Asea had long since finished her internal struggle. The main reason was that her attempt to steal Tetsuya's Pokémon had been exposed, and she feared it would damage her reputation. Only then had she decided to eliminate the problem once and for all.
Asea had already laid a series of deadly traps and was completely confident of victory.
She had already investigated psychic powers. With the Dark Orb in her possession, from which the Dark Gems originates, Tetsuya's psychic abilities would have no effect on her.
Offering money was merely a distraction to divert Tetsuya's attention. Hidden all around them were dozens of Pokémon. The moment she scattered the money, they would all charge out at once and take Tetsuya's life.
Facing Asea, Tetsuya did not dare relax in the slightest. As for the powers granted by his [Shadow Contract], not a single living person knew about them, because everyone who had learned the truth was already dead.
"Hmm? What? Is it not enough~?" Asea asked when she saw Tetsuya hesitating.
Tetsuya did not answer. Instead, he sent a thought through his mind. "Gengar, Sludge Bomb. Kill with a single strike."
Under the cover of night, the abilities granted by the [Shadow Contract] ensured an invisible method of killing, leaving not the slightest warning.
Two Sludge Bombs shot out, heading straight for Asea's head!
A violent explosion followed. In an instant, a living person had become a headless corpse…
However, the money Asea had been holding scattered onto the ground. The ambushing Pokémon all rushed out, only to discover that their Trainer was already dead, leaving them utterly panic-stricken.
Asea's five pupils were even more horrified by the gruesome sight. Having grown up without ever witnessing a murder, they were terrified beyond belief by such a horrific death.
"A-Ahhhh! Y-You… You're not human!"
"Leader is dead! Run!"
"He's a monster! A monster!"
The five fled together in the same direction. With no one left to command them, the Pokémon were at a complete loss and instinctively gathered around Asea's body.
In truth, those Pokémon would certainly still have obeyed the commands of the five pupils. Had they united as one, even Tetsuya would have been unable to deal with them. However, now that they had lost their leader, they were nothing more than a disorganized mob, making them far easier to handle.
"Night Shade."
A massive shadow suddenly enveloped the five Trainers. They stumbled around inside like people hopelessly lost, blindly crashing into one another without being able to see anything.
Gradually, they felt their energy fading, their minds growing heavier, and overwhelming drowsiness setting in. Gengar had completely drained away their vitality, leaving behind nothing but five dried corpses.
Dozens of Pokémon surrounded Asea's body. After all, they were her Pokémon, and the Poké Balls on Asea's body still served as a form of restraint.
Gengar repeated the same tactic, using Night Shade, then Hypnosis. Every one of the Pokémon fell asleep. After that came Dream Eater, as Gengar continued draining away their vitality until every last bit had been consumed.
On Asea's body were the Poké Balls containing her six main Pokémon: the shiny Arbok, Gengar, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, a Weezing, and Muk. Even through their Poké Balls, Tetsuya could sense the tremendous vitality of those six Pokémon. He could neither leave them alive nor take them with him, so he first set them aside.
Tetsuya certainly didn't expect her not to have Gengar in her shadow. Either Asea was overconfident, or perhaps she had lost her sense of alertness from staying in that position o Gym Leader for too long… if she ever had the "sense of alertness" to begin with; though, knowing who her mentor was, the latter seemed unlikely.
There was only one million in cash inside the briefcase Asea had brought. Tetsuya packed all of it into his backpack. As for the bank card, he did not dare take it.
Of Asea's six main Pokémon, the only one Tetsuya could not release was Weezing. The main reason was that his own four-headed Weezing's mental fortitude was still far too fragile. He could not let it witness or realize the death of another member of its own species again.
Houndoom's Inferno reduced every corpse to ashes. Naturally, Asea's Weezing's Poké Ball was also thrown into the flames. As the fire burned, the Weezing, whose body was composed of gas, exploded and died.
It was already deep into the night. Tetsuya would not leave behind the slightest trace. He had Golurk turn over the soil once more before riding on it to a different location.
Next came the disposal of Asea's remaining five Pokémon.
Tetsuya sent out Golurk, Houndoom, and Skorupi. Houndoom's task was to keep watch and determine whether there was any danger nearby.
He released the golden Arbok first. The moment it emerged from its Poké Ball, before it could even understand what was happening, Golurk slammed it into the ground with a single punch.
Arbok had already been knocked unconscious, yet Golurk continued pinning it into the ground.
"Skorupi, you already know what to do," Tetsuya said. Skorupi was like a cheerful executioner. Without the slightest hesitation, it rushed forward, tore open the snake's belly, devoured its poison sac, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
Using the same method, Tetsuya dealt with Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Muk one after another. By then, Skorupi had eaten its fill. Its belly was round and swollen, so full that it could barely crawl. Tetsuya simply recalled it to its Poké Ball and let it digest at its own pace.
Only the Gengar remained.
Tetsuya still released it from its Poké Ball. Golurk knocked it to the ground with a single Shadow Punch. Gengar's Defense was already poor. Although the blow didn't leave it incapacitated, it left it completely dazed.
Golurk no longer needed any further instructions from Tetsuya. It threw two more punches in succession, completely defeating Gengar, which had been overwhelmed before it even understood what was happening.
"Absorb its vitality," Tetsuya thought silently. A Gengar's vitality was the most suitable for the [Shadow Contract]. Once it had all been drained away, Asea's Gengar disappeared completely.
The remaining Pokémon were also reduced to ashes by Houndoom's flames.
After cleaning up the scene, Tetsuya returned to the original location, pitched his tent once again, and prepared to sleep.
Suddenly, thunder rumbled across the sky, and before long, rain poured down in torrents!
Now the tent could no longer be used for sleeping and served only as shelter from the rain. However, that only put Tetsuya more at ease.
'Even Raikou… wait, no, this is Kanto. Even Zapdos is helping me!' After this rain, even the scent will be washed away. It will be impossible for anyone to find the slightest trace. 'Besides, Asea valued her reputation above all else and would never tell anyone about this.'
'Right now, no one even knows where she went. No one would ever think she came to this forest, much less that she has already died. Even if she's eventually treated as a missing person, no one would ever suspect that an unknown nobody like me was the one who silenced her.'
Even if they investigate the last people she interacted with, 'And even if they discover my battle with her, a Gym Leader losing a match is perfectly normal. Even if Agatha realized the potential of my Pokémon, she would never imagine that her prized student would be capable of trying to kill me to get her hands on them… right?'
---◓---
Because of the heavy rain, Tetsuya did not sleep at all that night. It was not until the following morning that the weather finally cleared. He packed up his tent and prepared to reach Pallet Town as quickly as possible, take a bath, and get a good night's sleep. The previous night had been mentally exhausting.
Tetsuya ran at full speed and, before noon, had already spotted a household.
There was no inn in this small town, so it seemed he would have to spend some Pokédollars to stay with a local family.
In the courtyard, a woman in her early thirties was watering the flowers and plants while humming a tune, apparently in an excellent mood.
Tetsuya rang the doorbell.
The woman quickly set down the watering can and walked toward the front gate…