"Meowth, use Bite!"
Dark-type energy wrapped around sharp fangs, tearing into the man's throat. The fight was over.
When Primeape and Golbat returned to their trainer's side, they saw only their corpses.
The last of the group, still wondering why Mott and Okita hadn't appeared, suddenly noticed a Charmeleon before him. Its claws, glowing white, slashed at his neck. That was the last thing he saw before death.
Charmeleon and Eevee kept pressing on Persian, giving him no chance to fight back.
From the man's body, Gu Yuan found the Poké Ball. He recalled the struggling Persian inside and locked it.
Without stopping, Gu Yuan retraced his steps.
Before starting this mission, he had already taken the Poké Balls of Golbat and Primeape. That made his actions simple: appear, let Charmeleon and Eevee tie down the target, then seal them in their Poké Balls.
The three were wiped out. Gu Yuan even gained a small bonus.
He didn't deal with their corpses. He left them where they were.
Gu Yuan's trial would end tomorrow.
Counting these three, he had eliminated fifteen people. His points had passed one thousand and were heading toward two thousand.
He found a spot near the base, hid himself, and waited for the trial to end.
It wasn't that Gu Yuan didn't want to keep hunting. It was just too hard.
From what he had observed these past days, the number of people nearby was much smaller than the number of those likely still alive.
This meant only one thing: the rest were waiting for the end.
They didn't want to team up or keep killing. They only wanted to rely on strength in numbers at the very end, scaring off anyone who might hunt them. Then they could pass the trial safely.
If Gu Yuan acted now, it might snap their tense nerves and drive them into a desperate counterattack.
Even with Abra, Gu Yuan couldn't be certain of success.
Moves like Mean Look or Taunt could interfere with Abra's Teleport.
He had already done enough. He had completed the trial and gained more than a thousand points. Gu Yuan felt it was time to stop.
Morning sunlight spread over the land.
When the trial officially ended, Gu Yuan had Abra Teleport him away.
After some thought, Gu Yuan decided to let Shadow know about Abra.
First, raising a Psychic-type Pokémon required resources he could never afford.
Second, and most important, there was no way he could hide it from someone like Shadow.
It was better to admit it openly. Shadow would understand.
Not to mention that Abra could not change trainers now.
If Shadow tried to take it by force, Gu Yuan would fight with his life on the line.
After a few teleports, Gu Yuan returned to the Rocket's base.
Seeing Abra at his side, even a few Rocket executives were surprised. But they kept quiet.
Whatever Pokémon Gu Yuan had, all that mattered was that Shadow stood behind him. That was enough.
"The boss isn't here yet. You can wait in that room."
The same man who had once attached the tracker to Gu Yuan spoke.
Gu Yuan nodded, opened the door, and walked in.
"Alright, you guys rest here. I'll go take a shower."
He glanced at the bathroom. He needed it.
Not because of any obsession with cleanliness, but because after living in the forest for a month, wearing the same clothes and stained with other people's blood, he looked like a beggar.
Only someone strange could resist the urge to take a shower under these circumstances.
After cleaning up, Gu Yuan had Charmeleon use gentle flames to dry his clothes.
Wearing warm clothes again, Gu Yuan realized how convenient it was to have a fire Pokémon.
He could also understand why there were some gaps in the technological development in this world.
In some areas, the technology here was more developed than on Earth, but in most cases, they were far behind.
When you had Pokémon who could do almost anything, keep you company, and even be cute, who would want to invent new machines?
Bored, Gu Yuan let Charmeleon and the others play. He sat back and reviewed his battles, searching for gaps in his training.
By noon, as Gu Yuan finished some leftover rations, Shadow entered.
Gu Yuan couldn't help thinking Shadow had chosen this moment just to keep him from joining him for lunch.
"Sixteen in total."
Before Shadow spoke, Gu Yuan presented the badges he had taken from his victims.
"Good. You did well. You passed this trial."
"Now, I have a new mission for you."
Shadow's tone was calm, as if Gu Yuan's results were nothing surprising.
Gu Yuan recalled his Pokémon. They had become tense the moment Shadow arrived.
The best part was that Shadow, seeing Abra, made no fuss.
"The task is simple. I want you to become an undercover agent. From today, you will act as an official League trainer. You can walk anywhere in the open. What do you think?"
Shadow's eyes locked on Gu Yuan as he spoke.
Gu Yuan felt no joy hearing this.
After what he had lived through, he could never like the League.
Compared to them, he preferred to follow Shadow and stay with Team Rocket.
Here, he believed that he would have more opportunities to grow stronger.
Giovanni made Team Rocket a place where, if you were strong, you could rise in the ranks and grow even more.
In a twisted way, this was a fair place, free of hypocrisy. Here, you only needed to depend on yourself to rise.
If he joined the League, life would not be so easy.
Even with strength, without connections, he would not rise quickly. And that rotten system was exactly why the League had failed to crush Team Rocket.
"Yes, I understand."
In the end, Gu Yuan's thoughts turned into a simple, obedient answer.
He had no choice. He could not fight reality. All he could do was find his own way to enjoy it.
"You don't need to be so pessimistic. Since I want you undercover, I already have plans for your future."
"I'll give you two options. First, I can provide intel so you can earn credit, with our help pushing you into the police or as an investigator. You could rise quickly."
"Second, you can join the Indigo League Conference this year. It's only the start now. The tournament is in one year. If you can win, even without my help, many will want to support you."
After speaking, Shadow did not press him for an answer. He gave Gu Yuan time and space to think.