Kill him!
As long as you kill him, that Scyther will be yours!
Not only that, even that stronger Charmeleon, even the Eevee in his arms will all be yours.
You will inherit everything he has. You will become a powerful Trainer.
All you need to do is strike him from behind while his guard is down!
The cold voice kept echoing in Bin's head.
Bin didn't know where the voice came from, but he slowly started to believe it.
He was just one step away from becoming the strong Trainer he had always dreamed of being. He only needed Beedrill to kill this arrogant man!
"Beedrill, charge and use Bug Bite!"
Bin's voice suddenly rang out.
Beedrill was confused, but it still followed its Trainer's command without hesitation.
"Eevee, Yawn!"
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower, finish it!"
Faced with Bin's attack, Gu Yuan reacted immediately.
In truth, showing his back had been a test for Bin.
The timing of Bin's appearance was too strange. He showed up just after Gu Yuan had finished battling a wild Pokémon.
From the experience of many trials, Gu Yuan suspected Bin wanted to be the mantis stalking the cicada, waiting to reap the reward.
Under the effect of Yawn, Beedrill's movements slowed. Charmeleon's Flamethrower engulfed it.
"Eevee, Helping Hand, then Swift!"
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Wary that Bin might send out more Pokémon, Gu Yuan aimed to take Beedrill down quickly.
After the blast of flames, Beedrill was sluggish from the pain. It couldn't dodge or counter and was struck by Eevee's Swift.
The glow of Helping Hand wrapped around Charmeleon. Its flames surged even stronger and engulfed Beedrill again.
"No! Stop!"
Hearing Beedrill's cries and then watching it fall weakly to the ground, Bin suddenly realized what he had done. He roared, begging Gu Yuan to stop.
The next moment, Charmeleon pounced on him. Its sharp claws pressed against his throat.
If he moved even slightly, Charmeleon would tear it open without mercy.
Facing death, Bin broke down. His whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"Tell me. Why did you attack me?"
Gu Yuan took all the Poké Balls from him, then began to question him.
A sharp dagger had appeared in Gu Yuan's hand at some point.
After the last time he practiced slow slicing, Gu Yuan felt it was time to practice the skill again, so he wouldn't get rusty.
"I…I don't know!"
"I only know there was this voice in my head telling me to act. I didn't want to do it! It's your fault for taking that Scyther!"
"Yes, it's all your fault! All your fault! Why do you get to be born with such privilege? Why are you already a League direct-line Trainer? Why did you steal my only hope?"
Looking at the mad, broken Bin, Gu Yuan lost all interest in questioning him. He drove the dagger into Bin's heart, ending his suffering.
Standing aside, Gu Yuan silently watched as Bin turned to ash under Charmeleon's flames.
After a long while, a breeze blew past, scattering the ashes.
Bin was forever gone from this world.
For some reason, looking at Bin made Gu Yuan feel like he was looking at himself.
If he had never met Shadow, he might have ended up even more miserable than Bin.
This was the so-called peace of the League.
Everyone was called a League Trainer, but in truth, there was a difference.
Gu Yuan was now a League direct-line Trainer.
That identity was not easy to gain. At least one of your parents had to be a direct-line Trainer, and they had to make a major contribution.
That contribution could be service, donations, or resources. The form didn't matter, as long as it benefited the League.
The League had set it up this way to prevent direct-line Trainers from growing lazy and becoming parasites.
Once you became a direct-line Trainer, you not only received one of the starter Pokémon from the League when you began your journey, but also many special privileges.
Free housing in Pokémon Centers. Free medical treatment for your Pokémon. Priority for recruitment into police, investigators, or rangers.
Those who were not direct-line Trainers still bore the League title but enjoyed none of these privileges. Their strength was simply recognized.
They could still challenge Gyms, join tournaments, or try out for investigator positions.
The League did not completely block their path upward.
If they completed enough tasks and accumulated enough contribution points, they could request to take the exam.
If they passed, they too could become direct-line Trainers.
And if they worked hard, their children would be born into privilege, with all the benefits of being direct-line.
The system's creator had been a genius.
It gave the League a constant source of fresh power and ensured its steady progress.
But the system ignored human nature.
Now the choice of direct-line Trainers had become a joke.
For the wealthy and powerful families and corporations, it was easy to gain the title. Sometimes it was harder to escape from it than to earn it.
But for ordinary people like Bin, it was almost unreachable.
No matter how hard they tried, only a handful could become direct-line Trainers each year. Even those slots were deliberately left by the higher-ups to keep hope alive.
And even for those limited spots, people had to bribe and beg, or even sell themselves into servitude.
Especially people like Bin, who struggled to catch Caterpie or Weedle just to barely become a Trainer. They were mocked as "Bug Catchers."
Perhaps not even one in ten thousand Bug Catchers would ever become a direct-line Trainer. That was the truth of the League, and its rotten system.
And that was only the tip of the iceberg.
When Bin's ashes were finally scattered by the wind, Gu Yuan did not linger. He kept walking deeper into the Viridian forest.
If he wanted to avoid ending up like Bin, he would only have to grow stronger.