"This must be the place. Remember that the opponent is quite strong. Disperse and search. Signal me immediately if you find anything."
"Yes, sir!"
Upon receiving the order, the surrounding Team Rocket members immediately scattered.
Strolling through the forest, Bolton looked utterly confident.
Unlike a typical captain, he was a leader with quasi-Ace Rank strength.
If it weren't so difficult to break through to the Ace Rank, I would already be an Executive.
However, that moment was approaching quickly. As long as he could deal with the person in this area, the reward would be enough for Bolton to attempt the breakthrough to the Ace Rank.
Once successful, both his power and status would be greatly enhanced.
Thinking of this, a smile naturally appeared on Bolton's face.
For this operation, he had brought everyone he could trust and arrived before anyone else. He didn't believe anyone could compete with him!
Just as Bolton smiled, Gu Yuan couldn't help but smile too.
Unlike Bolton, Gu Yuan was smiling because Primeape had taken the final step, successfully breaking through to the Intermediate Rank, moving him one step closer to Rage Fist.
"Let's go, Primeape. It just so happens that people have arrived. This way, you can have a good battle to adapt to your new strength."
Once Primeape calmed down from the joy of its breakthrough, the smile on Gu Yuan's face turned into a cold smirk.
After Primeape was ready, Gu Yuan had Alakazam use Teleport.
After several consecutive Teleport uses, Gu Yuan appeared not far from Pete. Then, he walked out of the thicket with Primeape, deliberately passing by Pete and giving him a wary look.
Seeing the Intermediate Rank Primeape, Pete did not act rashly. Instead, he waited until Gu Yuan was far away before firing the signal flare.
Next, Pete planned to conceal himself and secretly follow the person until his leader arrived.
That was his intention, but unfortunately, Gu Yuan would not give him the chance.
Before Pete could successfully hide, Primeape charged forward, leading the way.
Sensing the frightening aura on Primeape, Pete did not hesitate and immediately released his Pokémon.
Regrettably, only an Intermediate Rank Arbok managed to rush in front of Primeape, while Alakazam intercepted the rest of his Pokémon.
Even Pete himself was restrained by Alakazam's psychic power.
Handing the remaining Junior Rank Weezing to Ditto, Gu Yuan began to interrogate Pete.
Judging by the signal flare that was just launched, it seemed like someone in Team Rocket was planning to target him.
"Ah!"
As the slow slicing method was implemented, Pete couldn't help but scream, which caught Arbok's attention.
Seizing this chance, Primeape's Cross Chop landed on Arbok.
The intense pain stimulated Arbok's ferocity, causing it to completely ignore Pete and shift all its focus to Primeape.
Relying on its slightly superior strength, Arbok quickly stabilized the situation and began to counterattack bit by bit.
Conversely, Ditto successfully defeated Weezing by employing its unpredictable battle tactics.
At the same time, Gu Yuan also obtained the information he wanted.
Bolton, quasi-Ace. No wonder he wants to capture me for a reward.
However, I am quite interested in you too. A leader should be able to provide more information.
With that thought, Gu Yuan completely activated the system's detection function.
Estimating the opponent's distance, Gu Yuan was in no hurry to stop Primeape's battle.
***
"Faster, Houndoom!"
Staring at the position where the signal flare rose, Bolton couldn't help but urge.
Houndoom glanced at Bolton, who was being carried by Crobat, and couldn't help but roll its eyes.
If you have the guts, come down and run yourself. Then we'll see who is urging whom.
Fortunately, with a sprint the entire way, Bolton still managed to arrive first, but all that awaited him was a corpse.
Twitching its nostrils, Houndoom found that it couldn't smell any unfamiliar scents.
Just as Houndoom was feeling confused, it suddenly realized that its own trainer had turned into a bald Alakazam!
What's going on? Am I too stressed and hallucinating?
First startled, Houndoom then realized something was wrong. Scorching flames burst forth directly, but Alakazam casually dodged with Teleport.
In return, Alakazam's Psychic rushed out, and Sylveon also darted out, using Hyper Voice to interfere with Houndoom.
Facing the pincer attack from Alakazam and Sylveon, Houndoom displayed its quasi-Ace Rank strength.
A fiercely burning Fire Blast shot out, blocking the attacks of Alakazam and Sylveon.
The next second, Charizard plunged down using Dragon Rush.
The three-way attack immediately put Houndoom at a disadvantage.
Detecting that more people were approaching, Gu Yuan didn't let Charizard and the others continue to fight. He directly took out Houndoom's Poké Ball, recalled it, and locked it away.
Without Bolton, the rest of the people were nothing to worry about and quickly became another accomplishment for Gu Yuan.
"Wake him up."
After tying up Bolton, Gu Yuan became somewhat impatient.
It wasn't that Gu Yuan had sadistic tendencies, but purely that he wanted to know why Team Rocket was targeting the Fuchsia Gym.
Stimulated by Alakazam's psychic power, Bolton sharply woke up.
Before he could clearly see his surroundings, he felt an intense pain rise from his arm.
Turning his head, Bolton saw a piece of flesh being shaved from his arm.
Stimulated by the pain, Bolton instinctively wanted to scream, but found that he couldn't make a sound.
Now, looking at the somewhat childish face before him, Bolton felt only rage burning, his eyes full of hatred.
But as his flesh was shaved off piece by piece, the hatred in Bolton's eyes gradually turned into terror.
"I'll give you a chance. As long as you can tell me the information I want, I might consider giving you a quick death. Otherwise, I will shave the flesh from your body little by little until you become a white skeleton."
Noticing Bolton's expression, Gu Yuan stopped his hand movements and slowly spoke to Bolton.
Nodding, Bolton dared not voice any objection.
The severe pain and massive blood loss caused Bolton's struggle to weaken significantly, and his lips turned pale.
Motioning for Alakazam to lift the restraints, Gu Yuan began his interrogation.
As a leader, Bolton did indeed know some inside information.
It was said that Team Rocket's reason for taking this action was to tie up the energy of the Fuchsia Gym.
The real purpose, however, was the Mind Lotus, a resource that could help people awaken psychic power or help Psychics break through their current level.
Casually, Gu Yuan asked Bolton for some other news and information. After ensuring nothing was missed, he delivered Bolton's final journey.
Standing on the spot, based on the information obtained from Bolton, Gu Yuan did not feel a sudden enlightenment; instead, he felt more confused.