The Shadow of the Black Robe

The moment the Pokémon Center's main entrance was smashed, Qing Wu truly wondered if Officer Jenny of Kusaba City was a vegetarian, allowing such heinous acts to occur in broad daylight.

The Pokémon Center's security guards were cowards too, not daring to make a sound.

If he hadn't dodged just in time, that whiskey bottle would have surely smashed his head and drawn blood.

Qing Wu tightened his grip on Kecleon's Poké Ball and expressionlessly turned his head back.

He was already in this situation before even leaving the Pokémon Center. If he stepped outside, wouldn't he be beaten on the street?

The leader was an arrogant young man, bare-chested, with extremely developed muscles. On his back was a tattoo of an Arbok with its mouth wide open.

He was currently looking down at Qing Wu with disdain, revealing a full set of neat white teeth in the sunlight.

This young man was Han Qiu. After waiting for a while, he finally found Qing Wu. Han Qiu secretly thought how lucky he was.

"I have a big deal for you. Hand over that rare Pokémon you have, and I'll trade you some League Currency," Han Qiu said, pulling out a card from his pocket and throwing it at Qing Wu's feet.

He gestured for Qing Wu to pick up the card from the ground and trade Kecleon to him.

The cunning Han Qiu waited for Qing Wu to get angry.

Because he knew that he had smashed the Pokémon Center's door with a whiskey bottle.

Even if he was caught by Officer Jenny, at most he'd be charged with destroying public property, and a subordinate could just go in and serve a few days.

But if Qing Wu directly attacked them with his Pokémon, it would give them a reason for self-defense.

Even if Officer Jenny showed up, Han Qiu would still be in a position of advantage.

Han Qiu had used this method to forcibly seize many Pokémon.

Those Trainers had all endured it silently, which only fueled Han Qiu's arrogance.

Qing Wu naturally knew that Pokémon could not be used to attack humans or Pokémon within the city; it was an act of provocation.

Even though Han Qiu had initiated the conflict, he wasn't in the right.

Therefore, the best course of action was to turn around and leave, return to the Pokémon Center's dormitory, then switch to a Team Rocket identity and secretly deal with the flashy young man.

After all, compared to the flashy young man who resorted to extortion, Team Rocket engaged in acts of murder and arson.

Qing Wu silently made a face at the flashy team and then retreated, turned, and walked straight towards the stairs of the Pokémon Center.

"You just wait, if you have the guts, don't come out of the Pokémon Center!" Han Qiu, provoked in public, yelled furiously.

He knew Qing Wu had seen through his trick. If he were to storm into the Pokémon Center with his men now, Officer Jenny wouldn't be a pushover.

Han Qiu arranged for three subordinates to guard the Pokémon Center's main entrance while he led the rest of the flashy team to start their motorcycles.

With a few roaring sounds, the mufflers of the motorcycles emitted deafening noise, and a puff of black smoke billowed out.

Han Qiu and his flashy team, honking their horns and yelling, reveled in the thrill of the motorcycles speeding along, unaware of a blue figure closely following them.

Qing Wu was also burning with anger from Han Qiu's provocation. Although he outwardly suppressed it, he secretly dispatched Golbat to track the flashy team's hideout.

When night fell, he would teach this flashy team a profound lesson.

The entire Pokémon Center was divided into six floors. Floors one and two were the Pokémon treatment area, the third floor was the cafeteria, the fourth floor was the merchandise sales area, and floors five and six were the dormitory area.

Qing Wu wandered around for a while, bought a thick black robe in the merchandise sales area, and then returned to the Pokémon Center to rest.

Officer Jenny arrived in a hurry at this moment. One had to admit, the League's efficiency was slow.

Night fell, and people tired from a day's work entered their dreams. A small bar by the roadside was still emitting deafening noise.

If there weren't any other residents nearby, someone might have already called the police to ask Officer Jenny to uphold justice.

Qing Wu changed into the black robe and opened the window of the Pokémon Center's dormitory bathroom.

A Golbat flew over from a distance, flapping its wings, and landed on the windowsill.

"Golbat, have you confirmed their location?" Qing Wu asked. Golbat nodded.

"Then let's go. It's a dark and windy night, perfect for doing bad things," Qing Wu thought, only wanting to teach Han Qiu a lesson, not intending to directly kill Han Qiu's gang.

After all, initiating a malicious criminal incident would inevitably lead to an investigation by the League. If it traced back to him, he'd be in deep trouble, even if he wasn't killed.

