"Oh? Are you ready?"
Looking at Gu Yuan who had come to his door, Dar asked seriously.
"Of course!"
"We've delayed in the Kalos region for so long. If we don't set off soon, I'm afraid those people won't be able to restrain themselves anymore."
"Regardless, this is an internal matter of our Kanto League. If we truly let them make a scene, it will only make the other Leagues laugh at us."
"Though after the first two incidents, we aren't really in a position to say that, it's still better to keep the third time low-profile."
Gu Yuan spoke calmly, but he knew these were just excuses. The most important factor was that his points were running low.
Currently, using points to help Charizard and the others improve their strength required 10,000 points per instance, yet defeating a Leader Rank opponent only yielded 1,000 points.
Furthermore, using points to increase strength was different than before; it didn't guarantee a level up every time, meaning he had to invest significantly more.
According to Gu Yuan's estimates, rising from Leader Rank to Elite Rank would require 1,000,000 points. Adding the cost of improving mastery for various moves made the total consumption staggering.
Facing a potential assassination, Gu Yuan couldn't simply go out and fight wild Pokémon or other trainers at will. His growth rate would undoubtedly slow down.
As such, rather than continuing to hide, it was better to take the initiative and keep some of the control in his own hands.
"I understand!"
"In that case, I'll go with you to meet those people!"
Dar stood up, his fighting spirit fully ignited.
Once the decision was made, Gu Yuan and Dar didn't waste any time.
They packed their luggage and headed toward the docks of Ambrette Town.
This time, Dar and Gu Yuan did not use any public transportation. They wanted to prevent those people from doing something as insane as destroying a vehicle and causing unnecessary casualties.
As for the rest of the Kanto League group, they had already departed with Aiko and the others to avoid becoming "pond fish" caught in the crossfire.
Along the way, Dar and Gu Yuan encountered no obstacles. It was as if no one wanted to attack them at all.
However, they both knew this was merely the calm before the storm.
As they left the vicinity of the woods and approached their final destination, Ambrette Town, the storm finally broke.
"It looks like they plan to attack directly. They haven't even bothered to disguise themselves."
"There's no other way. With a Champion Rank trainer like you protecting me, they've been pushed to the limit."
Having already detected approaching presences with his psychic powers, Gu Yuan had time to chat even as he and Dar prepared for battle.
They both understood that those detectable by psychic powers were likely just pawns used for testing and drawing fire. The true killing blow was probably still hidden in the shadows.
Soon, the group appeared in their line of sight, surrounding them.
Dozens of Pokémon surged out together; the strongest were at the Elite Rank, while the weakest were at the Ace Rank.
Judging by their coordinated movements, this was a professional team.
This immediately brought poaching groups to mind.
Powerful and wealthy families loved to cultivate poaching groups that obeyed only them. Normally, these groups could hunt Pokémon to earn resources; when necessary, they were used for dirty work.
It was precisely because of the existence of such people that the Hunter's Guild was so difficult to eradicate and continued to grow stronger.
"Come out and fight!"
At Dar's voice, Blastoise and the others burst from their Poké Balls.
Blastoise's Champion Rank aura diffused, causing the opposing Pokémon to feel an instinctive fear. However, they soon followed their trainers' orders and launched an attack.
To limit Dar's power as much as possible, this group primarily used Electric-type Pokémon. This was problematic as most of Dar's Pokémon were Water-types.
This setup would undoubtedly restrict Dar's strength.
Regardless of the gap in power, the reality that water conducts electricity could not be changed.
Once a Water-type move collided with an Electric-type move, the current would travel through the water to damage the Water-type Pokémon.
If it happened enough, it could even leave the Water-type Pokémon paralyzed.
"Blastoise, continuous Aura Sphere!"
"Nidoking, Earth Power barrage."
"Poliwrath, Starmie, Kingdra, use Blizzard together!"
Dar's commands rang out, and his Pokémon launched their offensive in unison.
Gu Yuan wasn't idle either. He first had Ditto transform into Sylveon, using Calm Mind and Baton Pass to boost the strength of Blastoise and the others as much as possible.
Charizard and the rest of his team used moves like Dragon Dance to strengthen themselves, waiting for the right moment to strike.
He didn't have to wait long. The attackers released all their remaining Pokémon for a total offensive.
Various moves swept in like a tidal wave. At this moment, even Dar didn't dare to be careless.
While these Pokémon were like ants to a Champion Rank Blastoise, a sufficient number of ants could still kill an elephant. When quantity reaches a certain level, it causes a qualitative change.
Dar, tell your Pokémon not to resist.
Alakazam, use Teleport with me!
Gu Yuan used Telepathy to warn Dar, then combined his power with Alakazam to cast Teleport, escaping the center of the attack.
The moment Gu Yuan and Dar reappeared, a dozen people with rocket launchers opened fire on them.
"Blastoise, Aura Sphere!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions rang out continuously. The people who had previously surrounded them broke into smaller units, maintaining a constant offensive against Gu Yuan and Dar while providing suppressive fire.
Their intent was simple: force Gu Yuan and Dar to separate.
When the two were together, the target was too large, making them vulnerable to the area-of-effect moves.
Furthermore, because Dar had to protect Gu Yuan, he lost many opportunities to counterattack.
I'm leaving my life in your hands. Please, do your best.
Abruptly, Gu Yuan's voice echoed in Dar's mind.
Before Dar could react, Gu Yuan had Alakazam use Teleport to vanish with his team.
The moment Gu Yuan separated from Dar, an Elite Rank Hypno appeared beside him, carrying its trainer.
Shadows condensed as Gengar, Sableye, and Dusknoir appeared one after another.
Elite Rank Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon—this was the true killing blow!