Countries like Wyvernia and Babath, whose strength was far inferior to Drakoria, often acted provocatively in front of Drakoria. So why hadn't Drakoria dealt with them yet?
The reasons really came down to a few points:
First, the things they did were just petty little provocations—just enough to be annoying.
Second, both nations were basically Celestria's "godsons". Dealing with them wouldn't be hard for Drakoria, but Celestria would definitely intervene. Then it'd turn into two superpowers locking horns—maybe even an outright conflict.
Third, there was no justifiable cause for war. Though these nations often acted up, it was mostly just verbal sparring. If Drakoria were to send troops over mere words, how would neighboring countries perceive it? They'd likely feel threatened and insecure.
But now, with the Julian incident, things were different.
Wyvernia had crossed the line—so now all those old grudges and new grievances could be settled together.
This time, Drakoria had a legitimate cause: they'd been wronged, they had a clear justification. There was no negotiating—Wyvernia had acted improperly, and now that your deeds were exposed, what? You want to surrender? Too late.
Truth was, what Wyvernia did—targeting a rival nation's young talent—was something every country's spies did.
If you didn't want your rival nation to grow stronger, you eliminate its strongest. But since established powerhouses were hard to kill, the next best option was to target the most outstanding members of the younger generation.
Kill enough of the enemy's prodigies, and over time, they'll have fewer and fewer future elites—it was a slow but effective way to weaken your enemy's strength.
It was a dirty tactic, sure—but it worked, and the cost was relatively low.
Of course, the success rate was also low—after all, whether it was the nation or the families of these prodigies, they took extensive precautions to protect their geniuses.
Take Julian, for example: back when he first became a trainer, he had an Alakazam at the peak of Elite-level protecting him.
Now that Julian was a Pseudo-Champion himself, he'd already returned Alakazam to his grandfather—yet even so, he'd still been kidnapped. Granted, that only worked because Julian let himself get caught. Otherwise, the plan would've failed miserably.
Still, to be fair, if it had been anyone else, they'd probably really have fallen for it.
If Julian hadn't consumed that Ambrosia, gaining near-total immunity to toxins, Selina's Rophenine would have worked, and he'd have been drugged too.
---
Wyvernia, Havenburg, inside a certain military base.
Julian's Pokémon were rampaging through the place. Even though a large number of Wyvernian trainers had rushed over—including five Elite-level trainers—it wasn't nearly enough.
Out in the wider world, that would have been impressive. But against Julian's Pokémon? They were hopelessly outmatched.
Just his Kartana alone had already cut down three Elite-level Pokémon in under three minutes.
The rest of his team were each racking up their own kill count too.
In less than ten minutes, all the Pokémon that the five Elites had sent out were basically wiped out.
As for Stephen's two Pseudo-Champion Pokémon—Zebstrika and Raichu—they were already done for.
Zebstrika's head had been smashed in by Mega Metagross, its body still twitching from nerve reflexes.
Raichu hadn't even left a corpse—it had been completely incinerated into ashes by Moltres' flames.
With their two strongest Pokémon dead and most of their dozens of other Pokémon wiped out, the five Elite trainers were finished.
Stephen's face was deathly pale. Knowing he was doomed, he roared at his subordinates to keep fighting while secretly trying to slip away.
He wasn't ready to die yet. With the influence his chaebol family wielded in Wyvernia, even if this operation failed and brought huge losses to the country, he wouldn't really face any serious punishment.
"Steelix!"
Julian noticed Stephen trying to escape and called out to the nearest Pokémon.
The massive steel serpent turned its head, locking eyes with Stephen. Panicking, Stephen immediately sent out four Elite-level Pokémon, hoping to force his way out.
But in the next second, those four Elite Pokémon were intercepted by Moltres.
With his two Pseudo-Champion Pokémon dead, Moltres and Mega Metagross were now free.
Mega Metagross had turned into a slaughter machine, rampaging through the military base—anyone or any Pokémon not on Julian's side had their heads crushed with a single punch—brutally efficient.
Metagross was inherently a violent Pokémon—its supercomputer-like mind usually suppressed its bloodlust with logic.
But now, bathed in blood, its savage nature was fully unleashed.
Every one of Julian's Pokémon possessed overwhelming power, and Metagross had basically become a god of death—no matter how many enemies came, they all died.
With Stephen—their Pseudo-Champion—captured alive by Julian, the remaining Wyvernian soldiers in the base began to lose all will to fight.
Faced with an enemy they had zero chance of defeating, the only thought left in their minds was escape.
Once the first soldier fled, the second and third quickly followed…
Mega Metagross showed no mercy, hunting down the fleeing soldiers and Pokémon—and Julian didn't stop it either.
Looking at Selina, Hank, and Stephen in front of him, Julian smiled coldly.
"Now the tables have turned."
The three were now his prisoners.
"Spare me, my lord! I'll do anything you want—just let me live!" Hank immediately dropped to his knees, pleading desperately with Julian.
Truly spineless.
SMACK!
Julian slapped him hard across the face with enough force to knock out most of his teeth.
He hadn't forgotten how this guy had beaten him just a few days ago.
"Gengar—he's yours." Julian said calmly.
He'd promised Gengar that this one would be its kill.
"Gehehe~"
Gengar's grin spread wide, but unlike its usual mischievous smirk, this time its smile was bone-chillingly cold. It had watched with its own eyes how this bastard had beaten its trainer.
"No—NO—!"
Under Hank's despairing gaze, Gengar melted him into a pool of blood with its poison, then devoured his soul. But it didn't just absorb it—instead, it trapped the soul in its belly, torturing it endlessly.
Julian then turned to Selina.
"You too. Such a beautiful woman—why be a spy?"
The woman stared back at him, her eyes calm—not a hint of pleading in them.
Crack!
He snapped her neck with his own hands. Just like that, the woman dropped dead at his feet.
"SPARE ME—!"
Seeing this, Stephen finally broke, collapsing to the ground in terror as a foul stench filled the air.
The man had pissed himself.
Julian looked at him with obvious disgust. For a Pseudo-Champion, his mental fortitude was pathetic. He wasn't worthy of that title at all.
BAM!
Julian kicked him square in the chest. He held back—otherwise, with his strength, Stephen would've died instantly.
"What kind of trash are you, calling yourself a Pseudo-Champion like me?"
Stephen scrambled up, trembling. "I—I'm not one anymore!"
His only two Pseudo-Champion Pokémon were dead. Even his Elite-level ones had been wiped out.
Now?
He was barely a glorified Pseudo-Elite at best.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister