestions for improvement.
On average, out of every ten wines presented, only one or two would be selected.
Those selected would be poured directly into a large container beside it.
Julian held his Dowsing Machine and noticed something interesting—this Champion Ambipom really knew what it was doing. Every wine it selected was at least at the level of a Mid-grade Treasure.
"Slow~"
Slowking suddenly came out of its Poké Ball.
Before Julian could even ask, Slowking had already made its way over to the Champion Ambipom.
"Slow?"
Slowking: "Can I join in?"
Slowking naturally understood brewing. When it came to anything related to food and drinks, there was nothing Slowking didn't know how to do.
"…Alright."
The Champion Ambipom nodded.
Not agreeing wasn't really an option—this was that human's Pokémon. Did it have the nerve to say no?
And so, Slowking joined the process of wine evaluation.
At first, the Champion Ambipom assumed Slowking wouldn't really know much about it. But after watching Slowking's practiced tasting technique, hearing its critiques of the wine, and listening to it even identify the exact ingredients used, it's dismissive attitude vanished completely, replaced by a grave expression.
Its strength might not match Julian's Pokémon—but when it came to brewing and tasting, it was absolutely confident.
It didn't know about Slowking's brewing skills, but its tasting ability… was clearly formidable.
'Is this guy here to challenge me?'
The Champion Ambipom quietly started competing with Slowking.
Slowking, of course, noticed—but didn't care. Its sole purpose in tasting the wine was to glean the secret brewing recipes.
Each Ambipom leader brought a different wine, meaning their brewing methods, processes, and ingredients varied as well.
Even if it were brewed by the same Ambipom, it would be impossible to one hundred percent replicate the exact flavor of a previous batch.
Although Slowking only took the tiniest sip of the wine each Ambipom leader brought, the sheer number of samples was overwhelming.
"Is Slowking good with alcohol?"
Seeing its face slightly flushed, Julian instinctively asked Metagross beside him.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "No idea. I've never seen it drink before."
Reminded by Metagross, Julian suddenly realized that Slowking had indeed never drank alcohol—he had certainly never witnessed it do so.
Sensing that Slowking might be getting drunk, Julian didn't try to stop it. Instead, he excitedly pulled out his phone and started recording.
Seeing this, even Metagross had to admire Julian's talent for seeking death.
Catching on to Julian, both Celebi and Jirachi made the exact same move.
"Footage of a drunk Slowking… if I post this on TikTok, my views will hit billions for sure!" Celebi clutched its phone, trembling with excitement.
"…Post what on TikTok? Are you trying to get us killed?!"
Julian was startled by Celebi's idea and immediately stopped it. "No posting on TikTok—but we can post it on Moments."
Metagross: 'Where there's one fool, there's always another.'
Seeing Slowking swaying on its feet, clearly drunk, the Champion Ambipom took out a Berry and handed it over.
"For sobering up."
"Th-thanks."
Slowking nodded, its tongue already a bit sluggish.
After taking the Berry, it immediately ate it. The effect was quite noticeable; its previously groggy mind quickly cleared up.
The alcohol hadn't been fully neutralized, but at least the worst of the drunkenness had faded.
It took an entire day for the Champion Ambipom to finish tasting all the Monkey Wine.
The ones it approved were poured into a large barrel beside it, which was now completely full.
[Mixed Monkey Wine: Formed by blending a vast quantity of different Monkey Wines. If consumed by Pokémon below Pseudo-Champion rank, the mortality rate is ninety-nine percent.]
[Note: In the hands of an exceptional brewmaster, this mixed wine could potentially be transformed into a rare and exquisite vintage.]
A single-variety Monkey Wine was considered a treasure.
But now, with hundreds of different Monkey Wines mixed together, it was no longer a treasure at all—it had become outright poison.
The toxicity was so potent that even a peak Elite Pokémon couldn't withstand it. A ninety-nine percent mortality rate... what practical difference was there from one hundred percent?
While it didn't explicitly state it could kill a Pseudo-Champion, one could imagine that if a Pseudo-Champion took a sip, they'd be dealing with severe intestinal distress for days at minimum—or at worst, it might leave them half dead.
And yet…
The aroma was absolutely intoxicating.
Julian stood there, inhaling the rich fragrance coming from the barrel. The Probing Eyes clearly labeled it as poison, yet the scent was completely deceiving—it smelled more like a world-class, top-shelf liquor.
Even someone like him, who didn't enjoy drinking, felt an urge to take a sip just from the smell alone.
*****
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