Under the continuous scorching of the flames, Arbok became increasingly precarious. Listening to the constant screams in its ears and feeling the waves of heat, Fidel had already begun to harbor thoughts of retreat. However, there was a critical problem: what exactly could he do to escape?
Machamp had already been crushed. The only reason Fidel remained unharmed was that his Ace Rank Pokémon were holding the line, supplemented by Arbok's assistance. Yet even if Machamp still possessed the ability to fight, the opponent had Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon. Even if he sacrificed some of his Pokémon as a distraction, escaping would be impossible.
Thinking of this, Fidel couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
"I surrender!"
Once his subordinates were nearly wiped out, Fidel stopped leaving things to chance and chose to surrender directly. However, Gu Yuan acted as if he hadn't heard, still letting Alakazam and the others launch a final assault to eliminate everyone except for Fidel.
Seeing this, the despair in Fidel's heart grew even thicker. The massive gap in strength meant the opponent wasn't worried at all about him attempting a desperate struggle.
In the front, Charizard released Blast Burn once more, directly engulfing Arbok. Immediately after, Charizard used Dragon Rush to descend from the sky, colliding with Arbok while kicking up a massive cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Charizard was seen gripping the unconscious Arbok before casually tossing it aside.
Looking at the menacing Charizard, Fidel suddenly felt a surge of courage, preparing to meet a heroic death.
"Hand over everything you have, and I can spare your life."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, sounding like heavenly music to Fidel's ears. Once a person has a way out, they can no longer summon the courage they had before. Hurriedly throwing out everything on his person, Fidel waited quietly for Gu Yuan's judgment.
"Tell me all the valuable information you know. If the value is high enough, there's no reason I can't spare your life."
Walking out slowly, Gu Yuan asked in a professional manner. The reason Gu Yuan kept Fidel alive was simply to have more prominent evidence when proving his merits in the future.
"Yes, yes, yes! I know the whereabouts of several poaching groups with strength similar to mine."
To Gu Yuan's surprise, Fidel actually possessed some information that was useful to him. In fact, when Gu Yuan walked out, Fidel had already recognized his identity. There was no helping it; the previous Regional Battle Tournament had been promoted so well that even Fidel knew of Gu Yuan's existence and his formidable strength.
Upon learning he had lost to Gu Yuan, Fidel felt much better. He also believed that such a person would surely keep his word, so he quickly relayed the intelligence he knew.
Through Fidel's narration, Gu Yuan understood the situation. Just half a month ago, a man named Junshan had contacted Fidel, stating they wanted to take action against an Elite Rank Altaria. Like Fidel, Junshan only possessed Leader Rank strength, and his poaching group was not much stronger than Fidel's.
The reason Junshan proposed this plan was entirely because that Altaria was about to lay eggs. After giving birth, the Altaria would enter a period of weakness, which was why Junshan wanted to strike. However, Junshan also knew that with his strength alone, he couldn't take down even a weakened Altaria. As an Elite Rank Pokémon, Altaria had many Leader Rank subordinates.
To ensure success, Junshan contacted three poaching groups, including Fidel's, all of which were roughly equal in strength. With their combined forces, there was a high probability of taking down the weakened Altaria. As for how the final spoils would be divided, that would depend on their respective abilities.
Fidel did not refuse Junshan's invitation and exchanged contact information with him. When the appointed time arrived, Junshan would inform Fidel where to meet; this was Junshan's way of preventing any poaching group from getting there first. Furthermore, the agreed-upon time was only a few days away.
Fidel had originally planned to rest after finishing his current job before meeting Junshan, but he hadn't expected to be discovered by Gu Yuan.
"Very well. You have proven your value. Now, stay by my side quietly. When it's time to gather, you will be responsible for contacting Junshan. Understood?"
Nodding in satisfaction, Gu Yuan gave Fidel his instructions.
"Yes! I understand!"
Nodding, Fidel couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Judging by Gu Yuan's tone, his life was saved.
After notifying Chika to come and clean up the battlefield, Gu Yuan prepared to take Fidel along. Chika had no objections to this; Elite Four Agatha's instructions were to satisfy Gu Yuan's requests and avoid interfering with his actions as much as possible. Therefore, Chika didn't care how Gu Yuan planned to handle it. Of course, Gu Yuan would have to bear the results alone, whether they were successful or not.
Consequently, Fidel experienced a life similar to a pig's over the next few days. Although Gu Yuan was confident Fidel couldn't escape his grasp, he didn't want Fidel witnessing his true strength or certain hidden trump cards. Furthermore, Gu Yuan didn't trust Fidel to cook. So, until Junshan notified them to gather, Fidel's "job" consisted of being knocked unconscious by Gu Yuan or Alakazam, then woken up just to eat.
As the days passed, Fidel felt he had gained at least five pounds. Fortunately, Junshan didn't keep Fidel waiting too long, otherwise Fidel feared he would turn into a fat pig. Under Gu Yuan's surveillance, Fidel successfully learned the meeting location.
"You did well. Once I deal with them, I will fulfill my previous promise."
Without waiting for Fidel to respond, Gu Yuan signaled Alakazam to knock him unconscious. Activating Teleport, Gu Yuan moved toward the location Junshan had sent.
In fact, the moment he heard the Elite Rank Pokémon was an Altaria, Gu Yuan had already made a rough guess, as the forest where that Altaria resided was one of the locations Gu Yuan had planned for his trials.
Since the information matched, Gu Yuan no longer doubted whether Fidel was deceiving him. What Gu Yuan needed to consider now was how to deal with the other three poaching groups. According to Fidel, each of their leaders should be similar to him in strength, possessing two Leader Rank Pokémon.
Specifically, as the leader, Junshan might be stronger than Fidel imagined, perhaps even possessing Elite Rank strength since he dared to invite three other poaching groups. Therefore, the best way was to let them strike the wild Pokémon first to exhaust their combat power, and then he would step in as the "mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Of course, to ensure total success, Gu Yuan would also notify the Forest Rangers to ensure these poaching groups were completely wiped out.