Riding on the back of tagross for nearly half a day, Julian finally arrived at the western edge of the Horseshoe Plains.
This gave him a clear idea of just how vast the Horseshoe Plains was. Of course, tagross wasn't flying at full speed—if it had been flying at full throttle and still took most of the day, then the size of the Horseshoe Plains would have been truly terrifying.
"Did you feel it?"
Julian calmly asked.
"ta~"
tagross nodded.
As tagross continued flying westward, Julian sensed an intense aura ahead, filled with a warning.
This aura was stronger than any other Pokémon he had sensed along the way.
He estimated that it was likely the aura of Rillaboom.
Sure enough, not long after they continued forward, a furious roar erupted from the ground below.
At the sa ti, Julian’s Dowsing Machine displayed a large red dot representing a Ultimate treasure. However, the location of the red dot wasn’t directly below but slightly further ahead.
Watching the Rillaboom pounding its chest and issuing challenging roars, Julian suddenly said, "Celebi, Jirachi, I have a question for you. If you answer correctly, your daily allowance will be doubled from now on."
Hearing that, Celebi imdiately grew excited. With its intelligence, wasn’t Julian just giving money away for free? What a naive young man.
"Hurry up, and ask then!"
"Celebi, calm down, be focused."
Jirachi, however, remained surprisingly calm. Instead of losing its composure over the doubled allowance, it asked, "What if we can’t answer it?"
"If we can’t answer, you won’t dock our allowance, will you?"
Celebi, now alert after hearing Jirachi’s question, eyed Julian suspiciously. Although it was incredibly clever, this blockhead might just be setting up a trap.
"No penalties for failing to answer, no consequences at all."
In order to avoid the two little ones overthinking, he specially added that.
Only then did the two relax and urged Julian to ask the question.
"Then here’s my question: Do you know which Pokémon is the quietest?"
"I know—Magikarp!"
Celebi answered imdiately.
Julian shook his head.
"Feebas!" Jirachi suggested.
Julian shook his head again.
The two little ones then listed over a dozen Pokémon each, but Julian rejected every single one.
Seeing they were about to keep guessing, Julian rolled his eyes and said, "Stop. If you go on, you might actually stumble upon the right answer by accident."
But the two weren't having it. Their competitive spirit was fired up, and Julian's remark only made them feel they were getting closer to the answer.
"Alright, I will give you two more chances," Julian said, holding up two fingers.
"I know! It's , because today I won't speak!"
Celebi pointed at itself, then closed its mouth, indicating that by staying silent today, it would be the quietest Pokémon.
Its mind worked pretty quickly, but unfortunately, Julian shook his head.
"It's Nebby, because it sleeps all the ti!"
Jirachi, looking at the snoring Nebby in Julian's arms, felt certain it had guessed correctly.
"Wrong!"
Julian declared loudly.
"Then you tell us! Which Pokémon is the quietest? If you don't have a solid reason, we won't admit defeat!" Celebi said with a dissatisfied pout.
Jirachi nodded in agreent.
"Hmph, I'll make sure you lose convincingly."
Julian then pointed at the Rillaboom below, which was still pounding its chest. "It's that one!"
"Are you ssing with us? It's so noisy—how is it quiet at all?"
The chest-pounding Rillaboom kept making loud thumping sounds—it was indeed very noisy.
"Because Rillaboom is knocking on wood!" Julian declared triumphantly.
[T/N: In Chinese, “knocking on wood” is associated with keeping quiet and not speaking carelessly, so it can be jokingly described as the "quietest" response.]
tagross had also been curious about Julian's answer. Upon hearing this, it felt as if its supercomputer brain had just been completely outmatched by Julian's logic.
'Knocking on wood!!'
Celebi stumbled back a few steps, looking incredulously at the chest-pounding Rillaboom below. It wanted to refute Julian's answer, but sohow it felt strangely fitting.
"So that's it... Why didn't I think of that?" Jirachi murmured to itself, then looked at Julian with admiration. "Julian, you're so smart to have thought of that!"
"Hahaha, drinking a cup of Moomoo Milk every day isn't for nothing!" Julian said proudly.
Slowking's Poké Ball wobbled slightly, clearly pleased with Julian's words.
"RILLA!"
The Rillaboom below was practically fuming with rage.
'Damn it, flying so arrogantly over my territory, and after I've been pounding my chest for so long, you still ignore ? My muscles are about to burn out from anger!'
'Screw you!'
'And why do I feel like you were just making fun of ?'
Rillaboom: "If you have the guts, co down here!"
"tagross, since it's inviting us, let's go down."
"ta~"
As tagross slowly descended, the aura it had been holding back gradually began to spread out.
Rillaboom's expression shifted from initial defiance to surprise, and finally to complete shock.
At this mont, Rillaboom's mind was in turmoil.
'Darn it, it's a Champion-level big shot!'
'Why didn't you say so earlier? If I'd known, I would have never yelled like that…'
'Is it too late to cover my mouth now?'
As a late-stage pseudo-Champion Pokémon, Rillaboom couldn't help but feel terrified—it knew all too well the gap between a pseudo-Champion and a Champion.
And judging by the aura tagross was emitting, it wasn't just any ordinary Champion either.
---
Pokémon: Rillaboom (Grass)
Level: 88
Potential: Blue
Ability: Overgrow
Held Item: None
Gender: Male
Moves: Drum Beating, Growl, Scratch, Taunt, Double Hit, Noble Roar, Grassy Terrain, Branch Poke, Razor Leaf, Screech, Knock Off, Slam, Uproar, Wood Hamr, Endeavor, Boomburst
TMs: None
Egg Moves: Leech Seed, Hamr Arm, Strength, Growth
---
Late-stage pseudo-Champion—its strength was quite decent.
Originally, Julian had planned to defeat it and force it to submit, then ask about information related to the Primal Secret Realm—this guy likely knew a lot more about it.
But now, it seed a battle might not be necessary anymore.
Sensing the fearful aura radiating from Rillaboom, it was clear it had been intimidated by tagross's Champion-level presence.
In reality, Champion-level Pokémon indeed exerted a significant suppressing effect on non-Champion-level Pokémon.
Moreover, Julian's tagross possessed Gold-grade potential—the kind only First-class Legendaries possessed—which amplified this suppressing effect even further.
So Rillaboom being scared wasn’t really shaful; it was just an instinctive reaction.
Even if it was replaced with Salance or Scizor—those hot-tempered or battle-loving Pokémon—when facing tagross, they likely wouldn't have fared much better than Rillaboom.
Julian signaled for tagross to withdraw its aura.
Otherwise, with Rillaboom in such a state, even if Julian tried to question it, it probably wouldn't be able to respond properly.
Feeling the aura on tagross disappear, Rillaboom instantly relaxed, as if a massive mountain pressing on it had suddenly vanished.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
/ReduxMagister
Reviews
All reviews (0)