"You're looking for death!"
Accompanied by Hiroshi's enraged roar, Houndoom and the others launched their offensive all at once.
"Roaring Moon, Draco Meteor!"
Gu Yuan would not hesitate like Sean had. Before Hiroshi could even trigger his attack, Gu Yuan had already prepared his retreat. As the meteors began to fall, Alakazam used Ally Switch to bring Roaring Moon back to Gu Yuan's side.
Charizard and the others had already retreated to Gu Yuan at maximum speed the moment Roaring Moon struck, allowing them to be recalled into their Poké Balls. Raging flames burned as Roaring Moon's Draco Meteor was intercepted and shattered by the combined might of Houndoom's team.
Unfortunately, before they could fully neutralize the attack, Alakazam used Teleport to vanish with Gu Yuan's group.
"Houndoom, use Odour Sleuth to lock onto them! Give chase!"
Even though Gu Yuan had vanished, Hiroshi had no intention of letting him go. While Hiroshi might be slightly inferior in terms of total Elite Rank combat power, he had confidence that he could resolve Gu Yuan by relying on Houndoom's Middle-tier Elite strength and the dominance of its Flash Fire ability.
Using Odour Sleuth, Houndoom quickly locked onto Gu Yuan's position. Mounted on Fearow's back, Hiroshi began tracking Gu Yuan. However, Hiroshi forgot one thing: how could Gu Yuan not anticipate that Houndoom could track him by scent?
Gu Yuan's retreat served two purposes. First, Charizard and the others had just finished a major battle and their physical strength was heavily depleted. Second, there was the matter of the signal flare Sean had fired earlier. Although Gu Yuan didn't think it would be so coincidental that everyone from the Unova League was active in this area, he decided to lure Hiroshi away first just to be safe. Once he was certain no one else was coming, he could naturally deal with Hiroshi at his own pace.
Thus, under Gu Yuan's deliberate baiting, Hiroshi soon moved far away from the previous battlefield. Once he felt the timing was right, Gu Yuan used an odor-eliminating spray to mask his scent. He then had Alakazam use Teleport several times to completely shake off Houndoom's tracking. Nevertheless, by relying on the system's detection function and Alakazam's psychic power, Gu Yuan remained locked onto Hiroshi's location.
After finishing these preparations, Gu Yuan began to rest and recover, allowing Charizard and the others to regain the power spent in the previous fight while he tallied his spoils.
As an Elite Rank Trainer, Sean had quite a few good items on him. He was at least much wealthier than the Pokémon Hunters Gu Yuan had dealt with before, rivaling even members of the Hunter's Guild of the same strength. Unfortunately, a significant portion of Sean's assets consisted of League Contribution Points, which Gu Yuan could not withdraw now that Sean was dead.
However, the special items Sean had collected now benefited Gu Yuan. Sean's efficiency had been quite good; he had collected three items in total: Dragon-type, Flying-type, and Water-type. Gu Yuan could eventually use the Dragon-type item for Haxorus or Drakloak, but the Flying and Water types were of no use to him. He planned to try and trade them with others once he left.
Having finished counting his harvest, Gu Yuan waited patiently, like a crocodile lurking in the water, waiting for the exact moment to launch an attack.
"This is bad!"
"We need to leave this place first!"
Upon realizing he had lost Gu Yuan's trail, Hiroshi's expression turned grim. If Sean were still alive, he could probably share exactly how Hiroshi was feeling right now. Picking a direction, Hiroshi headed deeper into the forest. Nearly two months had passed since entering the spatial rift; Hiroshi would not waste time staying on the defensive against Gu Yuan. Instead, he planned to use the wild Pokémon in the forest to harass Gu Yuan while he collected more special items to strengthen himself.
Once he left the spatial rift, he would expose the fact that Gu Yuan had killed Sean. Even if he couldn't get a life-for-a-life, he would ensure Gu Yuan faced massive trouble!
Unfortunately, just a few hours later, Hiroshi discovered that his thinking was far too simple. Once Charizard and the others had recovered, Gu Yuan had Alakazam use Teleport to bring the group close to Hiroshi.
"Now, let's play with him for a bit."
"Roaring Moon, prepare Draco Meteor!"
At Gu Yuan's command, Roaring Moon began to condense its power. Once it was ready, Alakazam used Teleport to blink Roaring Moon to the target location. The moment it appeared, massive meteors fell, turning into giant fireballs that assaulted Hiroshi and his Pokémon.
"Houndoom, Inferno!"
The moment he sensed the attack, Hiroshi immediately ordered Houndoom to counter. Blazing flames shot out, turning into a sea of fire in mid-air to block the impact of the meteors. Under the incineration of the flames, the meteors shattered one by one.
But this was only the beginning. The door to the spatial dimension opened, and Annihilape rushed toward Hiroshi, swinging its Rage Fist. Magmortar stepped forward, releasing a Fire Blast to force Annihilape back. Before Hiroshi could breathe a sigh of relief, Ceruledge appeared next, its blades burning with ghostly fire like the scythe of a reaper. Blaziken quickly rushed out, using Flare Blitz to force Ceruledge to abandon its attack.
Using Phantom Force, Annihilape and Ceruledge retreated one after another. At the same time, Roaring Moon, having finished its Draco Meteor, left with Alakazam.
"This is only the beginning," Alakazam said to Hiroshi via Telepathy before leaving.
"Houndoom, can you lock onto their position?"
With an increasingly ugly expression, Hiroshi could only place his hopes on Houndoom. Odour Sleuth was released, but it was completely unable to track Gu Yuan's group, who had eliminated their own scents.
Gradually, night fell. Hiroshi had no choice but to keep his Pokémon on high alert. Stealthily lurking near Hiroshi and his team, Gu Yuan waited patiently. It wasn't until Blaziken and Infernape were responsible for the watch that Gu Yuan finally bared his fangs.
Using Ally Switch, Alakazam locked onto Infernape's position.
"Mon!"
The moment Infernape disappeared, Blaziken launched an attack on the suddenly appearing Alakazam. It released a Fire Blast, only to have the move suppressed by Alakazam's Psyshock.
"Houndoom, Taunt!"
The now-sobered Hiroshi immediately ordered Houndoom to attack, but Alakazam used Double Team to create interference before successfully leaving with Teleport.
"Houndoom, go find Infernape!"
Having successfully forced Alakazam back, Hiroshi immediately had Houndoom search for Infernape's location. Unfortunately, when they arrived, all they saw was Infernape's corpse. First suppressed by Moltres's power, then facing a combined siege from three Elite Rank Pokémon—Charizard, Roaring Moon, and Moltres—the Leader Rank Infernape had no room to fight back.
"Damn it!"
Gritting his teeth, the rage in Hiroshi's heart felt as though it were turning physical, yet he could only roar in futile anger.