Watching the scumbag-fly and simp-fly flutter away, Julian shook his head in disdain and sneered, "Even if you do manage to win her over, who's to say the kids will even be yours?"
Meanwhile, Slowking had already finished preparing the hotpot. Since the ruins had no power source, Julian had brought along a portable power bank.
The broth was a rich bone stew, and just the aroma alone made Julian's stomach rumble. His mouth watered uncontrollably.
The ingredients were neatly arranged on the side—beef, lamb, tripe, meatballs, shrimp paste, and more.
Eating hotpot while sipping on an ice-cold cola felt beyond satisfying, but something still seemed off.
"Without Celebi here fighting me for food, it feels kinda... empty."
Julian muttered, then immediately scolded himself for being ridiculous. 'What's wrong with me? No one's here to snatch my food, and I'm actually missing it?'
Arcanine: "What's that smell? It's amazing!"
The big dog shoved its head toward Julian, panting with its tongue out, staring longingly at the bubbling hotpot.
'The bones in there must be for me, right?'
Seeing Arcanine practically drooling over the pot, Julian quickly shoved its head away, worried the drool might drip into the broth.
"Nope! Dogs can't eat salty food—it'll kill you."
"Arf!"
Arcanine: "Liar! You're totally lying to me!"
Julian chuckled and rubbed Arcanine's big head. "Hey now, I'd lie to anyone but you."
While speaking, he casually used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef tripe.
Arcanine looked at Julian suspiciously.
"Go on, Slowking has already prepared dinner for you."
Julian said, pointing toward Slowking, who was handing out Pokéblocks to the other Pokémon.
Aside from Aggron and Melmetal, whose diets mainly consisted of minerals and metals, the rest of the Pokémon ate Pokéblocks as their primary food source.
By the time they finished eating, it was already 7 PM. Julian leaned back in his chair, sipping on the coffee Slowking had brewed. With his head tilted slightly upward, he gazed at the starry night sky, as the full moon hung high above.
Whether in ruins or secret realms, the night sky in these places was always brighter than the outside world.
"Is something flying over there?"
Beneath the full moon, Julian spotted a shadow gliding through the sky. It wasn't moving very fast, but its direction seemed to be heading toward him.
Just as Julian was about to ask Metagross to intercept the unknown figure, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
"I'm back!"
When he saw Celebi appear before him, he blinked in surprise.
"Oh, it's you—"
"You ate hot pot behind my back?!"
Before Julian could finish speaking, Celebi wrinkled its nose and glared at him angrily, "I was only gone for a few hours, and you're already sneaking off to have hotpot by yourself?!"
Celebi huffed, looking betrayed.
"A few hours? You've been gone for over two months." Julian corrected.
Celebi: "It's been so long since I traveled through time. I forgot that the time ratio in the past and the present isn't the same."
Celebi had been spoiled rotten by Julian, to the point where it had almost forgotten its own abilities.
"Did you get it?" Julian asked hastily.
Celebi nodded proudly, patted its chest and said, "You can rest assured when I handle things."
With that, it took out a small vial and handed it to Julian, inside was the blood of the Azoth royal family.
"You actually got it? A hundred years ago, this ruin shouldn't have existed in our current dimension. You can travel through time, but how did you manage to cross space as well?"
Celebi's power allowed it to travel through time, but not through space. The ability to traverse dimensions belonged to the Legendary Pokémon Palkia.
Celebi: "I don't either, I just ended up getting it somehow."
Julian decided not to dwell on it. After all, he still hadn't figured out why ruins and secret realms could suddenly appear in this world.
Besides, why should he care? He wasn't a scholar, anyway.
Julian took the Soul-Heart out from his system space and poured the royal blood from the vial on it.
One minute, two minutes, the petrified Soul-Heart remained unchanged.
Julian turned to Celebi with a puzzled expression. "Are you sure this is the royal blood?"
Celebi nodded firmly: "Absolutely! I did exactly what you said—I found the guy with the crown and asked him for some blood. I nearly got beaten for it!"
"Hmm... maybe the blood expired during your time travel?"
Or could it be that the king was actually the son of his mother and the neighbor?
"Slow~"
At this moment, Slowking let out a soft cry.
Slowking: "It's changing."
Julian and Celebi quickly looked at the Soul-Heart. The once stone-like exterior was beginning to crack and flake away. In no time, a vibrant emerald-green Soul-Heart emerged before Julian's eyes.
Julian immediately checked with his Probing Eyes.
[Soul-Heart: Magearna's core has been successfully activated.]
"It worked!"
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Julian's face. At least the trip to the ruins hadn't been for nothing.
Celebi: "Life energy!"
Sensing the immense life energy radiating from the Soul-Heart, Celebi couldn't help but be a bit surprised.
It was precisely this overwhelming life force that made Magearna a true artificial life form.
Julian took out Magearna's body, and as the Soul-Heart approached, a slot on the body automatically opened, perfectly sized to hold the Soul-Heart.
The other Pokémon gathered around, watching closely as Julian carefully placed the Soul-Heart into the slot.
Once the compartment closed, Magearna's body didn't activate immediately.
"Looks like it needs some time."
After sleeping for who knows how long, it was only natural that Magearna would take a bit of time to boot up.
Just as Julian finished speaking, Magearna's eyes suddenly lit up with a soft pink glow. Its heavy body slowly lifted from the ground.
Magearna stood at roughly one meter tall, its form resembling a woman dressed in an elegant ball gown.
Magearna seemed to be taking in its surroundings, scanning the area with curious eyes. After glancing around, its gaze finally settled on Julian.
Magearna: "Master"
Since its Soul-Heart had been removed before, Magearna had lost its previous memories. Upon being reawakened by Julian, it naturally recognized him as its new master.
Pokémon: Magearna (Steel/Fairy)
Level: 1 (73)
Potential: Blue
Ability: Soul-Heart
Held Item: None
Gender: Genderless
Moves: Gyro Ball, Helping Hand
TM Moves: None
Egg Moves: None
Note: Its previous level will automatically recover in six months.
---
Julian examined the information displayed by his Probing Eyes. Due to the reset, Magearna's level had temporarily reverted to one. However, it would return to its original level in half a year.
"Are you feeling any discomfort?" Julian asked.
After all, Magearna was an artificial Pokémon made of metal. It was hard to say how long it had been in standby mode. If any of its parts were damaged, Julian wasn't confident he could repair it.
Magearna: "No, my father made me from very precious and durable materials, and I also have the ability to regenerate."
Julian: "Father?"
Magearna: "I don't know who my father is, but my Soul-Heart contains images of him creating me. The schematics of my construction are stored in the castle."
"You're saying the castle has the blueprints used to create you?" Julian's voice rose slightly in excitement.
*****
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