"Now's our chance—move!"
A sharp command rang out. Those who had been waiting impatiently sprang into action, their eyes gleaming with a ruthless edge.
Ever since receiving intel on Ron, Franz had been preparing to make his move—his first objective was to capture Lily.
What he hadn't expected was to run into a group of Rangers conducting a large-scale sweep. Forced to lay low, Franz and his crew had no choice but to wait out the operation.
To be absolutely sure, they stayed dormant for another month after the sweep had ended.
Now, two months had passed, and Franz and his men finally had the perfect opportunity to strike.
Unaware that she had become a target, Lily was currently leading her team on a routine patrol.
After the last attack, Lily had earned a promotion to Squad Captain, and her Machamp was just one step away from breaking into quasi-Elite Four tier.
In other words, once Lily grew accustomed to her new responsibilities, her strength alone would be enough to secure her another promotion.
Unlike the underlings of the Five Great Families, the Elite Four, led by Lance, valued strength and capability above all else.
Although the recent sweep had drastically reduced the number of Pokémon Hunters, Lily refused to let her guard down.
Her vigilance had influenced her squad, raising their level of alertness to the highest degree.
"There's movement—left side!"
"Fast!"
Two Rangers stationed as lookouts called out their warnings in quick succession.
They needed no further instructions—highly trained, the Rangers immediately assumed a defensive formation.
In the next instant, an Arcanine dashed into view, streaking toward them with blinding speed—Extreme Speed.
"Scyther, Night Slash!"
The voice belonged to none other than Franz. The moment he appeared, he released his Elite Four-tier Scyther into battle.
"Signal headquarters!"
"Machamp, use Army Breaker!"
Despite the overwhelming pressure of facing an Elite Four-tier Pokémon, Lily stood her ground. Fear gripped her, but she steeled herself, commanding her Machamp to buy them time.
"Yes! Yes! Send the signal! Now!"
Almost as if trying to convince himself, the Ranger responsible for communications frantically worked to activate his transmission device.
"Urgh—!"
A sharp, searing pain spread from his chest. Looking down, he saw something horrific—his own heart, still beating, held before him.
With a slow, deliberate motion, Pinsir, a quasi-Elite Four-tier Pokémon, pulled its arm back and moved on to its next target.
A second later, Scyther's bladed arms came down in a lethal arc. Machamp, still in the middle of executing Army Breaker, stood no chance—its body was cleaved cleanly in half.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Before Lily could even process the horror, Scyther struck again—this time, with a precise, controlled attack—knocking her unconscious.
Just before losing consciousness, Lily caught a glimpse of her squad being slaughtered, unable to put up even the slightest resistance.
At that moment, she desperately wished Ron was there—yet at the same time, she was relieved that he wasn't.
A whirlwind of emotions swirled within her as darkness overtook her mind.
In less than two minutes, Franz's ambush had wiped out the entire Ranger squad—only Lily remained alive.
The rest—both Pokémon and Rangers—had been completely annihilated.
Flames roared to life, swiftly erasing all evidence of the massacre.
...
Meanwhile, deep within a remote forest, Ron was ruthlessly pummeling a massive tree.
Wood chips flew in all directions, but they did nothing to conceal the grin playing on Ron's lips.
Two months of relentless training had brought him to a new level in the Six Powers of the Navy.
Determined to further enhance his defensive abilities, Ron had been consuming Auraberries and various medicinal concoctions while focusing his training on Iron Body and Finger Pistol, making them the core of his regimen.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Ron had the power to go head-to-head with High Elite-tier Pokémon.
However, against Pokémon's vast array of moves, Ron could only rely on martial arts, Six Powers, and its advanced techniques to hold his ground.
For now, he had only just begun to master Finger Pistol and Iron Body. But as his proficiency grew, their effectiveness would increase exponentially.
At the same time, his Pokémon were growing stronger as well—especially Machamp. With just an Attribute Plate, Machamp was already on the verge of breaking through to the Elite Four-tier, a level that countless trainers could only dream of reaching.
Ron had also learned about the market value of Attribute Plates. A Fighting-type Plate, for example, was priced at around 150 million.
For rarer types like Dragon and Psychic, the price soared even higher—200 million or more.
Even then, these Plates were often unavailable for purchase, as acquiring them was more about luck and connections than money.
After all, there were countless ways to earn money, but breaking through to the Elite Four-tier was something that few could achieve.
Some trainers who remained stuck at the quasi-Elite Four level for years would even pledge lifelong allegiance to a family or corporation in exchange for a single Attribute Plate.
But Ron wasn't satisfied with just one. To ensure his Pokémon reached their full potential at every stage, he needed dual Attribute Plates, which only added to his financial burden.
The good news was that all his Pokémon were making steady progress.
Bellossom had successfully advanced to the quasi-Elite Four level and had even learned a new move—Petal Dance.
Nidoking had reached level 58, now possessing the strength Bellossom once had.
Gardevoir, previously hindered by its Psychic-type limitations, had broken through to the High Elite level, now standing at level 53.
Blaziken had also reached the High Elite level, now at level 51, and had mastered the powerful Flying-type move Brave Bird.
Meanwhile, Gastly had evolved into Haunter, reaching level 35. It only needed a trade evolution to become Gengar.
With this surge in power, Haunter's innate potential had been fully awakened. Ron could only describe its talent as earth-shattering.
Put simply, with this ability, Haunter was practically the main character of a novel—invincible among its peers.
The only one struggling was Larvitar.
Despite receiving an abundance of resources and experiencing rapid growth compared to others of its species, Larvitar had only reached level 25. The gap between it and Haunter, which hatched around the same time, had widened significantly.
Not to mention, two younger Pokémon were catching up fast.
Riolu had reached level 21, just four levels behind Larvitar.
Given how quickly Riolu was progressing, it wouldn't be long before it caught up. Moreover, its Aura abilities had been awakened, allowing it to master Aura Sphere, a move typically learned after evolving into Lucario.
Frogadier, now at level 20, had successfully evolved from Froakie. Its deepening blue skin already hinted at the elegance of Greninja.
In just two months, Ron and his team had undergone a complete power surge.
Now, Ron's priority was to earn more resources to help Machamp break through to the next level.
However, just as he was about to take action, his phone suddenly rang.
The caller ID displayed the name—Lily.
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