Pokemon: Reborn Rich Alternate Earth

As Wailord surfaced from the sea and opened its mouth, blinding sunlight streamed in, causing Julian to instinctively squint.

It took about ten seconds for him to adjust to the brightness. When he finally could see clearly, he spotted a fishing boat parked in front of Wailord.

Hank stood beside Julian, grinning smugly, "Julian, welcome to Wyvernia."

They were now officially within Wyvernia's territorial waters, and Hank, who had been tense the entire time, finally relaxed.

His expression was one of excitement—successfully bringing Julian to Wyvernia meant his good days were about to begin.

At this moment, a figure leaped down from the fishing boat. Upon seeing the newcomer, Hank immediately bowed respectfully. "Lord Park!"

The surname "Park" was a common one in Wyvernia, shared by about 15% of the population.

However, this Lord Park before them held a status second only to Wyvernia's Champion, and his strength was at the Pseudo-Champion level.

Currently, Wyvernia's actual Champion was stationed at the border, in a tense standoff with John.

Stephen Park patted Hank on the shoulder and said, "You've done well this time. And you too, Selina—your contributions won't be forgotten by the nation."

If they were to compare merits, Selina's contribution was undoubtedly greater than Hank's.

After all, she was the one who had captured Julian, while Hank was merely responsible for transport.

Their contributions could be split roughly 60-40, or even 70-30 in her favor.

"Sir, I only wish to reunite with my parents and daughter," Selina said expectantly.

"Once we arrive in Wyvernia, you'll be able to see your parents and daughter immediately," Stephen replied solemnly.

To prevent spies from defecting, the state naturally had to take certain precautions. But once a spy fully earned the nation's trust, those precautions wouldn't be necessary.

Selina was now a national hero—Stephen would not let a hero shed tears.

Then, he turned his attention to the protagonist of this affair, Julian. "Mr. Walker, this is our first meeting. Welcome to Wyvernia as our guest."

"Is this how you treat your guests?"

Julian motioned to his still-bound hands.

"Release him," Stephen ordered.

Hank immediately unlocked Julian's handcuffs.

Without his Poké Balls, Julian was nothing more than a helpless lamb.

"Let's go. Drakoria's navy will be here soon," Stephen said calmly, casting a glance at Julian.

The group quickly boarded the fishing boat and departed.

Half an hour later, Drakoria's massive naval fleet—led by two aircraft carriers—arrived, anchoring just under ten kilometers from Wyvernia's waters.

Wyvernia's navy followed in response, but whether in numbers or quality, they were no match for Drakoria's forces.

Drakoria was like an adult armed with a SCAR assault rifle, while Wyvernia was a child holding an old Mauser rifle—the difference between them was enormous.

Faced with Drakoria's overwhelming naval fleet, Wyvernia's sailors were visibly lacking in confidence. Most of them didn't even know why their country had picked a fight with Drakoria.

Wasn't this just asking for death?

On Drakoria's side, the naval fleet had all its shells and torpedoes fully loaded and ready, simply awaiting orders. The soldiers' morale was sky-high.

Sure, Wyvernia wasn't their most hated enemy (that honor went to Babath), but striking Wyvernia was still satisfying. And once Wyvernia was dealt with, could Babath be far behind?

Similar standoffs were happening on the land borders between Drakoria and Wyvernia, with both sides' armies facing off.

The air force was on standby, ready to support either the navy or the ground troops.

The military had even prepared special weapons. If fighting really broke out and couldn't be stopped, then they were ready to blow the whole situation sky-high.

Meanwhile, Volkaria—never one to miss a chance to flex—had sailed its fleet straight into Celestria's territorial waters under the guise of "military exercises."

Their justification?

"We're just here to retrieve a traitor hiding in your country. Hand him over."

Faced with Volkaria's strongest Champion, Celestria could only grit its teeth in silence. After all, their own strongest Champion was already tied up countering Drakoria's Duke in international waters

Now, they were scrambling to call in other Champions to hold the line.

Celestria even considered asking for help from Gallia and Anglia, but those two 'hemmed' and 'hawed' before refusing.

They weren't stupid. Sure, they normally tagged along with Celestria because it was strong and there were benefits.

But now that Celestria's "godson" had stirred up such a huge mess—one that had completely enraged Drakoria—they had no interest in getting dragged into the mud.

Although Drakoria didn't have as many allies as Celestria, its allies were ride-or-die. Celestria's allies, on the other hand, were fair-weather friends—when things got serious, there was no telling if they'd even show up.

Elsewhere, Volkaria proactively reached out to Drakoria's leadership, requesting permission to send forces to help monitor developments near another country's territory, which had also started showing signs of movement.

As the saying goes, tug on one thread, and the whole web moves.

Wyvernia's actions had directly triggered a standoff between the world's only two superpowers—and indirectly pulled over a dozen other countries into the situation.

The only reason war hadn't broken out yet was because one thing was still missing:

A signal.

For example—Julian's death.

If that happened, then it was very likely that a few countries would disappear overnight from the world map.

Celestria had already secretly warned Wyvernia:

"Whatever you do, do NOT let Julian die. Not even by suicide."

As long as Julian lived, the war could be contained—and they could still profit from the chaos.

But if Julian died, Drakoria would have nothing left holding it back—especially not John, that madman. And who knew what that bloodthirsty man would do for the sake of his grandson.

Wyvernia, of course, claimed they wouldn't dare kill Julian—after all, Drakoria's nuclear readiness had already reached the point where missiles could be launched at any moment.

Realistically, the best option would be to release Julian and keep his Pokémon.

But for a monster of his caliber, even without those Pokémon, starting over would only delay his rise to Champion—it wouldn't stop it.

So they couldn't release him, and they didn't dare release him.

---

On the fishing boat, Stephen had already opened the backpack and taken a look at Julian's Poké Balls—but resisted the urge to open them—this wasn't the place.

"Mr. Walker, we're less than half an hour away from Havenburg now."

Havenburg was Wyvernia's capital—and one of the best-known cities in the world.

"We can have a proper conversation there."

"Oh? About what? Your kimchi?" Julian sneered.

Rather than taking offense, Stephen puffed up with pride. "Kimchi is not just our national dish—it's the greatest culinary achievement in human history!"

'Seriously, what the hell? Are they all brainwashed?' Julian looked utterly disgusted.

How did an entire nation develop such blind faith in fermented cabbage?

If Drakoria ever stopped exporting them napa cabbages, half of Wyvernia wouldn't even be able to afford kimchi—their tiny, overpriced plots couldn't grow enough to feed a neighborhood.

"Well, it seems Mr. Walker doesn't believe me. Once we get to Havenburg, I'll treat you to the most authentic kimchi," Stephen said with a smile.

Standing beside him, Hank—ever the bootlicker—chimed in: "It's been so long since I've had kimchi from home. After all these years in Drakoria, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of kimchi."

Kimchi (if it could talk): "Damn, I didn't know I was this important."

*****

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