After the representative from the Kobe Company finished speaking, the head of the Cotton family fell into a rare silence. Although he appeared hot-headed, he was by no means brainless.
These two were clearly engaging in some backroom deal, conspiring to set him up. Yet, Cotton felt neither anger nor a sense of danger, primarily because the relationship between the three families was incredibly complex. One day the Kurata and Kobe families might be hand in glove, only to join the Cotton family the next day in denouncing the Kobe family as subhuman.
Such alliances had occurred countless times. There were no absolute allies; unity only appeared when one party became too powerful. Reflecting on it, the Cotton family's growth in recent years had indeed been quite rapid, which explained why the Kurata and Kobe families were now aligning.
The one constant was that these three families would never allow a family or enterprise of equal strength to emerge. This was their bottom line. Whenever a potential threat surfaced, the three would set everything aside and cooperate to suppress the rising star. This was exactly why, despite their long histories, these families were still suppressed by the Elite Four.
Understanding the mechanics behind this, the Cotton family had no intention of backing down. At the very least, they couldn't show weakness now.
"The Cotton family will provide support for the next ambush, but this does not mean the Fukuda family can stay on the sidelines. The same goes for the other families; this will be our long-awaited joint operation."
"If we still fail, perhaps we should consider how to stimulate our respective potential and vitality."
Having said his piece, the Cotton family head did not hesitate and cut the video feed. The heads of the Kurata and Kobe families followed suit immediately.
After silently hanging up, Tatao Fukuda fell into deep thought. From the current situation, the Cotton family was serious this time; they intended to use Gu Yuan's death to demonstrate their power. However, they were also clever enough to drag everyone else down with them. This way, if the League retaliated, the Cotton family wouldn't suffer too much loss.
Yet, Tatao Fukuda had just tasted the sweetness of the plot against Gu Yuan and was unwilling to give it up. Fortunately, the Kurata and Kobe families were not of one mind with Cotton, giving him room to maneuver. As for whether he could successfully pull chestnuts from the fire next time, it would depend on whether Gu Yuan could hold out. If things became impossible, he would have no choice but to send Gu Yuan to hell himself.
While Tatao Fukuda was plotting, Gu Yuan emerged from the training room after a long period of frantic training to catch his breath.
Through this "demon class" training, Charizard's strength had grown once more. Sylveon and the others were also getting closer to the Leader Rank. Influenced by Charizard, Ceruledge and the rest of the secondary team had successfully broken through to the Ace Rank. By the time they reached the Unova region, Gu Yuan could even have Ceruledge and the others take the field.
By then, Sylveon and the primary team would likely take the final step into the Leader Rank, which would surely give a "surprise" to those planning to assassinate him. However, Gu Yuan understood that while a Leader Rank was strong to his past self, it was insufficient against his current enemies. It would only allow him to survive longer during an ambush.
Notably, Fraxure and his companions had stepped into the Senior Rank. Unfortunately, Fraxure still had a long way to go before evolving into Haxorus. Breaking into the Senior Rank merely allowed him to learn the powerful boosting move Swords Dance.
Dreepy was in an even tougher spot. Not only was it far from its first evolution, but it also had few moves it could learn. This was the sorrow of being a pseudo-legendary Pokémon; even with a mountain of resources to ensure growth wasn't too slow, it still couldn't exert overwhelming power yet.
Fortunately, the cooperation between Fraxure and Dreepy was growing stronger. Once they completed their final evolutions, this duo would be a sharp spear capable of piercing any defense.
In contrast, Hattrem and Carkol had both completed their final evolutions. Their details were as follows:
Pokémon: Hatterene
Gender: Female
Ability: Healer
Strength: Senior Rank
Type: Psychic, Fairy
Level-up Moves: Confusion, Play Nice, Life Dew, Brutal Swing, Aromatic Mist, Psybeam, Heal Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Calm Mind, Psycho Cut
TM Moves: Swift, Magical Leaf, Stored Power, Psyshock, Thunder Wave, Skill Swap, Trick, Psychic Terrain, Misty Terrain, Trick Room, Helping Hand, Baton Pass, Hyper Beam
Egg Moves: Quash, Mystical Fire, After You
Pokémon: Coalossal
Gender: Male
Ability: Steam Engine
Strength: Senior Rank
Type: Rock, Fire
Level-up Moves: Tackle, Smokescreen, Rapid Spin, Flame Charge, Smack Down, Rock Polish, Ancient Power, Incinerate, Tar Shot, Stealth Rock, Heat Crash
TM Moves: Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Bulldoze, Body Slam, Body Press, Iron Defense, Rock Tomb, Sunny Day, Endure, Spikes, Iron Head, Power Gem, Will-O-Wisp, Heat Wave, Protect, Take Down, Earth Power, Earthquake, Overheat, Heavy Slam
Egg Moves: Explosion, Mud-Slap, Block
After evolving, Hatterene's appearance changed drastically. She had become a fully humanoid Pokémon, colored in pink and white. She looked like a noble lady wearing a hat and a long dress, with a claw-like shape extending from the hat. She looked as if a little girl had finally grown into a mature, goddess-tier woman.
Coalossal, on the other hand, now stood on two legs. The coal originally carried on its back had moved to the top of its head. Coalossal had a large mouth filled with thermal energy. Its entire body appeared to be composed of stone, with protruding parts on its shoulders. The coal on its head glowed red, as if it were burning. Unfortunately, its arms and legs were quite short.
Now that Hatterene had evolved, she could no longer be held in Gu Yuan's arms like before. Her height change was staggering, reaching 2.1 meters in one go—and that was just her average height. Under Gu Yuan's specialized care, she would likely grow even taller. Fortunately, with Gu Yuan's comfort, Hatterene gradually accepted her new height.
Coalossal was even more extreme, standing at 2.8 meters. It would easily break the 3-meter mark in the future, claiming the title of the tallest Pokémon in Gu Yuan's team.
Would you like me to start the next chapter to see how Gu Yuan utilizes his newly evolved Hatterene and Coalossal in their first battle in the Unova region?