Due to the incident involving the remnants of the Wynn family, Julian naturally had no mood to stay in Babath to train and level up Bisharp.
For it to reach the early-stage Elite-level or even the peak of pseudo–Elite, it would take at least a few more months.
Time-wise, that was too long.
So Julian decided to return home first. After all, Lake City was his base—whether in terms of operational capability or safety, it was far beyond what Babath could compare with.
He didn't have Deoxys teleport him directly back to Lake City.
Instead, he took the Walker family's private jet.
Sitting on the plane, Julian even wondered whether the other side would use a cliché method like blowing up the aircraft. He specifically had Gengar check it over—there was no problem.
Well, as expected, the reason clichés were clichés was because they were used too often, which lowered their success rate.
Leaning back in his seat, Julian exchanged glances with a beautiful flight attendant.
The attendant plopped down directly on his lap and whispered seductively, "Young Master, there's a lounge over there… shall we go rest for a while?"
Julian: "My that time of the month just came, not convenient."
Flight attendant:（⊙ｏ⊙）
Julian: 'Hmph, another woman coveting my body.'
The attendant shot him an annoyed glance, stood up angrily from his lap, and walked away, her hips swaying enticingly.
About two hours later, the plane landed safely at Lake City International Airport.
There hadn't been a single incident along the way—not even turbulence.
'How boring.'
Could it be that the Wynn family survivor only made one move and won't act again?
Julian had Deoxys teleport him home.
"Dee!"
The moment he arrived home, he heard Love's voice.
Love: "You're back!"
Seeing Julian suddenly return, Love hurried over and carefully looked him up and down. Even though Julian had said over the phone that he was fine, Love could only truly relax after seeing him in person.
"Love, I'm fine."
Julian smiled, knowing Love was still worried, and even spun around playfully to show he was alright.
"Oh right, Love, let me see your phone for a moment."
Hearing that, Love took the phone out from its apron pocket and handed it to Julian.
Flipping through the recent call logs and seeing an unlisted number, Julian asked, "Is this the number that called?"
"Dee~"
Love nodded.
So Julian called back, initially thinking no one would pick up or that the line would be dead.
But after a few rings, the call was actually answered.
"Julian?"
A processed voice came through the phone, clearly distorted with an electronic hum.
"A remnant of the Wynn family?" Julian asked.
"No, no, no. The Wynns are merely members of our organization."
Just as he had expected—the Wynn family survivors had indeed attached themselves to some mysterious organization. Otherwise, even if some of them had survived, they wouldn't have been able to develop to the point of threatening him.
"How about making a deal?" Julian proposed.
The person on the other end asked curiously, "What kind of deal?"
"Hand over all the members of the Wynn family, and I'll give your organization three Ultimate treasures."
Julian's words left the other person momentarily at a loss. Wasn't there supposed to be bad blood between them? And now he suddenly wanted to make a deal?
"Our organization doesn't betray its own people," the person replied.
"What if I add a First-class Legendary to the deal?" Julian said calmly.
The moment he said that, he could clearly hear the other party's breathing grow heavier.
"Are you serious?"
"What do you think? I already have three First-class Legendaries with me, and I have connections with quite a few others. You must know that."
"Right now, I know the location where a First-class Legendary is slumbering. Waking it requires a certain item, and I have that item."
"Which First-class Legendary is it?"
The person quickly asked.
"Xerneas, a First-class Legendary that has yet to emerge. I don't know if you've heard of it."
"Xerneas, the Life Pokémon. Legend has it that when the horns on its head shine with seven colors of light, it shares eternal life, granting true immortality."
As the person spoke, their tone grew increasingly excited.
Julian was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the other party to actually know about it and even know quite a bit, including the fact that Xerneas could grant eternal life.
"It seems you have some stone tablets related to Xerneas there and have managed to decipher them."
Since the other party already knew, that saved Julian the trouble of explaining it to him. Otherwise, after explaining, they might not have even believed him.
Now that they already knew, the effect was even stronger than if he had explained it himself.
And judging by his tone, it was clear that the guy was incredibly excited right now. After all, Xerneas was tied to the concept of immortality.
Almost all of humanity desired flight and immortality.
Flight could now be achieved through technology and Pokémon.
But immortality remained out of reach. Even though lifespans had been extended considerably, true immortality was still a distant dream.
Throughout history, how many emperors were wise and capable in their early years, only to descend into folly in their old age as they pursued immortality, throwing their empires into chaos and even losing their kingdoms in the end?
After all, it was immortality we were talking about.
Once a person had obtained everything they could possibly have—power, money, beauties—the next thing they sought most was eternal life.
The more one had, the more one feared losing it.
The higher a person's position and power, the more they clung to life and wished to live longer.
Even Julian—though he could live for over five hundred years—knew that wasn't immortality. And immortality had now become the one thing he truly wanted to pursue.
There was probably no one in this world who could resist the allure of eternal life.
As for Julian's claim that he knew where Xerneas was sleeping—that was, of course, a lie. And his so-called "item needed to awaken it" was also a lie.
If he truly knew, he would have already gone to find it himself.
But because he had connections with multiple First-class Legendaries, and had even caught three of them, when he said he knew something about Xerneas, it carried a high degree of credibility.
If he had mentioned any other First-class Legendary, the other party might have remained wary. But Julian specifically named Xerneas—the very First-class Legendary their organization knew about and had been searching for.
It was simply too coincidental.
And Julian had unintentionally hit the mark.
"We've indeed deciphered the ancient stone tablets," the person said.
All First-class Legendaries were recorded on ancient stone tablets.
However, many such tablets remained undiscovered, which was why some First-class Legendaries were unknown to the general public.
Or perhaps they were still in slumber, never having stirred and made their presence known to the world.
"Your organization probably already has control over a First-class Legendary, right?"
Julian recalled the black smoke surrounding the Pidgeot earlier and what Deoxys had told him.
"You're quite sharp. I assume you picked up on something from that Pidgeot?"
"A Champion-level Pidgeot—your organization's reach is quite extensive."
"Hmph, our organization has plenty of such Pokémon."
"Keep bragging. See if I believe you."
*****
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