Poaching

The sea breeze, carrying a faint fishy smell, brushed against his face. Sunlight shimmered over the gently rippling sea, making the view exceptionally beautiful.

After leaving Shuizhou City, Su Hao had no mind to admire the scenery. Riding Sharpedo, he sped toward the direction indicated by the mark left behind by Latios and Latias.

Sharpedo cut across the calm sea at 120 kilometers per hour, carving a white line through the water.

Elsewhere, two men dressed like fishermen stood on the deck of a small-to-medium-sized vessel, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

A short, sharp-featured man suddenly said, "Boss, why aren't we going after those adult Pokémon?"

"With this machine, even Elite Level and Professional Level Pokémon can be put to sleep without any chance to resist."

"But we're wasting it on these Young Pokémon instead."

"Heh, you just don't understand."

Leaning against the railing, the burly man looked as though the smaller man had never seen the world.

"These Young Pokémon are what the rich people in those countries across the sea actually want."

The burly man immediately explained to the smaller man why they captured Young Pokémon.

The burly man was named Gao Qiqiang, while the smaller man was Deng Hongbo. Both were lowly operatives of the large international criminal organization, New Star Organization.

Gao Qiqiang used to be involved in poaching. He had started out as a fisherman and was extremely familiar with the sea.

After turning to poaching, he relied on his experience as a fisherman to begin smuggling Pokémon across borders, traveling between countries separated by the ocean to sell them.

After many years of poaching, he had become wanted by the Investigator Organizations of several countries. Yet, relying on his years of maritime experience and cunning that did not match his appearance, he had escaped the Search Officers' pursuits time and again.

He knew which goods could fetch the highest prices.

That was Young Pokémon.

The families wealthy enough to buy Pokémon did not lack powerful adult Pokémon. What they needed were rare Young Pokémon to prepare for their descendants.

After years in the poaching business, Gao Qiqiang came into contact with the New Star Organization a few years ago and pledged allegiance without much hesitation.

The facts proved that he had made the right choice.

With the New Star Organization backing him, he only needed to hand over part of his earnings as membership fees to enjoy a range of benefits.

Not only had the strength of his Pokémon broken through to Professional Level one after another, but the organization also frequently issued all kinds of machines with miraculous functions for them to test.

For example, infiltrating that island filled with rare Dragon-type and Psychic-type Pokémon.

After assigning them a mission at a designated location, the organization had also handed over the most powerful machine Gao Qiqiang had ever seen.

That machine had only two functions. One was concealing their traces amid wild Pokémon that were everywhere from Professional Level to Gym Level. The other was making Pokémon fall asleep completely defenseless, even Professional Level and Gym Level Pokémon.

The machine's flaw was equally obvious. Unfortunately, it could only function at night.

Not long after they left the island, the machine reached the end of its Lifespan and exploded.

Next, they split into two groups. Gao Qiqiang and Deng Hongbo would sail a boat disguised as a fishing vessel to smuggle themselves into the Sakura Nation Alliance and sell the Pokémon they had obtained.

Meanwhile, his second-in-command would lead the other group, taking that mysterious orb and staying among the reefs designated by the organization for a day.

It was quite miraculous. Before they got hold of it, the orb had looked like a crystal-clear gem, but the moment it was touched, it rapidly turned black.

Deng Hongbo was the only person in their group who knew Sakura Language, so naturally Gao Qiqiang had to bring him along.

After explaining everything to Deng Hongbo, Gao Qiqiang told him to continue keeping watch on the deck.

He himself entered the ship, intending to take a look at his future glory and wealth.

He stepped into the dim interior and fumbled around for a moment before finding the switch.

Click.

The incandescent lights came on, revealing the scene inside the cabin.

Various kinds of seafood were stored within the cabin, but Gao Qiqiang did not spare them a glance. He walked to a corner and manipulated something a few times, revealing a small passageway.

He climbed down the ladder in the passageway to another level, arriving at an extremely cramped compartment.

Ignoring the puddles on the floor, Gao Qiqiang turned on the lights again.

There was only a large iron cage in the compartment, fixed to the wall. Water droplets occasionally dripped from inside it.

Several small Young Pokémon huddled together in the cage, trembling.

Everywhere he looked were rare Dragon-type and Psychic-type Pokémon.

Except for the Feebas surrounded in the middle by those Pokémon.

It was rather miraculous as well. When they were preparing to leave the island with these Young Pokémon, this Feebas had suddenly leaped out of a small lake nearby.

Feebas was also an extremely rare Pokémon and was not often seen.

Moreover, its evolved form, Milotic, was greatly loved by wealthy ladies concerned with beauty.

Seeing that the Feebas had delivered itself to him, Gao Qiqiang casually brought it aboard and tossed it into the iron cage as well.

Pokémon's vitality was exceptionally tenacious. Even if it stayed out of water for several days, there would be no problem.

Gao Qiqiang could not be bothered to prepare a fish tank for the Feebas.

The Dragon-type Pokémon in the cage included a Dratini, a Bagon, and a Gible.

The Psychic-type Pokémon included an Abra, a Ralts, and a Hatenna.

From time to time, Dratini used a move to create water and splash it over Feebas.

Looking at Feebas lying in the middle like a salted fish, Gao Qiqiang somehow felt that he could see a particularly furious emotion in those dull eyes.

"Heh."

He sneered at himself. He must have been imagining things.

After all, how could a Pokémon as dim-witted as Feebas possess such rich emotions before evolving into Milotic?