The forest paths were wide and open, bathed in soft sunlight that filtered gently through the spaces between the branches. The light gave everything a bright, almost serene clarity.
Shiro walked across a thin carpet of fallen leaves. After about five minutes, he began to hear voices up ahead. One of them was familiar; it sounded like the traveling merchant, Renji.
"Come on. What kind of crappy info costs twenty thousand Pokédollars? Are you trying to rob me?" A younger voice, filled with frustration, snapped out.
"Hmph... Someone already bought it last night. After hearing it, he even gave me two Pokémon on top of the payment. Now you tell me if it's worth it. Do you really think those hunters came to Galar just to catch wild Pokémon?"
"That..." The young voice hesitated. He didn't seem convinced by the merchant's words.
Before Macro Cosmos' black market officially opened, wandering merchants like this were everywhere in the wild. Their reputation for scams and tricks was well known.
As Shiro strode closer, the sound of his cloak brushing against the bushes caught the attention of the two men.
Renji was still wearing his pale green cloak, face fully covered. The younger man was dressed similarly. Aside from their voices, it was hard to tell them apart.
They were leaning against separate trees when both glanced at Shiro and, in unison, muttered, "That's the guy from yesterday…"
Shiro exchanged a brief look with the younger one, and realized this man was the same one who had tried to buy a Water-type Pokémon from Renji the day before.
"Changed your mind, brother? Looking to buy some info too? Not expensive, just twenty thousand..." Renji raised his voice proudly.
Shiro came to a stop and eyed him calmly. "What if I don't like the info?"
"Well..." Renji shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone thinks differently. Some people were really happy with it. If you don't think it's good, that's out of my hands. Information out here in the wild is always a gamble, wouldn't you agree?"
"Heh, what I mean is, if your info turns out to be something everyone already knows, like how the hunters from outside are working with the Wild Area Elite Four, and nothing else, what then?"
Shiro stared hard at the merchant.
Renji glanced back and forth between him and the young man. He seemed to realize that Shiro had seen through his game. After a short pause, he simply admitted it.
"Alright, fine. I admit it. I'm just out here trying to make some quick cash. I don't actually know any inside info."
He leaned back against the tree again, unbothered, as if confessing a lie was no big deal.
The young man looked stunned at first, then glared at Renji and cursed, "You damn crooked merchant!"
"Buy it or don't," Renji replied lazily, not even bothering to look at him. He turned his attention back to Shiro, voice dripping with sarcasm. "My apologies, friend. No business today."
With that, he turned and walked off without a care. He wasn't worried about being attacked. The space between the three of them was at least five meters, giving plenty of time to react.
The younger man had already placed a hand on the Poké Ball at his waist, but in the end, he didn't make a move. He simply stood there, watching the merchant disappear into the woods. He knew he wouldn't win in a fight against that slippery bastard. A moment later, he snorted and left in the opposite direction.
Shiro shook his head and continued in the direction he was heading.
Not long after, a voice called out from behind the trees nearby.
"You're with Macro Cosmos, aren't you?"
Shiro turned his gaze at the sound. Renji hadn't left at all, with half of his body hidden behind a tree, the man was watching him with a shady, unsettling stare.
"Who exactly are you?" Shiro frowned, growing suspicious of this strange merchant who seemed to have no clear goal.
In a Galar where most of the region was already under Macro Cosmos' control, and where all underground dealings were dominated by the company's black market, someone still working as a traveling merchant was odd enough. But this one even used a Kanto name, and showed up just as those foreign Pokémon hunters began to appear…
"Are you with the Hunters Guild too?" He asked coldly. "Pretending to be a merchant while spying on wild trainers and Macro Cosmos' movements?"
Renji chuckled quietly, offering no clear answer. Then he moved slightly, pulling the rest of his body behind the tree. By the time Shiro cautiously moved around to check, the man had vanished.
Though surprised, Shiro remained calm.
His goals didn't directly conflict with those of the hunters, and he'd been careful to avoid their routes and operations. Most likely, they wouldn't clash. But if they did come looking for trouble, he wouldn't mind sending them to their graves.
After briefly checking the tree where Renji had hidden and finding no clues, Shiro pressed on along his original path.
...
Only Shiro's silhouette had fully disappeared into the distance did the tree trembled slightly. The bark split open from the center, and Renji slipped out from within.
"Close one… that guy's definitely a covert member of Macro Cosmos," he muttered, pulling out a Poké Ball.
A red beam burst out, and in a flash, a Pidgeot with cream-colored feathers on its back appeared. The bird took off into the sky right away, grasping Renji with its talons and soaring above the woods.
This Pidgeot had been specially trained, not a sound escaped its wings during flight.
Renji flew toward the Stony Wilderness. Thanks to his Pokémon being at the Gym-level, it didn't take more than ten minutes to reach a rocky mountain peak on the western edge of the region.
Jagged rocks jutted from the mountaintop. A few trainers dressed in black stood at the mouth of a cave. As Renji approached, all eyes turned toward him.
"Any movement from Macro Cosmos?" the lead figure questioned, stepping forward with a commanding air.
Renji bowed his head respectfully. "Lord G, I found a covert Macro Cosmos member. His clothes, bag, and other gear were all high-level equipment. And… he also had a Drakloak with him."
Hunter G's expression changed slightly. Intrigued, he said, "Oh? If I recall correctly, a while back we received a report that Macro Cosmos got lucky near Lake Axewell. They ran into a Drakloak in a Dynamax Den. But some kid intercepted it before they could act, and they ended up recruiting him. That wouldn't happen to be…"
"I'm not sure," Renji answered truthfully. "The B5 hunting team informant who leaked that info didn't know the full story. He died on a mission more than two weeks ago. Around the time we arrived at Hulbury."
"Hmm…" Hunter G fell silent, pondering. After a moment, he asked, "Is that guy still nearby?"
"He's in the forest I just came from. Looks like he's trying to sneak into the Stony Wilderness from there."
At that, Hunter G's long, wide black sleeves swept through the air as he waved his hand, signaling the others to begin moving. He sneered.
"Hmph, fine! Let's see just what kind of strength this guy has… As for that Draklaok, we'll be taking it for the Hunters Guild."
As soon as he finished speaking, several crimson-black beams of light shot up around the rocky summit, piercing the sky.
From deep within the mountain, thick Dynamax energy surged upward, merging the beams into a single, searing pillar. High above the Stony Wilderness, the once-clear sky twisted into a violent, swirling vortex.
A blood-red semicircular barrier spread from the southern edge of the field, gradually engulfing the entire Giant's Cap to the north.
A gigantic Dynamax Den surged to life.
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