Metagross's memory couldn't be fake, so it really had misunderstood Julian. After fighting for so long, it had even borrowed the island's power to break through to the Champion level—yet it still lost. This was utterly humiliating.
Along with it, Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele were also embarrassed, since as fellow guardian deities, their strength was even lower than Tapu Bulu's.
Back when they lost to Julian, they had thought that if they borrowed the island's power, they would surely be able to crush Julian.
But now a living example was right in front of them—Tapu Bulu had borrowed the island's power and still lost.
Sure, Julian had ganged up on it and paid a considerable price himself, but Tapu Bulu had been the one to act dishonorably first. So it couldn't blame Julian for resorting to numbers.
Tapu Bulu: "I can give you these treasures."
As it spoke, it took out over a dozen orbs, all of them elemental orbs capable of directly raising a Cyan-grade Pokémon's potential to Blue-grade.
As expected of an island guardian—its private collection was indeed impressive.
But for Julian, these orbs were completely useless, as all his Pokémon were already Blue-grade or higher in potential.
Still, if he brought them outside, they could be exchanged for a wealth of resources.
Tapu Bulu: "As long as you release half of the captured Elite-tier Pokémon and those whose entire tribes were taken, these will be yours."
The offer was quite generous.
But—
"My Pokémon almost died because of your misunderstanding, and many of them are injured. These things aren't enough," Julian shook his head.
He made it clear—he wanted more.
It didn't even occur to him that, what would happen if Tapu Bulu decided to force him to release the Pokémon, especially since it still had allies nearby. In that case, Julian would have no way to refuse.
But if it really dared to push him that far, Julian wouldn't hold back—he'd just let Mewtwo teach them a lesson. And then, it wouldn't just be a simple matter of compensation anymore.
Tapu Bulu fell silent for a moment. These orbs were its entire collection. It looked up at Julian and asked: "Then what do you want?"
"The Ultimate treasure of this island," Julian said calmly.
Based on his experience, both Poni Island and Akala Island had their own Ultimate treasures, so there was an 80% chance that this Ula'ula Island had one too.
If such a treasure really existed, Julian—with his Dowsing Machine—would eventually find its hiding spot. But whether he could obtain it was another question.
Just like the Flame of Life before—he knew it was in the volcanic magma, but he had no way to retrieve it. In the end, Tapu Lele had easily brought it out.
This made Julian realize that the island guardians held absolute control over their respective islands.
If Ula'ula Island really had an Ultimate treasure, then for Tapu Bulu, the island's guardian, bringing it out would be as simple as lifting a hand.
"Give me the Ultimate treasure, and I'll return all the Elite-tier Pokémon to you—along with the ordinary wild Pokémon."
To Julian, those Pokémon didn't really matter. If he could trade them for an Ultimate treasure, of course it was a great deal.
Tapu Bulu nodded: "Alright."
Not long after, a grayish-white, gas-like substance appeared in Tapu Bulu's hand.
[Spirit of Combat: Significantly enhances a Pokémon's physical attributes (strength, speed, reflexes, defense, etc.) across the board. Estimated boost of 2 to 4 times. Only usable by Fighting-type Pokémon.]
Seeing the effects of this treasure, Julian's face lit up with a big smile. It was practically tailor-made for Lucario.
"Then I'll forgive your earlier mistake."
With that, he snatched the Spirit of Combat and pocketed the dozen or so elemental orbs from earlier as well.
Tapu Bulu froze for a moment before turning to its companions, as if asking, 'Is this guy really this shameless?'
Tapu Lele, the most qualified to answer, nodded solemnly. Its own island's Ultimate treasure had been lost the same way—not to mention Julian had also shamelessly captured Moltres.
Once he had the items in hand, Julian handed over all the Poké Balls containing the island's Elite-tier Pokémon and the wild populations to Tapu Bulu. Since they were all living creatures, he couldn't store them in the system space.
So carrying them around all the time had been a pain.
The moment it got the Pokémon back, Tapu Bulu immediately flew off. It had no desire to stay near Julian any longer—lest its blood pressure spike again.
"Hey, don't forget we still have to battle before I leave the island!" Julian shouted at Tapu Bulu's retreating figure.
In response, Tapu Bulu threw a piece of wood back at him.
Tapu Bulu: "No need."
'You nearly killed me, and you still want a rematch? Do I look like an idiot?'
"So… this is the token, huh."
Julian looked at the piece of wood in his hand—it was half-burned, too.
Well, he wasn't even surprised anymore. He was already used to these island guardians using whatever was nearby as a token after being defeated.
Tapu Fini: "So lazy. This guy is really embarrassing us Island Guardians."
Beside it, Tapu Lele nodded in agreement.
Giving a piece of wood—what a joke. It wasn't as sturdy as the stone it had given, nor as pretty as the shell Tapu Fini had offered.
Julian side-eyed the two of them and honestly couldn't figure out where their sense of superiority came from.
Tapu Lele floated up to Julian.
"What do you want?"
Julian eyed it warily. This guy clearly had something to ask but looked embarrassed about it. Definitely not up to something good.
"Well… I do have a favor to ask."
Tapu Lele nodded.
"I can't do it." Julian said outright.
Tapu Lele: "..."
'I haven't even said what I want yet, and you're already refusing me? Isn't that a bit too much?'
"Can you return those four Elite-level Fire-type Pokémon from the volcano?"
On its island, the strongest trainers had been those three idiots from Babath. But before they could cause any real trouble on Akala Island, Julian had wiped them out.
And Julian had been reasonable on its island—he'd only captured the four Fire-type Elites from the volcano, plus Moltres.
Based on his investigation, Akala Island had eighteen Elite-level Pokémon, not even counting Moltres. So taking four wouldn't really affect the island much.
As for whether others would try to capture Pokémon on the island too, Julian couldn't care less.
Tapu Lele: "I can tell you the location of a Totem-class Pupitar—it's on this very island."
Julian stared at it, wondering if this island guardian had given up on its duties entirely. 'Selling out Pokémon from a fellow guardian's island? Really?'
Tapu Lele: 'It's not mine anyway, so I don't feel that bad. Honestly, I'm kind of enjoying this.'
If Tapu Bulu hadn't already left, it probably would've thrown hands with Tapu Lele right then and there. Seriously, this was next-level shamelessness.
Even Tapu Fini, standing nearby, was stunned by Tapu Lele's audacious move. 'Wait, does Julian have any good things from my island?'
'Hmm… seems like no. Why do I feel a little disappointed?'
*****
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