Looking in the direction he came from, Gu Yuan did not see anyone appear. Instead, he saw a Raticate emerging from the bushes.
He opened the system panel, and Raticate's information appeared before his eyes.
Maybe Raticate's Trainer wanted to use its appearance to confuse him. Unfortunately for them, Gu Yuan had been active in this area for too long.
If there had been a Junior Rank Raticate, Gu Yuan would remember it. For a strange Pokémon to suddenly show up now felt more like trying to trick him by covering one's ears while stealing a bell.
Choosing not to disturb the Raticate "passing by", Gu Yuan moved closer to where it had appeared.
To stay hidden, he returned Charmeleon into its Poké Ball and let Eevee act instead, since it was smaller.
Soon, Gu Yuan found Yoshihara hiding nearby with his Koffing.
It was not that Gu Yuan's observation was especially sharp. Yoshihara had to pay attention to Raticate's movements, so he could not hide well.
Instead of attacking right away, Gu Yuan first checked Koffing's data.
When he confirmed it had not learned Self-Destruct, Gu Yuan finally sighed in relief.
Both Self-Destruct and Explosion were far more dangerous than their numbers suggested.
Once triggered, everything nearby would suffer destructive force, with the user paying the price of its own near-death.
The worst part of facing such a move was the fear. You never knew if your opponent would choose to perish together with you. That hesitation made it easy for the enemy to strike.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack to rush forward. Then use Yawn to cover both Koffing and that man. After that, use Covet on Koffing. Leave the rest to me."
After whispering the command, Gu Yuan silently pulled out a dagger.
The next second, Eevee shot out in a flash of white light.
Before Yoshihara and Koffing could react, Eevee's Yawn spread over both of them.
Sleepiness hit, slowing Yoshihara and Koffing's movements and reactions.
Gu Yuan charged forward right after Eevee.
His Poké Ball opened, releasing Charmeleon, who instantly followed his order and used Flamethrower on Koffing.
Under the effect of Covet, the drowsy Koffing was easily fooled and knocked into the air by Eevee.
Before it landed, Charmeleon's Flamethrower struck it directly.
Gu Yuan was not idle either. He had already rushed up to Yoshihara.
Even though his body was only ten years old, his speed was not slow. He drove the dagger into Yoshihara's stomach and twisted it hard.
Pressing him down, Gu Yuan's eyes were as fierce as a starving wolf. He only thought about tearing Yoshihara apart.
The sharp pain forced Yoshihara to explode with potential, throwing Gu Yuan off.
Getting back up, Gu Yuan showed a trace of regret in his eyes.
He was still too small. If he were a few years older, Yoshihara would not have had any chance to fight back.
Luckily, Eevee was there. It finished the job by using Quick Attack from behind, sending Yoshihara flying and knocking him out.
Gu Yuan quickly rushed over and ended Yoshihara's life with one more strike.
He had not needed to do it himself. Since he attacked first, he could have let Charmeleon finish Yoshihara immediately.
But in the end, Gu Yuan chose to act personally.
Although he had seen blood before, his experience in life-and-death combat was still very little.
Now that he was a member of Team Rocket, Gu Yuan believed he would come to face such situations often in the future.
To prepare, it was better to take this chance to gain practice than to regret later.
Facing Charmeleon and Eevee together, Koffing quickly lost strength.
On the other side, the Raticate rushed over after hearing the battle.
At almost the same moment, Koffing collapsed under Flamethrower's power.
Seeing its Trainer lying in a pool of blood, Raticate's eyes turned red, and it charged wildly at Gu Yuan.
But it never reached him.
Eevee shot forward with Quick Attack, slamming Raticate away.
Charmeleon followed immediately with Flamethrower. Their teamwork had become seamless after so many battles.
Before Raticate could continue fighting, Gu Yuan found its Poké Ball and captured it, sealing it away.
With the battle over, Gu Yuan did not relax. This time, he carefully cleaned the battlefield and left proof of Yoshihara's death, just as he had done with Rudy.
Then he continued on as if nothing had happened.
Close to noon, Gu Yuan returned to his cave to rest.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he smelled faint blood.
Eevee's Ability had not warned him, but Gu Yuan still told Charmeleon and Eevee to stay alert.
Walking forward carefully, Gu Yuan spotted a yellow figure lying inside.
When the light revealed its form, his eyes widened.
"Abra!"
Gu Yuan roared in his heart but forced himself to stay calm.
From Shadow's lessons, he knew how precious Psychic-type Pokémon were. An Abra, born with Teleport, was even rarer.
It seemed Team Rocket's cleanup earlier had only targeted stronger Pokémon. They had missed this Rookie Rank Abra.
Thanks to Teleport, it had not been taken away back then.
Gu Yuan no longer cared how it had been hurt. He immediately pulled out a Poké Ball and captured the heavily injured Abra that could not resist.
Then he released it again and treated it with medicine and bandages.
That was only the beginning. He had not truly earned its loyalty yet.
Most Psychic-type Pokémon were very proud. Even if captured, they often demanded a Trainer with psychic powers to be considered equals.
Abra especially was like this. Even if you caught one, the moment you released it, it could just use Teleport and vanish.
A Poké Ball could store and restrain a Pokémon, but it could not prevent it from leaving once they were released from it.
That was why the real key lay with Eevee now. Gu Yuan had to win Abra's trust with his own charm.
Only then would Abra stay by his side.