When it came to hand speed and reaction time, humans were definitely no match for Pokémon, let alone a Champion-level one.
Although they won the match, Julian got absolutely no enjoyment out of the game.
Looking at his stat line of 0-1-18...
If he had been playing support, that would have been a decent score. But he was playing in the solo lane!
Then he glanced at Zeraora's stat line: 19-1-1.
This bastard had stolen several of his kills.
Julian put down his phone and glared viciously at Zeraora.
"You kill-stealing cat!"
Zeraora was equally unwilling to back down. "And you have the nerve to talk? You ate all my minion waves!"
"If you hadn't stolen my kills, would I have eaten your minions?"
"What do you mean 'stolen your kills'? You couldn't even finish them off! If I hadn't killed them, you wouldn't have even gotten the assist!"
Zeraora looked at Julian with pure contempt.
It didn't think it had stolen any kills at all—it was just that Julian was too trash to finish off the opponents, so it had to step in.
Seeing Zeraora not only refusing to admit fault but actually turning it around on him so shamelessly, Julian huffed angrily and turned to Slowking.
"Slowking, aren't you going to do something about him?"
Slowking, who had been carrying the game, calmly glanced at Julian as if asking: 'Whose Pokémon is it?'
"Oh right, I'm the Trainer—you have to listen to me. Next game, you're not allowed to steal my kills," Julian said, suddenly remembering he was Zeraora's Trainer.
This bastard had made him so angry he'd completely forgotten.
"When we're playing games, you aren't my Trainer."
Zeraora shot Julian a sidelong glance, thinking this guy was completely shameless.
Trying to use his Trainer status to pressure it? Did it look like the kind of Pokémon who'd just roll over and take that?
It, Zeraora, was famous for having backbone.
"Really? Well, the Collector's Edition Zeraora skin is coming to Pokémon Glory in a few days. Think carefully before you answer."
Julian spoke calmly.
His expression clearly said that he had Zeraora completely cornered.
Zeraora's expression froze. Its face went through a rapid series of changes, and after a few seconds, it said, "Master, this round, I'll support you."
"Mhm."
Julian nodded in satisfaction.
"Then... about the Collector's Edition skin...?"
"When the time comes, I'll give you the money and you can pull for it yourself. Whether you get it depends on your luck."
Zeraora immediately broke into a happy grin—an expression that looked alarmingly similar to the dopey dog's.
The two little ones nearby hurriedly spoke up as well.
"Dad, what about us? We want to buy Zeraora's Collector's Edition skin too!"
"You two will be judged based on your performance," Julian said flatly.
The two little ones exchanged a glance and said nothing more.
The second match began.
Celebi: "Dad, there are too many minions in my lane. Come help me clear them."
Jirachi: "Dad, there's a low-health enemy over here. I can't finish them off."
Julian had a blast this round. Kills poured in so easily his hands grew numb, he had the highest gold in the game, and even secured a pentakill.
"Heh-heh-heh..."
Looking at his stats, Julian let out a villainous laugh.
Perhaps he was acting too smug, because Gengar couldn't stand it anymore. It emerged from Julian's shadow and licked him across the face.
A wave of paralysis swept through his entire body. His hand lost its grip, and the phone fell straight to the ground.
Trembling, he pulled a Cheri Berry from his pocket and used it to cure the paralysis.
"Gehehehe~"
Gengar floated around Julian, laughing mischievously.
Julian grabbed Gengar and was just about to pull its cheeks when the phone on the ground suddenly rang.
"I'll let you off this time."
After glaring at Gengar, he picked up the phone. Seeing that the call was from Rowan, he couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
'Don't tell me something happened.'
After all, in modern society, people usually communicated through messaging apps.
If someone actually called, it was usually because something important had happened.
'Wait, don't tell me he's getting married and wants me to give a wedding gift.'
"Hello?"
"Julian, something's happened in the Land of Extreme Ice. A First-class Legendary may be awakening. Can you come over?"
The moment Julian answered, Rowan's urgent voice came through the phone.
"There's a First-class Legendary sleeping in the Land of Extreme Ice?" Julian asked in confusion.
'Also, not a wedding. Looks like he's still single.'
The Land of Extreme Ice had been around for several decades already. Yet only now were they discovering a First-class legendary slumbering inside?
Wasn't the Willow family being a bit negligent?
Rowan understood the implication behind Julian's words and explained, "That First-class Legendary has been sleeping deep beneath the central iceberg. We can't probe that area, so we only discovered its existence now."
Julian wasn't particularly familiar with the terrain and structure of the Land of Extreme Ice—after all, he had never planned to go there.
But now that Rowan explained it, he understood the situation a bit better.
"Tell me exactly what's going on," Julian said, his expression turning slightly serious.
The awakening of a First-class Legendary was definitely not a good thing.
If things were mishandled, the entire Land of Extreme Ice might be destroyed.
If that happened, all the Pokémon living inside it would die, and with the disappearance of this Special Advanced-level secret realm, the strength of the nation's Ice-type Trainers would inevitably be affected.
Furthermore, the Land of Extreme Ice was under the Willow family's management, and Rowan was one of Julian's friends.
So whether for public or personal reasons, Julian had to take this matter seriously.
Over the phone, Rowan briefly explained the situation.
After learning that the temperature within the Land of Extreme Ice was continuously dropping, causing weaker Ice-type Pokémon to begin trying to leave the secret realm, Julian immediately realized how serious the situation already was.
If it wasn't handled properly and the Pokémon inside began rioting, it would cause a massive disaster in the outside world.
"Got it. I'll head over shortly," Julian said with a nod, then hung up.
"Julian, are we not playing anymore?" Celebi asked.
"Yeah, we're done."
Putting his phone into his pocket, Julian turned to Slowking and said, "Slowking, pack some things. We're going out for a few days."
"Slow~"
Slowking nodded and went upstairs to pack some clothes for Julian to change into.
Julian, meanwhile, walked into the backyard and recalled all of his Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
"Dee?"
Love, who was trimming the flowers and plants, looked over and asked, "Are you going out?"
"Mm. I'm heading to the Land of Extreme Ice. There's a chance a First-class legendary is about to awaken there, so I'm going to take a look. I probably won't be coming home for a while."
"Dee~"
Love nodded.
Although it was worried about Julian, it also knew that it couldn't stop him in matters like this.
Just then, Julian's phone rang again.
"Hello, Granduncle?"
The call was from James.
"The Willow family should've already told you about the Land of Extreme Ice, right?"
"Yeah, Rowan just called me."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I don't know yet. I'll go there and see the situation first."
Julian shook his head. There was no point in speculating now—everything would become clear once he reached the Land of Extreme Ice.
"Stay safe. And don't try to be a hero."
James' cautionary words came through the phone.
An unknown First-class Legendary—who knew how powerful it might be?
If it happened to be one of the Forbidden-class types, even the Black and White Dragons wouldn't be its match.
"Don't worry, Granduncle."
Julian smiled confidently. His trump card now wasn't the Black and White Dragons anymore—it was something far stronger.
Of course, he hadn't told anyone about that.
When the time came, he planned to give everyone a little "surprise."
*****
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