Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Seeing that Julian was determined and clearly set on going to the small island in the center, Pierce nodded and said, “Then be careful.”

He was still confident in Julian’s strength—his Metagross had been able to defeat peak Elite-level opponents even before reaching the Elite rank itself.

Now that Metagross had reached late stage of Elite, as long as the opponent wasn’t a Champion, even if a pseudo-Champion appeared, Julian might not win, but he could definitely escape.

“We’ll come find you as soon as we finish up there.”

“Okay.” Julian nodded.

Then he separated from the group and headed alone toward the small island.

On the other side, Ember said with some annoyance, “He definitely knows there’s something good on that island. That’s why he wants to go alone.”

“This Top-tier Secret Realm has never been entered by anyone else besides us. What could Julian possibly know? Maybe there’s just something about that island that draws him,” Pierce said.

As the captain, Pierce had to maintain the relationships within the team.

Though the five of them got along fine for now, everyone knew that the so-called “friendship” wasn’t exactly solid—except for Asher and Rowan.

Those two bickered all the time, but if one of them was ever in trouble, the other would absolutely risk their life to help.

They could be seen as one unit, while Julian, Pierce, and Ember were each individuals.

Now Julian wanted to act alone, Ember thought he had another motive, and Rowan wanted to go to the snow mountain. Naturally, Asher would go with him.

Disagreements and tension had surfaced, leaving Pierce with a headache.

As a soldier, dealing with this kind of interpersonal stuff wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

Just as Julian was about to leave the island on his Dragonite, something resembling a seashell suddenly blocked its path.

“Meta~”

Metagross moved to stand in front of Julian, staring intently at the creature that had appeared out of nowhere. Its gaze was solemn.

It had been using its psychic power to scan the surroundings the entire time, yet it hadn’t sensed how this thing had arrived. If the opponent had attacked Julian just now, it definitely wouldn’t have had time to react.

“Fini~”

A light and melodic voice rang out, and the shell-like object slowly opened. Inside, a graceful Pokémon that resembled a beautiful fish appeared within the gleaming shell.

Pokémon: Tapu Fini (Water/Fairy)

Level: 85

Potential: Blue

Ability: Misty Surge

Item: None

Gender: Genderless

Moves: Disarming Voice, Water Gun, Mist, Withdraw, Haze, Aqua Ring, Water Pulse, Brine, Defog, Heal Pulse, Surf, Muddy Water, Mean Look, Nature’s Madness, Moonblast, Hydro Pump, Soak, Misty Terrain

TMs: None

Egg Moves: None

Note: Island Guardian (Cannot be captured). Can temporarily reach Champion level by borrowing the power of the island.

---

Even an Island Guardian showed up. If this Top-tier secret realm wasn’t modeled after the Alola Region, then what else could it be?

Looking at the Tapu Fini in front of him, Julian didn’t sense any hostility—but the Pokémon was still blocking his path.

Pierce and the others noticed what was going on and quickly rushed over.

“A pseudo-Champion-level Pokémon…”

Asher looked at the Pokémon in front of them with a serious expression. This was the first time they’d encountered something at this level in the secret realm.

And it was also a Pokémon he had ever seen before.

Tapu Fini: "You may not leave this island."

“Why?” Julian asked.

Could it be that leaving the island would trigger some kind of danger? That seemed a bit far-fetched.

Tapu Fini shook its head: "You just can't leave."

No reason. It simply refused to let Julian go.

Julian’s face darkened. What was this supposed to mean? He wasn’t just planning to head to Aether Paradise—he also wanted to explore the other three islands.

Which meant he 'had' to leave this one.

Tapu Fini: "If you want to leave this island, you must defeat me."

“So I just need to beat you?”

Tapu Fini: "Yes."

“Will you be using the power of the island?” Julian asked.

Tapu Fini was level 85, a pseudo-Champion. Against that, Metagross could likely win after Mega Evolution.

But if Tapu Fini borrowed the power of the island to reach Champion level, then no matter how monstrous Metagross was, it’d be nothing more than a punching bag.

Tapu Fini looked at Julian with visible surprise. How did a human know it could draw on the island’s power?

Then it shook its head: "The island’s power is not meant to be used against you."

“Julian, hurry up and tell us what’s going on!” Ember asked eagerly.

The four had seen Julian speaking with the unfamiliar Pokémon for a while, and it didn’t seem hostile, but they didn’t have psychic powers and could only stand there helplessly.

“If you want to leave this island, you have to defeat it. It’s the guardian deity of this island. The other three islands each have one too,” Julian explained.

Upon hearing this, the group felt a heavy weight sink in their hearts.

If that was really the case, then with their current strength, it would be very difficult to defeat a pseudo-Champion. But if they were at the peak of Elite, they might still have a chance.

“We can all team up and take it down,” Asher suggested.

They couldn’t win in a one-on-one, but in a group battle, there was still hope.

“It’s best not to,” Julian shook his head.

If they broke the rules of the game, there was no telling whether the opponent would then tap into the island’s power and reach Champion level. At that point, even Julian wouldn’t stand a chance.

Asher was just about to ask why Julian was against them teaming up when he saw Tapu Fini’s aura intensifying. In just a few breaths, it rose from pseudo-Champion to full Champion level.

Then Tapu Fini simply stared at Asher, as if to ask: 'Are you sure you want to team up?'

If you’re not going to play fair, don’t blame me for not playing fair either.

Earlier, it said the island’s power wasn’t meant to be used against Julian and the others, but if they broke the rules, it wouldn’t mind using that power to “educate” them.

Being stared down by a Champion-level Pokémon, Asher’s expression froze. He immediately looked toward Rowan for help.

But Rowan turned his head away, pretending not to know him. That almost made Asher curse out loud—'this guy really has no loyalty at all.'

Asher said quickly, “I was just kidding! Just kidding!”

Seeing that Tapu Fini was still staring daggers at him, Asher rushed to explain.

Only then did Tapu Fini retract its aura, and its presence dropped back to pseudo-Champion level.

Seeing this, Julian shrugged. “Told you it was better not to.”

Asher said angrily: “But you didn’t say it could become a Champion.”

The gap between a Champion and pseudo-Champion was massive. In Drakoria, there were over 500 Elites, but only six Champions.

Some Trainers stayed stuck at the pseudo-Champion peak for their entire lives, never able to cross that final threshold.

Once a Pokémon reached Champion level, trying to win through numbers alone became almost impossible.

A Champion-level Pokémon could even go toe-to-toe with a first-rank Legendary for a few rounds, …but after those few rounds, it would still get crushed.

*****

Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-

/ReduxMagister