Chapter 576: Ambrosia

"What should we do now?" Ember asked.

The damned enemies were all dead, and most of the treasures on Melemele Island had likely already been looted by the Celestrian and the Gallian trainers.

Of course, all those things were now in the hands of the Volkarians.

So for the moment, it seemed like there was nothing left to do.

"You four should focus on improving your strength—especially Abomasnow. There's a chance it could break through to pseudo-Champion level soon," Julian said casually.

"And what about you?" Asher asked.

"I'm going to look for treasures, of course."

Julian said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sure, the Celestrian and the Gallian teams had plenty of loot on them, but Julian wasn't impressed by any of it. Still, the fact that they'd managed to find so many treasures without a Dowsing Machine was pretty impressive.

And among their haul were five Elemental Orbs.

That meant Melemele Island had to be hiding even more rare and powerful treasures.

At the very least, the island's Ultimate treasure was probably still out there somewhere—and that was Julian's real target.

After exchanging a few more words with the four of them, Julian took off on Moltres.

"That guy is definitely looking down on us for being weak," Ember grumbled.

"There's just no comparing ourselves to that freak," Asher agreed with a sigh.

Listening to their complaints, Pierce cut in: "Alright, enough. Let's focus on getting stronger. If it wasn't for Julian in this secret realm, we wouldn't have even made it off Poni Island—hell, we might've even died there."

The other three fell silent at that.

Now that they thought about it… he was right. Without Julian, they probably would have died in this secret realm. And on top of that, he'd helped them way more than necessary.

They were all prodigies in their own right. While they genuinely appreciated Julian, a stubborn sense of unwillingness still gnawed at them.

"Let's aim to get Abomasnow to pseudo-Champion level within half a month," Rowan said, slapping his own cheeks for motivation.

Abomasnow was already at the peak of Elite-tier. Thanks to the Ice-type treasure, Ice Core, breaking through to pseudo-Champion was only a matter of time.

---

Ten days later, Julian was grinning as he looked at the object in his hand – about the size of a baby's arm, overall a pale gray color, giving off a jade-like luster but feeling like jelly to the touch.

[Ambrosia: Absorbed the essence of the sun and moon for a thousand years. Upon consumption, extends lifespan by 200 years. (Usable by both humans and Pokémon—effects apply once only.)]

Thanks to the emergence of Pokémon and advanced technology recovered from ancient ruins, the average human lifespan had already been pushed to around 120 years.

But compared to Pokémon, that lifespan was nothing more than a slight advantage over Bug-types. Most Pokémon, once they reached the Advanced-level, had lifespans of over a hundred years.

And for Ghost-types, they casually started at several hundred years.

If a Pokémon broke through to the Elite-level, even a Bug-type Pokémon could live for two hundred years. And for a Dragon-type, that lifespan would start at a thousand years.

Compared to these creatures, human lifespans was pathetically short.

Back when humans kept dogs as pets, there was a saying: "They're just a passing chapter in your life, but to them, you're their whole story."

Now, with humans raising Pokémon? The roles have completely reversed. You've become the passing chapter in your Pokémon's life.

Even a domesticated Blastoise could outlive seven or eight generations of your family.

Truly achieving the saying: "The trainer departs, but the tortoise remains."

Living longer was practically everyone's dream.

From ancient emperors concocting elixirs for immortality, to common folk praying to deities for longevity—the pursuit of a longer life was universal.

And for the wealthy and powerful? The more they indulged in luxury, the more they feared death.

While lifespan-extending treasures have been discovered in this world, the effects were minimal—the most potent only added ten years, and those who obtained them would never sell them.

A treasure that could extend life by ten years – imagine the temptation it would hold for the heads of major families and national leaders.

But the Ambrosia in Julian's hands could grant a straight 200-year extension.

After consuming it, factoring in the average lifespan, one could live for at least 320 years.

Julian was only twenty years old now, and based on the average lifespan, he still had a hundred years left to live. However, he figured that with his Mega Pallet Town Physique and his Advanced Psychic abilities, both his body and mind far surpassed ordinary people, so he'll likely live even longer than normal humans.

Not that he'd ever complain about living too long.

He'd love to pull a Celebi-style flex, casually dropping "Oh, a hundred years ago..." in conversation.

Taking a bite of the Ambrosia—it had a slightly sweet taste, with a jelly-like texture.

It never even crossed his mind to share it with his Pokémon. Every one of his partners could live for a millennia—what's an extra two centuries to them?

After eating more than half of the Ambrosia, Julian felt as if his body had become much lighter in an intangible way. The most noticeable change was that his Aura had grown stronger.

Though it was still within the range of Advanced-level Aura, it seemed just a step away from Master-level Aura.

He felt that eating more wouldn't increase his lifespan any further, so he stashed the remaining chunk in his system space—to share with his grandpa, his parents, and even his aunt and uncle later.

It might not let them live as long as he would, but it could at least give them an extra twenty or thirty years on top of the normal lifespan.

Besides, if he found one Ambrosia, he could find another—or other lifespan-extending treasures to keep his family around even longer.

Julian even found the Ambrosia in the System's Shop, but looking at the price, it still seemed easier to have Metagross ascend to First-class Legendary.

During these ten days, aside from the Ambrosia, Julian naturally stumbled upon other treasures—though there was no need to list them all.

Anyway, the treasures he found were much better than the garbage that the Celestrians and the Gallians had scavenged.

Although he couldn't match them in quantity, in terms of quality, he was miles ahead.

---

Night fell, and a campfire crackled. Slowking was busy preparing dinner while Julian and Gengar huddled together, engrossed in a racing game.

The chubby little guy's fingers were surprisingly nimble, controlling the racing car to drift and use nitro boosts perfectly.

Arcanine watched from the sidelines, eyes gleaming with envy.

It indicated it could play too, but Julian shut it down immediately.

"You don't even have hands. How would you play? With your paws?"

"Arf~"

Arcanine: "Paws work just fine!"

Unable to argue with Arcanine, Julian finally caved and handed over the game console. One clumsy paw-slam later, the gaming device shattered into plastic confetti.

Arcanine: "…So fragile?"

'It's literally a plastic shell. How tough did you expect it to be?'

With a sigh, Julian smacked the troublemaker away and pulled out a backup console—only for Arcanine to snatch it mid-air with a triumphant chomp.

Arcanine: "If I can't play, neither can you!."

"Metagross, intercept the dog!"

Metagross completely ignored him.

Arcanine halted, turned around, and gave Julian a look that said, "Aren't you going to chase me?"

Was this furry bastard taunting him?!

Julian: (╬ಠ益ಠ)

*****

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