Swellow flew at an extremely high speed; every flap of its wings felt like it was slicing through the air, producing a dull whistle.
Jiang Han rode on Swellow's back, lowering his body to try and offset the resistance brought by the gale.
He focused his attention on the Swellow beneath him.
This Pokémon's feathers were smooth and tough; even under the wash of the rainstorm, they maintained a certain dry touch. A powerful core strength emanated from the base of its wings, making it as steady as a rock in the gale.
Jiang Han pulled the pokédex out of his pocket. Operating it with one hand, he pointed the scanner at Swellow's back.
"Beep."
A crisp electronic sound rang out, and a series of data immediately popped up on the pokédex screen.
"Swellow, the Swallow pokémon. Level 22. Ability: Guts (Attack increases when suffering from a status condition)... Aptitude Assessment: Intermediate."
Intermediate aptitude.
Jiang Han's fingertips lightly swiped across the screen, his gaze calm.
This result was within his expectations. A person like Laic would never easily hand over a main Pokémon that he truly cherished to someone else.
To put it bluntly, this Swellow was just an advanced means of transportation.
It was fast enough and had enough stamina to support long-distance flight, to be discarded once its use was over.
Although Crobat was Laic's core combat power and was faster, in terms of endurance, it might truly be inferior to this Swellow specifically used for travel.
However, for his current situation, this Swellow was already a huge help.
Jiang Han did not put away the pokédex; instead, he pressed the edges of the screen several times in a specific sequence.
The interface that originally displayed pokémon information switched instantly, becoming a black, minimalist chat window. At the top of the window, there was only a bright red 'R' logo.
This was a dedicated communication channel for internal members of the Team Rockets, integrated into the specially made pokédex, hidden and secure.
After thinking for a moment, he opened the dialogue box with Laic.
He typed a line of text into the input box.
"I have left the passenger ship. Small speedboats suspected to be League Patrols have appeared near the ship and are approaching it."
Click send.
Only after doing all this did Jiang Han put the pokédex away again.
He didn't do this out of the kindness of his heart to remind Laic.
Between him and Laic, it was nothing more than a temporary cooperative relationship of mutual exploitation.
He was simply avoiding risk.
If Laic, after finishing looting the Pirate Leader, got hot-headed and went back to the wave chaser to see if there were any fish that escaped the net, only to run head-on into the League Patrol... that would be a huge mess.
Given Laic's personality, he would certainly not surrender without a fight.
Once they started fighting and killed members of the patrol, it would inevitably draw a larger-scale investigation from the League. At that time, the entire sea area would be blockaded.
He didn't want to invite that kind of trouble.
A simple reminder could nip these potential risks in the bud.
As for what Laic would do after seeing the message, that was not his concern.
The wind and rain seemed to have lessened slightly. Occasionally, a few rays of sunlight leaked through the gaps in the dark clouds, plating the churning sea surface with a layer of golden yellow.
Leaning against Swellow's back, Jiang Han began to take stock of the gains from this trip to the 'wave chaser'.
First were the two Poké Balls.
He pulled the two Poké Balls he had obtained from the pirates he first ambushed out of another pocket. These were his deserved spoils of war; Laic hadn't even spared them a glance at the time, clearly looking down on such goods.
He took out the pokédex and scanned one of them.
"Goldeen, the Goldfish pokémon. Level 9... Aptitude Assessment: Primary."
As expected, they were just low-grade things.
Jiang Han curled his lip and scanned the other one.
"Zubat, the Bat pokémon. Level 12... Aptitude Assessment: Primary."
He casually tossed the two Poké Balls into his space ring.
They were all ordinary stock with no special characteristics or training value. Their greatest use would be to sell them for money later.
Next was the Corphish that Sandile had defeated.
Although that guy's level wasn't high, its aptitude was good and it could be sold for a good price.
Finally, and most importantly... Jiang Han's breath hitched slightly, and his hand instinctively reached into his pocket, touching the hard object wrapped in oilcloth through the fabric.
The Treasure Map.
