"We won't leave today. We'll set off tomorrow, so rest well today."
Returning to the Pokémon Center, Gu Yuan did not leave immediately. Instead, he had Charizard and the others rest, knowing that tomorrow there would be the real big battle.
"The few of you, continue as usual, keep monitoring, and watch out for others. Don't let them get close."
"The two of you will be the rear guard. I'll make the first move, and if I fail, you'll take over the battle."
Inside the hotel, Kenta was giving instructions to his subordinates.
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the few people responsible for monitoring Gu Yuan left first to continue tracking his whereabouts. The remaining two were the ones who had initially contacted Gu Yuan, and both possessed quasi-Ace strength. At this moment, they desperately hoped Kenta's plan would fail so they would have a chance to intervene and thoroughly torture and kill Gu Yuan!
While they thought this, the two did not dare to sabotage Kenta's plan, fearing they would incur punishment from the Fukuda family.
The next morning, Gu Yuan left Celadon City, facing the morning sun.
The few people who had been tracking Gu Yuan appeared like shadows around him. It seemed that the continuous days of monitoring without being discovered had made them underestimate Gu Yuan, thinking he was merely a person seeking fame.
Kenta, on the other hand, was not in a hurry to act. Instead, he waited for Gu Yuan to enter a deeper part of the forest before releasing his Pidgeot and chasing after him. Soon, Kenta spotted Gu Yuan's location and commanded his Pidgeot to land.
"Hello, I'm Kenta, a Ranger. You must be Gu Yuan. I have something to discuss with you."
After landing, Kenta approached Gu Yuan with a smile. Kenta believed that with his Ranger uniform, Gu Yuan would definitely not detect anything unusual. However, as Kenta got closer, he saw a look in Gu Yuan's eyes that suggested he was looking at someone with intellectual disability.
"I really don't know if you're truly stupid or just pretending. Even if you want to pretend to be a Ranger, you should at least understand how Rangers operate."
"Or are you assuming that after being threatened in Celadon City, I would easily relax my vigilance and trust a stranger?"
Having dealt with Rangers so many times, Gu Yuan understood their mode of operation. Upon meeting someone, they would immediately present identification to prove their status, and at the same time, verify the other party to deal with disguised Pokémon hunters. Furthermore, if the Rangers needed Gu Yuan's cooperation, they could completely contact Tom or Kawaguchi directly; there was absolutely no need to send out a stranger.
Gu Yuan was only a core League trainer. Rangers would not involve him in any of their operations. Therefore, the only possibility was that there was an issue with Gu Yuan's previous actions, and the responsible person would naturally need to come and find him.
With all these flaws, Gu Yuan would truly be brain-damaged if he couldn't figure out the opponent's identity.
"You!"
The moment he spoke, Kenta pressed the alarm button in his hand, notifying the two quasi-Ace trainers to come for support. Just as Kenta prepared to stall for time, he realized that an invisible force was wrapping around him, making him unable to move or even speak.
"It's good that you called for backup. Otherwise, if you were alone, you truly couldn't withstand my wrath."
Under Alakazam's manipulation, the alarm device in Kenta's pocket was moved out. Seeing this, Gu Yuan smiled instead.
Without saying anything more, Gu Yuan immediately had Alakazam knock Kenta out. He would interrogate them all later. The system's detection function was activated, and two quasi-Ace Pokémon appeared in the detection range.
After tying Kenta up and hiding him in the treetop, Gu Yuan had Alakazam use Teleport to disappear with him.
In the forest, the two men were running wildly. Although they believed that once Kenta revealed his identity, the opponent wouldn't attack unless he was an idiot. Yet, one must always prepare for the unexpected. If the opponent truly was a hothead and injured Kenta, their trouble would be immense. Especially considering the opponent's previous actions, this possibility was extremely high.
At this moment, the two regretted agreeing to Kenta's plan. Wouldn't it have been better to just attack together? Why did he have to risk his life?
As the two rushed anxiously, they did not notice that Gu Yuan was already hidden nearby.
In the next moment, Alakazam and Annihilape both disappeared from where they stood.
The moment Annihilape appeared, a maximally powered Rage Fist slammed into the quasi-Ace Pokémon on the left. Before launching the attack, Annihilape had maximized its Attack stat using Bulk Up. One punch was all it took for the Pokémon to lose its ability to battle and fall.
Annihilape did not stop, immediately using Phantom Force to vanish from the spot, targeting the other quasi-Ace Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Alakazam performed an Ally Switch with the person on the right and then used Confusion to knock out the person on the left.
"Roar!"
Immediately after, a roar sounded, and Charizard also rushed out using Dragon Rush, attracting the attention of the opponent's Pokémon and giving Annihilape a chance to sneak attack.
With a single punch knocking out a Pokémon, the battle quickly ended.
Looking at the three captured individuals, Gu Yuan did not stop. Instead, he set off again to find the people who had been monitoring him. When Kenta pressed the alarm, they had also started rushing toward this area for support.
Unfortunately, the strongest among them was only of Senior Rank strength. Facing Gu Yuan's ambush, they didn't even have the chance to fight back.
"You've all worked hard following me for so many days."
"To properly repay you, allow me to give you some special hospitality now."
Having Alakazam control these individuals with its psychic power, Gu Yuan pulled out a dagger and walked toward them. The sharp blade fell, easily taking away a piece of flesh and blood.
Gu Yuan had no intention of interrogation; he simply wanted to torment them. If there were any questions, the three quasi-Ace trainers would naturally give him answers. If even they didn't know, it was even less likely that these people would be privy to the information.
Under the psychic restraint, these individuals could not even let out a single scream. Watching their faces turn red, Gu Yuan did not show an ounce of mercy.
From the day they started monitoring him, they should have had this mental preparation. Gu Yuan did not believe they were unaware of the kind of treatment he would have received had their employers succeeded, yet they still followed through. Forget about saying they were too weak to control their own fate; Gu Yuan only knew that everyone must pay the price for their choices.
Soon, the massive blood loss made them weak, leading to their death. The only thing Gu Yuan regretted was that, even with so many people, he still hadn't reached the standard of a thousand cuts.
However, that's alright. I still have three more people to practice on.
"Separate them. I want to interrogate them one by one."
Hearing this, Alakazam used its psychic power to confine them in different places. After thinking for a moment, Gu Yuan decided to deal with the person who pretended to be the Ranger first.