"Heh! What's there to be angry about? We're sustained by these idiots!" The crew-cut man snorted, a look of mockery appearing on his face.
"You're right, money from people like that is the easiest to earn." The bald man also agreed.
"Ash, who are these two? What do they mean?" Misty asked, a bit confused. She didn't quite understand. What did Pokémon have to do with making money?
"Pokémon poachers!" Ash had probably figured it out from their conversation. They specialized in catching rare Pokémon and selling them to others. Their intention was very clear. Having been in this world for so many years, Ash also had some understanding of other situations in this world.
Besides large evil organizations like the Rocket Team, there were also some scattered poaching groups. Compared to the Rocket Team, they were probably much smaller. Some were just a few people forming an organization, others acted alone.
The difference was that they poached Pokémon for money, but the Rocket Team robbed and captured Pokémon not for money. Ash had specifically learned about poachers. In fact, he was also curious at first about how poachers differed from Pokémon.
The biggest difference was that they didn't use Poké Balls to capture Pokémon, nor did they bother with Pokémon battles. Using Pokémon for battle was just one of their methods. As long as they could capture the Pokémon they wanted, they would use various methods.
According to the Pokémon League's regulations, you either had the ability to capture a Pokémon yourself, or you defeated it with a Pokémon. Using other weapons or devices was considered poaching.
Furthermore, trainers were not allowed to use captured Pokémon for trade, except for Pokémon exchanges. And if there was a need to trade Pokémon, it had to comply with Pokémon League regulations.
For example, the starting points for initial trainers in various regions, and Pokémon Academies, all had League permission. However, even if these Pokémon had the right to be traded, they had to be captured through legitimate means.
Honestly, Ash was a bit speechless seeing these poachers. They were quite stubborn. Wouldn't it be less conspicuous to just capture Pokémon directly with Poké Balls? Wouldn't it be more convenient to trade them with Poké Balls? Why use cages and nets like idiots? Were they afraid the police wouldn't arrive fast enough? This was like stealing a car.
Wouldn't it be better to just steal the keys directly than pushing it by hand? Or were they trying to save on Poké Ball costs? Or perhaps villains also had to follow villain rules?
Moreover, the Pokémon captured by poachers were not just wild rare Pokémon. As long as they were the target they needed, even if they saw another trainer with one, they would snatch it without hesitation. This was the most despicable thing about poachers. As for their work, as they said, they had employers.
Ash also learned that poachers had their own special dark web, known only to poachers. They received commissions through these dark webs, and these transactions were completely confidential. The employer's identity would not be revealed at all, and there were usually specialized personnel for transactions.
This was because some of these employers might normally be respectable figures and naturally didn't want their identities exposed. And when they didn't have commissions, they would still capture some rare Pokémon and list them for sale on the dark web with clear prices.
"Poachers? How do you know?" Misty asked in surprise, looking at Ash with some doubt. First it was the Rocket Team, and now poachers. It was a bit unsettling for her, after all, she had just started her journey.
"Listening to their conversation, it really sounds like poachers," Brock was more worldly, after all, he was a Gym Leader. Moreover, Gym Leaders weren't just there to accept challenges in the gym. If there were problems in the city, such as criminals that the police couldn't handle immediately, Gym Leaders also had a responsibility to act.
"What do we do now?" Hearing that Ash and Brock had both confirmed it, Misty suddenly felt a little nervous. These two guys looked fierce, even more troublesome than the Rocket Team. Takeo, hearing their conversation, was seething with anger. He clenched his fists, his face red with fury, gritting his teeth. "These hateful guys, actually treating adorable Pokémon as objects to make money! I can never forgive them!"
"Shh! Uncle, speak softer! They'll hear us." Misty quickly covered Takeo's mouth.
"Hmm?? Who's there!!!!" However, at this moment, the two poachers suddenly shouted loudly, their expressions becoming wary.
"Oh no, they found us! It's all your fault, Uncle!" Misty's face turned frantic, and she whispered angrily. These guys were not kind. She often heard stories of poachers attacking trainers.
"Ash, what do we do now?" Not having encountered such a situation before, she could only look at Ash and Brock beside her.
"Looks like we'll have to go out," Brock was relatively calm. Since they were discovered, there was no choice. If the other party was hostile, they could only fight.
"Wait!!" Ash said in a low voice, stopping Brock at the same time. Just as Brock was confused.
"Since you asked who's there?"
"We'll mercifully tell you~~!!"
"To protect the world from devastation!!" A sound echoed through the cave. Hearing this sound, Misty was instantly speechless.
As for Brock and Takeo, they were a bit confused, as they hadn't heard this set of lines before, but they were also a little surprised that there were other people present whom they hadn't discovered.
Brock was even more surprised; Ash had just stopped him, clearly knowing that there were others present. He was a bit surprised how Ash had discovered them.
"We are Team Rocket, soaring through the galaxies! White Hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"
While Brock and the others were confused, these lines were already nearing their end. From the other side of the cave, three figures emerged: a man and a woman in white R-emblazoned uniforms, with a Meowth standing between them.
"That's right, Meowth!"
"Who are these two? Their entrance speech is so cool!" Takeo looked at the two. For some reason, he felt their entrance lines were so cool! Misty was even more speechless. It seemed this uncle also had a chuunibyou heart.
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