Shiro had thought this was nothing more than an A-Rank Hunter with a Gym-level Pokémon making a desperate last stand. He never expected there to be an even bigger fish behind him.
He hadn't even had the chance to look for Hunter R, yet Hunter R had actually dared to come over and seek his own death.
Perhaps he could get some information about Hunter A from him.
Shiro's gaze turned cold as he looked at the Pokémon Rova had just released.
It was an Advanced-level Kadabra. Holding a spoon in its hand, it quietly leaned against the wall as if waiting for someone to notice it.
In the blink of an eye, Kadabra used its psychic power to pass through the wall and teleport out of the Hunters Guild, arriving in a nearby alley.
Shiro remained expressionless. He simply extended his right hand again, and a strange pale yellow light flickered in his palm.
'A!'
The psychic power of Unown A rapidly shifted and took the shape of a crescent moon. The eight Unown gathered behind Shiro and transformed into a Legendary Pokémon that floated in midair.
In a field of vision invisible to the naked eye, an elegant Pokémon danced gracefully with pink ring-shaped wings that looked like flowing veils. Crescent-shaped yellow ornaments on both sides of its head shone brightly.
From a distance, it looked just like a crescent moon.
[Name: Cresselia (Unown A, G, F, Y, P, C, L, M)
Type: Psychic
Level: Level 79 (Master)
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None
Moves: Pound, Reflect Type, Amnesia, Ancient Power, Life Dew, Metronome...
Status: Healthy]
This was Unown A after fusing with the other seven Unown. Its level had leaped from the initial Master-level all the way to the peak of the Master-level, and its transformations were no longer limited to the three Legendary Birds and three Legendary Beasts from before.
Cresselia was also a Psychic-type Legendary Pokémon. Known as the embodiment of the crescent moon, it held the power of dreams and stood as the counterpart to the Nightmare Pokémon, Darkrai.
With Cresselia's psychic power, tracking a mere Advanced-level Kadabra was naturally effortless.
That pale yellow psychic light was the power of the crescent moon's Dream Authority, following closely behind Kadabra after it teleported into the sky above Rustboro City.
Kadabra did not stop for even a moment. It could sense the powerful presence behind it that made Pokémon tremble. It felt almost like one of the gods of psychic power… yet that god had no intention of attacking it. Psychic power could convey the emotions of its user.
Following its trainer's orders, Kadabra faithfully carried out its mission and continued moving toward the northern part of Rustboro City.
* * *
The northern outskirts of Rustboro City were a barren wasteland that looked almost like a desert plateau.
Farther north was a massive meteorite crater. Whatever disaster had struck here years ago, not a blade of grass had grown inside the crater even now. Because of the crater's influence, there was very little life in the surrounding area. Even Bug-type Pokémon with their strong vitality were rarely seen here.
Kadabra's destination was the edge of that meteorite crater, where a rock sat at the corner of the wasteland.
Behind the rock stood a man in a black cloak. He seemed to be searching for something.
He was Hunter R, the only remaining subordinate under Hunter A from the Hunters Guild.
"Meteorites, shooting stars, dragons? How are these things even connected?"
Hunter R muttered as he shook the instrument in his hand several times. The location displayed on it was clearly somewhere nearby.
"Damn it. How could there possibly be an entrance to some Dragon's Den, let alone some damn waterfall?"
The surrounding wasteland offered almost nowhere to hide, and he could see nearly everything at a glance. He had received the mission, yet he had been unable to find anything useful for so long, which naturally made him anxious and impatient. The barren scenery around him was especially unpleasant to look at.
Suddenly, Hunter R became alert and turned around. At the same time, he gripped two Poké Balls in his hands.
When he looked closely, he saw Kadabra rushing over from the horizon.
Only after recognizing it did he let out a sigh of relief, though his brows immediately furrowed.
Hunter R knew this Kadabra. It belonged to an informant he had casually manipulated at the Hunters Guild. He thought the man's name was Varo or something… In any case, it was the Pokémon of that man. When they had first met, Hunter R had carefully observed his Psychic-type Pokémon.
Watching an opponent's Psychic- or Ghost-type Pokémon was a habit shared by experienced trainers.
"Where's your trainer?" Hunter R asked in a deep voice.
Kadabra immediately became nervous. It hurriedly waved the spoon in its hand before holding it out toward him.
Hunter R hesitated for a moment, then sent out his Psychic-type Pokémon first, Reuniclus.
This Reuniclus was a Gym-level Pokémon. Although it had only just reached the Gym-level, dealing with an Advanced-level Kadabra was still more than enough.
Reuniclus took the spoon. Psychic energy flashed, and it transmitted the information on it to Hunter R.
Scene after scene from the Hunters Guild in Rustboro City flashed through Hunter R's mind. Fine beads of cold sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
"Hunter W..."
He was actually this strong?
Hunter R hadn't experienced the previous battle at the Hunters Guild headquarters. He had only heard that after Hunter A left, Hunter W had taken over the Hunters Guild. In his mind, that clearly meant Hunter W was nothing more than a lucky bastard.
That was what Hunter R had always believed.
Now, however, all that remained was shock.
The strange psychic techniques Hunter W had used looked almost exactly like Hunter A's.
Especially the vague glance Hunter W had given before Kadabra left. He had clearly allowed Kadabra to escape on purpose.
That bastard called Rova, or Varo, whatever his name was, was trying to drag him down with him!
If he ran now, he should still be able to shake them off...
Beside the huge rock at the edge of the wasteland, Hunter R did not hesitate for even a moment. He immediately shouted, "Reuniclus, use Teleport!"
His voice quickly faded into the wasteland. Only the wind remained, blowing fine grains of sand through the air before his eyes.
Hunter R's voice became increasingly urgent. "Teleport! Hurry up and use Teleport!"
No matter how much he shouted, Reuniclus remained frozen in place, as if it had fallen asleep.
No. Reuniclus had actually fallen asleep.
When Hunter R saw the tightly closed black eyes beneath the green cell membrane, he froze completely as if he had just been struck by a Thunderbolt.
A distant voice seemed to echo beside his ear.
"Come!"
Hunter R stiffly turned his head. His eyes were filled with nothing but pale yellow moonlight.
Within that moonlight, he vaguely saw a strange Pokémon and a demon clad in a black cloak.
Buzz...
Space twisted.
One man and two Pokémon vanished from the spot in an instant.
* * *
Hunters Guild, waiting room.
Several people only saw a blinding light suddenly fill the room and instinctively covered their eyes.
When the light finally faded, they discovered that a man in a black cloak and two Psychic-type Pokémon had appeared inside the room.
One of them was the Kadabra that had escaped moments ago. The other was Reuniclus, a Pokémon rarely seen in Hoenn.
Of everyone present, only Hunter Y had met this former colleague before. The moment he recognized him, he could not help but cry out in shock.
"Hunter R?!"
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