A chilling wind whispered through the narrow alley, lending an eerie and unsettling air to the deserted street.
Not far from there, inside a small safehouse, Ray — a cold and skilled Pokémon hunter — had just returned from a brief excursion. After thoroughly inspecting the room and confirming no one had entered in his absence, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Ray looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, still in his youth, but few could guess how many had already fallen by his hand.
After all, to survive as a Pokémon hunter, bloodshed was inevitable.
Especially when it came to Alliance trainers who lacked strength and experience — they were prime prey in the eyes of people like Ray.
Leaning back in his chair, Ray was deep in thought. The police were closing in, and the longer this dragged out, the more he risked losing access to Carl's hidden resources.
Still, Ray had to admit the two rival hunters — the brothers — were strong. Taking them on solo would be a gamble.
So, he pulled out his phone and logged into a covert mercenary site — the same one Jack, also known as Ghost Fox, used to accept and take jobs.
Ray began browsing profiles, looking for someone with the right balance of price, speed, and efficiency. But just as he was narrowing down his options—
Boom!
The explosion ripped through the safehouse.
Gastly, hidden in the shadows, had waited until Ray entered the room to place the bomb. The moment the hunter let down his guard, it was already too late.
The blast was fatal. Ray didn't even have time to react.
From the darkness, Gastly reappeared and floated through the scorched ruins, retrieving Poké Balls and looting the few resources that remained. The only salvageable items were the Pokémon — everything else had been reduced to ashes.
"Boss, are you sure Ghost Fox will come this way?" one of the two brothers asked nervously on the outskirts of town.
"Absolutely," the older brother said confidently, eyes scanning the horizon. He didn't share the source of his intel.
The two crouched in silence, prepared to ambush their prey.
As skilled hunters themselves, they felt confident they could bring down even an elite-level mercenary.
But before they could act—
BOOM!
Explosives hidden beneath their feet detonated with surgical precision.
Their bodies were thrown into the air and hit the ground lifelessly. While their Pokémon survived the blast, they were rendered unconscious and unable to battle.
From the shadows, the cloaked figure of Jack — Ghost Fox — emerged. Gastly floated beside him, its tongue lashing out to paralyze the remaining Pokémon. One by one, Jack collected their Poké Balls.
They weren't rare Pokémon, but each would fetch between 10,000 and 20,000 Alliance Coins — a small fortune to someone with only 100,000 in savings.
Just as Jack secured his loot, footsteps echoed behind him.
"As expected of the Ghost Fox," came a calm voice. "You took out two veteran hunters without breaking a sweat."
It was Captain Tobita, accompanied by the young officer. He looked serious — but wary.
"If I were you," Tobita continued, "I'd be more careful with your bombs. Less damage means more profit. Not that it matters now."
He stepped closer, but made no sudden movements. The ghost-type Pokémon beside Jack had him on edge.
Tobita knew better than to underestimate Gastly.
With its gaseous body, Gastly could vanish into thin air, sneak into buildings, and poison prey from the inside out. Just inhaling its toxic fumes could knock a person unconscious.
Attacking it head-on — even with his elite Growlithe — was a huge risk. Fire plus gas? That was a disaster waiting to happen.
But what made Tobita's blood run cold wasn't the Pokémon — it was what Jack did next.
Gastly floated toward the black-cloaked figure… and pulled the hood back.
It wasn't Jack.
It was a decoy — a crude robot without even a layer of artificial skin.
It was a trap.
Tobita's eyes widened in alarm. "We're getting out of here! Now!"
He grabbed the rookie and turned to flee, but—
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the street just behind them. Jack had anticipated their approach and rigged the area.
This time, he had used four bombs — more than enough to seriously injure even an elite-level Growlithe.