Although Tapu Lele's move was a bit underhanded, it was beneficial for both Julian and itself.
Trading four Elite-level Fire-type Pokémon from the volcano—Pokémon that were of little use to him—for a Totem-class Pupitar was clearly a great deal for Julian.
As for Tapu Lele? If Julian was getting a good deal, then it was getting an even better one—because this was essentially a zero-cost transaction for it. After all, that Totem-class Pupitar wasn't even from its own island.
As for how Tapu Lele knew about the Totem Pupitar on Ula'ula Island? Well, Tapu Bulu had bragged about it and even took Tapu Lele to see it.
And just like that, Tapu Lele had marked it down in its mind.
Originally, it had planned to lure the Pupitar to its own island, but now it was using it as a bargaining chip instead.
"Deal. Give me the location."
Julian nodded. A future pseudo-legendary Tyranitar, and a Totem one at that—he had no reason to refuse.
Tapu Lele gently tapped Julian's forehead, and in an instant, a detailed map of the entire Ula'ula Island appeared in his mind.
There was also a red dot marked on the map—that was the location of the Totem Pupitar.
Julian looked at Tapu Lele with a strange expression. "Why do you know Ula'ula Island this well?"
Having a full, detailed map of another guardian's island? That was… highly suspicious.
Tapu Lele puffed up proudly: "Of course, I explored it little by little myself."
Normally, an island guardian would never leave its own island.
But Tapu Lele not only left its island—it went and thoroughly investigated someone else's. This level of audacity suggested a serious rebellious streak.
Even Tapu Fini eyed it with newfound wariness. 'Wait… does this guy know my island just as well?'
After returning the four Fire-type Elites from the volcano to Tapu Lele, the latter happily fluttered away.
Seeing this, Tapu Fini also prepared to leave—but Julian stopped it.
"Hey, Tapu Fini… think you could go easy on my four teammates?"
With their current strength, if Pierce and the others really wanted to defeat Tapu Fini one-on-one, it'd probably take them another month or two at least.
Julian wouldn't have cared before—but now he knew that both Celestria and Gallia were already on the final island, Melemele.
To deal with those two nations—ten Trainers in total—Julian alone would be stretched thin. And he wasn't even sure whether Volkaria would help.
Even if they were willing, Julian still had to be cautious around them.
Rather than pinning his hopes on foreign allies, it was far more reliable to trust his own team.
'Go easy on them?'
'Absolutely not. I have principles, you know.'
Tapu Fini immediately shook its head. Last time, those four had tried to use dirty tricks on it—though it turned the tables and beat them instead. Just for that alone, there was no way it was going to go easy on them.
Julian held up three fingers. "I'll give you three Elite-level Pokémon."
He currently had Pokémon from a total of eleven Trainers from Babath, Wyvernia, and Anglia. The Babath trio had suffered heavy losses, but Julian had still obtained six Elite-level Pokémon from them.
As for Wyvernia and Anglia, he had taken all their Pokémon—that included over forty Elite-level ones. Not to mention the additional Elite-level Pokémon they had robbed from others—now all belonged to Julian.
Giving Tapu Fini three Elite-level Pokémon in exchange for going easy on his teammates? That was nothing.
Tapu Fini shook its head again: "I'm a principled Pokémon."
"Five." Julian said.
Tapu Fini: "Don't be like this..."
"Eight." Julian continued.
Tapu Fini hesitated: "I'll... think about it."
"Fifteen."
Tapu Fini: "Principles are meant to be broken."
"Deal."
Julian: 凸-.-凸
He gave Tapu Fini a look of utter disdain before handing over the fifteen weakest Elite-level Pokémon in his possession.
"Tell them to head to Melemele Island in a week. I'll be waiting for them on the eastern edge."
Tapu Fini nodded. Since it was already going easy on them, passing along a message was no big deal.
Carrying fifteen Elite-level Pokémon in tow, Tapu Fini happily skipped away.
Lately, many of the Elite-level Pokémon on its island had been captured by Pierce and the other trainers. It wasn't as bad as Tapu Bulu's island, where nearly all the strong Pokémon were taken—but the numbers were dwindling.
Honestly, Tapu Fini also wanted Pierce and the others to leave already and stop capturing its island's Pokémon.
"Lucario."
Julian released Lucario.
After resting in the Pokéball for a while, Lucario had recovered significantly. The previous battle had mainly drained its stamina—its injuries weren't that serious.
"Here."
Julian handed Lucario the Spirit of Combat.
Lucario took the treasure. Its expression was far more composed than Arcanine's when receiving the Flame of Life—countless times more so, in fact.
'As expected of Lucario,' Julian thought, mentally giving it a thumbs-up.
Until he sensed the intense waves of excitement radiating from Lucario's aura.
…Okay, maybe it wasn't quite as calm as it looked on the surface.
As soon as Lucario made contact with the Spirit of Combat, the treasure was absorbed straight into its body.
Julian watched as Lucario sat cross-legged on the ground, radiating a powerful wave of Aura Energy.
Normally, Aura is invisible to the naked eye. But at this moment, the aura radiating from Lucario was so strong that it was physically visible.
Rings of blue aura pulsed outward from Lucario like radar waves, continuously expanding in all directions.
Strangely, this Aura carried no destructive force. Instead, wherever the waves passed, they left behind a soothing sensation—as if countless skilled hands were giving a full-body massage.
"It's about to break through."
Sensing Lucario's continuously rising energy, Julian's eyes narrowed. He quickly stepped forward and pressed his left hand against Lucario's chest, channeling his own aura into Lucario's body.
Lucario had long been ready to break through to the Elite tier, but had held it back on Julian's orders. Now, after absorbing the Spirit of Combat—the Fighting-type Ultimate treasure—it could no longer hold back.
Julian's aura resonated in harmony with Lucario's. As Lucario's energy surged to its peak, there was a brief pause—
Then, in the span of a second, the stagnant energy exploded upward.
71 → 72 → 73 → 74 → 75 → 76
Only after stabilizing at Level 76 did Lucario's aura gradually settle, finally returning to calm.
Pokémon: Lucario (Fighting/Steel)
Level: 76
Potential: Blue
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: Muscle Band
Gender: Male
Moves: Life Dew, Work Up, Copycat, Quick Attack, Calm Mind, Endure, Detect, Feint, Metal Claw, Aura Sphere, Rock Smash, Force Palm, Metal Sound, Bone Rush, Meteor Mash, Heal Pulse, Vacuum Wave, Reversal, Extreme Speed, Helping Hand, Screech, Final Gambit, Counter, Dragon Pulse, Quick Guard
TMs: Low Sweep, Brick Break, Agility, Swords Dance, Dig, Bulk Up, Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, Protect, Drain Punch, Hyper Beam, High Jump Kick, Ice Punch, Low Kick, Mach Punch, Flash Canon
Egg Moves: Mind Reader, Close Combat, Bullet Punch, Thunder Punch
Note: After absorbing the Fighting-type Ultimate treasure—Spirit of Combat, its physical attributes have been enhanced by 2x to 4x across the board.
*****
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