Songzao Gym, night.
Red yawned as he walked out of the Gym.
"The weather's really getting hot…"
"Sigh… all kinds of troubles keep piling up. Good thing I didn't expose the existence of the Mega Stone. Otherwise, who knows how much worse it'd get."
Red understood very clearly—
The difference between Tyranitar evolving once and him mastering an entirely new battle system was enormous.
He also knew that the League would eventually give up.
After investigating for a while and finding nothing, they would leave.
After all—
Who could truly explain everything about Pokémon?
Red had planned to just let things blow over.
But—
Some organizations were far greedier than the League.
And far more ruthless.
"Who's there?!"
Red stared at a nearby patch of grass, his hand silently reaching for the Poké Ball behind him.
These past few days—
He had never let Tyranitar's Poké Ball leave his side.
" Red ! You deserve to die—you really deserve to die!"
Since he had already been discovered , a group of men in black stepped out, surrounding him.
Red wasn't particularly concerned—
But from one of them, he sensed a familiar aura.
Using Viridian Power, he could not only heal—
But also remember life signatures, allowing him to identify others.
"Hahaha! Red , didn't expect you to still remember me!"
"I thought you'd forgotten all about me!"
The leader ignored his companions and tore off the cloth covering his face.
A familiar face appeared .
Red looked at him and suddenly understood.
"Oh~ it's you. What was your name again? Meng… something? It's been a while, I can't quite remember."
"My name is Meng Hua!"
Meng Hua glared at him.
"That day I lost to you, I thought you were just hiding your strength."
"Turns out—you were hiding this much!"
"You've connected with the Joy family, and even people like Agatha and Professor Oak!"
"It's all because of you!"
His eyes were bloodshot with rage.
"Because of you, our Meng family's deal with Team Rocket was exposed!"
"Because of you, our entire family was purged by the League—my father is rotting in prison!"
"And you?!"
"You're still living comfortably as a Gym Leader—pulling off that bullshit Tyranitar evolution and fooling everyone!"
"You deserve to die!"
Red sighed.
"You tried scheming against others and ended up ruining yourselves. How is that my fault?"
"What's the point of talking?!"
"I'm going to kill you here today! At the peak of your life—I'll end you right here!"
"Just you?"
Red casually lifted Tyranitar's Poké Ball.
"Of course not just me!"
Meng Hua grinned madly.
"My Meng family may be finished—but we're not short on money!"
"I've hired the infamous Hunter J to deal with—"
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
Before he could finish—
A bloody hole appeared in Meng Hua's head.
He collapsed instantly.
Red narrowed his eyes.
At that moment—
He looked up and sensed numerous life signatures in the sky.
A massive cloaked aircraft revealed itself above him.
Even in such a dangerous situation, Red couldn't help but mutter:
"The Pokémon world's tech tree is seriously weird…"
The UFO-like aircraft slowly opened its hatch.
A Salamence burst out.
Standing atop it—
Was a woman.
Wearing black sunglasses.
But what caught Red 's attention the most—
Was the device on her wrist.
The infamous petrification launcher.
In the anime, it could even turn Legendary Pokémon like the Lake Guardians into stone.
Standing on Salamence's back, Hunter J looked down at Red .
"This is the target you want captured ?"
Red narrowed his eyes.
"I'm a Gym Leader. You dare make a move on me?"
Hunter J smirked.
"Normally? No."
"But someone offered a price I couldn't refuse."
"So I'll take the risk."
The moment she finished speaking—
She raised her hand—
And fired directly at Red !
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