Within the Hunter Guild, only exceptionally outstanding Pokémon Hunters qualified for single‑letter titles.
But that didn't mean the Hunter Guild had twenty‑five people as strong as the Hunter Q before him.
Based on the previous lifetime's timeline, the current Hunter Guild only had five Hunters who held single‑letter titles.
And the hunter standing before him… was one of them!
At this moment, aside from the Peak Ace level Probopass locked in battle with Krookodile, Hunter Q had already sent out two more Pokémon.
Roserade: Low Elite Four!
Yanmega: Low Elite Four!
Meanwhile, on Sato's side, Hydreigon had to serve as both mount and bodyguard for him, which meant it couldn't devote itself fully to battle.
So when facing two additional Elite Four level opponents, Sato didn't hesitate to reinforce his side.
Tyranitar: Low Elite Four!
And Zoroark, just one step away from the Elite Four level!
At the same time, to prevent members of the Hunter Guild from escaping, Sato called Gengar as well.
[Sage Intent: Mean Look]!
[Wide‑Area: Spatial Barrier]!
The first was Gengar using Sage Intent to empower Mean Look, massively increasing its range and strength.
The second was Gengar creating a Spatial Barrier modeled after Probopass's rock fortress, sealing everyone -including Sato- inside a translucent dimensional field!
With practically its own power alone, Gengar trapped the entire Hunter Guild on the spot!
At the same time, Sato and Hunter Q clashed within the Spatial Barrier field.
Krookodile held a 4x weakness advantage over Probopass. Even a simple Bulldoze forced Probopass back step by step.
Even if Krookodile was slightly lower in level, its type advantage was more than enough to suppress its opponent!
Meanwhile, Tyranitar and Zoroark tangled with Roserade and Yanmega. Both sides had type advantages of their own.
Hunter Q was highly cunning; she would never let Roserade or Yanmega fight alone. And now, Hunter Q had shifted her attention toward Zoroark.
"Roserade, Venom Drench! Yanmega, Bug Buzz!"
One ensnared, one attacked; the cooperation was flawless, seemingly ready to take Zoroark out cleanly.
In the next moment, Venom Drench shot toward Zoroark almost instantly, but by the time Bug Buzz arrived, Zoroark had vanished.
"Stone Edge. Extrasensory."
No one knew when it happened, but Zoroark had already swapped places with Tyranitar, putting Yanmega directly in the path of a face‑to‑face Stone Edge strike.
Without needing any Trainer commands, the Speed Boost Yanmega immediately retreated, but a deep violet Extrasensory suddenly enveloped it.
In that single instant, Stone Edge arrived, slicing viciously across Yanmega's fragile insect body!
If Hunter Q had targeted Zoroark…
Then Sato had targeted Yanmega from the very beginning!
As the Trainer of a Sharpedo, Sato knew full well how terrifying Speed Boost became in the late game. So Yanmega had to be eliminated first.
And Tyranitar's Stone Edge completed the mission perfectly, severing one of Yanmega's transparent wings.
Yanmega didn't fall… but the state it was in was even more pitiful than fainting!
To achieve this, Tyranitar had tanked a full‑power Energy Ball from Roserade.
Trading injury for injury, completely worth it!
With Yanmega down, Hunter Q immediately sent out another Pokémon.
Low Elite Four: Infernape!
Hunter Q's third Pokémon turned out to be one of the Sinnoh League's very own starters…
At that moment, Sato's mind instantly imagined a twenty-chapter dark-female-lead revenge manhwa.
Too bad, in this story… Hunter Q was the villainess!
"Close Combat! Power Whip!"
What were Dark-types weak to?
There weren't many strong Bug-types, and Fairy-types hadn't been revealed yet. The first thing everyone thought of -without a doubt- was Fighting-types!
And Infernape was a particularly nasty opponent for Sato's side to deal with…
Especially with Roserade providing support from the sidelines; its Power Whip was packed with far more barbs than the average Grass-type. Just looking at it sent chills down Sato's spine.
"Night Daze! Bulldoze!"
Direct offense was too difficult. Sato immediately switched tactics: stall them for as long as possible. By his calculations, reinforcements should be arriving soon anyway.
Night Daze spread out, generating a powerful repelling force, while the rings of ground energy from Bulldoze repeatedly disrupted Infernape's attempts to get in close.
"THE TRANSPARENT BARRIER'S GONE! EVERYONE RUN!"
Just as the battle between Sato and Hunter Q reached a peak, a cry of joy suddenly rang out from within the Hunter Guild ranks.
In the next moment, Hunter Q turned without hesitation and bolted for the exit(?), signaling Infernape and the others to follow immediately.
But Sato instinctively looked toward Gengar.
…Had Gengar been defeated?
No!
Sato's lips curled into a slight smirk; he had spotted a wave of reinforcements flooding in outside the Spatial Barrier!
Leading them was Cynthia, speeding in atop her Garchomp.
But the next moment, Sato's smirk faded. Something felt… off.
[All units… ADVANCE!]
Came Cynthia's voice through the earpiece. Cool, commanding, and steely…
If nothing else, she sounded great~
Ahem…
Now that the battle had reached this point, there was no way Sato was going to let Hunter Q escape!
More importantly, his Zoroark still hadn't found its breakthrough moment!
So, Sato gave another command.
"Zoroark, Extrasensory! Tyranitar, Rock Tomb!"
Extrasensory hit Roserade and Infernape directly. With type advantage on his side, both Pokémon were temporarily locked down.
These were powerful Pokémon, Hunter Q couldn't possibly afford to abandon them.
She turned to retrieve them with her Poké Balls, but suddenly found herself immobilized, pinned down by slabs of rock that had materialized around her!
"INFEEEER!"
Seeing Hunter Q trapped by Rock Tomb, Infernape roared in fury. The flames on its head flared wildly as it broke free from Zoroark's Extrasensory through sheer power!
"Tyranitar!"
"Tyran!" 'Hmph!'
The ground beneath Infernape suddenly turned to sand and began sliding backward. Infernape struggled to run toward Hunter Q; but no matter how hard it tried, it only got farther away!
"Tyranitar, use Fire Blast on Roserade. Zoroark, Aerial Ace."
"Zoroooo~"
Zoroark let out a low growl, its body shrouded in a streak of white light as it charged at the frenzied Infernape.
Aerial Ace combo strike!
Flashes of white streaked around Infernape. Zoroark's attacks had become so fast they left only afterimages.
Caught off guard, Infernape took a direct hit.
It still wanted to rush to Hunter Q's aid, but Zoroark clung to it relentlessly!
And now that the tide had completely turned in Sato's favor, Cynthia -having arrived to support- chose not to intervene.
With one glance, she could see that Sato was using Infernape as the key to push Zoroark to its limits!