"So, your plan was to dump Kanto's mess on me while you stayed behind and secured Sinnoh... wasn't it?"
Shiro looked at Farlen with a faint smile. His psychic power continuously listened to every thought running through the other's mind.
"As long as you could stall for a few months, you'd be able to take complete control of the Sinnoh Guild Headquarters. Then you'd spend Pokédollars to hire people and buy Pokémon. By then, you wouldn't necessarily have to fear me, even if I returned after being driven out of Kanto."
"Especially since I most likely have ties to the League. I wouldn't waste much time dealing with the Hunters Guild anyway…. Was that all you were planning?"
Farlen was completely speechless. He stood frozen for quite a while before finally realizing that his thoughts had probably been completely exposed by psychic power.
'How am I supposed to fight this?'
After thinking for a while, he could only force a bitter smile. "Lord W, just tell me what you want. I'll cooperate with anything."
"What about the other teleportation devices in headquarters?" Shiro asked. "Are any of them still operational?"
Farlen let out a sigh. "I destroyed the switch that controls them. There's absolutely no one capable of repairing it."
Hearing that, Shiro glanced at the old stone corridor beside him and quietly began considering leaving.
Whether from the League's perspective or his own, the best choice now was to return, follow Hunter F's original plan, destroy the teleportation device, seal off headquarters, and leave everyone trapped below.
After all, everyone here was either a wanted criminal, a hunter, or an opportunist. There was nothing worth staying for.
Just as he was about to turn around, his psychic power suddenly detected someone approaching.
* * *
"No, that's not it. The first few passages are wrong. None of the devices work... which one is it? If I remember correctly, the Sinnoh branch only has passages leading to Jubilife City and Sunyshore City. It should be somewhere over here..."
Not far away, the tall and thin Hunter T muttered anxiously to himself. His hands and feet had gone cold.
If he was even a step too late and the mastermind destroyed the last remaining teleportation device, he would be trapped here until he died.
Cold sweat covered Hunter T's forehead. He was so anxious that he had pushed back his hood without noticing.
'Damn it! I'm a quasi-Elite level trainer. I've already reached the top of the world. I'm only in my forties. I don't want to die yet!'
"Crobat!"
With a low shout, Hunter T sent out his strongest Pokémon, his Elite-level Crobat, to scout ahead.
* * *
Inside the passage, Shiro stood motionless.
He simply raised one hand slightly. Unown A immediately understood. Psychic power burst out in an instant, seized the Crobat that had just flown in, and crushed it to death.
With the combined power of four Unown, Unown A's base strength had already reached Master-level. Even though it wasn't particularly skilled at offensive psychic moves, raw telekinesis alone was enough to solve most problems.
The Crobat didn't even have time to let out a cry before its lifeless body was tossed aside.
Hunter F stared blankly for a couple of seconds. Then he instantly understood what had happened and a sinister grin spread across his face.
Another "smart man" had come looking for a way out.
Unfortunately, he was already too late.
At that moment, Hunter T stepped into the passage. His entire body suddenly tensed and his footsteps stopped.
His Crobat was incredibly fast. Even if the passage was empty, it would only need a few seconds to check inside before returning. By now, it should have reported back… even if it had encountered a battle, there should have been some kind of sound.
Hunter T waited a few more seconds. His breathing became uneven and sweat soaked his high-cheeked face.
He was now certain that someone was lying in ambush inside.
The person who had destroyed nearly every teleportation device and planned to trap everyone here hadn't left. Instead, they were waiting inside for more victims to arrive.
His Crobat had most likely already been killed.
Fortunately, there was also good news. The teleportation device ahead was probably still intact.
After hesitating several times, Hunter T finally called out cautiously. "My friend inside, I only want to leave alive. Name your price. I own plenty of properties outside. I have two hundred million Pokédollars saved away, along with all kinds of Pokémon resources..."
After he finished speaking, there was still no response from inside.
Gritting his teeth, he raised his voice again. "I also know where there's a Tyranitar. A peak Elite-level Tyranitar. It's a wild Pokémon, and I know exactly where it is. It's never been captured before!"
Wild Pokémon rarely reached extremely high levels. Part of the reason was the League's long-standing extermination policies. Another was that humans had spent years capturing and specially training powerful Pokémon.
Many Gym, Elite, and even stronger Pokémon now lived in the breeding facilities of long standing forces.
If a truly high-level wild Pokémon was discovered, trainers would quickly rush over to capture it. The only exceptions were those that had formed exceptionally powerful groups with several Elite-level and Champion-level Pokémon while living deep in hidden habitats.
After all, these were fully grown Pokémon that required very little training. Anyone would be tempted by them.
Hunter T firmly believed the person inside would not refuse such an offer.
Sure enough, a deep voice came from within the passage. "Come in."
Only then did Hunter T raise his arm and wipe away the sweat on his forehead before slowly walking inside.
A few moments later, the passage became brighter. A black-cloaked stranger stood beside the teleportation device. Next to him was the slightly hunched bald old man, Farlen.
Hunter T recognized Farlen, having met him a few times before. What confused him was the person standing in front.
Was this man also a hunter? If so, who was he? W? But... why did he somehow feel like Hunter A?
"Where is it?" Shiro asked directly.
Hunter T remained silent for a moment before replying, "Let me leave first. Once I'm safely outside, I'll tell you everything."
Shiro let out a quiet sigh. "What a nuisance."
As he raised his hand, the psychic power Unown A had prepared instantly surged around Hunter T. It locked down all four of his limbs and completely sealed the Poké Balls hanging from his waist.
"Y... you..." Hunter T struggled with all his strength, but he couldn't move at all. His face looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You're Hunter A? You didn't die?"
As soon as those words left his mouth, everything suddenly became clear in his mind.
'No wonder this was all so ruthless! So it was Hunter A's doing! He wants to use this opportunity to reclaim control of the guilds in the other regions!'
Shiro didn't deny it. Instead, he had Unown A search through the man's memories.
A few moments later.
Shiro slowly opened his eyes. "So that's where it is... alright."
Hunter T was the person in charge of the Hunters Guild in the Hoenn region. His real identity was a well-known local businessman and one of the shareholders of the Devon Corporation. He had hidden assets all across Hoenn, far more than the two hundred million Pokédollars and several properties he had mentioned.
As for the Elite-level Tyranitar he spoke of, it was located near Mt. Chimney in the north-central part of Hoenn.
According to legend, Groudon lay sleeping beneath Mt. Chimney.
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