The Hunters Guild's upper ranks had almost been completely replaced.
Some of the old outposts had been run by their original seated hunters like private businesses. They only handed over about the same amount of money to headquarters as they had in the past. Hunter A only cared about receiving that money, so he never paid much attention to what was happening.
On the other hand, one reason the guild's Ace hunters were always dissatisfied was that there were too few outposts. With more senior members, more outposts were needed. If they wanted to expand, everyone had to fight and secure them with their own Pokémon.
After several large-scale operations, the Hunters Guild had suffered heavy losses. That was why it had fallen into its current state.
"When you're almost there, I'll issue an official personnel transfer notice through every communication device," Shiro said. "You all have magnetic ID cards. Once they're verified, you'll be recognized as seated hunters. Whether the symbols match can be sorted out afterward. I'll handle that."
"There are nine of you. Three people will be assigned to each region. Move quickly and steadily. The hunters stationed at those outposts won't have the strength to defeat three trainers at the Gym-level."
"If you run into somewhere that's too difficult to handle, withdraw immediately and report it to me. I'll deal with it myself."
After giving his instructions, Shiro fell silent for nearly half a minute as his eyes swept across the nine people.
"I know every one of your names, faces, and identities. So tell me now, does anyone still want to back out?"
"If you stay and later disobey orders or betray the guild… I'll personally collect your body."
After saying that, he stood quietly where he was and waited for a response.
His voice remained calm, yet the nine hunters still felt a faint chill. It reminded them of the icy aura surrounding Articuno in the underground battle arena not long ago.
After all, the man standing before them was a legendary trainer who possessed Articuno. He was also someone ruthless enough to cooperate with the League while openly threatening its chairman.
To someone like him, dealing with trainers who averaged only Gym-level wasn't even worth a second glance. He could crush them effortlessly.
Several minutes passed, but no one objected.
The nine people had already been persuaded by Shiro's words. Most of them had come here filled with hope and ambition.
Countless trainers dreamed of finding a chance to grow stronger, and now that chance was right in front of them.
Only cowards and fools would refuse it.
"Good. The operation begins now. If anything happens, report it to me immediately through the communication device."
As soon as Shiro finished speaking, he turned around and instantly disappeared.
* * *
Above the northern forest outside Jubilife City.
"A, have you found their presence?"
Wrapped in a black cloak, Shiro quietly drifted north through the air.
Beside him, Unown A floated with its eye closed. Waves of psychic power spread outward like ripples across water, reaching in every direction.
The four Unown were right in front of him. There was no way he would simply let Hunter J leave.
Unown were naturally connected as one. There were twenty-eight of them, yet they could also be considered a single Pokémon divided into twenty-eight parts. Even so, each individual Unown still possessed its own consciousness.
Back in the underground battle arena, Shiro had secretly instructed Unown A to blend its psychic power into theirs.
The situation had been tense and chaotic then. Hunter J's Unown had been focused entirely on escaping, so they probably hadn't noticed anything unusual. But given enough time, they would eventually realize that the psychic power accompanying them day and night had changed.
Once they stopped to inspect it carefully, the hidden psychic energy would release much stronger waves.
'Found them.'
Unown A suddenly opened its single eye and used Teleport.
Space twisted as streams of light surrounded Shiro. Their location shifted at incredible speed.
After merging with the other three Unown and reaching the Master-level, Unown A's Teleport had become even more powerful. Like a legendary Pokémon, crossing nearly half a region in a short time was now an easy task.
With Unown G providing support, it became even easier.
* * *
Sinnoh, Snowpoint City.
The freezing wind howled as heavy snow drifted down from the sky.
The silent Snowpoint Temple stood at the northern edge of Snowpoint City atop a towering snow-covered mountain.
The temple had once been a symbol of holiness. Some believed it represented Sinnoh's wisdom and courage, while others saw it as the embodiment of ancient traditions and legends. But after the large-scale attack more than ten years ago, the place had become nearly deserted.
Curious tourists from other places still came to admire the magnificent ancient structure from time to time, but locals would never willingly come near it.
To them, Snowpoint Temple had become a place closely tied to betrayal and sin.
At that moment, outside the temple entrance, a small figure struggled forward through the snow before suddenly stopping beside the massive gray marble pillars. Even as the snowstorm grew stronger, the person made no move to step inside for shelter.
"Snowpoint Temple... I never expected this… The mysterious Hunters Guild headquarters is actually built beneath the temple."
The quiet whisper came from none other than Jona, who had just escaped from the Hunters Guild's underground battle arena.
If she hadn't used one of her precious trump cards to teleport out of the guild headquarters, she might never have uncovered Team Galactic's trick of hiding in plain sight. The discovery had shocked her. After taking a few powerful medicines, she immediately rushed here through the snow.
Fortunately, they were all top-quality and extremely expensive medicines. Their effects were remarkable. With the help of her unusually tough body, her heavily injured internal organs recovered enough in a short time for her to move almost normally again.
Of course, her lungs still ached faintly.
But standing before this temple, none of that seemed important anymore.
Unable to hide her excitement, Jona reached out and touched the psychic barrier covering the marble pillar. Four Unown briefly appeared before the barrier quickly faded into nothingness.
"And I never expected another Unown to be sleeping here."
She quickly entered the temple, allowing the four Unown to reveal themselves.
Inside the dark and freezing hall, they floated through the air like glowing pink lanterns, searching every corner.
From the perspective of psychic power, deep within the unknown temple, another Unown shone brightly in the distance as it continuously answered their call.
Only when four or more Unown gathered together and unlocked part of their power could they sense nearby companions, no matter how well they were hidden.
Of course, if another group of four Unown concealed themselves with all their strength, then neither side could detect the other as long as their power was equal.
"A blessing in disguise."
Jona slowly walked through the silent temple as she approached the hidden Unown.
Now, she felt that the heavy losses and injuries from this mission had all been worth it.
Buzz!
Inside the temple's main hall, the four Unown led by Unown B suddenly stopped moving as their psychic power let out a low hum.
Light flickered across the chamber, making the statue of the legendary giant standing at the center of the hall appear even clearer.
**
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