Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

Flames burst from Charmander's mouth.

It had successfully used Flamethrower!

Though not quite as intense or concentrated as a fully mastered Flamethrower, it was still undeniably powerful for a newly trained Charmander.

While other Charmanders were still struggling to enhance Ember's strength, Luo Yuan's Charmander was already experimenting with Flamethrower.

"This Fire Affinity is pretty impressive," Luo Yuan thought, mentally giving his system a thumbs-up.

If Professor Oak or Gary knew that the Charmander Luo Yuan had just received today was already capable of using Flamethrower, they'd probably be in complete shock.

With this power at his disposal, Luo Yuan could rapidly train Charmander into a formidable battler, alleviating some of the inconvenience caused by his need to keep Dragapult hidden.

Luo Yuan and Charmander were clearly pleased, though Pinsir, as Charmander's opponent, wasn't as fortunate.

After its missed Quick Attack left its horn buried in the ground, Pinsir had no time to pull itself free before being hit by the downward torrent of flames.

With Fire being a strong counter to Bug-types, combined with the high power of Flamethrower, Pinsir lost the battle in mere seconds.

"No way! How can your Charmander know Flamethrower?!" Yūjiro shouted, eyes wide with disbelief.

He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

The Bug Catchers behind him were equally stunned, unable to process that their leader, their inspiration, had been taken down by Luo Yuan's Charmander in just two moves.

"It can't be Flamethrower…" Yūjiro muttered to himself.

If it had been just Ember, his Pinsir wouldn't have gone down like that!

"See for yourself," Luo Yuan shrugged.

"But…" Yūjiro stammered, ready to argue.

"Pinsir is unable to battle! Luo Yuan wins!" Misty declared, cutting Yūjiro off and confirming the outcome. Her eyes sparkled with admiration as she looked at Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan gave her a nod and called back to Charmander. "Come on back."

As Charmander returned, Luo Yuan looked at the defeated Yūjiro and offered, "If you're still not satisfied, you can keep going. I'm game."

The strength of his Fire Affinity was beyond his expectations. Charmander, even as a starter, was achieving strength levels he hadn't thought possible.

At this point, with Charmander's power combined with his own command skills, Luo Yuan was certain he could take on ten of these Bug Catchers and come out on top.

Yūjiro opened his mouth to say something but then fell silent. He might not like the outcome, but rationally he knew even with all his Pokémon, he couldn't beat Luo Yuan.

"I… concede."

"In that case, as per our agreement…" Luo Yuan said, smiling as he continued petting Dratini, who was practically beaming.

"We'll pay up!"

Yūjiro gathered money from his fellow defeated Bug Catchers and handed the total to Luo Yuan.

"Altogether, it's 8,300 Poke Dollars. Take it, and let's go!"

Luo Yuan watched as the Bug Catchers disappeared into the forest, smiling slightly to himself.

For a group of six, they sure had a lot of money on them. They'd probably emptied out their savings to capture Dratini.

He felt no guilt about collecting pocket money from kids.

First, it was in the name of avenging Dratini. Second, it was money earned in a fair battle, legal and above-board.

And besides, after months of "borrowing" Team Rocket's funds for his own use, he hardly found this amount worth worrying about.

Squatting down, he patted Dratini and Charmander on their heads.

"This money'll be saved for snacks later."

"Draaa~!" "Char!"

Mentioning food was all it took for the two Pokémon to light up with excitement.

In a way, they were pretty similar—both had been won over by Luo Yuan with a single Pokéblock.

"Foodies really are everywhere. A good cook has a world of advantages—able to lure in both Pokémon and…"

Smiling, Luo Yuan turned to Misty.

"It's getting late. Why don't we make a fire and cook some food before I help you look for Horsea?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Misty, who had been staring at him, snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly.

Curious about his cooking, she wondered if the meal would be as irresistible as his Pokémon treats.

---

Luo Yuan and Misty prepared dinner by the lakeside.

Hoenn Region, Rustboro City

Devon Corporation Headquarters

Steven Stone stood in the very spot Luo Yuan had occupied two days prior.

Around him, League personnel combed the area, armed with various sensors and scanners.

"Champion Steven!"

"Just Steven is fine. How's the investigation going?"

"The ghost-type energy signatures we detected here are exceptionally strong."

"Based on what Gym Leader Winona reported from the day of the incident, and the energy readings gathered at prior attack sites, we've confirmed that the 'Tech Hunter's' Dragapult is at least Elite Four-level, possibly even stronger."

"Whew…"

The League had already suspected as much, but hearing the confirmation still weighed heavily on Steven.

With Team Aqua and Team Magma engaged in an all-out conflict over land and sea, Steven was already stretched to his limits.

Now, a powerful Trainer with possibly malicious intent was loose in Hoenn—like fuel to a wildfire.

"Have we uncovered any clues to their motives or whereabouts?" Steven asked.

The Tech Hunter's choice of targets—high-tech companies—suggested they were operating with a specific purpose.

If they could figure out the objective, they might anticipate the next target or even deduce the Tech Hunter's identity.

"Not yet…"

Seeing the disappointment in Steven's eyes, the investigator shook his head.

"The targets so far have been high-tech firms, but aside from that, we haven't found a clear pattern."

"However… given the Dragapult used by the suspect, we've reached out to the Galar region."

"The Galar League has begun tracking Trainers who've trained or captured members of the Dreepy family over the past two decades. They're hopeful it'll lead to some leads."

The investigator's words brought a slight relief to Steven.

The Hoenn League suspected that the Tech Hunter might be from Galar, given their choice of a Dragapult, and hoped this connection would yield valuable clues.

"Do it quickly. Time isn't on our side."

With both Team Aqua and Team Magma's movements becoming more frequent, and signs indicating that they were after Kyogre and Groudon, Steven felt a storm brewing—a sense of foreboding looming over Hoenn.

---

T/N: POKEMON AND WHAT YUAN? POKEMON AND WHAT?