Seeing Julian return, Celebi eagerly flew over, asking curiously as it approached, "Julian, what did Zeraora do to that Mightyena afterward?"
When Julian had taken Zeraora aside earlier, Celebi had secretly followed. Julian had known, but didn't stop it.
However, when he started recounting Zeraora's embarrassing stories, he quietly signaled for Celebi to leave. After all, Celebi was a notorious blabbermouth. If it found out, it would definitely tell Jirachi, Arcanine, and the others later.
And before long, every single one of Julian's Pokémon would know all of Zeraora's humiliating secrets. If that happened, Zeraora really might slit its own throat—though before doing so, it would most likely take Julian down with it.
"Don't be so nosy."
Julian lightly tapped Celebi on the forehead. He could feel Zeraora's Poké Ball at his waist shaking violently—if he actually told the story, Zeraora would definitely jump out immediately.
Julian: 'Could I really tell you that a drunk Zeraora knocked out the Mightyena and drank wolf milk together with several Poochyena, only to end up being allergic to it, breaking out in rashes all over its body that took more than a week to disappear?'
'And that it drank so greedily—even though it was already much larger than the Mightyena and she barely had any milk to begin with—that it finished every last drop?'
'Leaving those poor Poochyena pups with empty bellies for the next two or three days.'
'And that the female Mightyena went around asking everyone if they'd seen a bipedal yellow Pokémon, clearly intent on settling scores with Zeraora.'
But at the time, she hadn't gotten a clear look, because Zeraora had knocked her out cold right away. Otherwise, Zeraora's reputation would have been ruined long ago.
'Allergic to Mightyena milk!'
Just thinking about it made Julian burst out laughing.
Some humans were naturally sensitive to certain things, and consuming them would cause discomfort, or in severe cases, even death.
Pokémon were the same; some of them were also allergic to certain things.
But being allergic to Mightyena milk... just sounded way too funny.
Julian's sudden laughter made Celebi even more curious. It was itching to know, but didn't dare press Julian for answers.
Just then, the Poké Ball at his waist opened on its own.
Pop!
Zeraora materialized, staring fixedly at Julian with piercing eyes, as if demanding, 'What are you laughing at?'
Its fists were already clenched.
Julian took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his laughter—though his slightly trembling shoulders betrayed just how hard he was struggling to hold it in.
"Don't go too far!"
Zeraora glared furiously at Julian. 'This bastard! I already agreed to become your Pokémon—why are you still laughing at me? I never should have given in back then. I should have just fought you to the death.'
"Ahem… Lucario."
Julian masked his laughter with a cough and immediately called out for Lucario.
The ever perceptive Lucario placed a paw against Julian's back and channeled a wave of Aura into him, calming his emotions.
Looking at the still fuming Zeraora, Julian walked over and slung an arm around its shoulders. "Alright, alright. I wasn't doing it on purpose. Besides, from now on, we're partners who entrust our lives to each other."
'Partners who entrust our lives to each other'—those final words struck Zeraora deeply.
As a Mythical Pokémon, it had never known its parents. It had always been alone—no partners, no friends. Usually, it didn't even have another Pokémon to exchange a single word with.
And now Julian was saying that from here on out, they would be partners who entrusted their lives to one another. The feeling was truly strange… and completely new.
It could sense that Julian was sincere when he said those words.
That meant this human, whom it had only just met today, was willing to lay down his life for it.
This feeling of being trusted… it was experiencing it for the first time.
"Here, this is for you. Consider it a welcome gift."
Julian handed the Thunder Shoot to Zeraora. He had thought this Electric-type Ultimate treasure might be useless, and had even considered trading it for a treasure of a different Typing once he got out.
But now, unexpectedly, he had caught a Zeraora.
So naturally, this Thunder Shoot now belonged to it—and Zeraora also became Julian's first Electric-type Pokémon.
"For me?!"
Taking the Thunder Shoot and sensing the rich Electric-type energy surging within it, Zeraora looked at Julian in disbelief. Such a treasure was being given directly to it—a Pokémon that had just been captured, with hardly any emotional bond yet.
Was this really okay?
"Yeah. What, you think it's not good enough? Though honestly, the Thunder Shoot's attributes really are average. When we get out, I'll see if I can find you something better," Julian said.
The enhancement provided by the Thunder Shoot wasn't particularly strong—it could only be considered a mid-tier Ultimate treasure.
Julian remembered that the Walker family still had several Electric-type Ultimate treasures, and with the family's influence, obtaining a few more wouldn't be difficult.
There was even a top-tier Ultimate Electric-type treasure in Drakoria's treasury.
"No, no! Not at all!"
Zeraora quickly shook its head. This was an Ultimate treasure—how could it possibly look down on it? Back when it had obtained the Light Wing, a speed-oriented Ultimate treasure, it had gotten it through nothing but sheer dumb luck.
And even that story was tied to one of its past embarrassing incidents.
Now Julian was directly giving it an Ultimate treasure that matched its own Type—there was no way it wouldn't be overjoyed.
And from the sound of Julian's words, there would be even better treasures coming its way later.
'This human, no—wait. My Trainer is seriously amazing. As expected of someone who has subdued four First-class Legendaries—he probably has plenty of good stuff.'
"Alright, everyone, let me introduce you. This is Zeraora. From now on, he's one of our own. Let's give him a warm welcome!" Julian announced to his Pokémon.
The Pokémon all voiced their welcome.
The most enthusiastic was Arcanine. The big dog strode right up to Zeraora and said, "Stick with me from now on. Together, we'll take down that stupid bird!"
It then gestured toward Moltres, indicating that the stupid bird was that one.
"You dumb dog, are you looking for a beating?"
Moltres swooped over and swiped at Arcanine with a talon.
And just like that, the bird and the dog were at it again. Naturally, given the gap in strength, Arcanine was being thoroughly pummeled by Moltres.
Zeraora felt a bit unaccustomed to the scene, but just then, Lucario walked over and handed it a vegetable basket.
Zeraora reflexively took it.
"Slow~"
Seeing Zeraora's natural receptiveness and how its paws gripped the basket handles perfectly, Slowking—standing off to the side—couldn't help but nod with a satisfied expression.
It walked up to Zeraora and offered it a small bag of walnuts.
"I don't eat those."
Zeraora shook its head.
That very instant, every single Pokémon turned to look at Zeraora—even Moltres and Arcanine, who had been fighting, froze mid-action.
They all had the same thought: 'This guy actually refused the Great Steward Slowking... Truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger.'
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister