For the third island, Julian chose Ula'ula Island, located to the east of the sea. The most prominent feature of the entire island was a towering mountain that pierced straight into the clouds.
The mountain alone occupied nearly half the area of Ula'ula Island, which showed just how massive it was.
Its exact height remained unknown, as a large portion of it was hidden in the clouds and mist.
Such a huge and towering mountain was a rare sight, even in the outside world.
At Moltres' speed, it took less than twenty minutes for Julian to fly from Poni Island to Ula'ula Island.
With this, Moltres had officially dethroned Dragonite as Julian's primary flying mount.
Moltres' back was surprisingly wide, and the heat it radiated kept the high-altitude chill at bay. Julian planned to custom-make a flying saddle for Moltres once they got back, so he could ride it more safely.
Upon arriving at Ula'ula Island, Julian didn't rush to explore the mountain. Instead, he decided to scout the surrounding areas first. He always saved the best for last.
Besides, the other half of the island might also contain valuable treasures.
The danger level of Ula'ula Island was significantly higher than that of Poni and Akala Islands—not because of the wild Pokémon here.
But because trainers from Celestria, Gallia, and Anglia might be lurking here.
If luck was really against him, all three nations' trainers could be on this very island.
If he encountered just one of them, Julian still had ways to deal with it. But if it were two or more, their combined Pokémon count would definitely exceed eighty, and most would be Elite-level Pokémon.
In that case, no matter how strong Julian was, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Too many ants can bite an elephant to death—let alone the fact that these trainers were far from ants.
"Metagross, Lucario, keep an eye on our surroundings."
For extra security, Julian also sent out Lucario.
Between Metagross' psychic senses and Lucario's Aura detection, unless the enemy had absolute invisibility like Gengar, there was no way they could sneak up unnoticed.
This setup not only prevented ambushes but also helped track down other trainers.
"Meta!"
"Luca!"
The two Pokémon nodded.
Moltres wanted to contribute too, but Julian recalled it into its Poké Ball. That fiery bird was way too conspicuous. Best to keep it stored when not in use.
Just after he returned Moltres, the Poké Ball holding Kartana began to shake.
"What's wrong?"
Julian released Kartana.
Kartana: "This… is where I was born."
Kartana had been born on Ula'ula Island and spent nearly twenty years here. After gaining a certain level of strength, it had begun wandering to other islands, slashing Pokémon for fun wherever it went.
Julian: "Oh? So you're a local?"
He had always assumed Kartana was born on Poni Island.
But thinking about it, with Kartana's personality, once it had gained strength, there's no way it would have stayed put—it would have definitely gone off adventuring.
Besides, for a pseudo-Champion Pokémon like it that didn't care for claiming territory, most of them preferred to wander freely.
And while Kartana wandered around, it also stirred up trouble wherever it went.
Slashing through all four islands—that's the Kartana way!
"Then, is there any worthy opponent left here for you to slash?"
Kartana: "Other than the Island Guardian, I've already cut down all the strong ones."
As it said this, Kartana wore a lonely expression, like a swordsman yearning for a worthy rival.
Meanwhile, Julian had already taken out his Dowsing Machine.
Unlike what happened on Akala Island, where the moment he took it out there would be at least ten treasure signals within a 50-kilometer radius—differentiated only by the size of the red dots.
On Ula'ula Island, the Dowsing Machine only showed three red dots, and none of them were very large.
Julian kept walking around for a while, but no new red dots appeared.
The only explanation was that this island had fewer treasures than Akala Island.
As for why, it was either because the island naturally had fewer treasures—or because there were more trainers here, and stronger ones at that, so the treasures had already been taken.
---
All morning, Julian didn't get very far, but unexpectedly encountered an Alolan Ninetales—which he promptly captured. Once he left the secret realm, he would exchange it for resources.
Regular Ninetales were already a luxury symbol, adored by wealthy socialites and noble ladies.
Alolan Ninetales, on top of that, had a certain cold and aloof charm.
And in terms of quantity, Alolan Ninetales were definitely rarer.
It was easy to foresee that Alolan Ninetales would become the ultimate status symbol—coveted by high-society women and Ice-type trainers alike.
Any Ice-type trainer would be unlikely to refuse such a strong and beautiful Pokémon.
Ironically, Julian hadn't even seen an Alolan Ninetales on the snowy mountains of Poni Island, yet here he found one on Ula'ula Island instead.
Unfortunately, its potential wasn't very high—it wasn't even Green grade, just Yellow.
For professional trainers, Green-grade potential was the bare minimum. Yellow-grade Pokémon were more suited for new trainers with limited resources, or as family pets.
Still, even with Yellow potential, this Ninetales could sell for tens of millions at auction—entirely due to scarcity.
Currently, they only appeared in this Top-tier secret realm.
Eventually, their numbers would increase through breeding, but that would take time and effort.
For a while, Alolan Vulpix/Ninetales would surely remain expensive and in high demand.
Suddenly—
Julian noticed something.
"Someone's fought here."
After walking for a while, Julian came to a place covered with traces of battle—within a kilometer radius, all the vegetation had been flattened.
The ground was riddled with pits and craters of various sizes.
"What Pokémon is this skeleton from?"
Julian frowned at the remains of a Pokémon lying on the ground, scraps of rotten flesh still clinging to its bones.
The skeleton's legs were clearly shattered—what looked like a fist imprint was visible on one of them.
"Luca~"
Lucario: "Whatever did this... had terrifying strength."
As a Fighting-type expert, Lucario knew exactly how much raw power it would take to shatter a leg bone with a single punch like that.
The battle had likely taken place at least half a month ago. The flesh on the Pokémon had been picked clean by scavengers, and new weeds were already sprouting across the ravaged terrain.
"Dig a hole and bury it," Julian said.
Lucario nodded and carved out a two-meter-deep pit, carefully placing the remains inside before covering it.
"Meta!"
Metagross suddenly pointed into the distance.
Julian looked in that direction and saw a wisp of smoke slowly rising through the forest.
"Someone's got guts—cooking out in the open?" Julian muttered.
The smoke was too controlled to be a wildfire—someone was definitely cooking.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "Should we go check it out?"
"Gengar, go take a look," Julian said.
Since someone was bold enough to light a fire here, Julian naturally had to play along. So he sent out his scout—Gengar—to go investigate.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister