"Gino, why did you call me here? Are you planning to hunt me instead of Pokémon?"
Sensing his trainer's battle intent, the Primeape standing beside Laon glared angrily at Gino, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Looking at Laon, Gino felt a headache creeping in. If it weren't for Laon's undeniable strength, he would have avoided working with him altogether.
However, for the sake of self-preservation, Laon decided to hear Gino out. But before that, he needed to establish his strength.
In the brutal world of Pokémon hunters, the law of the jungle ruled supreme—without sufficient strength, one wasn't even qualified to speak. The weak were devoured without mercy.
"Laon, I didn't call you here to fight. Besides, are you absolutely certain you can take me down?"
Laon stared Gino down, showing no sign of backing down. His Scyther silently stepped forward, its razor-sharp scythes glinting with a cold light.
Both Primeape and Scyther were High Elite-level Pokémon, each at level 58. In their clash of auras, neither could gain the upper hand—it was a deadlock.
"Laon, I called you here for a simple reason. You've heard of that kid, Ron, haven't you? Judging by his activity range, it won't be long before he reaches our territory."
"Word is, quite a few High Elite-level Pokémon hunters have already fallen at his hands."
Now that Gino had calmed down a little, Laon steered the conversation back on track.
"So what? If worse comes to worst, I'll just run. I refuse to believe he'll chase me forever!"
Without hesitation, Laon openly admitted his fear.
After all, they were dealing with the champion of the Indigo League, a hunter who had eliminated ten High Elite-level Pokémon hunters within just a month—and even more at the Mid Elite level.
The name Ron had become synonymous with terror. Laon saw no shame in admitting his fear.
"True, we could leave and avoid him for now. But tell me, aren't you tempted by the resources Ron must have?"
"No matter how strong he is, he's still just one High Elite-level Pokémon hunter. There are two of us. If we plan an ambush, what do you think our chances are?"
Gino didn't mock Laon's fear. After all, his first thought upon realizing Ron was approaching was to run, too.
Only later did he devise a plan to ambush Ron—and it was then that he decided to team up with Laon, his equal in strength despite past conflicts.
"He became the Indigo League Champion and took down so many elite hunters. Sure, some of them underestimated him, but that still proves his strength. Just the two of us won't be enough."
"If your plan only involves the two of us, count me out."
For the first time, Gino was surprised by Laon.
He had always thought Laon was nothing but a brute. Who knew he could be this shrewd?
Just as Gino was about to keep Laon on board while searching for a third ally, a deep, magnetic voice called out from nearby.
"Pokémon Hunters Laon and Gino, do you think I can join in?"
Turning toward the voice, Laon and Gino saw a young man with piercing violet eyes. Standing beside him were a Machamp, a Persian, and a Gardevoir.
"You're Ron!?"
Recognizing him instantly, Gino instinctively signaled Laon to prepare for battle.
With a Psychic-type Pokémon like Gardevoir in play, splitting up and running would only result in being hunted down one by one.
"Gardevoir, use Hypnosis to cover us!"
"Machamp, Finger Pistol: Daytime Tiger!"
"Persian, Finger Pistol: Blink Slash!"
The moment Gino and Laon reacted, Ron had already given his commands.
Having advanced to Mid Elite level, Gardevoir's exceptional psychic abilities allowed its Hypnosis to affect even High Elite Pokémon.
A brief moment of disorientation was all Machamp and Persian needed to strike.
The ferocious Daytime Tiger attack engulfed Laon and his Scyther. Though the searing pain jolted Scyther awake from Hypnosis, Laon's frail human body couldn't withstand the impact. He collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Before Scyther could retaliate, Machamp closed in and delivered a Finger Pistol: Fire Blade, ending the battle instantly.
Meanwhile, Persian had already finished its fight—two corpses lay in pools of blood.
With Gardevoir's Teleport and Hypnosis rendering Pokémon hunters defenseless, Ron's surprise attacks were lethal.
The sheer penetrative and destructive power of Finger Pistol allowed him to end battles in an instant.
After gathering enough intelligence, Ron transmitted his report back to headquarters.
By now, he had perfected his strategy—tracking multiple Pokémon hunters within the same activity range, seeking them out one by one, eliminating them, and uploading the results to HQ. His efficiency was unparalleled.
Afterward, Ron looted their resources.
Within a mere month, he had amassed 200,000 League Contribution Points and 100,000 Hunter Guild Contribution Points.
Persian, having accumulated enough battle experience from these continuous hunts, successfully leveled up to 55.
Having eliminated Laon and Gino, Ron had met his mission quota for the year. Any additional missions would now count toward extra bonuses in his monthly salary.
Targeting a notorious poaching group whose strongest member was Mid Elite level, Ron set off once more.
Once this mission was completed, he planned to take a break and train his Pokémon, particularly Bellossom, to strengthen his team.
After receiving insight from Shadow about the process of breaking into the Elite Four tier, Ron realized that the transition from pseudo-Elite Four to true Elite Four level would be the most crucial phase in narrowing the power gap within his team.
Moreover, Ron felt it was time to establish a new identity.
Shadow had already hinted that he wanted Ron to serve as an informant. At any moment, he could be ordered to undertake missions that needed to stay in the dark.
For safety's sake, Ron needed to ensure that, even if discovered, no one would trace anything back to him. His solution? Capture new Pokémon and form a second team with the long-hidden Gastly.
Having settled on his next steps, Ron wasted no time and took action immediately.
Ron's feats were both respected and feared. But not everyone was pleased—particularly the five major families led by Klaus Nyland.
At first, targeting Ron had been a decision made by their subordinates. But now, watching Ron grow stronger and more infamous, the five families felt their authority slipping.
To them, even the mere thought of challenging their power was an insult to their prestige.
There was only one way to resolve this—to make Ron disappear completely.
Only then could they prove to the world that the Five Families still held absolute authority in Kanto—beyond even the Elite Four's reach!
Even if someone suspected that the culprit was someone within the League, what could they do? As long as they acted discreetly, who would dare to point fingers at them? In fact, they might even take the opportunity to smear the Elite Four's reputation.
Manipulating public opinion? The Five Great Families were just as skilled at that game.
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