They rested in that area for two days. Once Gengar and Aggron's injuries had recovered to a certain extent, Julian finally prepared to leave.
As for where he was going—of course, he was off to find that Totem-class Pupitar.
He wasn't worried about someone else having already captured it, though. The thing was hiding extremely well—unless you were some kind of "chosen one," there was absolutely no way you'd stumble upon its location.
He mounted Moltres and headed toward the towering peak of the massive mountain on Ula'ula Island.
At around 3,000 meters, the air grew thick with mist, and the sun's rays filtered weakly through the clouds.
Following the mental map provided by Tapu Lele, Julian had Moltres stop at an altitude of 6,000 meters before leaping off its back.
At this altitude, the temperature had already dropped below zero. The surroundings were blanketed in thick snow, and aside from a few cold-resistant plants, the area looked extremely desolate.
Even wild Pokémon were few and far between.
The combination of freezing temperatures and thin oxygen made this place uninhabitable for weaker Pokémon.
But before long, an Alolan Ninetales, at the pseudo-Elite level, appeared before Julian—only to immediately flee the moment it saw him.
Well, can't blame it—anyone who sees a guy with a Moltres behind him would run too.
Metagross shot Moltres a sidelong glance. This fiery bird's intimidating presence far outclassed its own—though, to be fair, Moltres did have the strength to back it up.
If Metagross didn't actively flex its power, most Pokémon wouldn't be scared off by its appearance alone—unless they were naturally timid.
After trekking for about half an hour, Julian stopped in front of a rock wall and said, "Punch through here."
The Totem Pupitar was hiding inside. This spot had actually been chosen for it by Tapu Lele, who had planned to lure it to its island once it evolved.
As Metagross smashed its fists into the rock, huge chunks of stone began to fall. After digging in about ten meters, a partially buried cave entrance was revealed.
Inside the pitch-black cave, a pair of red eyes suddenly appeared. A moment later, a massive sandstorm blasted out of the cave entrance.
In such a confined space, the sandstorm's power was immense.
But Julian stood unfazed. Metagross erected a Light Screen, effortlessly blocking the raging winds.
The moment the sandstorm subsided, a sharp hiss—like compressed air being released—pierced the air. Then—BAM!
Pupitar had rammed headfirst into the Light Screen, now looking completely dazed.
It had no idea why something was suddenly blocking its path.
Julian smiled with satisfaction looking at the Pupitar in front of him.
'As expected of a Totem-class Pokémon—this thing's size is insane.'
A normal Pupitar stands around 1.2 meters tall.
But this one? It was nearly 4 meters.
Totem-class Pokémon were far rarer than pseudo-legendaries.
Since the start of his journey, Julian had encountered—and battled—plenty of pseudo-legendaries. But aside from his own Aggron, he had never actually seen another Totem-class Pokémon in person.
Of course, he'd come across a few Totem Pokémon on TikTok.
Right now, this Pupitar was furious. Its glowing red eyes were one thing, but the sheer rage radiating from its Aura felt like it was about to explode.
Pokémon: Pupitar (Rock/Ground)
Level: 54
Potential: Cyan
Ability: Shed Skin
Held Item: None
Gender: Male
Moves: Iron Defense, Tackle, Payback, Leer, Bite, Rock Throw, Scary Face, Rock Slide, Stomping Tantrum, Screech, Smack Down, Crunch, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Thrash, Sandstorm, Hyper Beam
TMs: None
Egg Moves: None
---
Level 54—Pupitar would normally evolve into Tyranitar at level 55.
So when it's close to evolving, it chooses to bury itself in one place, like a caterpillar preparing to become a butterfly, entering a chrysalis-like state to slowly undergo transformation.
Once it awakens, it evolves into Tyranitar.
This particular Pupitar must have been in the middle of such a sleep to evolve—but Julian had violently smashed open its hiding spot.
The disturbance had naturally awakened it.
No wonder it was pissed. Its path to evolution had been interrupted by Julian. While not completely ruined, the process would now take longer.
Julian: "Good thing I got here in time. Otherwise, you'd have evolved already."
Pupitar's eyes burned even redder at these blatantly inhuman words.
It slammed again and again into the Light Screen, but with its current strength even if it cracked its skull open, it wouldn't break through Metagross's barrier.
Julian wasn't mocking it, though. He meant every word.
For a Pokémon like Pupitar that evolves through hibernation, the key was how much energy it had stored inside. The more energy it had accumulated, the stronger and higher-potential its evolution into Tyranitar would be.
This one had just barely gathered enough energy to evolve. It wouldn't improve its potential, nor would its level leap by several stages.
But now that Julian had interrupted the process and delayed its evolution, it actually had more time to stockpile energy, leading to a far stronger evolution.
Watching the poor thing still ramming into the Light Screen, Julian was honestly worried it might knock itself stupid. He gave Metagross a look, and it understood.
Under Psychic, Pupitar immediately froze in place.
Once the Light Screen was withdrawn, Julian slowly stepped out of the cave and moved to a broader area nearby.
"Let it go," Julian said.
As the Psychic hold faded, Julian had expected Pupitar to either charge at him or try to run away.
But instead, it just stood there quietly—neither attacking nor escaping.
When it was being restrained and carried all the way here by Metagross, Pupitar had already calmed down—fully aware of its predicament.
The silver creature before it—Metagross—was far too powerful. There was simply no way it could win against something like that.
Which meant escape was not an option either.
The choice was never really its to begin with.
"Become my partner," Julian said.
Pupitar glared at him with clear reluctance in its eyes, feeling that Julian was using force to impose his will.
Julian just smiled and tossed out a Poké Ball.
The next second, Gabite stood in front of Pupitar.
Pokémon: Gabite (Dragon/Ground)
Level: 47
Potential: Blue
Ability: Rough Skin
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Gender: Male
Moves: Sand Tomb, Tackle, Sand Attack, Dragon Breath, Stomp, Bulldoze, Bite, Slash, Take Down, Dragon Rush
TMs: Double-Edge, Scary Face, Protect, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Dragon Tail, Sandstorm, Outrage, Shadow Claw, Dragon Pulse, Brick Break, Earthquake
Egg Moves: Draco Meteor, Twister, Dig, Dragon Claw
---
Julian had no intention of using Metagross or any of his other main Pokémon to fight Pupitar—that'd just be cruel.
Even if he won that way, Pupitar would probably never accept him as a trainer.
So, he sent out Gabite instead.
"If you beat him, you're free to go," Julian said, pointing to Gabite. "But if you lose? You join my team. No complaints."
Pupitar nodded, its hostility toward Julian fading slightly. At least this was a fair fight.
*****
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