RaDittash carried Tetsuya as it galloped forward.
By noon, they had already reached the forest area. Towering trees blocked out the sky, and from time to time, cool winds swept through, making it quite eerie.
Fortunately, with the warmth of Rapidash, it was not too cold…
After galloping continuously for the entire morning, RaDittash -Ditto- was also somewhat exhausted. Although Tetsuya was eager to leave this place, Pokémon stamina was ultimately limited, and it was just about time for lunch.
Tetsuya prepared to rest for an hour.
There happened to be a few scattered wild Pokémon nearby, enough for Haunter to drain vitality.
Before Tetsuya and Ditto had even finished their meal, Haunter had already returned after its fill.
After resting in place for a while, Tetsuya packed up his things and prepared to leave. After all, he still needed to hurry. He had to leave this forest before nightfall.
Just as Tetsuya stood up, he heard a sharp, piercing sound penetrate his body, and his mind instantly began to go numb.
'Not good!'
Tetsuya instinctively shouted. Although he could not yet determine whether it was a wild Pokémon attacking or someone deliberately targeting him, either situation was extremely unfavorable.
"Haunter, Dark Pulse!"
At this point, there was no other option. The attacker was hidden while he was exposed. Attempting to flee would create a huge opening. The only choice was to first find out who the other side was.
Haunter forced itself to steady its body, and waves of black energy spread outward from its center.
The piercing sound stopped abruptly…
Two Crobat flew out. Without any warning, Air Cutter directly slashed toward Tetsuya!
"Piloswine, Freeze-Dry! Haunter, Shadow Ball!"
Facing this sudden attack, both Piloswine and Haunter reacted somewhat slowly. It was only when the attacks were about to hit that the two Pokémon used their moves, barely blocking the assault.
Tetsuya stared at the two Crobat circling in the air. He first had Ditto return to his wrist, as his own personal safety was the most important.
With Crobat appearing, Tetsuya already felt that the situation was extremely bad. If it had been Golbat, he would not have been this panicked. Crobat almost never appeared in the wild. It required a certain level of "bond" with a Trainer to evolve. Yet now they had appeared, and there were two of them, simultaneously attacking him.
Someone was definitely targeting him!
Tetsuya held his breath and carefully observed his surroundings. Since beginning his journey, he had acted cautiously and had hardly offended anyone. The only ones who would want him dead could only be…
'Pryce's political opposers!'
It seemed he had been thinking too simply. These people had already reached a frenzied state. Pryce must have touched their bottom line.
Unpleasant thoughts continuously surfaced in Tetsuya's mind.
'I've only just regressed. How can I die here?' The only thing Tetsuya could do now was wait and watch for changes, find an opportunity to escape. As long as he reached a city, he would be much safer.
"Who exactly are you!?"
Tetsuya shouted loudly, testing. Not being able to see his enemy was the most dangerous.
"Heh, you don't need to know, because you're about to die~"
Two tall men dressed in black robes appeared ahead, their faces covered with black cloth, making it impossible to see their true appearance.
This kind of attire seemed somewhat familiar to him…
'Two Crobat… Shadow Team… elites?'
That was right. 'But…' The Shadow Team usually kidnap people to trade for profit. Why would they want to kill him?
'Tch, they must have been hired.' Anyone capable of hiring the Shadow Team was definitely not an ordinary person.
"Oh, so you…- Piloswine, use Hail to control the field! Haunter, Psychic!"
Tetsuya's sudden attack caught even the two Shadow Team elites off guard.
Having spent so long with Catherine in his previous life, he knew very clearly that every elite member of the Shadow Team was a survivor of six years of life-and-death trials, ruthless and merciless. There was no way he could be their opponent.
Moreover, their standard configuration was five Pokémon each. Together, the two of them had ten Pokémon. Ditto needed to protect him. In this situation, only Haunter and Piloswine could fight.
Now, the only option was to launch a surprise attack, find even the slightest opening, and escape.
Piloswine shook its body, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply. The already eerie forest became even more bone-chilling.
Even the Crobat could not help but shiver.
Taking advantage of this moment, Haunter's Psychic successfully ambushed one of the Crobat. Hit by Psychic, the Crobat felt as if its head were splitting apart, instantly flying wildly and erratically in the air.
"Haunter, use your psychic force at full power and kill it!"
Tetsuya gritted his teeth. Haunter also sensed an unprecedented crisis. A blood-red glint flashed in its eyes, and with a ghostly shriek from the depths of the Ghost World, one Crobat's brain was directly forced out of its skull, its face twisted in terror as it fell!
The two men could hardly believe that this kid could be so decisive and ruthless!
They were just about to take out their Pokémon again and kill Tetsuya.
But what Tetsuya had been waiting for was precisely this moment of shock and hesitation. At this moment, Ditto had already transformed into Rapidash.
Using the cover of Hail, Tetsuya mounted and immediately recalled Piloswine.
"Haunter, hide!"
Haunter understood Tetsuya's command and instantly disappeared into his shadow.
With Ditto's powerful strides, they had already created distance between themselves and the two Shadow Team members.
◓---
"Daaaaamn! If we can't kill him… we're dead! deaaad!"
One of the Shadow Team elites roared angrily.
"Ugh, I have Tauros, I can chase him! Hurry and follow!"
After speaking, the other man had already sent out his Tauros and began chasing in the direction Tetsuya had fled.
The man left behind, lacking a rideable Pokémon, could only chase on foot. Looking at the dead Crobat on the ground, his hatred for Tetsuya deepened even more. At their level in the Shadow Team, they only had five Pokémon. Losing one meant it would take an unknown amount of time to raise another.
'Tch, f*ck…'
---◓
"Faster, Ditto! If they catch up to us, we're dead!"
In this life, for the first time, Tetsuya felt death chasing after him. With Haunter observing from behind, he tightly wrapped his arms around the neck of RaDittash as they sped forward.
It could be said that this was the fastest Ditto had ever run. Yet now, Tetsuya did not feel any nausea or discomfort at all. He only wished he could reach a city immediately…
With a sharp cry from Haunter, Tetsuya turned his head and saw that one of the men from earlier was riding Tauros, rapidly closing in on him.
To be able to catch up with Ditto… this Tauros's level was far above Ditto's!