After dealing with Celebi, Julian turned back to Genesect. He didn’t really believe what it had just said. Who knew if, once he left, this thing would sneak out of the secret realm and cause trouble again?
The key issue was that the Champion of Pannar couldn’t keep it in check.
After some thought, Julian decided to take Genesect back to Drakoria and place it directly in the Oreburgh Great Wall secret realm. The environment there would suit its typing perfectly.
With its current strength, it wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble in the secret realm anyway.
So, Julian took out a Poké Ball and said, "Behave yourself. Don’t destroy this Poké Ball. I’ll let you out once we get to our destination."
Although Genesect was very reluctant, it had no choice but to nod in agreement. After all, Metagross was still holding its claw up threateningly. If it didn’t cooperate, a beating was inevitable.
After capturing Genesect in the Poké Ball, Julian turned to Omar and said, "The cause of the secret realm riot was this guy, but the problem has been resolved now."
Julian didn’t mention what Genesect had done inside the secret realm, worried that if the news spread, some extreme trainers might attempt to replicate its method.
[T/N: Bro seemed to have forgotten about himself.]
In reality, absorbing the secret realm's energy wasn’t something that could be done at will. Without a special ability or treasure, most Pokémon couldn’t actively absorb it—let alone drain an entire realm’s energy, like Genesect had.
Genesect had managed to do it because of the Seven-Aperture Stone, which could communicate with all things, including the secret realm's energy.
Now that the Seven-Aperture Stone had been absorbed into Julian’s body, he couldn’t retrieve it himself—though Mew probably could.
Omar nodded. When he saw the unfamiliar Champion-level Pokémon emerge from the secret realm, he had already guessed as much.
At last, the riot had finally been resolved.
However, the casualties—both people and Pokémon—were not small.
The aftershocks of the earlier battle had even reached the capital, causing cracks in many buildings and collapsing some residential homes.
Hospitals, fire departments, and other emergency services in the capital were now overwhelmed.
Omar quickly relayed the news that the situation had been resolved to the authorities, who breathed a sigh of relief at the long-awaited good news.
At the same time, they also learned from Omar that Julian had become a Champion, and that he had achieved this breakthrough in their very own secret realm.
This made the higher-ups of Pannar almost sick with envy.
Their secret realm had helped a trainer from another country become a Champion. Even if that country was their "big brother," if the big brother ever decided to abandon them, there would be nothing they could do about it.
In the end, what really mattered was one’s own strength.
Pannar had ten Pseudo-Champions, one of whom was at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level and another at the late-stage Pseudo-Champion. If one of them had obtained this opportunity, Pannar might very well have gained its second Champion.
The higher-ups in Pannar somewhat regretted asking their "big brother" for help. If they had gritted their teeth and handled the secret realm situation themselves, that opportunity might have been theirs.
But there was no use regretting it now. The best they could do was figure out how to cling even tighter to the big brother's thigh.
Seven Champions—just thinking about it was terrifying.
As long as Pannar remained Drakoria's number one little brother, under its protection, even Celestria would have to treat them better.
As for the other nations—from now on, even if Pannar cursed at them, they would have to take it lying down.
The group returned to the state guesthouse where they were staying. Since it was located in the center of Pannar’s capital, it had not been affected by the aftermath of the battle.
Once inside the guesthouse, Ambassador David immediately reported the situation in Pannar to the Elder Council of Drakoria, with the most important news being Julian's achievement of becoming a Champion.
On the other end of the call was the Third Elder of Drakoria. Even he, a man who had seen countless storms, was momentarily stunned when he heard Julian had become a Champion.
It wasn’t until David’s voice came through the phone again that the Third Elder came back to his senses. Gripping the receiver tightly, he asked, "David, are you certain there’s no mistake? Julian has really become a Champion?"
"Third Elder, there’s no mistake. Pannar’s Champion, Omar, confirmed it to me, and I’ve also verified it with Julian himself—he admitted it."
"Moreover, Julian’s Metagross easily defeated an unfamiliar Champion-level Pokémon—one that even two of Omar’s Champion-level Pokémon couldn’t handle."
"I’ll send you the relevant information shortly, but for the satellite footage, you’ll need to coordinate with the relevant departments."
"Understood. Inform the Pannar leadership that until Julian returns to the country, the news of him becoming a Champion must be kept strictly confidential."
"I’ve already discussed this with the authorities."
After exchanging a few more words, the call ended.
On his end, the Third Elder stood up excitedly and turned to his secretary, "Notify the other five Elders. No matter what they’re doing, we will hold a meeting in Conference Room One in half an hour."
The secretary nodded and hurried out.
After a moment of contemplation, the Third Elder picked up the phone on his desk and called the Minister of Military Affairs.
"Hello, Third Elder?"
The calm voice of Brandon, the current Minister of Military Affairs, came through the phone.
Brandon had held the position for thirty years and was himself a peak Pseudo-Champion trainer.
Aside from the top ten trainers on the Elite rankings, there were many other peak Pseudo-Champion trainers who were not listed in the public rankings.
These were the hidden strengths of Drakoria, or rather, the capabilities of its high-ranking officials.
Of course, the same was true for other countries. Every nation would choose to keep part of its power concealed.
However, no country would ever hide the number of Champions it had. Champions were the ultimate deterrent. If you hid your deterrent, wouldn’t that just invite others to bully you?
If you were to reveal a hidden Champion only after being bullied—either to scare off the opponent or to retaliate—you would still be exposed anyway.
So there was no need to hide the number of Champions.
In fact, many countries wished they could exaggerate their Champion count.
"Julian, who is currently in Pannar, has become a Champion. Under the pretext of a military exercise, proceed to Pannar’s territorial waters and escort him back safely."
"Third Elder, wouldn’t that draw suspicion from other countries?" Brandon asked.
Suddenly conducting a military exercise off Pannar’s coast—wasn’t that basically announcing to the world that something was amiss?
"The Pannar leadership already knows that Julian has become a Champion. Do you think Celestria remains unaware of this news?" the Third Elder sneered.
When it came to planting spies, Celestria was highly professional. Moreover, Pannar was a less developed nation, and some of its officials were more susceptible to temptations like beauty, money, or treasures.
That’s why the Third Elder suspected there was a high chance that Celestria already knew.
"Understood. I will act immediately."
Brandon’s voice was stern and resolute.
*****
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