"So that's how it is. No wonder it's so hard to find Pokémon Hunters."
Standing beside Kova's corpse, Gu Yuan looked as if he had suddenly understood everything.
From the interrogation just now, he finally learned that for their own safety, Pokémon Hunters constantly changed locations.
The information Gu Yuan had received from Takenaka was already outdated. There was no way he could have tracked a Hunter with that.
If Kova hadn't been skilled at disguise and hidden his identity as a League Trainer, Gu Yuan wouldn't have run into him here at all.
After learning this, Gu Yuan realized his plan to actively hunt Pokémon Hunters had failed.
Of course, if Gu Yuan didn't care about dying, he could just ask Shadow to provide information about Team Rocket members and hunt them down for points.
But if he went too far, Shadow might kill him in anger before long.
"Looks like we'd better earn points honestly by winning Pokémon battles. Killing people is a bit too bloody anyway."
After disposing of Kova's body and submitting the task report, Gu Yuan entered a calm, reflective state.
At his side, Charizard and the others rolled their eyes. They all remembered perfectly well who had just used that cruel execution method a moment ago.
"Come back, Charizard. Rest for now. I'll send you out again when there's a worthy opponent."
After recalling Charizard, Gu Yuan continued toward the nearest town.
Once he left the forest, the number of wild Pokémon he encountered dropped sharply, but he didn't mind.
After several days of continuous battles, it was time to let Sylveon and the others rest.
Along the road, Sylveon followed quietly by Gu Yuan's side, with Mankey and Ditto walking beside it.
According to Sylveon, this was to train their stamina, but in truth, it simply couldn't stand the sight of Mankey and Ditto still getting carried by Gu Yuan.
"All right, let's rest here for a bit."
After walking for a while, Gu Yuan felt some fatigue and chose a shady spot to rest.
They ate a few snacks, drank some water, and soon Sylveon and the others grew lively again, playing cheerfully around him.
Watching them, Gu Yuan felt his tiredness fade away.
Just as he was about to continue the journey, several Pokémon signals appeared within the system's detection range.
"Come out, Kadabra."
"You two, back to your Poké Balls."
Sensing a large number of approaching Pokémon, Gu Yuan quickly recalled Mankey and Ditto, then released Kadabra.
He glanced toward the treetops and immediately hid there with Sylveon and Kadabra.
Before long, a group of people came into sight.
Beside them were several Houndooms, along with a few other Pokémon like Persian and Azumarill, more than ten in total.
The weakest among them were at the Junior Rank, and the strongest had reached the Senior Rank.
Judging by their appearance, they looked like bodyguards, and the young woman they were protecting must have been their charge.
She looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.
With that kind of strength, they should have been able to move through this area without fear. Yet all of them looked anxious.
Because the ones chasing them weren't wild Pokémon, but another group of Trainers, one even stronger!
Amusingly, the pursuers' Pokémon were mostly Houndoom as well.
Why does that girl look so familiar?
Hidden in the treetops, Gu Yuan remained calm.
Even though Houndooms had an excellent sense of smell, like Arcanine, they were too busy to notice him.
He opened his communicator and checked the recent headlines, quickly finding what he wanted.
"May Kuroda, the illegitimate daughter of Hiroshi Kuroda!"
He soon found the news article he'd seen before.
He remembered the Kuroda family well; they raised packs of Houndooms, and many family members used one as their main Pokémon.
The Kurodas were famous manufacturers of Pokémon food and Pokéblocks. Their products were sold throughout the Kanto and Johto regions, and even further abroad.
Though not a widely known family, their assets were enormous, and several powerful League officials owed them favors.
It was said that Hiroshi Kuroda's younger brother, Tobira Kuroda, was an old Elite Rank Trainer, one of those who might ascend even further someday.
In wealth, influence, and power, the Kurodas were exceptional.
However, Hiroshi Kuroda was reportedly in poor health. His only legitimate son, Goichi Kuroda, was said to be disappointing and had fallen out of favor.
So when Gu Yuan saw May Kuroda being hunted, he couldn't help but think of a cliché story.
The legitimate son, afraid that an illegitimate child might threaten his inheritance, secretly sends assassins to kill her, only for a passing hero to save her, expose the scheme, and help her claim her rightful place.
Looking at the scene, Gu Yuan felt like he would be the supposed hero from those stories, but he had absolutely no intention of getting involved.
He didn't know why the people protecting May Kuroda were only Senior Rank Trainers, but their pursuers were clearly stronger.
Among the enemies, there were at least three Senior Rank Pokémon. Even with Gu Yuan's help, it would be a two-on-three fight at best.
And through his system scan, Gu Yuan noticed that several of those Houndooms had learned Taunt, which would restrict Kadabra's abilities.
If he stepped in now, he might not save anyone, and could easily end up dead himself.
Besides, he was working undercover. Getting tangled up with the Kuroda family would only cause more trouble.
After all, Hiroshi Kuroda might be unhappy with his son, but he'd never said he planned to pass the family business to his illegitimate daughter.
Meanwhile, May Kuroda and her guards were overtaken.
At that point, neither side wasted words. The battle broke out instantly.
Thanks to their advantage in strength, the pursuers quickly gained the upper hand, knocking out two of May's Pokémon in no time.
She threw out Poké Balls one after another, trying to break through the encirclement, but it was futile.
At this rate, her team wouldn't last another ten minutes before being completely wiped out.
Seeing how it would end, Gu Yuan stopped watching. He signaled Kadabra to use Teleport, ready to leave this place of trouble.
Unfortunately, he'd forgotten one thing—
In cliché stories, the "hero" doesn't always choose to act.