"No, please! Don't kill me!"
Hearing the familiar pleas for mercy, Ron remained expressionless as he commanded Persian to deliver the final strike.
Scarlet blood splattered onto the ground, and a lifeless body collapsed before him.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Ron submitted the mission details to the Forest Ranger Headquarters and collected his accumulated rewards. He then transferred a portion of his contribution points to the Ranger Headquarters, exchanging them for League coins before forwarding them to Lars Flavian.
The ability to exchange contribution points for League coins was one of the many benefits of becoming a Ranger.
Having settled these matters, Ron informed Lars that he planned to enter a period of self-reflection and training, instructing him to notify him in advance if anything urgent arose.
With everything in order, Ron sought out a secluded area to refine both his own abilities and those of his Pokémon.
First, he turned his focus inward. Ron possessed the top-tier special ability known as Fighting Aura, had trained in the art of breath control, and had even awakened psychic powers by sheer luck.
A person with three distinct yet highly potent abilities was an extreme rarity in the Pokémon world.
Thus, Ron had to decide how best to develop these abilities—choosing which to prioritize and how to utilize the other two as support.
The same applied to his Pokémon. They needed to integrate the techniques of the Six Powers from One Piece with their own natural skills to fully unleash their potential. This would shape their future growth and combat style.
This was why Pokémon of the same species could vary greatly once they reached the Elite Four level.
Before reaching that stage, every Pokémon went through a process of discovering their strengths and determining their developmental path.
Now, Ron's task was to help his Pokémon make that choice.
As he had mentioned before, with the continuous supply of Fighting Aura and high-quality Pokéblocks, combined with frequent battles against formidable foes, Machamp had already reached the strength of a seasoned quasi-Elite Four Pokémon.
According to Ron's estimates, Machamp would reach the threshold for breaking into the Elite Four tier within a month or two. When that time came, Ron would need to acquire an Attribute Plate to assist with the breakthrough.
If necessary, he was prepared to take on debt—securing an Attribute Plate in advance from Shadow to ensure Machamp's evolution.
Once he had directed his Pokémon to construct a simple wooden shelter as their training base, Ron embarked on his journey of consolidation.
With the Six Powers, Life Return, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki awaiting mastery, he had little hesitation in prioritizing breath control training.
For Fighting Aura, Ron had no real method of development—he could only let it grow naturally. Fortunately, based on his experience, the more frequently he used it, the stronger it became.
As for his psychic abilities, Ron had received training methods from Shadow, leading to a noticeable improvement in his progress. However, what interested him most was the convenience of telepathy and teleportation.
Beyond that, he still preferred the raw intensity of hand-to-hand combat.
Next was Machamp. From the very beginning, his path had been clear—absolute power. He would dominate his opponents through sheer overwhelming strength.
His future combat style would emphasize ranged attacks using techniques like Morning Peacock. If he could master Armament Haki, he would resemble the legendary Marine Hero, Garp, using his iron fists to subdue all challengers.
Persian's path was even simpler—that of an assassin. Once Persian mastered Life Return, it would be able to stand upright, allowing it to fully utilize the Six Powers.
Bellossom's direction had also been determined—swordsmanship. Ron had set her goal to reach the level of Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura. With Life Return, a technique that allowed for complete control over one's body, hair, and skin, Ron believed this dream was within reach.
As for Nidoking and the others, it was still too early for them. At the very least, they needed to reach Bellossom's current level before Ron could help them refine their paths.
With clear goals set, the rest became much easier.
Out of the twenty-four hours in a day, aside from time spent sleeping and eating, Ron devoted more than half to training.
A third of his time was dedicated to developing his psychic abilities, focusing on mastering telepathy as a fundamental skill.
The remaining two-thirds were split between breath control training and honing the Six Powers of the Navy.
As for Machamp and the others, after discussing with them, Ron devised a specialized training plan tailored to their strengths.
Whenever they needed battle practice, Gardevoir would use Teleport to take the group deep into the forest in search of suitable opponents.
While Ron focused on refining his strength, preparing for a breakthrough to the Elite Four level, the Rangers centered around Vermilion City began to take action.
With the increasing number of Pokémon hunters, what initially started as the Rangers suppressing the hunters gradually escalated into a full-scale, evenly matched conflict.
As Ron's popularity skyrocketed, the number of people aspiring to become Rangers also saw a notable surge.
Yet now, an incident as heinous as Dumas' attack had suddenly unfolded.
Fortunately, Dumas was already dead, and Lily and most others had survived. Otherwise, he would have become the primary target of the Rangers and Forest Hunters, relentlessly pursued.
However, the ripple effects of the event were far from over. To send a clear message that Rangers were not to be trifled with, Rangers from Vermilion City and surrounding towns were mobilized.
Led by top Elite Four-level Rangers, with quasi-Elite Four Rangers acting as squad captains, they launched a large-scale sweep against Pokémon hunters.
At first, the operation was confined to localized skirmishes, but considering the rising reputation of the Rangers due to Ron's influence, Bruno made the decisive call—mobilizing Rangers across the entire Kanto region for a full-scale purge.
The primary targets were Mid Elite to quasi-Elite Four-level Pokémon hunters and poaching syndicates. It wasn't that Bruno didn't want to go after the Elite Four-level hunters, but rather that they simply didn't have enough manpower.
Compared to the well-coordinated Rangers, the Pokémon hunters and poachers were significantly more agile, making it easy for them to inflict heavy casualties on weaker Rangers.
To ensure safety, Bruno also deployed Forest Hunters to monitor the most dangerous Pokémon hunters and poaching syndicates, ensuring the Rangers' operations proceeded without disruption.
Such a large-scale campaign immediately put Pokémon hunters on high alert.
Those with real power refrained from provoking the Rangers—or the League behind them—and chose to lay low.
The clever yet weaker ones concealed their identities to evade the sweeping crackdown.
As for the reckless and the weak, they simply became stepping stones for the Rangers' accomplishments.
The purge lasted for an entire month, and its effects were undeniable—the number of Pokémon hunters had been reduced by more than half.
Although the surface-level results appeared promising, it didn't change the fact that the Rangers had achieved a significant victory, severely discouraging many from considering a life as Pokémon hunters.
For those who managed to survive the purge unscathed, the reduced competition meant they could claim even more resources.
After all, in the world of Pokémon hunters, it had never been about coexistence—it was always survival of the fittest.
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