After receiving the letter, Terrance selected the criminal stronghold closest to him.
The place was located on an island somewhere in the Hoenn seas. This maritime city had an underground black market that had long been controlled by a certain poacher gang.
This poacher gang was extremely cunning. They operated only at sea, and because they were difficult to capture and had always acted within limits, never crossing the League's bottom line, the Hoenn League had never launched a large-scale purge against them.
But this time, they were unlucky to run into a Top Trainer like Terrance, whose level of boredom was on par with that of the Champion of the Indigo League.
Above the island, Terrance leaned forward in midair, a sphere of Confusion forming a protective barrier around him to aid his flight. At his side were Gardevoir and Mismagius.
With Gardevoir and Mismagius assisting him, Terrance blocked all surveillance systems and used Teleport to descend onto the island without anyone noticing.
"Before we wipe out this poacher gang, let's take a look at the black market first," Terrance said after landing, stroking his chin.
Growing up, he had never been to an underground black market. It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious.
The underground black market, the shadow beneath the light.
In truth, it wasn't only this city that had such a place. Cities all over the world were unable to avoid the existence of underground black markets.
For ordinary people who wished to purchase Pokémon as pets or partners through trade, the only legal options were limited to places like Day Cares.
However, Pokémon raised by legal Day Cares or raised by the League were expensive due to the extensive training and manpower invested in them. For an average Trainer, buying a rare Pokémon through official channels was almost unaffordable.
It was under such circumstances that underground black markets emerged alongside the profession of poachers.
Through illegal means, poachers captured large numbers of rare wild Pokémon and even seized rare Pokémon from other Trainers, then sold them at low prices through black markets or special channels. Since these Pokémon retain strong wild instincts and impressive combat abilities, the profits were extremely lucrative.
If it was a slightly larger poacher gang or black market, Pokémon that scarcely existed in the local region might even appear, captured by poachers who traveled across regions. These were priced even higher, of course, though still far cheaper than Pokémon obtained through proper legal channels.
"This city… is really disgusting."
Walking along the foul-smelling streets, Terrance wrinkled his nose.
The stench was one thing. He also saw groups of delinquent youths loitering by the roadside, laughing loudly in public.
"This island doesn't have a Pokémon Center, nor does it have a police station. That's probably the root cause of the chaos. Even if I remove that dominant poacher gang, this situation likely won't improve."
With mixed emotions, Terrance entered the entrance to the black market.
There were quite a lot of people gathered inside.
Most of the vendors and buyers wore special accessories to conceal their faces. A man who had just walked past Terrance wore a spiral mask, making it impossible to see his features.
Although this maritime city had terrible public security, it seemed many people were still wary of conducting illegal transactions. They covered their faces to avoid being recognized.
Those who did not conceal their appearance accounted for less than half.
Terrance, straightforward by nature, naturally didn't wear any mask or accessories. Instead, he simply had Mismagius use an illusion skill to slightly alter his appearance.
There were roughly a dozen vendors.
After a brief glance, Terrance realized that this underground black market, which was like a street, was somewhat unusual.
What made it unusual was that it was just as noisy as a vegetable market. Vendors selling Pokémon constantly shouted out to attract customers, while customers without masks could be seen with flushed faces, enthusiastically haggling over prices.
Although both sides each had their own motives, the security within the black market received an unexpectedly high rating from Terrance.
No matter how loudly vendors and buyers shouted at each other, none of them were bold enough to resort to violence, as if they were wary of something.
"Left side, two people."
"Right side, three people."
"Just as I thought."
At this moment, Gardevoir remained somewhere within the city, its psychic power enveloping the entire black market. Through Fairy Mark's Telepathy, Terrance obtained from Gardevoir the full layout of personnel in the black market.
Aside from vendors and buyers, there were also special individuals hidden in the shadows.
"They should be poachers maintaining order. After all, this is an important channel for them to sell Pokémon."
By now, this black market held no secrets for Terrance.
But in the next moment, a Pokémon caught his attention.
The Pokémon sold in this black market were mostly from the Kanto Region, Johto Region, Hoenn Region, and Sinnoh Region. Within that geographical range, a frog-like, entirely blue Pokémon made Terrance walk over involuntarily.
"It's actually one of the Kalos League's distributed Starter Pokémon, Froakie?"
Terrance let out a small sound of surprise, genuinely taken aback. However, when he glanced at the price, he couldn't help shaking his head. As expected of a Pokémon from the Kalos region, the price was far higher than the others.
"Sir, have you taken a liking to this Froakie? You truly have a keen eye. This Froakie comes from the distant Kalos region. Its final evolution, Greninja, is extraordinarily powerful. I wouldn't tell this to just anyone, but seeing that you have such an extraordinary bearing, I'll share a little secret with you. I've heard this Froakie has mastered a very mysterious power."
The vendor who possessed the Froakie immediately began his enthusiastic pitch when he saw Terrance approach.
Of course, the sales talk held no appeal whatsoever for Terrance.
Compared to the man's bragging, what concerned him more was the emotion revealed by Froakie itself.
It was a gaze filled with hatred. Though Froakie's expression was incomparably calm, its eyes carried cold indifference as they swept over every person passing by, including Terrance.
Even when Terrance stopped to look at it, the Froakie revealed killing intent, causing Terrance to instinctively feel a chill run through his body.
Terrance was certain that if the vendor released Froakie from its cage, it would immediately attack everyone around it.
Unlike the other Pokémon in cages, those with despair on their faces, fear in their expressions, and submissive demeanors, this Froakie… held nothing back in releasing its hatred.
"Boss, the injuries on this Froakie…"
Terrance observed Froakie carefully for a moment, and as the vendor cheerfully rubbed his hands together, he finally spoke.
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