Hunter Y was the only hunter who hadn't died in the chaos just now. Aside from the original Hunter A, Alfred, Hunter J, Jona, and the missing Hunter R who had escaped to parts unknown, he was the last survivor among the previous seated hunters.
It was obvious that he wanted to stay alive.
Shiro only glanced at him briefly and said nothing. Hunter Y still had some use left.
With a casual wave of his hand, Articuno A dissolved into countless blue ice crystals and vanished from where it stood. The sight left everyone staring in shock, but none of them could figure out how it had disappeared.
"I'll take you out of here."
As soon as he finished speaking, psychic energy spread out from him and quickly enveloped the other nine people. The next instant, Teleport activated.
A flash of light filled the area, and all ten people disappeared.
* * *
"They're here."
Inside the conference hall, Blaine sat at the round table with his fingers interlocked and let out a quiet sigh.
Allen and Bertha stood beside him with serious expressions, ready to release their Pokémon at any moment.
Buzz!
Psychic light flickered, and the group appeared inside the conference hall.
Leading them was Shiro, dressed in a black cloak with his face hidden under a mask. The other nine behind him also concealed their identities with masks and long cloaks to avoid being recognized.
"Hello... you must be Blaine?" Shiro deliberately lowered his voice.
Blaine studied the figure before him for a long moment before speaking. "You're from the Hunters Guild... By now, you should have become its leader, right? Do you have a way to leave?"
Shiro chuckled. "Didn't you use the teleportation devices?"
At those words, Blaine's aged face darkened and his brows knitted together. "Every teleportation device has been destroyed. If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself."
"So someone is going to be trapped here after all. That saves me the trouble of dealing with them." Shiro sneered.
Hearing that, veins bulged on Allen's arm. He only needed one opportunity to charge forward. At such close range, he might be able to force Hunter W to react, even if only for a moment, creating an opening for "Shiro" to launch a surprise attack.
Bertha lowered her head and tightened her scarf. She was thinking the exact same thing.
Meanwhile, Vince quietly slipped behind Unown G. He looked so nervous that it seemed he was only one step away from grabbing its leg for protection.
After another long silence, Blaine finally asked, "Go on. What do you want?"
In his eyes, the mysterious Hunter W wasn't someone who liked wasting words. If he had come here to fight, he would have released his Pokémon from the very beginning and wiped out every League trainer present.
But clearly, killing them wasn't worth the cost.
After all, the fact that so many League trainers had come together meant they had accepted the same mission. If two Champions and three Elite Four members all died inside the Hunters Guild, the news would spread within a day, and the Hunters Guild would undoubtedly be destroyed.
Not to mention Chairman Rose of Galar, Chairman Goodshow's fury alone would be enough to wipe them out.
Based on what Blaine knew about Chairman Goodshow, he would immediately abandon his campaign against Team Rocket and deal with the Hunters Guild first.
At the very least, it was a matter of preserving the League's reputation.
"Heh. Maybe we can work together." Shiro slowly pulled out a chair and sat across from Blaine.
"Don't even dream about it. The League will never cooperate with an evil organization like yours!" Bertha shot back almost instinctively.
Blaine reached out and stopped her, shaking his head.
"Elite Bertha of Sinnoh, I think you've misunderstood something." Shiro spoke calmly. "This isn't a request. It's an order. Your lives are in my hands."
Blaine let out a weary sigh and stopped Allen, who was also preparing to attack. His eyes casually drifted toward the unusually calm "Shiro," until Gengar grinned from within the shadows.
"Go ahead." He sighed again in defeat. "Hunter W, what is your demand?"
A smile appeared beneath Shiro's mask. "I want Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos to follow Sinnoh's example by lifting the ban on the Hunters Guild. Pokémon and resources should be allowed to be legally traded within the guild."
"Impossible!"
Blaine and Bertha answered at the same time.
A trace of anger appeared on Blaine's face. "Hunter W, what do you take the League for? Sinnoh is already a special exception. You actually want the ban lifted in other regions too? Keep dreaming."
Bertha glared at him just as fiercely.
"No need to get so worked up." Shiro waved his hand. "Elite Blaine, tell me, which region doesn't have a Hunters Guild?"
Blaine hesitated for a second before replying, "That isn't a reason to lift the ban. Without it, hunters like you would only become even more reckless. Existing and spreading unchecked are two completely different things—"
Shiro raised a hand and interrupted him. "Then let's forget everything else. In those three regions alone, besides the Hunters Guild, are there any other organizations involved in underground trading and the sale of Pokémon and resources?"
"This..." Blaine opened his mouth, struggling to come up with a rebuttal.
"Hoenn has Team Aqua and Team Magma. Unova has Team Plasma. Kalos has Team Flare. Which one of them doesn't have businesses tied to those trades?" Shiro explained. "It's only because Team Rocket dominates Kanto that the Hunters Guild has been pushed to the sidelines."
Blaine quietly repeated the names to himself, "Team Aqua... Team Magma... Team Plasma... Team Flare..."
He looked at the hunter before him with an incredibly complicated expression.
How could a hunter know more about the situation across the League's regions than he did?
On the surface, Team Aqua and Team Magma were simply environmental organizations.
The League had received plenty of intelligence about their secret operations and had already classified them as evil organizations. However, Hoenn lacked manpower, and the trainers in the Battle Frontier had no interest in helping the Hoenn League without compensation.
As for Team Plasma, weren't they supposedly just an organization that promoted Pokémon protection? Yet they also had an underground business.
Then there was Team Flare, a newly famous organization in Kalos that was especially popular among the region's upper class. Centered around Lysandre's research institute, it had already produced many notable achievements.
Lysandre himself was also Professor Sycamore's close friend.
These organizations had all grown for different reasons over many years and had become deeply intertwined with their regional Leagues. Like parasites, they couldn't simply be wiped out in one strike.
Even Chairman Goodshow could only deal with them one at a time, starting with the largest and closest threat, Team Rocket.
"But that still isn't a reason to let the Hunters Guild grow unchecked," Blaine refused once again.
Shiro didn't look surprised. He simply chuckled. "What if I told you the Hunters Guild could operate under the League's supervision? It could even become an independent organization under the League…"
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