"Go, Alakazam! Feel free to show off as much as you like."
Deep in the heart of the forest, after locating the local overlord, Gu Yuan let Alakazam strike first. Once his team had achieved their breakthroughs, he led them to trial points they had never set foot in before.
While the Pokémon on Gu Yuan's team were satisfied, the wild Pokémon in the forest were in for a rough time. Facing Alakazam and the others, who had just broken through and were eager to vent their abundant energy, the wild Pokémon hardly had a chance to fight back.
This was only natural. Although these wild Pokémon had endured countless fierce battles to reach their current strength, their progress had slowed to a snail's pace since attaining Elite-rank power. Furthermore, the number of times they engaged in actual combat was few and far between.
Consequently, their combat experience was slightly lacking, and their control over their own power was relatively weak. Conversely, no matter which rank Gu Yuan's Pokémon were in, they faced a multitude of opponents and engaged in constant battle. Whether in terms of combat experience or mastery of their own power, they completely crushed these wild Pokémon.
Upon receiving the order, Alakazam initiated an attack with Teleport. Under the suppression of a triple-threat Psychic, the opposing Ampharos's Thunder was crushed before it could even travel far. The shockwave slammed Ampharos into a deep crater.
Alakazam used Teleport again. After seizing the advantage with a surprise attack, it immediately launched a second wave of offense. Gu Yuan kept them challenging others specifically to let them familiarize themselves with their new power as quickly as possible. As for combat experience, they didn't need much more training in that department.
Psychic energy condensed into a long spear and shot forward. Even though Ampharos counterattacked in time, the electrical current quickly dissipated under the spear's charge. Unable to dodge, Ampharos was pierced, and crimson blood splattered. However, Alakazam's assault did not end there.
Alakazam unleashed another triple-threat Psychic, sending Ampharos flying. Future Sight then manifested, slamming Ampharos back toward them. Waiting for it was a hail of psychic bullets condensed by Alakazam. Under its precise control, these bullets were exceptionally penetrating.
Facing Ampharos's shocked and confused gaze, Gu Yuan simply thought: Sir, the times have changed.
In the next second, Ampharos was knocked down by the hail of bullets, falling to the ground covered in blood and fainting. Its nightmare was only beginning, however. What awaited it next was a rotation of attacks from Sylveon, Annihilape, and Ditto.
By the time Gu Yuan left, Ampharos looked utterly hopeless. At that moment, it even began to consider retirement—giving up its position as overlord to find a remote place to hide.
"That is the message sent by the Hoenn League."
"Now, everyone, consider whether we should cooperate with them."
After speaking, Lance left time for the other three Elites to think. Since the council system was not yet fully refined, the Kanto League's major decisions were still determined by the Elite Four.
"The fluff doesn't matter. We only need to consider one thing: how much power we need to commit and what the return will be."
"If it's just some minor conveniences in certain areas, then I don't think it's necessary to cooperate with the Hoenn League."
Agatha gave her answer quickly. Relying on her vast experience, she directly pointed out the most critical part.
"The specifics of what we gain aren't clear yet, but the Hoenn League has promised that regardless of the outcome, the resources provided will satisfy us."
"As for the details, they will provide us with a list in three days," Lance explained.
"Then there's no problem. We can look for candidates first. Once the resource list arrives, we will send Trainers of corresponding strength based on it," Lorelei added.
"One more thing to note," Bruno spoke up, "No matter what, the Hoenn League must do its best to ensure the safety of our people and must not use them as bait."
"Otherwise, the Hoenn League should be prepared for war!"
Neither Lorelei nor Bruno had any intention of refusing. After all, the Leagues were meant to help each other. Even without those resources, the Kanto League would lend a hand when the Hoenn League was in need.
However, since rewards were involved now, it naturally required careful consideration. Furthermore, after the Kanto League had successively eradicated its internal threats, its strength had grown rapidly thanks to the captured resources. According to the Elite Four's estimates, it would take another month or two at most for the Kanto League to be completely revitalized. Therefore, they had sufficient power to offer support.
"Fine. In that case, I will draw up a corresponding plan based on everyone's requirements and then negotiate with the representatives of the Hoenn League."
"As for the specific candidates, I'll leave that to Dar under Elite Bruno. Given his previous experience in diplomacy, he should be able to gain the upper hand."
"No problem," Bruno agreed.
With that settled, the Elite Four began discussing other matters. A single cooperation issue wasn't enough to make them drop everything to hold a meeting.
In the afternoon, Dar received the specific plan. When he saw the representative from the Hoenn League, he was quite surprised; it turned out to be his old acquaintance, Bavi. Recalling their previous interactions, Dar decided to increase the demands in the original plan by fifty percent right from the start.
"No problem."
In the meeting room, Bavi agreed to Dar's conditions without any expression. He answered so quickly that Dar couldn't help but wonder if the man was a mole for their side.
"In that case, here's to a happy cooperation."
Thoughts aside, Dar wasn't going to let this opportunity slip and prepared to finalize the terms immediately.
"Wait a moment. We have one requirement: Gu Yuan must be among the supporting Trainers."
Bavi shook his head and stated his condition.
"I need to ask for instructions."
Finally understanding why Bavi had agreed so readily, Dar didn't rush to refuse. Instead, he reported the matter to the Elite Four.
Nowadays, Gu Yuan was being groomed as a successor to the Elite Four. In other words, once he broke through to the Champion rank and possessed sufficient strength, he would naturally become one of the Elite Four. Given the talent he had displayed, no one doubted whether he could reach that stage. To put it more boldly, the current Gu Yuan was already viewed as the person most likely to become the Kanto League Champion after Lance!
Therefore, even Dar did not have the authority to easily deploy Gu Yuan. The permission of the Elite Four was mandatory—especially since the place Gu Yuan was heading to this time was the Hoenn region, a place they had previously had conflicts with.