"Persian, Shave—Instant Step!"
Upon receiving Ron's command, Gardevoir immediately relayed it to Persian via telepathy.
Watching Gardevoir take on the role of a relay station, Ron couldn't help but feel envious. Especially since he had awakened psychic abilities himself, he longed even more for the hallmark of true psychics—telepathy.
Unfortunately, at his current stage, Ron could only release minor psychic energy, barely enough to lift a pebble. He was still far from achieving full telepathic communication.
As soon as the command was received, Persian sprang forward.
Houndoom quickly turned toward the source of the sound but was already too late, having lost the initiative.
To counter these well-prepared intruders, Ron had ordered Bellossom to scatter pollen on himself and Machamp before the operation. This prevented Houndoom from catching Persian's scent in time, causing it to unknowingly step into danger.
A shadow flashed by, and Houndoom suddenly felt a chilling sensation at its throat.
It struggled to let out a warning roar for its Trainer, but all that came was a weak whimper.
As it collapsed into a pool of its own blood, Houndoom saw that its Trainer had suffered the same fate, lying motionless with eyes filled with regret.
With one enemy down, Gardevoir expanded its psychic field, covering over a thousand meters. It quickly pinpointed the positions of the remaining foes.
After swiftly handling the scene, Ron had Bellossom scatter more pollen to mask their scent before silently approaching the next target.
"Judging by the traces, they left less than an hour ago. We're in the right area."
Due to his hasty departure earlier, Ron had left behind some tracks that he hadn't had time to erase. For experienced Pokémon Hunters, this was enough to estimate how long ago he had left.
"We may have found the right area, but locating them is another story. Psychic Pokémon are always a pain to deal with."
Unlike Rooney's optimism, Hoff was much more pragmatic.
With teleportation and psychic detection on their side, their only option was to rely on luck in their search. Even if they narrowed down the general area, pinpointing the exact location in a short time was nearly impossible.
"Alert the others. We need to be on high alert—Ron might already know we're here!"
Suddenly, Hoff realized that if Ron had Gardevoir scanning the area, it would surely detect the increasing presence of people around him. A closer scan would immediately reveal the presence of Pokémon Hunters.
"You're right!"
Rooney agreed with Hoff's assessment and immediately began notifying the other hunters, while Hoff informed the remaining three quasi-Elite Four hunters.
Using the brief window of time, Ron managed to capture one of the Pokémon Hunters alive and extracted information about their plan against him.
"Five quasi-Elite Four Hunters? Now that's troublesome."
Perched atop the tree canopy, Ron muttered to himself.
If it were just one or two quasi-Elite Four Hunters who had only recently broken through, he might have been tempted to take them on.
But these five were seasoned quasi-Elite Four Hunters, each with around two years of accumulated experience.
Even with his ambush tactics, taking on all five would be a tall order.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Ron decided to go big—strike hard, then retreat quickly.
Relying solely on hit-and-run tactics had left him feeling increasingly stifled. He needed to let his Nidoking and the others unleash their pent-up battle fervor.
After identifying the largest gathering of enemies, Ron had Gardevoir teleport them there and began laying out his attack strategy and escape route.
"Nidoking, Lightning Release—False Darkness!"
Unlike Kirin's version, this technique, inspired by Kakuzu's Lightning Release—False Darkness, compressed the energy of Thunderbolt and Thunder into a single, electrified spear delivered through Thunder Punch. The result was a high-speed, high-penetration lightning javelin.
The instant Nidoking launched the attack, the targeted Pokémon Hunter and his Pokémon saw a lance of lightning rapidly expanding in their vision.
"Nidoking, Fire Release—Flaming Perserverance!"
Almost as soon as the green glow appeared, Ron followed up with another command.
Similar to Finger Pistol: Lightning Release—False Darkness, Fire Release—Flaming Perserverance combined Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Fire Punch, instantly forming a sea of fire that engulfed the targeted hunter and his Pokémon.
Despite being at the High Elite level, the hunter found himself utterly suppressed by Nidoking, who was still a step away from reaching that tier.
"Bellossom, One-Sword Style: Finger Pistol—Iaido!"
As the flames began to subside, Bellossom moved in.
A flash of sword light.
The hunter barely registered the glint before Bellossom's Leaf Blade severed his head from his shoulders.
After Gardevoir used its psychic powers to scavenge resources from the fallen enemy, Ron signaled Machamp and the others to prepare for the next wave of attacks.
Hearing the explosion and seeing the fire in the distance, the remaining Pokémon Hunters immediately rushed toward the battlefield.
With Gardevoir's help, Ron left a trail for them to follow while continuously shifting his position to avoid encirclement.
Despite his precautions, two Pokémon Hunters soon caught sight of Ron's team.
"Nidoking, Fire Release—Flaming Perserverance!"
Flames erupted, and Bellossom and Blaziken disappeared into the inferno.
With the Sheer Force ability and Life Orb enhancing Nidoking's attacks, its moves rivaled those of newly promoted High Elite Pokémon.
"Victreebel, use Protect!"
"Starmie, use Surf in combination with Water Pulse to douse the flames!"
As veteran Pokémon Hunters, their reactions and teamwork were impeccable, swiftly countering Nidoking's opening attack.
"Blaziken, Inferno Ring: Flame Emperor!"
"Bellossom, One-Sword Style: Finger Pistol—Verdant Shroud!"
Before the flames could be completely extinguished, Ron had Blaziken and Bellossom launch their next assault.
Blaziken manipulated the hot air to concentrate the remaining flames, forming rings of fire that rose from the ground around it.
Combining the power of Blaze Kick, Flamethrower, and Fire Blast, Blaziken gathered all that fiery energy into a massive fireball. The moment it hurled the blazing sphere—its ultimate attack, Inferno Ring: Flame Emperor—Blaziken didn't wait to see the outcome. Instead, it swiftly executed Shave, dashing toward Ron's position.
For a Mid Elite-ranked Blaziken, Inferno Ring: Flame Emperor consumed nearly half of its stamina. To continue fighting, it needed to reach Ron as fast as possible so he could restore its energy.
"Starmie! Weaken it with Blizzard, then follow up with Surf and Water Pulse to completely destroy it!"
"Victreebel, prepare to use Solar Beam!"
Seizing the moment while both trainers were focused on Blaziken's Flame Emperor, Bellossom made its move.
Leaves fluttered through the air as a sharp blade gleam flashed past. In an instant, Bellossom had already darted between the trainers and their Pokémon.
With a graceful motion, it sheathed its Leaf Blade, embodying the elegance of a true swordmaster. Without looking back, Bellossom strode away—perfectly capturing the essence of the saying:
A true warrior—no, a true woman—never looks back at the explosion.
That left Gardevoir in tears, forced to use Psychic to gather up the resources before making their escape.
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