With the height lowered, Julian finally caught a glimpse of the treasure—a round, glowing purple orb about the size of an adult's fist, surrounded by a group of Weezing and Muk.

  "Toxic Orb," Julian muttered softly to himself.

  This orb was one of the most sought-after treasures for Poison-type Pokémon. It had the ability to enhance a Poison-type Pokémon's pradually increasing their Poison-type energy and boosting the strength of their poison-based moves. But it came with risks.

  For weaker Pokémon, the Toxic Orb could be dangerous, causing them to suffer from its effects rather than be from it.

  Some non-Poison-type Pokémon could also carry the Toxic Orb due to their unique abilities.

  For example, Pokémon with the Poison Heal Ability could recover from injuries inflicted by poisoning when holding the orb, making it a coveted item in both petitive battles and for trainers specializing in Poison-types.

  The market value of a Toxic Orb was astronomical, easily exceeding one billion, making it a dream for Poison-type trainers.

  Like Mega Evolution stones, very few were ever avaible in the public market, with most transas happening exclusively between noble families or elite trainers.

  Weezing and Muk were aware of Julian's presehe moment he hem. But they didn't attack right away.

  Pokémon weren't dumb; they could sehe unusual power emanating from Metagross, and they instinctively khis intruder wasn't here for casual sightseeing.

  Their hesitation, however, didn't stop them from releasing thick clouds of purple gas into the air. The poisonous fumes billowed out, making it clear they were ready for battle.

  Julian grimaced under his gas mask. He k wouldn't st long if he ehat cloud.

  The bioxic gas of two pseudo-Elite Pokémon, strengthened by the Toxic Orb, was beyond what ordinary gas masks could handle.

  In the midst of the gas cloud, the other Muk and Weezing instead showed a fortable expression. The gas was deadly to humans, but tonic for them.

  "e out, Dragonair!" Julian called, releasing his sleek blue Pokémon from its Poké Ball. Then, he swiftly leapt from Metagross ontonair's back.

  The appearance of yet another Pokémon seemed to unnerve Muk and Weezing even more.

  "Metagross, Mega Evolve!"

  Julian reached for the key stone hanging from a around his neck. The moment his hand brushed against it, a dazzling light ected it to the Metagrossite embedded iagross. Colors burst forth as Mega Metagross took shape.

  For a quick resolution, Julian directly used Mega Evolution.

  "Metagross!!"

  The shift in energy alpable. A powerful aura swept across the battlefield, and the Muk and Weezing, sensing the rising threat, began calling their underlings to attack.

  A barrage of Sludge Bombs, Venom Sprays, and clouds of poison gas erupted from all dires, leaviagross seemingly without an escape route.

  Julian had already distanced himself, knowing even his enhanced prote couldn't shield him from an onsught like that. He watched from a safe spot as the poison-type moves rained down oagross.

  "Hyper Beam, let's clear them out!" Julian anded.

  The golden beam of energy erupted from Metagross, sweeping away the waves of poison-type moves and hitting the Pokémon below.

  The bst didn't just scatter the toxic attacks; it cut across the s like a battering ram, sending dozens of Muk and Weezing crashing into the muck, unscious.

  As the beam faded, fewer than ten Pokémon remaianding in the s, including the leaders of both the Muk and Weezing groups.

  Metagross hovered above, its silver body glinting in the poisonous haze, clearly dominating the field. Steel type beating poison type, was normal, not to mention he was in mega evolved state.

  The Pokémon below were no match for it, even with their boosted strength from the Toxic Orb. If not for the fear of breaking the Toxic Orb, the other Weezing and Muk would have also fallen.

  Mainly these Pokémon were very close to the Toxic Orb.

  "Bullet Punch, let's this up," Julian ordered.

  With blinding speed, Metagross dove in, delivering sharp, precise blows that took down the remaining Pokémon, leaving only the leaders.

  But as Metagross closed in ohe Muk leader did something ued—it quickly swallowed the Toxic Orb and begareating into the s.

  Weezing: You b*****d escaped and took the treasure too.

  The Weezing leader looked shocked, then furious. It clearly hadn't expected its ally to make off with the treasure.

  But now was not the time to settle ats with the him, it was more important to escape first.

  'The silver guy is waiting for me, and when I succeed in esg I'll kill you.'

  But before it could react, Metagross hit it with a Meteor Mash, sending it flying into the distah a colorful explosion.

  "Mega Metagross, Zen Headbutt! blow out that guy who took my Toxic Orb!"

  Julian shouted, watg as the Muk submerged into the murky s, hoping to escape.

  Perhaps because of Will's influence, Julian unsciously became a little shameless. He sciously regarded the Toxic Orb as his own, but hought that he was the robber.

  (T/N: yeah sure due to Will's influence, what about the i fruit than mf)

  Metagross, now fully locked onto its target, shot forward, plunging into the s with incredible force.

  Seds ter, the s exploded, and Julian saw Muk flying out, coughing up the Toxic Orb in the process.

  With a soft white glow, Metagross released its Mega Evolution form auro its regur state. Using Psychic, it carefully levitated the Toxic Orb over to Julian, who was already donning gloves to hahe dangerous item.

  Julian put on the gloves and took the Toxic Orb. If it touches the skin, there was a danger of poisoning. There was still Muk's saliva on it, and there was also a stench, ing through even the gas mask.

  Metagross didn't seem to react, but Dragonair looked like he was about to vomit.

  Carefully wiping off Muk's saliva and any residual poison, Julian slipped the orb into his system space for safekeeping.

  "Let's move on,"

  Julian said, retrieving his Dowsing Mae. The reasure was five kilometers away.

  As they left the s behind, the defeated Muk and Weezing slowly regained sciousness.

  Realizing that their treasure was gone and their leaders were unscious, they turned on one another.

  The remaining Weezing and Muk swarmed their weakened leaders, dev them in a frenzy to absorb their strength, growing stronger for the battle that awaited them.