Three days later, the Blackstar Poaching Group still hadn't found any trace of the two Togekiss.
"Boss, how about we catch those Gyarados first?" the first vice-leader suggested.
Up ahead lay the central lake of the wilderness reserve, home to several Gyarados.
Although Gyarados weren't as valuable as Togekiss, they could still fetch a very good price. More importantly, unlike the elusive Togekiss, the Gyarados were right there in the lake, easy to locate.
"Keep searching," Blackstar said flatly.
The first vice-leader didn't say another word. In the poaching group, Blackstar's orders were absolute. As long as he didn't change his mind, nothing anyone else said mattered.
"Gyarados are one of the key Pokémon species in the reserve. The moment we step into the central lake area, the rangers will definitely spot us," Blackstar added.
The wilderness reserve was home to many rare and valuable Pokémon species, which was the main reason it attracted so many trainers.
To keep the population of these rare Pokémon at a sustainable level, the reserve enforced a capture quota system.
Trainers had to pay a hefty sum to obtain a capture permit.
To prevent trainers without permits from secretly capturing Pokémon—and to guard against poachers—the reserve frequently dispatched patrol squads. Some Pokémon were also secretly stationed to monitor the area.
If they exposed their position just to catch a few Gyarados, it would become even harder to track down the Togekiss.
They could catch Gyarados, but only if they failed to find the Togekiss first.
"Let's bypass this area and head here."
Blackstar held a map of the wilderness reserve in his hand. The central lake area up ahead was vast, but there was no need to head that way.
If Togekiss were nesting to lay eggs, they would definitely choose to build their nests in trees.
The area around the central lake had few trees. If Togekiss chose to nest there, they would be easily spotted, which was something they would never risk.
Instead, Blackstar pointed to a different area on the map—a massive forest, the largest in the reserve, filled with towering trees over a hundred meters tall.
That forest was also where most of the Flying-type Pokémon gathered.
"Boss! Boss! Venonat said it spotted a Pokémon nearby with a body shape similar to Togekiss!" A grunt came rushing over.
"It's probably just another Flying-type Pokémon," the second vice-leader muttered.
Venonat's eyes functioned like radar, allowing it to roughly identify Pokémon by their body shape. However, its radar accuracy wasn't very high.
Even though they had shown Venonat pictures of Togekiss, it had still mistaken the target several times over the past three days.
When they tracked down the Pokémon Venonat had identified, they once again realized it wasn't Togekiss at all—it was a Pidgeot, or sometimes a Butterfree, both of which had a similar body size to Togekiss.
Still, when Venonat raised an alert, they couldn't ignore it.
"Let's go check it out," Blackstar ordered.
The group slowly made their way toward the location Venonat had indicated.
It wasn't far—only a few hundred meters away. About ten minutes later, the Blackstar Poaching Group spotted the Pokémon Venonat had detected.
"Togekiss! It really is Togekiss!"
The first vice-leader's eyes lit up with excitement as he watched the Togekiss nibbling on some berries. It was as if he was staring at billions waving at him.
"Why is there only one? Where's the other one?"
"It's probably nesting."
After finishing its berries, the Togekiss carefully plucked the remaining ones and tucked them into the thick feathers on its chest, most likely to bring them back to its mate, who was nesting and incubating an egg.
Perhaps sensing the looming danger, the Togekiss grew wary, scanning its surroundings. It didn't pick any more berries. With a sudden flap of its wings, it swiftly took off and left the area.
"Boss, shouldn't we make a move?"
The third vice-leader asked anxiously as he watched the Togekiss fly away.
"Let it go. Otherwise, how will we find its mate and the egg?"
After speaking, he glanced at Scizor beside him and said, "Follow it, and don't let it spot you."
Scizor nodded, and in the blink of an eye, its body flickered and vanished into a streak of crimson light.
"If there really is a Togepi egg, its price could be even higher than a Togekiss," one of the grunts remarked.
Wild, fully grown Pokémon captured through illegal means were often difficult to tame. Their loyalty was low, and trainers had to spend a lot of time and effort building trust and raising their affection.
And that was assuming the Pokémon didn't outright hate the trainer.
After all, poaching groups often used brutal and inhumane methods to capture Pokémon, sometimes killing their mates or offspring in the process.
If a poached Pokémon had lost its family, the poachers would still sell it without a second thought. But the buyer might end up with a deeply resentful Pokémon.
Every year, some trainers who purchased Pokémon from illegal channels were injured or even killed by their own Pokémon.
That was the risk of buying from poachers—the price might be lower than the market rate, but it came with significant danger. For trainers, it was also a test of their own strength and ability to control the Pokémon.
However, if you bought a Pokémon egg directly from the poachers, there would be no risk at all. That was why, sometimes, an egg could sell for an even higher price than a fully grown Pokémon.
As for why people bought poached Pokémon, it usually came down to two reasons.
The first was rarity. Some Pokémon were so scarce that they were almost impossible to find through legal channels, making them extremely valuable.
The second reason was the price. Even if the species wasn't rare and was available through legal means, poachers sold them cheaper. Plus, there was always a chance of getting lucky and stumbling upon a high-potential Pokémon.
Since poachers didn't bother with quality assessments—the evaluations cost money—there was a chance that, with a bit of luck, you could end up buying a Pokémon with outstanding potential, maybe even one with a Blue-tier potential.
Scizor, being an Elite-level Pokémon, was more than capable of keeping up with Togekiss. Blackstar was confident about that.
Now, all he had to do was wait for Scizor to return.
The poachers who had spotted the Togekiss were filled with excitement. They hadn't expected to find their target Pokémon so quickly after only a few days of searching.
And it wasn't just any Pokémon—it was Togekiss.
"Boss, you really called it, Togekiss really is in this reserve," the first vice-leader said with admiration.
When Blackstar had mentioned that female Togekiss often returned to their birthplace to lay eggs, the vice-leader hadn't fully believed him. After all, it wasn't a widely known fact.
But now, it seemed Blackstar was right.
"Tell the others to be ready. We can't let either of those Togekiss get away."
Blackstar was also very excited inside, if they managed to capture both Togekiss—and possibly even a Togepi egg—they could sell them for an astronomical price.
*****
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