Targeted Florges

After receiving the invitation from Reggie, Yuga took three days before setting off. He still had enough time, so he made sure all the matters at the shop were properly delegated before departing.

Yuga didn't need to worry much about YoYo Day Care's current situation.

Audino managed the overall situation in the Ecopark. In the old shop, Windy and Suzuki Koen handled both online and offline tasks. In the new shop, Arata Sena focused on selling Pokémon eggs, while Misaki was responsible for crafting Pokéblocks. Everything was well-organized.

Unlike his previous trip to Johto, this time Yuga opted for a flight to Sinnoh instead of a ship.

Verdanturf Town was located on the outskirts, but it was relatively small. Yuga decided to walk there directly.

During his journey, Yuga suddenly felt that something was following him. Swiftly turning around, he spotted a colorful figure dart into the nearby bushes. Yuga didn't need any further explanation.

"Come out! I've already seen you," Yuga called out to the bushes.

However, the thing inside the bushes didn't come out. Growing impatient, Yuga walked over, cleared away the undergrowth, and pulled out Chatot.

"I've already seen you, so why hide?" Yuga scolded with irritation.

"Hehehe, I thought you were trying to trick me!" Chatot flapped its wings, attempting to break free from Yuga's grasp.

"Didn't I tell you not to come? How did you secretly sneak after me? Does your wife know?" Yuga let go of it and asked angrily.

Yuga's barrage of three questions left Chatot flustered. "Of course I can't let her know, otherwise, why would I follow you?"

"And you said you're not here to avoid your wife? Look at you now!" Yuga looked at it disdainfully.

"Alright, stop berating me. Let's just get going already," Chatot said with a tone of relief at regaining its freedom.

Seeing that it had followed him all the way here, Yuga decided not to shoo it away and continued on his journey.

However, Yuga and Chatot hadn't walked for long before a black car pulled over, stopping them.

Soon, two individuals emerged from the car—a man and a woman.

The man was middle-aged and slightly overweight with thinning hair on top.

The woman, wearing an all-black windbreaker and black sunglasses, had silver-white hair.

"Kid, I heard you have a Pokémon named Florges. Hand it over!" The woman spoke, clearly the leader of the duo.

"Hunter J, it's you!" Yuga couldn't help but blurt out as he looked at the two before him.

"Hunter J? You mean me? That's a good name. Maybe I'll change my name to Hunter J in the future! J! It's a fantastic name for a Pokémon hunter like me," the woman said joyfully.

???? Yuga was utterly confused! Wasn't she Hunter J? Did he mistake her for someone else? But this was exactly how Hunter J looked!

It couldn't be that her name had changed, right? Did he inadvertently give her a new name?

The current Hunter J appeared to be around the same age as Steven and his group, roughly in her early twenties. She didn't seem significantly different from the original Hunter J Yuga remembered. He was certain he hadn't mistaken her identity.

"Given your knack for naming, hand over Florges and I'll let you leave safely," Hunter J stated.

"Who are you? Leave if you know what's good for you. We're not easy to mess with."

Before Yuga could speak, Chatot began to squawk.

At this point, Yuga felt that this foolish bird had truly lost its senses. Did it think Hunter J was just an ordinary person? She was the only true antagonist he recalled from the series, ruthless to both Pokémon and humans.

"Oh, look, it's a chatty Chatot. Seems like it could be a valuable commodity as well." Hunter J looked at Chatot with interest.

Under Hunter J's gaze, Chatot involuntarily shivered and stammered, "What do you want?"

Yuga knew that things couldn't end well today. Hunter J wouldn't let him pass unscathed, and he couldn't just surrender Florges obediently.

Silently, Yuga released Florges, Absol, and Chimecho.

"Chimecho, during the battle, make sure to use Heal Pulse to support Florges and Absol. I might not have time to give you instructions later," Yuga instructed Chimecho in advance.

Controlling two Pokémon at once was already Yuga's limit. So, since Chimecho was focused entirely on support, Yuga could only hope it would adapt on its own.

"Chi-mecho, Chi-mecho."

Chimecho seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and nodded firmly.

"It seems you're not planning to cooperate willingly." Seeing Yuga release his Pokémon, Hunter J remarked.

Simultaneously, she and her male companion released their own Pokémon.

Hunter J sent out an Ariados. Her henchman released a Crobat.

...

<<Ariados>>

Type: Bug/Poison

Ability: Sniper

Gender: Female

Potential: Green

Level: 61

Moves: Swords Dance, Focus Energy, Toxic Spikes, Pin Missile, Poison Sting, String Shot, Scary Face, Pursuit, Poison Jab

...

<<Crobat>>

Type: Poison/Flying

Ability: Inner Focus

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 42

Moves: Cross Poison, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack, Air Slash, Poison Fang, Confuse Ray, Mean Look

...

After reviewing the data on the two Pokémon in front of him, Yuga sighed. Hunter J truly lived up to her future reputation as the head of a notorious hunter organization. This Ariados was exceptionally powerful, already approaching the level of an Elite Four member.

No wonder Hunter J was bold enough to openly steal Pokémon. With just this Ariados, the majority of trainers wouldn't stand a chance against her.

However, Yuga was completely mistaken.

This Ariados used to be Hunter J's father's ace Pokémon. Her father, the leader of a relatively large Pokémon hunting organization in the Hoenn region, had unexpectedly passed away not long ago. Hunter J had inherited this Ariados from him in an attempt to prove her worth as his successor.

Her father's death resulted from a confrontation with Salamence, which Yuga and his companions had encountered on a train. Unfortunately, her father's followers all perished in that operation, leading to the disbandment of the hunting organization. The only remaining members were Hunter J and her current subordinate.

This subordinate was one of the three individuals Yuga had seen accompanying Hunter J on the train. Sadly, the other two had fallen victim to Salamence's fury.

Recently, with the heat dying down from the train incident, they had resumed their malicious activities.

The introduction of Hunter J's two Poison-type Pokémon was disadvantageous for the Fairy-type Florges. Furthermore, Ariados was significantly stronger than both Florges and Absol. Yuga could feel a headache coming on just thinking about it.

Why would Hunter J inexplicably target his Florges?

Hunter J's appearance this time would mark her final appearance before the start of the animated series.