Dark Hunters Qing Mu

A relatively remote area of the Johto Region.

It was a vast yet somewhat barren land, with sparse grass and trees scattered across the ground, making it look bare and desolate.

The earth carried a faintly impoverished hue, as though life itself had become thin and fragile here.

Fortunately, several winding streams ran through the area, gurgling as they flowed and bringing a trace of life and vitality to the land, lending this seemingly desolate place a different kind of charm.

Quite a number of Pokémon also lived here.

Places with slightly scarce resources often saw many conflicts break out, and this place was no exception. Everyone struggled for their own survival.

Yet at this moment, the Pokémon here were all filled with righteous indignation, united against a common enemy.

Because standing across from them was a force that could threaten the entire area.

Opposite these Pokémon stood a man wearing a hat and formal attire. His face was sharply defined, his nose high and straight, and his narrow, deep-set eyes held an undisguised chill.

Behind the man stood another group of people. They held weapons and looked somewhat like proper soldiers, but their lazy, arrogant expressions made it clear that they were not soldiers held in respect.

Though it was unclear who these people were, the emblem on their chests revealed their identity.

A deep midnight disc, primarily black and silver, with the sharp, elegant outline of a wolf's head at its center. The wolf's eyes were set with faintly gleaming gemstones, surrounded by a ring of small yet sharp claw marks.

Their identity was obvious—"Dark Hunters."

A group of criminals specializing in capturing valuable Pokémon. Rumor had it that, given enough money, they would even dare attempt to capture Legendary Pokémon.

Their traces could be found across every region, and capturing and trading rare Pokémon was their main business.

The leading man answered a call. Once the communication ended, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips, carrying an indescribable pressure and threat.

Still, compared to those vicious criminals, this man behaved rather normally. He seemed more like he was hiding something behind a disguise.

"Boys, the target has appeared. Draw it out."

At the man's command, the group behind him began to move.

They released their Pokémon—Rattata, Pidgeot, Muk, Arbok, Forretress...

These Pokémon all had powerful auras. It was obvious they had been trained well, probably around level sixty.

But their gazes were exceptionally savage, their temperaments violent, and they showed no mercy in battle.

Under the siege of these Pokémon, the Pokémon living here had no chance to fight back at all.

On one side were powerful Pokémon around levels fifty or sixty; on the other were low-level Pokémon surviving in the wild. There was no need to guess the outcome of the battle.

Yet even with such a vast gap in strength, these wild Pokémon had no intention of surrendering. Though they usually fought openly and schemed against one another, when their home was invaded, they united one after another.

For no other reason than that, small as this place was, it was still somewhere they needed to protect.

They were Pokémon that struggled in the wild. Even if their levels were lacking, they dared to fight and risk everything.

But the result of their resistance was naturally still too horrible to look at.

Some Pokémon with excessively large level gaps were instantly defeated in just a few blows. Those with less of a gap gritted their teeth and held on, but they still could not escape defeat.

Fortunately, those Pokémon did not strike ruthlessly and would not kill them, perhaps because of someone's orders.

Nidoking, the strongest Pokémon in the area, was already over level fifty. Yet when facing these higher-level Pokémon, even though he could sense that they did not truly possess strength matching their levels, he still found himself unable to cope.

With the guns in those people's hands interfering as well, Nidoking could not hold out for long.

Human machine-gun fire would not pose a fatal threat to Pokémon with such powerful vitality, but injuries and bleeding were unavoidable. If the ammunition also contained paralytic drugs, it would only make matters worse.

As his companions fell one after another, Nidoking clearly realized that continuing like this would be nothing more than courting death.

Behind the battling Pokémon were young and weak Pokémon. They were terrified, and some had already begun to cry.

Among them was a Nidoran♀, Nidoking's daughter, who appeared relatively calm.

In truth, she was only calm on the surface. Inside, she was already panicking beyond measure.

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She knew Nidoking was in bad shape. She should not panic like the other Pokémon and make her father worry.

The situation did not look good. What should she do now?

"Nido, Nido! Go, Dad!" Nidoran♀ shouted loudly. Every time she had called out like this in the past, Nidoking would suddenly become incredibly fired up. Several times, he had even successfully driven away Pokémon that came to challenge them.

Hearing his daughter's voice, Nidoking's fading fighting spirit suddenly surged again, and his mind became much clearer.

Nidoking evaded the other Pokémon while slowly moving closer to the group of people.

Having survived in the wild for many years, Nidoking understood well the principle of capturing the leader first. The situation was terrible now, but if he could take out those people who commanded the Pokémon and used their guns to interfere, things would improve greatly for his side.

If he could eliminate the enemy leader, that would naturally be even better. Taking down the leader would definitely deal the other side a severe blow.

Unfortunately, a Pokémon's thoughts were simply too easy to read. Every movement Nidoking made was plainly visible to the other side.

"Boss, look. That Nidoking seems like he wants to come over and take us out," a subordinate beside him said with a smile.

The leading man's expression did not change in the slightest.

His name was Qing Mu. He was the Fifth Leader of the Dark Hunters and the chief planner behind this operation.

The Johto Region was not their main area of activity and was far from headquarters. By all rights, he should not have been involved in this operation. He had only come here to bring a group of brothers back to his hometown for some rest.

But the previous Articuno Incident had gone wrong, and it had actually escaped. The boss had been furious.

It was said that the person chiefly responsible for that operation had already been assassinated. The identity of the killer went without saying.

Qing Mu had nothing but contempt for that failed operation and felt no sympathy whatsoever for the unfortunate person in charge.

There was no room for much sympathy in their line of work. Ruthlessness was the only standard for getting things done.

That person's failure had cost him his vacation, so Qing Mu's mood was easy to imagine.

Still, with him personally taking action, this operation would surely be foolproof.

In truth, even if he failed, his position as the Fifth Leader would not bring him any deadly consequences. But he was not that pessimistic. This operation would definitely succeed—the flag had been planted, and no one could stop it.

He was quite confident about dealing with Raikou alone, unless Raikou called for backup. But the other two Sacred Beasts should not be able to arrive so quickly.

Though he was deep in thought, Qing Mu's eyes remained fixed on the battlefield at all times.

Nidoking was already very close to them.

After dodging an Arbok's attack, Nidoking suddenly leaped forward and landed before Qing Mu.

Then came an Ice Punch.

Most of Nidoking's strength had been condensed into that punch. Its power was astonishing, and it came so fast that it was almost impossible to dodge.

Nidoking hardened his heart. He wanted this man's life. You were the ones who provoked us first.

Qing Mu remained expressionless. Facing the fist about to strike his face, he made no unnecessary movements. From the others' perspective, he looked somewhat like he had been scared stupid.

Nidoking thought so too, but was shocked the next second.

A protective barrier had suddenly formed out of thin air before the man. Nidoking's fist struck the barrier and failed to harm him.

Then, from behind his shadow, a large purple-black Pokémon suddenly appeared—Gengar.

That barrier had been this Gengar's Protect.

No wonder Qing Mu had not feared Nidoking's punch at all. His Pokémon had been right beside him.

Then Gengar fired a Shadow Ball, striking Nidoking.

Already at the end of its strength, Nidoking naturally could not withstand that attack and crashed to the ground.

This time, it had lost.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a deafening peal of thunder.

Qing Mu smiled.

The target had appeared.