This was the biggest surprise of this voyage, a treasure that even Laic had missed.
His heart stirred, and he pulled out that roll of parchment again. This time, he was in no hurry to unroll it; instead, he carefully scrutinized the oilcloth wrapped around the outer layer by the moonlight that occasionally pierced through the clouds.
The material of the oilcloth was very special; it felt both tough and slightly greasy to the touch, with excellent waterproofing. Despite being soaked in seawater for who knows how long, the parchment inside remained dry.
Unfortunately, this map was too old and rudimentary; it was impossible to tell which specific sea area it was.
Jiang Han would have to wait until he had time to carefully compare it with a map of the Hoenn region.
Jiang Han took a deep breath and solemnly placed the heavy Treasure Map into the deepest part of his space ring.
Time passed slowly during the monotonous flight.
After an unknown amount of time, the raindrops beneath him gradually stopped, and the dark clouds overhead mostly dispersed, revealing warm sunlight.
The sea breeze still carried a salty, damp chill, but it was no longer so violent.
More than half an hour later, a touch of green appeared at the end of the horizon.
It was an island.
Jiang Han's spirits lifted, and he immediately took out his pokédex and opened the map function. GPS positioning was quickly completed, and a flashing red dot appeared on the screen.
The location of the red dot was an archipelago in the southwestern Hoenn region. And the island directly in front of him was labeled on the pokédex as—Dewford Town.
"That's the place."
Jiang Han patted Swellow's neck and pointed toward the island.
Swellow let out a clear, high-pitched cry, understanding his meaning, and adjusted its direction to dive toward the island.
The closer they got, the clearer the island's outline became. Large forests covered most of the island, and only on the side near the beach could a few scattered lights be seen, presumably where Dewford Town was located.
Swellow did not fly toward the town but landed smoothly on a secluded beach on the other side of the island.
The steady feeling of his feet stepping on the soft sand made Jiang Han breathe a long sigh of relief. He flipped off Swellow's back and stretched his somewhat stiff body.
The moment it landed, the Swellow very humanly tilted its head and used its sharp beak to precisely peck the Poké Ball clasp at Jiang Han's waist.
With a "clack," its own red-and-white Poké Ball fell off.
Immediately after, Swellow picked up the Poké Ball with its beak and let out a short, high-pitched cry at Jiang Han, its eyes even carrying a few hints of undisguised disdain.
It was as if to say: "Kid, you're too weak, this great one isn't playing with you anymore."
The next second, it flapped its wings, kicking up a cloud of dust, and soared into the sky without looking back, turning into a black dot and quickly disappearing into the night sky.
The whole process was smooth and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Jiang Han stood there, his face covered in the sand it had kicked up, for a moment not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Damn..."
He wiped his face, spat out the sand in his mouth, and cursed in a low voice.
However, he didn't care much about this.
It was a one-time deal; the other party had completed the task, and he had reached his destination, so they were even.
He glanced at the faint lights in the distance and chose not to head to the town immediately.
His current appearance was too wretched, and he still smelled of unpleasant blood; going over like this would inevitably attract attention.
He took out a set of clean Trainer clothes from his space ring and changed into them, taking off his original combat gear and putting it into the space ring.
Fortunately, the surface of the combat gear had special materials as a protective layer, so blood stains wouldn't stay on it forever, and cleaning it in the future shouldn't be too difficult.
"Come out, Sandile."
A red light flashed, and Sandile's familiar figure appeared before him. Perhaps because it hadn't been out for a while, it seemed quite excited, circling around Jiang Han's feet and occasionally rubbing its head against his pant leg.
Jiang Han stroked its hard head, feeling the bond that belonged solely to him, and the last bit of unpleasantness from Swellow's departure vanished.
What belongs to others is ultimately theirs; only the power held in one's own hands is the most real.
Dewford Town is famous for its Fighting-type Gym and the Granite Cave.
This is an excellent place to hone one's strength and increase levels.
The corners of Jiang Han's mouth curled up slightly, and a burning fire ignited in his eyes.
A new journey has begun.
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