"Not good, doggo—speed up! Someone's snatched our treasure!"
After spotting the red dot indicating an Ultimate treasure, Julian had ridden Arcanine and rushed over. But before they were even halfway there, he saw the red dot start to move.
This instantly made Julian panic. A moving red dot meant the item had been taken by another Pokémon.
If it were any ordinary treasure, Julian wouldn't have cared. But this was an Ultimate treasure—and one he had spotted first, even if he hadn't arrived yet.
Therefore, it was his. How could some other Pokémon snatch it out from under him?
He was the one who did the snatching; there was no way he was going to be the one getting snatched from.
[T/N: I'm the one who knocks!]
"Hurry up! It's highly likely a Fire-type Ultimate treasure. You know exactly who that's meant for!"
To make Arcanine run even faster, Julian added a bit of motivation.
The moment Arcanine heard that, it was fired up.
A Fire-type Ultimate treasure—something they found together—then it was most likely meant for it.
Now some Pokémon dared to steal from this dog? It was going to bite them to death.
"Arf!"
Arcanine's heart blazed with fury, and its Extreme Speed suddenly increased by another fifty percent. This was no longer running too fast—it was practically flying too close to the ground.
Even though Julian thought he had a death grip on Arcanine's mane, faced with this breakthrough in speed, he was still flung right off its back—and a tuft of dog fur came away in his hand.
"F**k!"
Julian cursed mid-air as he was thrown off, but he wasn't panicked.
Because Arcanine had already executed a slick turn and caught him. After landing steadily, it continued charging toward the red dot's location.
"Woohoo! That was smooth!"
Lying on Arcanine's back, Julian couldn't help but shout—he had to admit, the dog's move just now was seriously cool.
Arcanine heard that and felt immensely pleased with itself. It also thought it was pretty cool just now, too.
At full speed, they arrived at the red dot's location in under two minutes. The red dot was still moving—but in a back-and-forth pattern.
Julian looked at the Dowsing Machine in confusion, even wondering if it was malfunctioning. Why would the red dot keep moving back and forth?
It seemed like something was being tossed around.
"Arf!"
"Hey, you monkeys—get out of here!"
Arcanine barked at the dozen or so Chimchar in front of them.
After all, they were about to look for the treasure—these monkeys would just get in the way.
Two little Chimchar who had been tossing a wooden stick back and forth for fun were startled by Arcanine. Wide-eyed with fear, they immediately followed the rest of their troop and fled the scene.
For weak Pokémon like them, how could they dare have any objections?
Julian had already noticed the wooden stick those two Chimchar were playing with. The stick's movement pattern matched the red dot's movement on the Dowsing Machine perfectly.
Now that they were taking the stick with them as they fled, the red dot on the Dowsing Machine was moving along with them.
It couldn't be more obvious.
"Doggo, that stick is the Ultimate treasure! Stop them!" Julian quickly shouted.
"Arf!"
Arcanine swiftly blocked the Chimchars' path. Looking at the jet-black wooden stick clutched in one Chimchar's hand, it growled, "You monkeys can go. The stick stays."
The little Chimchar looked reluctant. The stick was perfect for throwing. And holding it gave it a very comfortable feeling.
But this huge dog was staring it down, teeth already bared.
If it didn't hand it over, the dog would probably maul it.
Urged on by its companions, the Chimchar reluctantly placed the wooden stick on the ground.
Looking at the stick on the ground, Arcanine's eyes shifted a few times. Then, it suddenly lunged, mouth gaping wide, aiming to bite down on the stick.
'Since Master said it's probably a Fire-type Ultimate treasure, I'll just eat it first. That way, there won't be any left for that stupid bird.'
The dog's plan was actually quite good. But Julian knew his dog's personality all too well. The moment he saw those eyes shifting, he knew the guy was up to something.
Sure enough, Arcanine lunged to bite the stick—but its jaws snapped shut on empty air.
'Where's the stick?'
Arcanine looked at the empty ground in confusion.
The wooden stick was already in Julian's hand; he had just used his psychic powers to retrieve it.
[Flintwood: Formed when ancient Fire tree died naturally and was accidentally buried deep underground, then subjected to eons of extreme pressure and heat, resulting in this Fire-type Ultimate treasure.]
[Effects: Increases the power of Fire-type moves by 30%; increases Burn chance by 70%. When hit by a Fire-type move, damage taken is reduced by 50%. When hit by a Water-type move, damage taken is reduced by 20%.]
Reading the Flintwood's effects, Julian's eyes lit up.
This was actually a top-tier Ultimate treasure, and you could even call it a sub-World class treasure. As it actually provided four types of stat boosts.
It increased Fire-type moves power, raised Burn chances, and reduced damage taken from both Fire-type and Water-type moves.
Generally speaking, if a treasure increased the power of a certain Type's moves by more than 20%, it could already be classified as an Ultimate treasure—though only the most ordinary kind.
If it boosted two attributes, it was a mid-tier Ultimate treasure. Three attributes made it high-tier, and four made it a top-tier Ultimate treasure.
The Flintwood before him was clearly a top-tier Ultimate treasure.
Moreover, regardless of its tier, any Ultimate treasure had the effect of enhancing one's potential. Naturally, the higher the tier, the greater the enhancement to one's potential.
Julian's eyes were practically glowing—and Arcanine had already noticed.
Arcanine: 'This treasure must be really incredibe.'
So it stared at Julian with burning anticipation. Whether it could surpass that stupid bird all came down to this moment.
"Here."
Noticing Arcanine's gaze, Julian handed it over, somewhat speechless.
"Just bite it up and swallow it."
The moment he finished speaking, Arcanine crunched the Flintwood into pieces and gulped it all down in one go.
"How did an Ultimate treasure like this just end up lying on the ground?" Julian muttered to himself.
Most Ultimate treasures were hidden exceptionally well, practically burying themselves ten thousand meters underground if they could.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "Probably ejected by a volcanic eruption."
"That's the only explanation that makes sense," Julian nodded.
It was also fortunate that the energy of most Ultimate treasures was extremely restrained. Even a Champion-level Pokémon wouldn't necessarily detect an Ultimate treasure with such contained energy.
Let alone those little Chimchar. To them, it was merely a nicely shaped stick that felt comfortable to hold.
The thought of eating the stick had never crossed their minds.
It was just like a rough stone containing top-grade jade. The vast majority of people would simply treat it as an ordinary rock. Who would actually pick up that rock and think to split it open?
Most Ultimate treasures worked on the same principle. They might produce fluctuations while first appearing, but after that they looked quite ordinary.
At present, the types of Ultimate treasures discovered and documented by human society were still quite limited. And most had been found by chance. Because Julian had a Dowsing Machine, many of the Ultimate treasures he had found were varieties never before recorded.
Or perhaps they had been discovered, but only by one or two individuals who then kept it a secret.
After all, why on earth would you go around telling people, 'I've found an Ultimate treasure that's never been discovered before'?
That was practically the same as announcing, 'I have an Ultimate treasure. Come kill me and take it.'
*****
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