Qing Wu took advantage of the night, climbed out of the bathroom window, grabbed onto Golbat with both hands, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Leader, if we don't bring back the Pokémon Young Master Zhao wanted this time, will we offend him?" Han Qiu's subordinate asked with a worried expression.

"What's the hurry? Young Master Zhao already has this kid's information. He only has two Pokémon, one is the one Young Master Zhao is after, and the other is a Squirtle. Don't worry, this kid can't fly or burrow underground. It's only a matter of time before we catch him in a trap,"

Han Qiu leisurely took a sip of whiskey, feeling the fiery liquid flow down his throat into his stomach. "Ah, this is the feeling."

"You're always so thoughtful, Leader. Why don't we just snatch his Squirtle too? The Starters can fetch a good price on the black market," Han Qiu's subordinate was flattering him when he heard a rapid Supersonic sound from outside the bar.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack! Everyone release your Pokémon!" a flashy young man scrambled into the bar from outside.

A figure in a black robe and mask stood at the entrance of the bar.

A Golbat, twice the size of a normal one, flapped its wings and unleashed Air Slash into the bar.

With a crackling sound, the wind blades from Air Slash not only sliced the bar's cameras into several pieces but also cut down the chandelier.

The chandelier, two meters long, fell and caused the people in the bar to wail in agony.

Han Qiu stood in the chaos, his left hand cut open, and his body covered in tiny glass shards from the impact.

His situation was a little better; quite a few of his underlings were clutching their arms and legs, lying on the ground and howling.

"Good evening, my cute little friends. You've messed with the wrong people. Someone asked me to teach you a lesson," said the voice from under the mask, disguised to be quite sharp. It seemed this Black Robe didn't want to be recognized.

"They're not here to make friends. Everyone, attack! Release your Sprites!" Han Qiu was the first to throw out two Poké Balls, releasing a Scyther and an Electabuzz.

Both of these Sprites were considered quite powerful.

Especially the Electabuzz, which could evolve into an Electivire with a base stat total of .

"However, your Electabuzz's electricity seems a bit weak, and your Scyther's scythes aren't sharp enough. I wonder how many rounds of Golbat's attacks they can withstand," Qing Wu said with a cold laugh.

He couldn't properly teach them a lesson during the day, so now was the perfect time to vent his anger.

"Golbat, use Air Slash!" After a brief skirmish, the fight ended quickly.

Scyther and Electabuzz were covered in countless wounds from Wind Blades, collapsing onto the floor.

Han Qiu and his underlings were beaten black and blue, all kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.

Qing Wu noticed Han Qiu kept glancing in one direction, so he followed his gaze. With a single look, he understood what was going on.

"There's a hidden compartment? Golbat, use Air Slash!" Golbat flapped its wings and unleashed Air Slash.

Several Wind Blades sliced through the bar's wall, revealing an exquisitely crafted safe.

"Continue with Air Slash," Qing Wu commanded.

The safe was like tofu, easily cut in half by the Wind Blades, revealing its contents: a perfectly cut, top-quality Water Stone.

There was also a small ledger and over twenty bearer bonds.

Golbat, understanding the situation, placed these items into Qing Wu's hand.

Each of these bearer bonds held one million League Currency.

Qing Wu counted the bearer bonds in his hand; there were exactly twenty-three, meaning he now possessed twenty-three million League Currency.

After obtaining such a large sum, Qing Wu picked up the perfectly cut Water Stone.

The Water Stone was magnificent, emitting an indigo glow under the dim bar lights. Qing Wu scanned the Water Stone with the system.

{Perfect quality Water Stone. When used during Sprite evolution, it guarantees an increase in the Sprite's aptitude by one tier. It is only effective on Sprites with Green aptitude or lower.}

Qing Wu flipped open the ledger. It contained records of Han Qiu's illicit dealings with the second-generation rich.

When it came to Sprite trading, Han Qiu's ledger also included photos of the traded Sprites.

"Excellent. With this evidence, you can look forward to spending the rest of your life in prison." Forcibly seizing Sprites for trade.

This was not permitted under League law. As Qing Wu flipped through the records, he noticed that Young Master Zhao had a collecting habit. He had purchased many forcibly seized Sprites from Han Qiu, and one Sprite in particular caught Qing Wu's attention.

Its body and legs made it look like it was wearing clothes that were too long.

Its blue hair was like a bowl cut—also too long, seeming to cover most of its face.

Its hair was parted by two flat red horns inserted in the middle, one slightly larger in front and a smaller one behind.

Can the dear reader guess what Sprite this is?