"Are you okay?" After repelling the Zubat, the group approached the man. Misty asked with a hint of concern.
"Ah!!! I'm so touched." The man was attacked by Zubat, but he wasn't seriously injured. Instead, he stood up energetically and directly pounced on Ash. Ash instinctively dodged, and the man missed, face-planting onto the ground.
"Uncle, are you okay??" Seeing that he had just been attacked by Zubat and now had taken such a big fall, Misty couldn't help but ask.
"Uncle? You called me uncle? I'm not that old. I'm the curator of the Pewter City Science Museum, the brave and courageous... Researcher Takeo!" Hearing Misty's address, the man suddenly sprang up again, puffing out his chest and speaking arrogantly.
"Uh..." The three of them were speechless. This uncle was a bit strange.
"So, Uncle, why did the Zubat attack you?" Although she knew his name, he was indeed older than them, so calling him by his name directly seemed a bit rude. After a moment of speechlessness, Misty asked about the recent situation.
"Ah, that... you'll know if you come with me." Takeo no longer acted silly after hearing this.
He walked in front. The three of them were just about to enter the cave, so they followed him in. When they first entered, they had expected the cave to be dark and damp, but upon entering, it was bright as day.
"Huh?" They noticed something was wrong as soon as they entered. They saw light bulbs connected by wires on both sides of the cave. There was a light bulb every five or six meters, illuminating the entire cave brightly.
"What's going on? Why are there electric lights inside the cave? It's even more dazzling than outside." Misty asked in surprise.
"It's because someone set up these things here, causing the ecosystem of the Pokémon here to lose its balance," Takeo explained as he walked. Naturally, most of the Pokémon in the cave disliked bright light, but with it so bright here, the Pokémon naturally felt uncomfortable. Zubat were the most severely affected. Zubat were already fierce towards creatures that trespassed into their territory.
In such a situation, although they had no eyes, the strong light still made them feel very uncomfortable. And most importantly, Zubat had no eyes, but Golbat did. This led to some Zubat that had met the evolution conditions not daring to evolve due to this environment, naturally making them more ferocious.
"Because the Moon Stone is very valuable, people often come here. Although few can find Moon Stones, every visit inconveniences the Pokémon here."
"To prevent further damage here, I patrol and do research at the same time." It was clear that Takeo was very angry about the damage here.
"So you know who did this?" Misty continued to ask.
"Not yet..."
Chuuuuu!!
"Pika??" At this moment, Ash's Pikachu on his shoulder suddenly perked up its ears.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Pikachu?" Sensing Pikachu's movement, Takeo asked, puzzled.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu chirped twice from Ash's shoulder. Listening to Pikachu's response, Ash frowned slightly, then closed his eyes, carefully sensing. With that power, Ash's senses were much sharper.
"What's wrong, Ash??" Misty asked, seeing Ash and Pikachu acting a bit strange.
"Someone's coming!" A moment later, Ash opened his eyes. He sensed someone approaching, and because they were in a cave, it was even clearer.
"Someone? Could it be the people who did this?" Misty asked worriedly after hearing this.
"Let's hide first and see!" Takeo quickly said to the three. The four immediately found a place to hide. Not long after, they heard footsteps. Brock looked at Ash in surprise. It was normal for Pikachu to hear it; Electric-type Pokémon had excellent hearing.
But they had only just heard the footsteps, yet Ash could already discern them from so far away. No wonder his father said he was a special young man, and that following him would be a special journey.
Misty didn't dare to speak, her expression a little tense. She hid behind a rock, cautiously poking her head out to look at the cave passage ahead. Two figures gradually appeared. Looking closely, they saw two men, wearing vests, with sturdy physiques and tough appearances.
One of them was bald, with a long scar on his mouth, giving him an even fiercer look. The other had a crew cut and fierce eyes; one look and you knew he wasn't someone to mess with. He also carried a black bag on his shoulder. It looked heavy, definitely containing something.
"These two don't look like good people at all!" Seeing the two, Misty cautiously leaned in close to Ash's ear and whispered.
"Shh!" Ash was a little confused, but he still put a finger to his lips, motioning Misty to be quiet. At the same time, he was also a bit puzzled internally. If he remembered correctly, these two weren't the ones who had done this to the place. He didn't recall these two people at all.
However, thinking about it carefully, given the amount of work on these lights, the Rocket Team must have been here for a while. And his own progress was different from the anime. He hadn't wasted a few days in Pewter City like in the anime.
He had finished the gym battle in one day and was continuing his journey today. So, he couldn't deny that when Ash in the anime was still lingering in Pewter City, no one else passed through here.
"Why do we have to come to this crummy place? We should hurry to Saffron City." The bald man held the bag and walked through the passage, his tone somewhat disgruntled.
"No need to rush. We still have plenty of time before the agreed trading time. We just took on a new commission. Someone offered a high price for Clefairy. This Pokémon is very rare." The crew-cut man responded calmly.
"Hmph! Someone actually wants a Pokémon like Clefairy? It must be some rich person trying to please their daughter or wife again! These rich people are truly stupid!" The bald man said with disdain.
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