Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

Chapter 338: Come At Me, You Trash!

"Finish them off. Keep up the Fury Cutters."

Although the Trapinch hadn't been completely defeated, they were already in bad shape. Pressing the attack was the best choice.

As soon as Julian gave the order, Honedge sprang into action, with a swift flurry of Fury Cutters, the remaining Trapinch collapsed, unable to continue fighting.

Honedge turned to look at Julian.

"Well done."

Its blade gleamed faintly, radiating a happy aura.

Julian and Honedge were gradually developing a deeper sense of coordination.

However, one Trapinch had yet to make a move—the strongest of the group, at Level 33.

It had been waiting patiently, observing the fight while also directing the remaining five Trapinch due to its superior level.

As the five weakened Trapinch charged at Honedge, one of them suddenly used Sand Attack, kicking up a cloud of dust that completely blocked Honedge's vision.

At that moment, the Level 33 Trapinch finally moved. With a powerful leap, it launched itself into the air.

As its jaws parted, a massive white energy maw formed in the air above Honedge—this wasn't Bite, it was the much stronger Crunch*.

Honedge, unable to see through the sand, could sense the danger but had no way to tell where it was coming from.

For a brief moment, it wavered.

"Calm down. Use Protect!"

Julian's voice echoed in its mind.

Without hesitation, a shimmering green barrier enveloped Honedge.

CRACK!

The massive jaws of Crunch slammed down onto the shield. The teeth scraped against the protective barrier, producing a grating sound, but Protect held strong.

By the time Honedge's vision cleared, it finally caught sight of the real threat—the Level 33 Trapinch below. But Honedge didn't act on its own—it waited for Julian's command.

"Swords Dance!"

Honedge spun in place, its blade gleaming with a crimson light as its attack power rose sharply.

"Slash!"

Sensing danger, the Trapinch immediately used Dig, vanishing underground in the blink of an eye. It was a natural burrower—escaping like this was second nature to it.

But Honedge's Slash had already struck the ground. Although Trapinch had disappeared, a deep crack spread from the point of impact, following the path of Trapinch's escape tunnel.

CRACK! CRACK!

As the fissure widened, a Trapinch was suddenly launched into the air.

With Swords Dance active, Honedge's attack power had increased significantly.

"Aerial Ace!"

Honedge became a streak of light, disappearing from sight in an instant. When it reappeared, its blade tip had already pierced the airborne Trapinch.

Trapinch let out a pained screech, then its eyes rolled back as it collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing that it had defeated a Trapinch of the same level, Honedge could hardly believe it had achieved such a feat.

Before, it could only bully weaker opponents—taking down an equal-level foe had never been within its reach.

Its first Trainer had treated it well—providing food, resources, and care—but their battle commands were nowhere near Julian's level.

Back then, Honedge never thought its first Trainer lacked skill. It had always blamed itself, believing that it was simply too weak to win against Pokémon of the same level.

But now, under Julian's command, it had not only beaten an equal-level opponent but also taken down multiple Level 20+ Trapinch in the process.

Honedge: 'So it wasn't me who was weak… It was my Trainer'

At this moment, its respect for Julian was rapidly rising.

Looking at the fallen Trapinch and the ones still restrained by Metagross's Psychic, Honedge suddenly declared:

"I can take on ten more!"

The fighting spirit within it flared, a deep thirst for victory taking root in its heart.

By nature, its species were born for battle.

However, its previous Trainer's poor command had held it back, preventing it from reaching its full potential, which in turn had shaken its confidence.

Julian, of course, was unaware of this—he had only recently taken Honedge in.

Its recovered confidence was purely a happy accident.

Still, Julian noticed a change in Honedge's Aura—it had become more focused, more resolute.

Julian gave Metagross a look, Metagross released its Psychic hold on ten Trapinch.

Honedge: "Come at me, you trash!"

Trapinch: "We're gonna bite you to death!"

Julian: 'Getting a little cocky there… but that's exactly how my Pokémon should be'

With each Trapinch that Honedge defeated, Metagross would release more, and Julian kept directing the battle.

In this high-intensity training, Julian and Honedge's synergy improved at an astonishing rate. There was no longer any hesitation in Honedge's movements—it followed Julian's commands with complete trust.

At the same time, its experience points continued to rise rapidly. Finally, when the fiftieth Trapinch fell, Honedge's level increased from 33 to 34—just one level away from evolving.

However, by this point, it had completely exhausted its strength, and its body was covered in injuries.

The battle couldn't continue any longer.

After praising Honedge, Julian gave it a healing potion and returned it to its Poké Ball for rest.

Meanwhile, Dragonite had already retrieved the treasure the Dowsing Machine displayed.

"Earth Gem, not bad."@@novelbin@@

Julian examined the dull gray, apple-sized Earth Gem—a valuable item perfect for Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon, capable of improving their potential.

However, the Earth Gem was only effective for Pokémon below Cyan-tier.

On the market, it was considered a rare treasure, highly sought after by Rock- and Ground-type Trainers. After all, improving a Pokémon's potential was no small matter.

For example, if your Rock- or Ground-type Pokémon had Green potential but was just a step away from reaching Cyan, then this Earth Gem might be able to help you.

There had been many recorded cases of this happening, which was why Earth Gems remained highly valuable and expensive.

"Might as well give it to Aggron as a snack," Julian muttered to himself. With that, he tossed the Earth Gem into his system storage.

To him, its only real use was as a treat for Aggron.

"Let's go"

Julian hopped onto Dragonite, swiftly leaving the area.

The Trapinch regained their ability to move, shrieked furiously at the sight of him flying away.

Trapinch: "If you have the guts, don't run! I'll bite you to death!"

The Treasure Hunt Continued.

As Julian ventured deeper, it wasn't long before he arrived at the core of Earth Ridge, here two Elite Pokémon had their territories.

One was a Gigalith, and the other was a Claydol.

These two Pokémon had completely claimed the central area as their own. Of course, other Pokémon still lived here, but none of them exceeded the pseudo-Elite level.

Any Pokémon that grew too strong was either driven out or outright eliminated.

For Pokémon with their own established territory, allowing weaker Pokémon to coexist was fine. But any potential challengers to their dominance?

Absolutely not.

*****

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