When they were still more than a hundred meters away from the hunters' position, Unown G suddenly froze.
A petite hunter moved through the battlefield like a fish gliding through underwater weeds. After pausing for only a brief moment, the three nearby Team Galactic members all collapsed. Every one of them had their throat slit, killed instantly by a single dagger strike.
'Who… is this?'
'Hide first,' Shiro called down from above to Unown G.
Unown G immediately turned around and signaled Gengar to retreat toward a group of Gym-level trainers who were locked in fierce battle.
Vince followed without a second thought.
Bertha hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow as well.
Allen stood there for quite a while, looking at the fallen Team Galactic members with a hint of regret. But since everyone else had already left, he had no choice but to follow.
* * *
The moment Saturn began drawing on the Dark-type energy filling this space, Shiro realized something was wrong.
The black mist that had been binding everything split into two streams in midair.
One stream headed toward Articuno A. The other flew toward the Hunters Guild. However, after a faint flash of psychic light, the mist changed direction and rushed back... beneath Articuno A once again.
Four Unown worked together to resist the invading Dark-type energy.
They were four Unown Shiro had never seen before: Unown B, H, L, and M.
They belonged to someone from the Hunters Guild.
He remembered the person's name was Hunter J. They had attended the previous meeting but had barely spoken a word. Still, after seeing the silver hair beneath the hood, he finally remembered where he had seen this person before.
It was during his journey from Galar to Sinnoh. When passing through the Triangle Sea, there had been a black-cloaked hunter aboard that female pirate's ship.
Shiro immediately told Unown G to come over in case something unexpected happened. Now it seemed that wasn't necessary.
The three Team Galactic members below were all dead. Even Saturn had died with his eyes still open.
The other hunters with no real backing were terrified by the scene and hurried into the corners to hide.
Only Hunter J remained standing beside the three corpses. Calmly, she removed her hood and mask, letting her shoulder-length silver hair fall freely. Beneath them was a delicate and striking face.
"Hunter J..."
Shiro compared the woman before him with the Hunter J from the Pokémon anime.
This Hunter J looked only eighteen or nineteen years old, much younger than the one from the anime. She also lacked the ruthless aura that version carried.
Maybe it was simply because she was younger. Either way, she felt like a different person.
More importantly, what had she just mentioned? The Sootopolitans and the People of Shin'o?
The original Team Galactic had been founded by the People of Shin'o, so the two were closely connected. As for the Sootopolitans, they seemed to have originated near Hoenn. The future Hoenn Champion and Pokémon Coordinator Wallace was also said to be descended from the Sootopolitans.
As Shiro thought it over, he still couldn't figure out the woman's true purpose.
Had she infiltrated the Hunters Guild simply to find an opportunity to kill members of Team Galactic? Saturn had shown her absolutely no suspicion earlier. When he used the black mist to bind everyone, he had even lowered his psychic barrier.
Under those circumstances, she could have easily waited until Unown A had completely lost its strength before making her move.
Although her own four Unown would have been affected as well, once she lost them...
Shiro suddenly understood. Hunter J's own Pokémon were definitely weaker than his. She probably didn't even have any companions. That was exactly why she needed the Unown even more.
At that moment, Hunter J finally spoke. "This isn't the first time we've met. My name is Jona."
She rolled her wrist before continuing, "You probably didn't notice me before. It was in the Triangle Sea, south of Sinnoh. You really gave me quite a scare..."
Remembering the scene when she witnessed Mesprit's power, she let out a soft chuckle.
At that time, she had still been searching for the fourth Unown. Instead, she had unexpectedly run into one of Sinnoh's Lake Guardians. Her luck had truly been terrible.
Fortunately, she had escaped fast enough.
Shiro quietly listened without saying a word while carefully watching the Dark-type energy slowly fading from Unown A's body.
The four Unown below also drifted back toward Jona as the binding mist around them gradually disappeared.
These unfamiliar Unown showed no signs of being controlled. Their minds were perfectly clear, proving they possessed their own awareness. Just like Unown A and Unown G, they had willingly chosen to follow a human.
Since Hunter J was wasting time talking instead of discussing what to do while both sides' Unown recovered, it was obvious she still intended to fight.
Shiro felt exactly the same. With four Unown right in front of him, there was no way he could pretend not to notice them.
The problem was that his own Unown had already transformed into Articuno, making it difficult to change forms now. If they transformed or turned invisible at the wrong moment and exposed themselves, others might discover the secret that the Unown had another identity.
Besides Bertha and Allen, Kanto's experienced Elite Four member Blaine was also here, so he had to be especially careful.
As for their overall strength, Shiro had Unown G ready to support him at any time. The League trainers nearby could also become allies if necessary.
Hunter J, on the other hand, could have her four Unown transform into forms that countered Articuno. Still, there were only so many Legendary Pokémon they could become. At most, they would be the Legendary Birds, the Legendary Beasts, perhaps the Regi trio, or the two Psychic dragons.
Fire and Steel were the best types against Ice. However, Entei and Registeel couldn't fly. Moltres had the Flying type, which Ice also struck effectively.
'The advantage is mine.'
Jona also fell silent, her blue eyes locked onto Shiro above. One hand gripped her dagger while the other tightly held a Poké Ball.
Although chaos and battle still filled the surroundings, the center of the battlefield had become strangely quiet.
The black mist continued drifting away.
Shiro could almost hear his own breathing.
At that very moment, he gave the order without hesitation.
"Ice Beam!"
"Moltres!" Jona shouted at almost the same time.
Articuno A opened its beak as freezing energy rapidly compressed before instantly firing an Ice Beam downward.
Jona had just started raising the Poké Ball in her hand, intending to disguise the Unown first. But the Ice Beam came too quickly. There wasn't even enough time for the few seconds needed for them to complete their transformation.
Buzz!
Psychic energy flashed and intertwined as four black twisted Unowns appeared in midair.
In the blink of an eye, the Ice Beam ended. The four Unown merged together and silently transformed into a crimson firebird.
"Ice Beam!"
The command rang out again as another freezing beam instantly shot toward them.
Having only just completed its transformation, the Unown Moltres had no time to dodge and could only raise a psychic barrier once more.
A pale pink psychic shield was immediately coated in a thick layer of rapidly forming ice. Even the Moltres inside felt the bone-chilling cold.
Bang!
The ice shattered as Unown Moltres stumbled backward several meters. The flames covering its body flickered as they melted the broken chunks of ice falling toward it.
'Troublesome... he's a complete battle maniac.'
Jona frowned tightly and shouted through gritted teeth.
"Moltres! Heat Wave!"
**
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