Chapter 45: Poaching
The sea breeze, carrying a faint fishy smell, blew against his face. The sunlight danced on the ocean's surface, creating shimmering ripples—a truly beautiful scene.
After leaving SeawindCove City, victor had no interest in admiring the scenery. Riding on the back of his Sharpedo, he speed toward the destination marked by the Red and Blue legendary duo.
The Sharpedo swam at an incredible speed of 120 kilometers per hour, leaving a white streak on the otherwise tranquil sea.
Meanwhile, on a small to medium-sized ship, two men dressed like fishermen stood on the deck, scanning their surroundings cautiously.
A short, sharp-faced man suddenly spoke up, "Boss, why aren't we targeting those adult Pokémon instead? With this machine, we could easily put even elite and professional-level Pokémon to sleep without resistance."
"But now we're wasting it on these baby Pokémon."
"Ha, you just don't get it," the burly man leaning against the railing replied, glancing at him as if he were someone who had never seen the bigger picture.
"These young Pokémon are exactly what the rich folks in other countries are after."
The strong man's name was Ric, and the short man was flair. Both of them were mere pawns in the massive transnational criminal organization known as [NOVA].
Ric had a history as a poacher. He was originally a fisherman, deeply familiar with the sea and its ways. When he turned to poaching, he leveraged his maritime expertise to engage in transnational smuggling, trafficking Pokémon between countries separated by vast oceans.
Years of poaching had made him a seasoned criminal. Although he was wanted by investigators across multiple nations, Ric used his knowledge of the sea and his deceptively simple demeanor to evade capture time and again. He was a man who knew how to pick his targets.
For him, the most valuable targets were baby Pokémon. Wealthy families who could afford to purchase Pokémon had no shortage of powerful, fully evolved Pokémon. What they sought were rare and young Pokémon to raise for their children—symbols of wealth and status.
Having been in the poaching business for many years, Ric eventually came into contact with the NOVA Organization. He accepted their offer without hesitation.
His decision proved to be a wise one.
With NOVA as his backer, Ric only needed to pay a portion of his earnings as membership fees. In return, he gained access to various benefits. Not only did his Pokémon grow strong enough to reach professional-level, but the organization also provided him with cutting-edge technology to aid in his operations.
For instance, this time, Ric and his team had infiltrated an island rich with rare Dragon-type and Psychic-type Pokémon. Alongside the mission instructions, the organization had also entrusted them with an advanced machine—the most powerful he had ever seen.
This machine had two main functions:
1. It could mask their presence from professional-level and gym-level wild Pokémon.
2. It could induce a deep, defenseless sleep in Pokémon, even those of professional and gym level.
However, the machine had a critical drawback: it could only operate at night. Furthermore, it had a limited lifespan and self-destructed shortly after their departure from the island.
After securing their haul, Ric and Flair split up. Disguising their vessel as a regular fishing boat, the two transported the captured Pokémon to the Zephyria Kingdom Alliance, where they planned to sell their spoils on the black market.
On the other side, Ric's second-in-command spent the day at the location designated by the organization, holding a mysterious ball of unknown use.
The ball was nothing short of magical. Before it was touched, it looked like a clear crystal gem. However, as soon as it was handled, it quickly turned black.
Flair, who was the only one in their team fluent in the language of the Zephyria Kingdom, was naturally the one chosen to bring the ball along.
After Ric explained the situation to him, he instructed Flair to remain on deck and keep watch.
Ric, meanwhile, made his way into the interior of the ship to take a look at the wealth and glory that awaited him.
He entered the dimly lit interior and fumbled around for a moment before finding the light switch.
With a flick, the incandescent light flickered on, illuminating the cabin.
The room was filled with various types of seafood, but Ric ignored them. He walked toward a corner, pressed a few buttons, and a small passage appeared in the wall.
Descending a ladder at the end of the passage, he arrived at a small mezzanine level.
Ignoring the puddles on the floor, Ric turned on the light once more.
In the mezzanine, there was only a large iron cage, fixed to the wall, with water droplets dripping from it periodically.
Inside the cage, several tiny baby Pokémon huddled together, shivering.
A quick glance showed that the cage contained only rare Dragon and Psychic-type Pokémon.
There was one exception, though—the feebas that was surrounded by these other Pokémon.
Interestingly, the Feebas had appeared unexpectedly. It had jumped out of a small lake near the island just as they were preparing to leave with the young Pokémon.
Though often dismissed as an ugly creature, Feebas (also known as uglyfish) is actually quite rare and not commonly found.
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And its evolved form, Milotic, was quite popular among the noble ladies who admired beauty.
Seeing that the Feebas had ended up at his doorstep, Ric decided to take it aboard the ship, throwing it into the iron cage with the others.
Pokémon are incredibly resilient, and even if Feebas had been out of water for days, it would have no serious issues.
Ric couldn't be bothered to prepare a separate tank for the Feebas.
The cage contained several Dragon-type Pokémon, including a Dratini, a Bagon, and a Gible, as well as Psychic-types like Abra, Ralts, and Hatenna.
From time to time, the Dratini used its moves to create streams of water to splash on the Feebas.
Ric looked at Feebas, which was surrounded by the other Pokémon, and felt an odd sense that he could see a deep anger in its dull eyes.
He scoffed to himself, dismissing the thought.
"Ah," he muttered, "I must be overthinking this. After all, how could a Pokémon as dumb as Feebas have such complex emotions before it evolves into Milotic?"