Inside the forest, a large number of fragmented tree trunks and branches were scattered about, with countless green leaves strewn across the ground. On the edges of the trunks and where the leaves gathered, battle scars were clearly visible. The lingering chilly sensation in the air indicated that Ghost-type Pokémon were responsible for this.
Most horrifying of all were the corpses of humans and Pokémon lying around. After learning from Gu Yuan that these people had exchanged Poké Balls, Chika decided to no longer hold back. Consequently, there were very few survivors, and Gu Yuan had to search for the Poké Balls himself.
"I still have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
"Moving forward, you can act freely. You may continue to act as bait to lure those families into attacking you, or you can choose to take the initiative and strike first."
"According to Elite Agatha's instructions, I have upgraded your clearance. You can use this specialized communicator to join certain video conferences or keep track of our latest operational intelligence."
"At the same time, you can voice your own opinions and choose the missions you wish to execute. Given your battle record and current situation, no one will stop you."
"But everything comes with a prerequisite: you must ensure your own safety."
"You are undoubtedly a benchmark for us now. No matter what, you must not fall easily!"
As the battle concluded, the still-composed Chika slowly spoke to give Gu Yuan his instructions.
"Yes, I understand."
Taking the communicator handed over by Chika, Gu Yuan knew that from this moment on, he had officially stepped into the upper echelons. With this device, he could establish connections with more high-ranking officials and build his own network of contacts.
"Good. I'm leaving now."
Nodding, Chika left directly, leaving Gu Yuan to clean up the battlefield. After this war, the wild Pokémon in this forest had personally felt the might of humans; for many years to come, they would not dare to engage in any violent behavior.
Using his psychic powers, Gu Yuan quickly collected the surviving Pokémon into Poké Balls. Then, he gathered all the corpses together. As Charizard breathed out flames, Gu Yuan cremated them, eventually laying them to rest in the earth.
After finishing this, Gu Yuan let Charizard and the others recover from their exhaustion first. He then used the specialized communicator Chika gave him to search for a mission suitable for himself. Passive defense followed by searching for an opportunity to counterattack had never been his style. Taking the initiative was much more to his liking.
Upon learning that Gu Yuan had joined the group chat, many people interacted with him warmly. Many were very interested in this famous genius. In particular, Gu Yuan constantly used his battle records to demonstrate his strength and his reputation as a prodigy.
When they learned Gu Yuan was looking for a suitable target, several people immediately began offering suggestions and strategies. Once Charizard and the others were well-rested, Gu Yuan used Teleport and vanished from the spot.
"Those useless trash! In the end, they still let the League's reinforcements arrive!"
Upon learning that Saya and his team had been wiped out, Toranosuke Kurata could not help but curse. However, he soon adjusted his mindset. Currently, the Four Elites held the upper hand on the front lines, so no problems could be allowed to arise regarding the matter of dealing with Gu Yuan.
In reality, Toranosuke Kurata now felt somewhat stuck between a rock and a hard place. At the beginning, the heads of the three major families all felt that the strength of both sides should be roughly equal. If one were to count specifically, their side—with the advantage in numbers and sphere of influence—should have held the edge.
But once the war started, they realized how much the League had developed under the efforts of the Four Elites; the League was actually suppressing them in battle. Fortunately, the collapse of some smaller families allowed their resources to be carved up by the remaining families, preventing internal discord. After this incident, it would likely serve as a wake-up call for them to strive to become stronger, which could be considered a silver lining.
After calming down, Toranosuke Kurata began to contact Gaius Cotton and Jin Kobe to discuss whom to send to deal with Gu Yuan.
While they were discussing the specific plan, Gu Yuan was already approaching his target for this trip: a Lower-tier Elite Psychic. With the League's intelligence, Gu Yuan quickly locked onto the area where the target was located, though he still had to find the exact position himself.
Swiftly traversing the forest, occasionally accompanied by Teleport, Asakura was approaching his goal at an extremely fast speed. Due to the war between the families and the League—and the existence of certain bottom lines—Psychics and trainers with Ghost-type Pokémon had the best stage to perform.
Through several missions, Asakura had already accumulated enough resources; he was only waiting for the war to end to begin preparing for a breakthrough. Now, the reason Asakura was still working so hard was to accumulate even more resources to ensure he would have enough to use after his breakthrough.
"I didn't expect 'waiting for the rabbit to hit the tree' to actually work. I really am a lucky hunter."
After sensing a Psychic-type Pokémon approaching, a smile appeared at the corner of Gu Yuan's mouth. Waiting for the opponent to let their Pokémon use Teleport again, Gu Yuan also vanished from the spot.
"Watch out, Claydol!"
Asakura's voice rang out. Claydol immediately released its psychic energy to form a shield, but it was shattered by Alakazam's offensive.
"Charizard, Mega Evolve!"
Failing to score an instant kill, Gu Yuan immediately launched a second round of attacks. Moltres's special pressure spread, suppressing Claydol's strength. Scale Shot was released as the fighter-jet-like Roaring Moon swiftly launched a second assault on Claydol.
The Mega Evolved Mega Charizard Y immediately used Blast Burn, turning into a sea of fire that enveloped Asakura.
"Gu Yuan!?"
As a fellow Psychic, Asakura was extremely familiar with Gu Yuan. Particularly at the moment Gu Yuan struck, he clearly knew he was not Gu Yuan's match and immediately wanted to retreat. Unfortunately, facing the experienced Gu Yuan, Asakura had no chance to escape.
The successive pincer attacks from Annihilape and Ditto forced Asakura into passive defense. Once all of Asakura's Pokémon were tied up, Gu Yuan used Teleport and vanished.
Two psychic shocks collided; in the end, Asakura—who had been at the Middle-tier Middle-stage for longer—held a slight advantage. However, in the next instant, Mega Gengar rushed out from the alternate dimension, its chilly aura instantly enveloping him.
Using Teleport, Asakura vanished from the spot without stopping, dodging the attacks of Ceruledge and Skeledirge in succession. Even against Drakloak's sudden attack, Asakura was able to use Teleport in time to dodge.
This time, when Asakura reappeared, a Hatterene appeared behind him, announcing Asakura's end.