"Master, we can leave now."
Seeing that Julian had already healed the Growlithe, Arcanine couldn't wait to get him to leave. That freshly healed Growlithe had already started licking Julian.
If Julian got even a little tempted, it might really end up with a new competitor.
So they had to leave quickly.
The power of a "little licking dog" was no joke.
If it weren't watching closely right now, that little Growlithe would probably already be clinging to Julian.
Julian clearly felt that this little Growlithe had the intention of following him, but the cold gaze from his own Arcanine behind him made him feel as if Slowking was staring at him.
"Ahem, let's go."
Julian stood up and jumped onto Arcanine's back.
He decided not to catch the Growlithe after all. He had just captured Zeraora, and he already had Arcanine—there was no need to add a regional variant one.
"Arf~"
Arcanine looked down at the little Growlithe's disappointed expression, its mouth curling upward. With a loud bark, it dashed off at high speed—using Extreme Speed.
Julian had expected this, so when he got on, he immediately lowered his body and grabbed onto its mane, preventing himself from being thrown off.
"Arf~"
The Arcanine leader looked at its dejected pack member and softly comforted it.
Arcanine leader: "That one's a petty dog—and extremely skilled at licking. You can't outdo it."
Hearing this, the little Growlithe was of course unconvinced. When it came to licking skills, even if he truly wasn't a match for that Arcanine right now, he was still young and had plenty of room to improve.
'Hmph. Next time that human comes, I'll make sure to please him so well that he kicks that bootlicker dog aside.'
Meanwhile, Arcanine was already carrying Julian on a rapid exploration of the crater region.
Earlier, it had found the temperature here quite pleasant and had been strolling at a leisurely pace. Now that it sensed danger here, it naturally wanted to explore at maximum speed and then get the hell out of this place.
Moreover, it had also smelled the scent of Houndoom here.
'Damn—another dog.'
There was even the scent of those vixen Ninetales.
Threats everywhere—they absolutely had to leave this place quickly.
Julian had originally thought they might find an Ultimate treasure here by the crater's magma, since large volcanic magma vents usually harbored precious items at their depths. Precisely for this reason, many Trainers rushed to explore any Secret Realm containing a volcano the moment they entered.
But precisely because volcanic magma was the most likely place to find treasures, nowadays whether it was a Secret Realm or a volcano in the outside world, most have already been explored by Trainers. The chances of discovering treasure were very low.
"Damn, is my luck really this bad?"
Looking at the Dowsing Machine, Julian couldn't believe his eyes. He was right here at the volcanic crater, yet the Dowsing Machine wasn't even showing a single red dot.
Forget about Ultimate treasures or sub-Ultimate treasures—there wasn't even a single ordinary treasure. This volcanic crater had absolutely nothing.
"It was you guys, wasn't it? You stole my treasure!"
Standing at the crater's edge, Julian glared at the Magmar and Magmortar leisurely soaking in the magma. He was certain they were the culprits who had swiped his treasure.
He activated his Probing Eyes to see which one of them it was.
Where he got this confidence from, no one knew, but Julian was utterly convinced this crater held an Ultimate treasure, and now that it was gone, these guys must have eaten it.
But according to the Probing Eyes, none of these Magmar or the few Magmortar had consumed any kind of treasures.
In other words, this volcanic crater most likely never birthed a treasure in the first place. Or, if there was one, some other Fire-type Pokémon had already devoured it.
The Magmar and Magmortar looked up at Julian, who was questioning them from the crater's edge, their expressions clearly saying: 'This guy's an idiot. Just ignore him.'
Treasure? What treasure? To Magmar and Magmortar, this magma was the greatest treasure of all.
"Doggo, take a piss. We're leaving."
Realizing he was being completely ignored, Julian wasn't about to take that lying down. He patted Arcanine's rear.
"Arf~"
Arcanine flashed a mischievous grin, then lifted its left hind leg and let loose directly into the fiery pit below.
'Is it raining?'
One unlucky Magmortar felt a cool sensation on its forehead and thought it had started raining.
Just as it was puzzling over this, a warning cry from its companion reached its ears.
"Whatever you do, don't look up!"
'Don't look up? Why shouldn't I look up?'
At a moment like this, whether you're a Pokémon or a human, you're almost guaranteed to look up—if for no other reason than sheer contrarian instinct.
The moment it tilted its head back, it saw a certain dog's leg, and the stream hit it square in the face.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"
Feeling the cool wetness on its face, Magmortar's lungs nearly exploded with rage.
"Pfft—!"
The companions around it burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Sure, what Arcanine did was way out of line—but since it didn't happen to them, it was hilarious.
"I'll kill you!"
This Magmortar was actually a Pseudo-Champion. Enraged, its flames shot skyward, even causing the magma below to erupt violently.
But Julian had already mounted Arcanine and fled.
With Arcanine's speed, even if Magmortar grew a few extra legs, it still wouldn't be able to catch up.
Hearing the furious but futile roars behind him, Julian felt a wave of satisfaction. "That's what it gets for ignoring me. Good job, doggo."
He patted the Arcanine beneath him.
"Arf~"
Arcanine: "I've got something even bigger. Want to go drop a load on them?"
"Let's skip that one. A little one was fine, but a big one would just be too immoral."
Julian shook his head, looking rather disgusted. This dog was even more twisted than he was.
"Let's go. There's still a small part of the crater left to explore. Once we're done, we'll head to the next location," Julian said.
This area was small to begin with, so it wouldn't take much time.
Arcanine strode forward, carrying Julian as they continued exploring the crater.
Just as they were about to finish, and Julian had stopped paying much attention to the Dowsing Machine, a massive red dot suddenly appeared on the screen.
But Julian's attention was elsewhere, so he didn't notice.
Fortunately, Celebi, who had been lying on Julian's head the whole time, happened to spot the large red dot.
"Julian, there's a treasure!"
Celebi tugged on Julian's hair.
Julian looked down and instantly saw the huge red dot indicating an Ultimate treasure. His expression immediately lit up with excitement.
"So it was here all along."
Julian hadn't expected the treasure not to be in the magma, but instead at the base of the volcano.
According to energy distribution, the Fire-type energy at the volcano's base should be the lowest, with the highest concentration definitely being within the volcanic magma.
That was why the probability of finding treasures inside volcanic magma was usually the highest.
At the volcano's base, let alone ordinary treasures, even Fire-type Pokémon were relatively scarce. Only very weak Fire-type Pokémon would live at the foot of a volcano.
"Doggo, let's go!"
Following the location displayed on the Dowsing Machine, Julian immediately patted Arcanine.
*****
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