"Alright, time to retreat."
"If you see any wild Pokémon on the way that are too weak to fight back, try to catch them. But don't fight the Rangers if you can avoid it. We don't know when the League reinforcements might show up, so we need to leave fast."
After putting the last Moon Stone into his backpack, Murakami prepared to lead the group out.
The five of them never divided into roles, but the others still followed Murakami's lead.
Not just because he was stronger, but also because his judgment and command were outstanding. He almost never made mistakes.
The reason the five of them had managed to stay free for this long was mostly thanks to Murakami.
"Understood!" the other four replied together.
They readied themselves and began to retreat.
Once they rushed out of the cave, whenever they saw fainted Pokémon by the roadside, they tossed Poké Balls without caring who caught them.
Their long-time teamwork made them trust each other completely.
Watching them leave, Gu Yuan was almost certain they were Pokémon Hunters.
If this was an operation by Team Rocket, then after causing such a scene, Gu Yuan didn't believe they'd be satisfied with just a few Moon Stones and some wild Pokémon.
Of course, even if Gu Yuan was wrong, it didn't matter.
When he first became an undercover agent, Shadow had promised him he could freely target any Rocket member. Otherwise, there'd be no point in being undercover if the moment a Rocket showed up, he'd risk being exposed.
Besides, Gu Yuan had three reasons for coming to Mt. Moon: to earn points, to gain battle experience, and to see if he could collect some Moon Stones.
Now, with so many Moon Stones right in front of him, he couldn't just watch them escape without even trying.
He didn't strike immediately. Instead, Gu Yuan followed silently, carefully observing their actions and details.
If his Abra hadn't evolved yet, he might have hesitated.
But now his Abra had evolved into Kadabra and fully mastered its new powers. That gave him the confidence to act, even though his system told him each of the five carried a Senior Rank Pokémon.
Clearly, they had planned their escape route in advance. During the retreat, they encountered very few wild Pokémon, and even Rangers were scarce. This made things harder for Gu Yuan.
Soon, the group reached the mountainside.
Here, even with the best route planned, it was impossible to avoid being slowed down by wild Pokémon.
"Show your full strength and push through! If we get stuck here, it's over!"
Releasing his second Senior Rank Pokémon, Vileplume, Murakami prepared to break through quickly.
If they could just get past this last obstacle, nothing would stand in their way.
"Get ready, Kadabra. Target the one on the far left. Use Ally Switch and then Teleport. Make sure it's safe."
Hidden in the treetops, Gu Yuan whispered his orders to Kadabra.
He had invested all his saved points into upgrading Kadabra's Teleport and Ally Switch to Advanced mastery for this mission.
If everything went well, hunting these Senior Rank trainers would more than pay him back.
Kadabra nodded and focused, waiting for Gu Yuan's signal.
"Now! Use Ally Switch, then Teleport!"
"Eevee, get ready to use Yawn!"
As Gu Yuan's voice rang out, Kadabra vanished, swapping places with Masuyama.
Masuyama appeared in front of Gu Yuan, still carrying the excitement of battle on his face.
But the next moment, drowsiness struck him, slowing his reactions.
Taking the chance, Gu Yuan drove his dagger straight into Masuyama's heart.
He quickly stripped Masuyama's belongings, while Kadabra used Teleport to return them both to safety.
Gu Yuan casually dropped the corpse from the treetop and let Kadabra warp them away again.
"Ambush! The attack came from that tree!"
Murakami's voice rang out. Someone immediately ordered their Pokémon to strike at the treetop, but it was useless.
"The enemy has a Psychic Pokémon! Stay together and don't give them an opening!"
"Remember this. If they don't dare fight us directly, then they're weaker than we are. As long as our Pokémon shield us, we'll be fine."
Murakami quickly assessed the situation and reassured his companions.
The three survivors trusted him and immediately followed his orders.
As Torre moved closer to Cass, he let out a sigh of relief.
Earlier, to break through the swarms of wild Pokémon, Murakami's group had split up. Like Masuyama, Torre had been positioned at the edge.
At the time, it hadn't seemed like a big deal. But now, with a Psychic-user targeting him, fear began to spread in Torre's heart.
Just when he thought the danger had passed, his vision blurred, the scenery shifted, and drowsiness overtook him.
Then, a dagger pierced his heart. The searing pain drained his strength in an instant.
"Vileplume, use Razor Leaf!"
This time, Murakami reacted much faster.
Countless sharp leaves shot out, shredding through the treetops. Some of them came back stained with blood.
But Murakami didn't celebrate.
Slowly, pieces of Torre's body tumbled down from the treetop. Under the relentless storm of Razor Leaf, his corpse was too torn apart to remain whole.
"Damn it!"
"From now on, the three of us stick together. Make sure at least one Pokémon watches each of us at all times. If anything feels wrong, attack immediately!"
Losing two companions so suddenly made Murakami furious, but he forced himself to stay calm.
He knew that if he panicked, that would be the real nightmare.
From the shadows, Gu Yuan checked the loot in his bag. The mission had already paid off.
The points for hunting Senior Rank trainers had already been credited.
Compared to simply defeating them, hunting gave far more points — a whole thousand for each Senior Rank trainer.
Though the wild Pokémon interference had reduced his total, he still earned more than a thousand.
After counting his gains, Gu Yuan didn't plan to stop. He continued to shadow Murakami's group.
Like a crocodile lurking underwater, he waited for the moment his prey exposed another weakness