"Machamp, use Dynamic Punch!"
A white glow enveloped Machamp's fists as it rushed forward, closing in on Nidoking. Having been hit once, Nidoking dared not clash directly with Machamp's Dynamic Punch again. It stomped the ground forcefully, releasing Earth Power, which materialized as a stone pillar to block Machamp's charge.
The next second, the other members of the Poaching Group commanded their Pokémon to launch attacks on Nidoking.
Under the barrage of several moves, Nidoking screamed in pain once more. At the same time, Nidoking was somewhat confused, wondering why it had not seen any Senior Rank Pokémon come to its aid for so long.
"Machamp, use Mega Kick!"
Before Nidoking realized it, Machamp had circled behind it. A heavy kick instantly forced Nidoking to retreat.
"Machamp, use Mega Punch for continuous heavy blows, crush the Nidoking completely!"
Pressing its advantage, Machamp attacked again, its four fists swinging continuously, striking Nidoking's head repeatedly. Having already expended a great deal of stamina, Nidoking could not withstand Machamp's assault for long and began to steadily fall back.
Machamp closed in, preparing to use Dynamic Punch to finish off Nidoking, but suddenly, the Nidoking vanished, replaced by an Alakazam. The next second, even Alakazam disappeared from its position.
Nidoking suddenly saw the constantly advancing Machamp instantly disappear from its field of view, replaced instead by several humans and their Pokémon. Before it could think about what had happened, Nidoking immediately launched an attack. It used Earth Power, first crushing the two people closest to it. Then, it used Horn Attack and charged into the crowd.
"Stop it, Machamp!"
Seeing Alakazam suddenly interfere, Gul felt his rage burn, even developing a killing intent toward Nagata. Unbeknownst to Gul, Nagata was already a corpse.
Moving quickly through the crowd, Machamp returned to face Nidoking. Nidoking's horn was now stained with blood. In order to vent its inner fury, Nidoking had forcefully unleashed all its power moments ago. For these Intermediate Rank and Senior Rank Pokémon, Nidoking's assault was undoubtedly a devastating blow, causing no small number of casualties in a very short time.
Looking at Machamp charging toward it, Nidoking knew it stood no chance of winning. It used Megahorn and rushed forward, wanting to inflict as much damage as possible on Machamp before it fell.
"Machamp, use Dynamic Punch!"
Gul did not allow Machamp to dodge, preparing to crush Nidoking in a head-on clash.
Receiving the command, Machamp's muscles trembled, and white light condensed on its fist. A punch was thrown, directly shattering Nidoking's Megahorn. Stepping forward, Machamp used the move, directly slamming Nidoking onto the ground, leaving a large crater. Due to the accumulation of injuries, Nidoking had no strength left to stand up.
Machamp did not drop its guard, instead intently watching the surroundings to prevent Alakazam from interfering again. Alakazam seemed to be intimidated by Machamp's power and remained completely still.
This was indeed the case. If Nidoking still had the ability to fight, Gu Yuan could have had Alakazam move. Now, without Nidoking acting as a damage shield, Alakazam naturally had no room to maneuver.
"Boss, we couldn't contact Nagata or Hirose. The possibility that they were killed is extremely high." The last remaining captain, Yanghui, quickly came up to Gul after the battle ended and reported cautiously.
"The Rangers could arrive at any moment. Let's leave here first."
Gul suppressed his anger and made the most rational decision. Continuing to pursue the person with the Psychic-type Pokémon would make it easy for the opponent to stall, which could result in the Rangers surrounding and trapping them.
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, Yanghui breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that Gul would be headstrong and insist on capturing that person.
The Poaching Group quickly cleaned up the battlefield, taking the Nidoran♂, Nidoran♀, and the Moon Stone from the cave. Then, Gul led the group in a swift retreat. Thieves don't leave empty-handed, but what Gul and the others did not notice was that some of the Moon Stone they took, specifically the most valuable batch, was missing.
At the same time, Gu Yuan received word that the Rangers were rapidly approaching, now only a very short distance away. Gu Yuan needed to continue tracking the Poaching Group's movements, but for him, this was an extremely easy task. Using the system's detection function and Alakazam's Teleport, there was no fear that these people could escape his grasp.
The only slight drawback was that, based on their line of retreat, their target seemed to be the nearest town, Fengmu Town. If these people entered the town, capturing them would be difficult, and the ordinary citizens could easily become their hostages. Furthermore, with their various disguise techniques, it would be hard to distinguish who the real Pokémon Hunters were.
"Let's go, Alakazam. It looks like our mission won't be that easy."
After a moment of thought, Gu Yuan decided to intervene. Since the Rangers were not far away, all they needed was for Gul and his group to be briefly delayed.
"Ditto, use Transform to turn into a Persian, then use Swift on Annihilape."
"Alakazam, use Nasty Plot to boost yourself."
Using Teleport to get ahead of Gul and his group, Gu Yuan prepared to continue his harassment tactics.
Repeated uses of Swift struck Annihilape, and it quickly increased the power of its Rage Fist to the maximum. After three uses of Nasty Plot, Alakazam's eyes were now filled with power.
With everything ready, Gu Yuan immediately launched his attack. He used Telepathy to issue instructions within a certain range, ensuring both Alakazam and Annihilape could receive them.
Relying on the system's detection, he first focused on the Intermediate Rank Pokémon standing on the edges of the group, along with their trainers.
"Annihilape, the Intermediate Rank Arbok at the end of the line."
"Alakazam, the person with the blonde hair at the eleven o'clock direction."
"Attack together!"
As Gu Yuan's voice sounded in Alakazam and Annihilape's minds, both Pokémon struck simultaneously. Alakazam used Teleport and, the instant it appeared, it used Psychic to kill its target instantly.
Annihilape's method was even more brutal; one punch meant the Arbok couldn't even leave a complete corpse behind.
The moment they succeeded, Alakazam used Teleport to leave the spot, and Annihilape used Phantom Force to submerge back into the different dimension.
Relying on their Expert Mastery and the element of surprise, the surrounding people or Pokémon simply could not stop them.
"He's looking for death!"
"Full speed ahead, quickly leave this area and reach the plains ahead! I want to see if he's really not afraid to die!"
Angry as he was, Gul knew what needed to be done immediately. He ordered everyone to speed up and heighten their vigilance, not forgetting to instruct Machamp to protect him.
Although an attack on Gul in the middle of the crowd would be dangerous for Alakazam, Gul dared not gamble his life on whether Alakazam would dare to strike him.