Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Celebrate the city.

The Hoshino family's residence.

Ryuichi Hoshino's son is the gym leader of the Jumeirah City Gym, and the Hoshino family wields considerable power in Jumeirah City.

As one of the current Four Elite Four of the Sinnoh League, Hoshino Ryuichi usually likes to stay here when he has nothing to do, planting flowers and watering trees, living a quiet life.

But on this day.

An uninvited guest arrived at the Hoshino clan's residence.

Sitting in the garden, looking at the intelligence report in his hand, Hoshino Ryuichi, with a slightly furrowed brow, suddenly looked up at the corner of the wall.

His complexion changed slightly, but he quickly recovered.

He said with a smile, "King Kikuko, my Hoshino family also has its own gates."

"Jie Jie—"

But the only response he received was from a Gengar that emerged from the shadows in the corner.

He made a face at Hoshino Ryuichi, who was sitting in a chair.

Their playful and comical manner suggested they didn't take Hoshino Ryuichi seriously at all.

"Roar!"

However, while Gengar was making faces, a huge creature slowly emerged from an artificial desert ecosystem next to the mansion.

Its entire body is covered in a hard, dark green carapace. It has a ferocious appearance, spikes on its back, a triangular head, and eyes full of fighting spirit. It glares angrily at Gengar, who is provoking it in the corner.

This is Hoshino Ryuichi's ace Pokémon, one of the Elite Four, and undoubtedly the core of all his Pokémon.

King of Sandfalls, Bangilas!

Upon seeing Tyranitar appear, Gengar's playful expression slowly faded.

A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

Even if the opponent is a fully evolved pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Gengar shows no fear whatsoever.

Just as the two elves were facing off.

Hoshino Ryuichi, his face grim, stood up shakily from his chair and said in an aged but powerful voice:

"Kikuko, what do you mean by this?"

Outside the towering walls.

An old woman, leaning on a cane and wearing an apron, was hunched over.

He slowly raised his head.

Although the two hadn't actually met in person, Kikuko knew that Hoshino Ryuichi was definitely looking in her direction.

A sinister smile slowly appeared on her wrinkled face, making the wrinkles even more noticeable.

Kikuko didn't say anything.

But the Gengar inside the wall moved.

"Jie Jie!"

All I saw was...

Gengar's already dark body seemed to become even shinier, as if the surrounding light was being absorbed.

And its four-dimensional space is opened.

One after another, dark shadows flew out of its body and from its four-dimensional space.

Gastly, Gastly, Misdreavus, Misdreavus, Cursed Doll, Dusknoir...

Various Ghost-type Pokémon appeared one by one.

The sheer number of them made Hoshino Ryuichi's scalp tingle.

Although Bangiras beside him did not show any fear, he genuinely felt at a loss when faced with such a formidable force.

Kikuko's signboard.

Ghost Legion!

Hundreds and thousands of Ghost-type Pokémon are linked together.

Like a huge black curtain, it completely enveloped the backyard where Hoshino Ryuichi was.

The transition from day to night is but a fleeting moment.

From the outside, all you could see was a dark shadow looming over the backyard of the Hoshino clan's residence.

Unfortunately.

Ryuichi Hoshino prefers quiet, so there were almost no people around and no one noticed what was happening here.

Meanwhile, within the Ghost Legion.

Ryuichi Hoshino now has two more Poké Balls in his hand.

His palms, slightly sweaty, were tightly gripping two Poké Balls.

He did not summon them immediately.

He took a deep breath, his tone softening considerably.

"Elite Four member, as one of the Elite Four members of the Kanto region, do you know what it means that you would attack a Sinnoh Elite Four member like me?"

Although the tone had softened, the underlying threat was even more pronounced.

"Oh--"

His response was a low chuckle full of sarcasm and disdain.

Kikuko's voice was like a command.

The entire Ghost Legion mobilized.

Ryuichi Hoshino's expression also changed drastically, and he quickly threw the Poké Ball in his hand without hesitation.

Boom boom boom—

The muffled sounds were like firecrackers exploding underwater.

From the outside, one can vaguely see sand and gravel flying out from between the densely packed gaps of the ghostly legion.

However, these measures did not have much effect on Ghost-type Pokémon.

The muffled thud lasted for about half an hour.

"Jie Jie!"

With a shout from Gengar, the leader's army quickly regrouped, and night returned to day.

Gengar stuck its tongue out at Hoshino Ryuichi again in the yard—or rather, the yard—before crawling over the wall and lifting Kikuko up...

slipped.

Only Kikuko's words remained.

"If you're not satisfied, bring your Sinnoh team to Kanto, and we'll fight you! But if you ignore my words again and lay a finger on that kid... I, Kikuko, am all alone... Hmph!"

Kikuko was all alone.

But Ryuichi Hoshino is different.

The threat here is far more deadly than the threat Hoshino Ryuichi made to Kikuko before.

"Father!"

The latecomer, Hoshino Ryuma, is the son of Hoshino Ryuichi, the gym leader of Jumeirah City.

He jogged to the backyard.

When he saw the backyard of the Hoshino clan's residence, he was completely stunned.

This place no longer resembles a garden at all.

Not to mention the loss of the courtyard walls, flowerbeds, and lake, the fact that the entire ground has sunk several tens of centimeters is also noteworthy.

But his father, a Heavenly King who usually paid great attention to his appearance, looked extremely disheveled at this moment.

His hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, and even his most prized cane was broken in two.

Supporting the heavily panting Tyranitar, who bore numerous wounds, several other Pokémon lay on the ground, incapacitated from battle.

To be honest, Hoshino Ryuuma had never seen his father so disheveled.

He rushed forward to help her up.

But Hoshino Ryuichi brushed it away.

His face, covered in dust, was shrouded in gloom, but deep in his eyes, without even his own notice, lurked something called "fear."

"First it was Kikuno, and now it's Kikuko. Do you really think I'm easy to bully?" Hoshino Ryuichi said through gritted teeth.

“Kikuko? Kikuko the King?” Hoshino Ryuma was taken aback when he heard his words.

He hurriedly asked, "Father, should we tell him about this...?"

As he spoke, he pointed upwards.

Ryuichi Hoshino took a deep breath.

His expression, which had been almost contorted, quickly returned to calm.

This composure and emotional control are testament to his decades of life experience.

If it weren't for his truly disheveled appearance, one would probably think that nothing had happened.

Looking at Hoshino Ryuma, he slowly said:

“Just say that I was researching new tactics and hadn’t quite got it under control yet, so people don’t need to panic.”

"this......"

"Also, have your people over there keep an eye on that kid's whereabouts, but don't make a move!" As he spoke, he slapped the intelligence report, which he had already crumpled into a ball, onto Hoshino Ryuuma's chest.

But when Hoshino Ryuma unfolded the paper and saw what was on it, his eyes suddenly narrowed.