Chapter 340: A Calamity Born of Coincidence

"Ron, two people are tracking us."

The voice of Gardevoir echoed in his mind as Ron spotted two small, distant black figures in the sky.

To maintain his disguise, Ron had deliberately chosen to travel on foot, in keeping with his identity as Long, but even that had failed to avoid unwanted attention.

"Trying to rob the robber, huh?"

"Gardevoir, how strong are they? Is there anyone else nearby?"

With the enemy so close, summoning Gardevoir to use Teleport wasn't an option. Ron could only prepare to strike back.

"They're troublesome… but neither appears to be at top Elite Four level."

After hearing Gardevoir's analysis, Ron quickly formed a plan. Judging by their combined strength, they were about equal to him. If he could isolate their strongest Pokémon, the fight would be much more manageable.

"Gardevoir, Lucario—scan for any nearby individuals and monitor the two behind us. The moment they enter attack range, alert me immediately."

Giving the order via telepathy, Ron quickened his pace, intending to lure them farther away.

"Looks like he's noticed us. Speed up!"

As Ron increased his speed, Hiro spoke with a touch of excitement in his voice.

Clearly, Hiro had redirected his grudge against the Dark King onto this so-called Pokémon hunter.

What could Marko say? He had no choice but to follow. After all, he was the one who had first recognized this "Long." And this supposed quasi-Elite Four level hunter would make a fine trophy.

Following Hiro and Marko's command, their Pidgeot picked up speed.

"Pidgeot, use Air Slash!"

As they closed the distance, Hiro, seeing the "Long" fleeing in panic, issued the first attack order.

"Gengar, activate Netherworld—Ghost Chains!"

"Machamp, use Moonwalk, then Armament Technique: Meteor Fist Barrage!"

"Persian, Moonwalk, Shadow Claw Execution!"

"Bellossom, prepare One-Sword Style: Rebirth of All Things!"

Now that he had chosen to fight back, Ron wasn't holding anything back. He intended to end this quickly and decisively.

"Wait… you're the Dark King!"

"Swampert, use Protect!"

As a veil of darkness blanketed the sky, Hiro and Marko reacted very differently.

Marko saw only danger—Hiro saw only thrill.

"Sceptile, Protect!"

Though he hesitated briefly, Hiro quickly responded, releasing his Elite Four-level Pokémon.

Claws slashed through the air. Sceptile's Protect shattered in seconds, and it was only by virtue of its superior strength that it endured Persian's assault with minor injuries.

Marko's Swampert wasn't so lucky.

Swampert's level was already lower than Machamp's, and it was facing Machamp's strongest technique combo. The result was inevitable.

As the darkness enveloped them, a crackling noise echoed in Swampert's ears—and in the next moment, Machamp's full-force assault came crashing down.

With a flash of swordlight, Bellossom struck both Swampert and Marko in a single sweep—one strike, two birds.

And if you counted the Pidgeot Marko was riding, it was one strike, three birds.

"Marko!"

Seeing Marko fall in an instant, Hiro was both shocked and furious. He hastily released all of his Pokémon.

Three Elite Four-level Pokémon stood at his side—enough to overwhelm most trainers. But for Hiro, even that wasn't enough to continue the fight.

No one had expected the Dark King—previously believed to be at best quasi-Elite Four level—to possess such overwhelming strength.

More importantly, it was the Pokémon themselves, and the strange techniques they used, that made Hiro feel an eerie familiarity.

"…You're Ron, aren't you!?"

A sudden realization dawned on him, and Hiro confronted the Dark King.

"Looks like I've made quite the name for myself in the Hoenn Region, if even you recognize me."

With a smirk, Ron had Ditto drop its disguise via telepathy, revealing his true identity.

By now, it was obvious—Hiro and the fallen Marko were Rangers from the League.

But Ron had already struck. And since the fight had started, he wouldn't let the still-breathing Hiron walk away alive.

"Why!?" Hiro shouted, eyes blazing. "Why did you disguise yourself as the Dark King? Why did you attack the rangers and forest hunters!?"

Now that Ron had confirmed his identity, Hiro abandoned all thoughts of retreat, confronting him with fury and disbelief.

He couldn't understand—why had Ron chosen to strike? Why not just reveal himself as Ron?

If Ron had come forward from the start, the rangers and hunters wouldn't have died! Bert wouldn't have ended up like this!

"It's simple," Ron replied calmly. "I didn't want my Gengar and the others to attract attention too early."

Despite the accusations, Ron remained patient. He was willing to let Hiro die with clarity.

"What are you planning?" Hiro demanded, suspicion sharpening in his eyes. He had begun to doubt Ron's motives for coming to Hoenn League.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I hold no malice toward Hoenn or the entire region," Ron said. "But in Kanto, my Gengar and the others—before they've reached their full strength—would be at a severe disadvantage."

"That's enough Q&A. And don't bother trying to call for help. Gengar's Netherworld blocks all signals. Nothing's getting through."

As Ron spoke with chilling calm, Hiro realized he had lost even the slimmest chance of escape.

Originally, Gengar's Netherworld didn't have such abilities. It was only after Gengar reached quasi-Elite Four level that his domain evolved with him.

"Machamp, Armament Technique – Meteor Fist Barrage!"

"Persian, Shadow Claw Execution!"

"Bellossom, One-Sword Style: Rebirth of All Things!"

"Sceptile, Verdant Storm!"

A flurry of green leaves exploded outward, spinning violently and expanding as a savage storm aimed to crush Machamp and his team.

Taking the lead, Machamp charged ahead, cloaked in Armament Haki, and shattered Sceptile's Verdant Storm through sheer force alone.

Using Shave—Instant Step, Persian zipped to Sceptile's flank and unleashed Shadow Claw Execution once more with lethal precision.

Bellossom moved with purpose—her sole goal was to strike down Hiro from behind as swiftly as possible.

Blades of light flashed—Bellossom's attack was swift and ruthless. In an instant, she cut down the Pokémon Hiro had positioned to guard his rear, piercing through both them and Hiro himself.

As her strength grew, so did her mastery of swordsmanship. Bellossom's strikes had become sharper, deadlier, her sword aura echoing that of a true swordswoman. The terrifying might of a blade master was finally beginning to show.

With Persian and Machamp coordinating their assault, they overwhelmed and killed Sceptile in a blur of motion.

Caught completely off guard, Ron had succeeded in eliminating a forest hunter of Elite Four-level strength.

He hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against using Hiro's identity to call for help from the League.

The situation was already messy enough—bringing in League officials would only increase the risk of exposure and shut down his current profit stream.

After commanding Blaziken to burn the bodies of Hiro and Marko to ash, Ron resumed his journey.

There was still money to be made.

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