Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

At 10 a.m., the plane carrying Julian landed on time at Westford International Airport.

The temperature in Westford was much higher than in the Imperial Capital, so Julian naturally wore lighter clothing.

Looking up at the drizzling sky of Westford and hearing the local Shu dialect, Julian found it all quite refreshing.

However, what made Shu Province famous nowadays, besides its hotpot, were the unique Pokémon here—Pancham and its evolution, Pangoro.

These two Pokémon were the most well-known in all of Shu Province, and among all the countries only Drakoria's Shu Province's secret realms had them.

However, the number of these two Pokémon was relatively large, and they were not particularly strong, so they were naturally listed in the trade agreements between Drakoria and other nations.

Pancham was a Fighting-type, while Pangoro was a Fighting/Dark-type.

Many Fighting-type or Dark-type trainers chose to capture a Pancham since it was a Pokémon unique to Drakoria and relatively easy for most trainers to obtain.

But Julian had no interest in Pancham or Pangoro at all.

His biggest interest right now was eating hotpot.

Shu Province was famous for its hotpot, and the best hotpot in the province was found in Westford. Westford hotpot was world-renowned.

After stepping out of the airport, he hailed a taxi.

"Sir, take me to the Blaziken Hotpot Restaurant," Julian said after getting in.

"Okay."

The driver responded in a distinct Westford accent.

Before coming, Julian had done some research to find the most authentic hotpot restaurant in Westford. The number one recommendation was Blaziken Hotpot.

About an hour later, the car entered downtown Westford.

The earlier drizzle had stopped, but the sky remained overcast.

Westford had 300 cloudy days out of the 365 in a year.

"We've arrived, sir," the driver said.

"Alright."

After paying the fare, Julian got out of the car.

Blaziken Hotpot was right in front of him. The benches outside were already filled with waiting customers—clearly, the place was packed. The only option was to wait outside.

But Julian didn’t need to wait; he had made a reservation in advance and even paid a deposit.

A waiter led him to the private room he had booked.

"Sir, please take a look at the soup base options first."

The waiter said, handing him a menu, "Sir, you're not from Shu Province, are you?"

"Hmm? You could tell?" Julian nodded.

He glanced at himself but didn’t see anything that made him look different from the locals.

Could it be his accent? No, that couldn’t be it. Julian hadn’t even spoken yet when the waiter asked.

"It's because people from Shu Province usually order the soup base right away," the waiter explained.

'So that's the reason'

Julian glanced at the soup base menu and asked, "Any recommendations?"

"If you can’t handle spicy food, I’d recommend the mushroom broth or a mandarin duck pot."

The waiter obviously meant well, but somehow, it sounded a little condescending coming from him.

'What's that suppose to mean? Does he thinks I can’t handle the spice?'

"No need, just bring me the most popular soup base that locals order."

It wasn’t like he’d never had spicy hotpot before, back at Imperial University, Slowking made hotpot every few days.

"Alright."

"Would you like to order anything else?"

Julian directly ordered over a dozen plates of beef, lamb, and beef tripe—all meat, not a single vegetable.

The waiter took the order and walked out. As he closed the door, he shook his head.

"Another one who thinks he can handle it," he muttered before heading off to prepare Julian’s meal.

Less than ten minutes later, everything Julian ordered arrived, along with the soup base.

The waiter smiled and said, "If you need anything, just press this bell."

"Got it."

As soon as the waiter left and shut the door, one of the Poké Balls at Julian’s waist suddenly popped open with a bang!

Celebi flew out, stretching its tiny arms after being stuck on the plane for five hours—it had been suffocating in there!

But now, seeing the bubbling red hotpot in front of it, Celebi felt like it had all been worth it.

Still, something about this hotpot looked different from what it had eaten before.

Why were there so many chili peppers floating on top?

Celebi: "This hotpot looks really spicy..."

Julian shook his head, "It just looks spicy, these chilies don’t add much real heat."

As the broth began boiling, Julian dipped a few slices of ribeye into the pot. He counted eight seconds before fishing them out and dipping them into Blaziken Hotpot’s signature sauce.

Strangely, Celebi, who usually loved eating, didn’t fight Julian for food this time.

Watching Julian take a bite, Celebi couldn’t hold back anymore. "Well? Is it spicy?"

Julian shook his head, chewing his food happily.

Seeing that, Celebi finally gave in. It picked up a piece of ribeye, dipped it in the broth for eight seconds, coated it in sauce, and popped it into its mouth.

The next second—its entire body froze, its face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And then, right in front of Julian, Celebi performed Flamethrower.

A Grass/Psychic-type Pokémon… suddenly knew how to breathe fire, thanks to the hotpot.

And Julian? He had just learned Flamethrower too.

"L—L—L—L—SPICY—!!"

Julian stuck out his tongue, drool dripping uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the water next to him and took a sip—only to spit it out the next second. The water was warm.

Just to trick Celebi into eating it, Julian had nearly burned himself alive, but at least that little fool had fallen for it.

Right now, he couldn’t even feel his own tongue. It didn’t seem to belong to him anymore.

At this moment, the same waiter happened to walk past Julian’s private dining room. Hearing the pained cries from inside, he shook his head silently.

"Why do they never listen?"

It took three full bottles of ice-cold soda—retrieved straight from Gengar’s belly—for Julian and Celebi to recover.

Even then, they still looked at the boiling, flame-like hotpot with lingering fear.

For the first time in its life, Celebi realized just how close it had come to death.

Seeing Julian’s lips swollen from the spice, Celebi sneered, "That’s it? Is this all you can handle? Can’t even take this level of heat?"

Julian smirked and slammed a plate of beef tripe in front of Celebi.

"Less talking, let’s see if you can back it up."

"And how exactly?"

"One piece at a time. Whoever gives up first has to shout ‘I am a dog’ three times. Deal?"

"Deal!"

With the challenge set, there was no way to back down now.

Julian dipped a piece of tripe into the broth, cooked it, and ate it, immediately shooting a taunting look at Celebi.

Not to be outdone, Celebi followed suit.

On any normal day, they could’ve finished a whole plate of beef tripe in under a minute. But today, even after ten minutes, there was still nearly half left.

Julian’s face was flushed, sweat poured down his body, and even his hair was damp.

"If you can’t take it, just admit defeat," he taunted.

Celebi, now completely red like a Fire-type Pokémon, popped another piece of tripe into its mouth, “What did you just say?!”

*****

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