"Even though I suspected the winners of this Regional Battle Tournament would be you, I didn't expect the gap to be this vast."
"I truly envy the Kanto region for having a genius like you. I wonder, Gu Yuan, if you'd be interested in developing your career in a different League?"
As soon as the Regional Battle Tournament concluded, Yoshino immediately approached the Kanto League team, acting as if he were keeping an eye on Dar to prevent him from doing anything untoward.
"Thank you for the kind offer, but I still prefer to continue my training with my mentor, Elite Agatha. I have no plans to move to another League for the time being."
Faced with Yoshino's invitation, Gu Yuan politely declined without a moment's hesitation. Seeing this, Yoshino did not push the matter further. It was merely a trial attempt; it would have been ideal if it succeeded, but even a failure planted a seed in Gu Yuan's mind—just in case it bore fruit later.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not very fair of you, trying to poach my people right in front of me."
"Tell me, how are you going to compensate me for this?"
Dar walked up to Yoshino's side with a smile, speaking in a joking manner.
"That's easy. How about I buy you a drink tonight? I know a few good taverns where the hostesses serve some excellent specialty dishes."
As he spoke, a knowing "old pro" smile appeared on Yoshino's face. Dar, a fellow veteran in such matters, understood instantly and nodded with a laugh, accepting the invitation.
"Alright, the tournament is over. You are all free to do as you please. Just make sure you don't cause any trouble."
After setting a time for his meeting, Dar's expression became serious again.
"Yes, sir!"
After responding, Gu Yuan prepared to head back to the hotel for a rest, intending to explore Jubilife City later in the evening. Taishi Utsunomiya returned to his usual state, resuming his obsessive training. Aiko and Basque did the same. Conversely, Kurata and Akatsuka left together, ready to start enjoying themselves immediately. They both saw things clearly; with Gu Yuan and Taishi Utsunomiya around, Akatsuka had no chance of getting on the field anyway, and even if Kurata suffered a crushing defeat, someone would be there to bail him out.
In the evening, Gu Yuan left the hotel and strolled through Jubilife City with Hattrem. After a long journey, Hattrem was on the verge of its final evolution into Hatterene. At that point, the little one wouldn't be able to be held by Gu Yuan like this anymore. Therefore, Hattrem truly cherished these precious moments.
On Gu Yuan's shoulder, Dreepy lay comfortably, its large eyes constantly scanning the surroundings while remaining in a state of invisibility. Dreepy still preferred peace and quiet, but its curiosity about the outside world was too strong to resist, so it followed Gu Yuan in this manner.
As for Fraxure, he had gradually developed into a battle maniac. Wandering the streets clearly held no appeal for him, so he preferred to stay in his Poké Ball. Carkol, being rather introverted, disliked such crowded environments. Fortunately, this didn't affect his performance in battle; otherwise, Gu Yuan would have a real headache.
As a modern city, Jubilife City was highly developed. From time to time, Gu Yuan saw many novel inventions. The food here was especially enticing and possessed strong local characteristics, making Gu Yuan regret not having more stomachs. Eventually, to save space, Gu Yuan would often take just one bite and leave the rest for Charizard and the others to finish. For a fleeting moment, Charizard and the rest felt as though they were accompanying a girlfriend on a shopping trip. However, once they sobered up, they realized they didn't even have girlfriends.
Although Charizard and the others had large appetites, after Gu Yuan swept through several food streets in this fashion, they eventually had to hold their stomachs and stop him.
"Honestly, your fighting capacity is far too low."
"Never mind. Anyway, we need to stay in the Sinnoh region for a while. There's plenty of time to taste every delicacy."
Gazing at Gu Yuan, Charizard and the others silently gave him the middle finger in their hearts. At the same time, they were a bit dazed. They loved to eat, that was true, but if they continued eating like this for a while, how could they possibly maintain their weight? Especially since they didn't have girlfriends yet—shouldn't they pay a little more attention to their personal image?
Even though it was already nine o'clock, Gu Yuan had no intention of returning to the hotel. He planned to walk a bit longer to help his digestion. While walking, Gu Yuan felt something flying toward him. He reached out and caught it, finding a stone wrapped in a note in his hand.
After glancing at the contents, Gu Yuan quietly left the crowd. He recalled Hattrem and Dreepy into their Poké Balls, but Ceruledge and the others in his shadow were already prepared for battle.
Arriving at a secluded alley, Gu Yuan saw a person lying on the ground under a dim light. A faint scent of blood lingered in the air. After releasing Alakazam, Gu Yuan slowly approached. With the help of the dim lighting, he could see that the person on the ground was Taishi Utsunomiya. Several wounds on his body were still seeping blood.
Further ahead, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness, holding the unconscious Akatsuka.
"Surrender, or I will kill him!"
The man held a dagger against Akatsuka's neck. The flickering cold glint and his icy tone left no doubt about the truth of his words. Gu Yuan didn't answer. He directly released Charizard and his other Pokémon, letting his actions speak for him.
In the next moment, scorching flames rose, heading straight for the opponent. Immediately after, Annihilape and Ditto—who had transformed into Alakazam—vanished from Gu Yuan's side, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow.
A Dark Pulse was unleashed as a Gengar blocked Charizard's path, instantly neutralizing the attack. Simultaneously, two more Ghost-type Pokémon rushed out: a Sableye and a Dusknoir. Both possessed the strength of the Leader Rank. That Gengar, however, had reached the Elite Rank.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan had to let the Elite Rank Gengar from his shadow join the fight. At the same time, he told Alakazam to be ready to leave at any moment. Gu Yuan's confidence stemmed from being in the city; the previous flames should have attracted quite a bit of attention. As long as he waited for others to arrive, the opponent wouldn't dare to stay.
In the next second, Gengar, Sableye, and Dusknoir launched a coordinated assault, entangling Gengar, Charizard, Annihilape, and Ditto. Sylveon and Alakazam also began to play their roles, helping to ease the pressure on Annihilape and Ditto.
Relying on their seamless cooperation, Gu Yuan easily blocked the man's offensive. Unfortunately, the man was still guarded by a Leader Rank Mismagius; otherwise, Gu Yuan could have attempted a decapitation strike on the trainer himself.
The aftershocks of the battle continued to spread, quickly catching the attention of some people nearby, but it would still take some time for the police to arrive with actual power. On the ground, Taishi Utsunomiya seemed to be woken by the shockwaves of the battle, slowly standing up.