Chapter 290: News Of Dalton
The young man named Phil had woken up. Though his face was pale from blood loss, he seemed in good spirits.
He had already learned from Barry and Sam about the events that unfolded after he fell unconscious.
He couldn't believe such a significant incident had occurred while he was out cold.
Thankfully, Julian had stepped in; otherwise, the three of them would have ended up as midnight snacks for the Ursaring couple.
"Brother Sam, when Young Master Julian comes out, you'd better apologize properly. What you said yesterday was really out of line," Phil warned.
From any perspective, they had no right to order someone like Julian around, let alone demand that he kill the Ursaring for their sake.
"I know, I'll apologize."
Sam nodded. A night of reflection had calmed him down, though a bead of cold sweat trickled down his face.
Thinking back, if Julian had been a little less patient, he could've easily abandoned them because of those words.
Sam had encountered many heirs from powerful families, and their temperaments were rarely kind. Julian was by far the most approachable one he had ever met.
"Good morning"
Julian greeted as he stepped out of the tent, noticing that Barry and Sam were already awake, and the injured Phil had also recovered enough to sit up. The three of them seemed to be waiting for him.
"Slow~"
Slowking called, placing the prepared breakfast on the simple table for everyone.
Steaming soup dumplings, fried dough sticks, pan-fried buns, soy milk, and Moomoo Milk were laid out.
Apart from the Moomoo Milk, the other four items were all made by Slowking right in front of Barry and his companions.
The enticing aroma was hard to resist, and if not for their self-control, they might have devoured everything before Julian even showed up.
"Go ahead, try Slowking's cooking," Julian said, picking up a pan-fried bun first.
Slowking had timed everything perfectly, ensuring the buns had cooled to the ideal temperature by the time Julian woke up.
When he bit into one, the oil didn't scald his mouth, but the bun wasn't cold either—just the right warmth.
"Why aren't you eating?"
By now, Julian had eaten several buns, and Barry and Phil were devouring even more. Yet Sam hadn't even picked up his chopsticks.
Both Barry and Phil turned to look at Sam, who stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "Young Master Julian, I was too arrogant last night. Please don't take offense."
"It's fine, I've already forgotten about it."
Julian said with a wave of his hand. He wasn't someone who held grudges.
(T/N: Yeah, sure)
Hearing this, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did Sam finally start eating.
As they ate, Julian struck up a conversation with them and learned that the three of them frequently operated on the outskirts of the White Mountain Range.
Barry was a pseudo-Elite trainer, while Sam and Phil were at the Advanced level.
However, Barry only had one Pokémon at the pseudo-Elite level. If he had two, last night's encounter with the Ursaring couple might not have ended so badly.
With one pseudo-Elite Pokémon and two advanced-level Trainers assisting, they could indeed navigate the mid-to-outer areas of the White Mountain Range as long as they were cautious.
"Have you seen this person before?"
Julian took out a photo of Luis and showed it to the three.
It was a selfie Luis had posted on his social media.
The three shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen Luis. Julian then showed them the profile pictures of Dalton and Shen.
"I've seen this muscle guy before!"
Barry immediately exclaimed when he saw Dalton's photo.
Sam and Phil also nodded in agreement.
"What about her?"
Julian pointed to Shen's photo.
The three shook their heads again.
"You only saw him?"
Julian asked, pointing at the shirtless Dalton, who was wearing martial arts pants and striking a bodybuilding pose.
"Yeah, when we saw him, he was indeed alone," Barry replied.
Julian's heart sank slightly. If they weren't lying, it meant Luis, Shen and Dalton had likely gotten separated.
Barry's aura seemed steady, so Julian ruled out the possibility of them deceiving him.
'Separated? Or temporarily split up?'
Julian remained silent, deep in thought.
The trio didn't say anything either, having somewhat guessed why someone like Julian had come to this area.
"Did you talk to him?" Julian finally asked.
"He called out to us from a distance, asking about someone. Thinking back now, he was probably asking about the two people you mentioned," Barry explained.
For safety reasons in the wild, encounters with strangers were usually kept brief and at a distance if communication was unavoidable.
"Do you remember where that was?"
Julian pulled out a detailed map of the White Mountain Range. The map outlined the general distribution of Pokémon species, their relative strengths, and the terrain of the area.
Compared to the standard maps sold outside, this one was far more detailed.
Barry's eyes widened as he looked at it. While he had spent years exploring the mountain range and had created his own relatively detailed map, it paled in comparison to the one Julian had just shown.
Trainers who spent significant time in specific areas of the wild often marked their own maps based on personal exploration.
Such maps were rarely shared or sold to others.
However, the areas they could explore were quite limited.
Even though Barry had been exploring the White Mountain Range for over a decade, his activities were confined to two or three specific regions. As a result, he was only familiar with those areas.
On the other hand, the map Julian possessed detailed the entirety of the White Mountain Range. It not only covered the regions Barry frequently explored but also provided more detailed markings than his own map.
"We encountered him here."
Barry pointed to a section on the map. The marked area was indeed one of the regions he often explored.
"He wasn't injured, was he?"
"Nope, he seemed in great shape—wasn't even wearing a shirt," Sam replied.
It was the first time Sam had seen someone shirtless in the wild. Still, he couldn't help but admire the man's well-defined muscles and six-pack abs.
Julian nodded and stood up from his chair.
"You're leaving already, Young Master?" Barry asked.
"Yeah."
Julian nodded again. Now that he had information about Dalton, he had to go and check it out.
By then, Slowking had packed everything and was carrying a small backpack.
Bidding farewell to Barry and the others, Julian mounted Metagross and flew toward the area where Dalton had been sighted.
Dragonite hadn't returned from its search the previous night, likely indicating it had found no trace of the investigation team.
Julian wasn't worried about it, though. With its strength, Dragonite could even venture into the central parts of the White Mountain Range without issue.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the mid-to-outer regions of the White Mountain Range, Dalton was munching on some unidentified wild berries.
Beside him, his Machamp watched Dalton's sour face contort with each bite. Despite the taste, Dalton refused to spit it out, prompting Machamp to crack an amused smile.
*****
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