As Terrance's teasing words fell, the absurd thought that had just arisen in the minds of the group was cut short as they all collapsed to the ground and fell asleep.
Judging by their expressions, they seemed to be having sweet dreams.
In a short span of time, not only had the black market been brought under Terrance's control, he was also preparing to wipe out the poacher gang's headquarters while he was at it.
He had no intention of giving them time to escape. After having Mismagius use Hypnosis on the group and their Pokémon, Terrance left immediately.
With Gardevoir, Gallade, and Mismagius at his side, Terrance swaggered straight into the gang's headquarters—a white building.
After a brief investigation, Terrance locked onto their location and came to kill without hesitation.
Five minutes later.
Terrance walked out of the building and dialed a number.
After a short while, a familiar voice came from the other end.
"Captain, have you reached the location?"
"Mm. Next, you just need to come and take care of the scene."
"Wha—wha—what—?!!"
As soon as Terrance finished speaking, two heart-wrenching screams rang out from the other side of the phone.
The two on the other end were Jade Joy and Lan Jenny of the International Police, who had previously worked with Terrance. The information about this illegal stronghold had come from acquaintances of his within the International Police.
He was using these illegal bases to temper Togepi. Once it was over, naturally there needed to be people to handle the aftermath.
Destroying these poacher gangs brought considerable merit and a hefty bonus, but more importantly, honor. Among the missions the Elite Four carried out each year, fighting against evil forces was indispensable for building prestige. Terrance was simply getting a taste of it in advance.
When it came to handling the cleanup, Jade Joy and Lan Jenny were the first people Terrance thought of.
The three had originally planned to carry out the eradication together in this maritime city, but who would have thought that Terrance would accidentally wipe out the entire poacher gang on his own.
The gap in strength was simply too great. The other side had no chance to escape or call for help. There wasn't even room to struggle.
An attack from Elite Four–level Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon was virtually impossible to guard against.
If Terrance had sent out Altaria, the enemy wouldn't have been this helpless. But once Mismagius made a move, the poachers didn't even know how they had lost.
"That's basically what happened…" Terrance gave a brief explanation.
The two had helped him quite a bit in investigating Team Rocket, so choosing to team up with them this time was partly out of personal interest.
Wiping out one or two poacher gangs of this level might not amount to much, but if the numbers piled up, it would definitely count as a major achievement. Rather than letting strangers benefit from it, it was better to let acquaintances take it.
With a Top Trainer comparable to the Elite Four leading the way, it was easy to imagine that future merits would flow like a river. As rookie International Police officers, if Jade Joy and Lan Jenny kept benefiting from Terrance's exploits, getting promoted one or two ranks would be effortless.
"Consider yourselves lucky…"
After putting away the phone, Terrance was already planning to return to the black market.
At this moment, Togepi was cautiously walking through the black market filled with "sleepers." Letting out a breath, it grew even more wary of Terrance's strength.
When Terrance had left to deal with the other poachers, Togepi had wanted to seize the chance to escape. But when it noticed a pure white Ninetales stationed at the entrance of the black market, it immediately froze. It felt the intense pressure emanating from Ninetales. Under that pressure, Togepi awkwardly waved its tiny hands, put on an innocent expression, and quietly retreated back.
"Tog~epi—" The evil Togepi was utterly helpless. It viciously kicked the fallen poachers and their Pokémon, venting its anger on these strangers.
After a while, Togepi suddenly noticed the Froakie that it thought was a bit dim-witted.
Looking at the unconscious Froakie on the ground, Togepi used its psychic power to wake it up and gazed at it curiously.
The fact that this Froakie hadn't been affected by its Attract had greatly surprised Togepi. Moreover, the special ability it had gained from Froakie also filled it with curiosity.
The brief Skill Swap had only lasted for a short time. Togepi's Super Luck Ability had returned, and Protean had gone back to Froakie. The duration had been so short that Togepi felt regretful, deeply reluctant to part with that special power.
When it possessed Protean, using Flamethrower had turned Togepi into a Fire type, enhancing its control over flames.
When it used Psychic, it became a Psychic type, and its psychic power seemed stimulated, rapidly growing stronger.
Both transformations had increased the destructive power of Togepi's moves, allowing it to defeat a poacher with ease.
During that process, Togepi had grown envious of Froakie's Ability. Although it felt its own Ability wasn't bad, it couldn't help but become greedy.
In reality, Ability is a special power of Pokémon, not limited to a specific effect. Everything depends on how the Pokémon and its Trainer developed it.
Togepi's Super Luck Ability, for example, had been applied to Metronome. The combination of Ability and move often helped Togepi escape danger.
It was precisely because Metronome activated the Skill Swap move this time that Togepi briefly gained Froakie's special ability and dominated the battle.
After waking Froakie, Togepi stood in place with clear, pitiful eyes, even squeezing out a few tears.
"Fro~akie?"
When Froakie groggily got up, the first thing it saw was Togepi's miserable expression.
"Togepi, Togepi—"
"Fro~akie?"
"Togepi, Togepi—"
"Togepi… Togepi…"
"Tog~epii!!"
According to Togepi's story, it had become a poor Pokémon controlled by the evil Terrance.
What it was doing now was seeking help from this Froakie.
Although Togepi knew this probably wouldn't accomplish anything, with Terrance not around, it was more than happy to cause him some trouble.
…
"Hm?"
When Terrance returned to the black market, preparing to take Togepi away, a slash that seemed long premeditated suddenly swept toward him, causing him to pause in surprise.
But honestly, with Terrance's reaction speed, he didn't even need his Pokémon's help. A simple sidestep was enough to avoid such an attack.
The attacker, Froakie!
Looking at the injured Froakie, which had landed after its missed strike and was glaring at him with hostility, Terrance was momentarily stunned. Had this Froakie woken up from the illusion so quickly?
However, when Terrance caught sight of Togepi's teasing gaze in the distance, he instantly understood what had happened.
"If I say it's a misunderstanding, would you believe me?" Terrance asked Froakie helplessly.
It seemed he had really underestimated this Togepi's ability to cause trouble...
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