Given the current situation, finding the source of the problem directly would make it much easier to resolve.
The person pulling the strings had some connection to Drake, but was he really a member of Team Aqua?
Shiro couldn't be sure. For now, he could only investigate and see what he found.
As he made his way along the road, he heard people arguing.
"Everyone, there's no need to run! Those Water-type Pokémon are simply sick… The Pokémon League will definitely find a way to cure them!"
"Cut the crap! The League's secret and cruel Pokémon experiments got out of control. Who doesn't know that the League is even more ruthless than those evil organizations?"
"Damn, I heard it was Team Aqua!"
"Hah, I also heard it was Team Magma. Do you really think that's possible?"
"Who the hell says it isn't? Get out of my way! Those Pokémon are acting like idiots. Isn't this the perfect chance to catch them? I heard the Hunters Guild is about to be legalized. This is the perfect opportunity to catch a few and sell them for money!"
At those words, the crowd fell silent.
He had a point! Who cared which organization had caused the Pokémon rampage? These wild Pokémon were usually extremely dangerous, but now, most of them had practically lost their ability to fight. Even the cheapest Poké Balls, which cost only a few hundred Pokédollars each, could catch them with ease.
A month's wages could buy dozens or even a hundred Poké Balls. Even if someone caught only a dozen Pokémon, they could make a hundred times their investment!
More and more people willing to take the risk gathered along the coastline, at the harbor, and on the coastal roads.
On the beach, a young man wearing a yellow T-shirt suddenly shouted in excitement.
"Hahahaha! A Horsea! I caught a Horsea! That's great! I've finally found a way to get the resources I need!"
He jumped up and down while clutching his Poké Ball tightly, completely ignoring the other Pokémon around him that were practically waiting to be slaughtered.
Horsea might only be a pure Water-type Pokémon, but its final evolution, Kingdra, also possessed the highly coveted Dragon typing!
Who wouldn't want a prestigious Dragon-type Pokémon?
Dragon-types were highly sought after in every market, especially young ones. Even this single Horsea could fetch at least a hundred thousand Pokédollars.
Of course, the young man had no intention of raising it himself.
For one thing, although Horsea could eventually evolve into Kingdra in its second evolutionary stage, few people knew the exact method.
For another, the resources needed to raise Horsea to Advanced-level and evolve it into Seadra would be enough to buy several more Horsea.
Unable to contain his excitement, the young man turned to an acquaintance beside him and spoke enthusiastically. "I've been saving money from my part-time jobs for two years. I've already got fifty thousand Pokédollars saved up. If I sell this Horsea as well, I'll have enough to choose a talented starter Pokémon and afford the resources needed to raise it to Advanced-level!"
He already had a plan. He would choose a Grass-type starter since it could eat grass and required fewer resources to raise.
All he needed was to get his Grass-type Pokémon to Advanced-level, even if it was only barely strong enough. After that, he could head into the wilderness, catch Pokémon to his heart's content, and sell them for a profit.
With enough Pokédollars, reaching the Gym-level would only be a matter of time!
Unfortunately, the young man failed to notice the unfriendly look in his acquaintance's eyes.
At first, the acquaintance hadn't given it much thought. After all, everyone around them was there to catch Pokémon. However, when he noticed several other people looking at the young man and even starting to move closer, his thoughts began to change…
The wild Pokémon scattered across the ground were mostly at the Beginner and Intermediate levels. Those with poor species potential or low talent could be sold for very little, sometimes only a few thousand or ten or twenty thousand Pokédollars each.
But in the black market, their prices could multiply several times over.
The real problem was that ordinary people didn't know how to tame wild Pokémon. Even if they managed to catch one by chance, they often wouldn't dare use it, fearing their own Pokémon might attack them.
Plenty of overconfident idiots had already made the news. Some would bring Pokéblocks to feed injured Pokémon that had passed out after fighting in the wild, only to be killed on the spot by the savage creatures. The Pokémon would then gobble up the Pokéblocks as well.
Because of the League's strict Pokémon protection policies, it couldn't punish the innocent Pokémon, which had somehow ended up being even more unfortunate than the person it killed. All the League could do was remind people not to throw their lives away just for the chance to become trainers.
Of course, right now, everyone had a chance to earn over a hundred thousand Pokédollars safely. It was also an opportunity to become a trainer.
And that opportunity was right in front of them.
Smack!
A sharp slap rang out.
The acquaintance who had been listening to the young man's excited boasting suddenly shouted angrily, "How dare you steal my Horsea?"
In an instant, several people along the coast began shouting as well.
"Stop right there! That Horsea is mine!"
"You bastard! It's obviously mine!"
"Don't you dare steal my Pokémon!"
Several greedy men immediately surrounded the young man. After beating him up, they robbed him of everything he had, including his cash, communication device, and several ordinary Poké Balls.
Many experienced trainers merely glanced at the scene with cold expressions before quietly and cautiously throwing their Poké Balls at the Water-type Pokémon surging toward them.
No one noticed the enormous black bird circling in the sky. After watching for a while, it soon flew away.
"It seems ordinary trainers in Lilycove City aren't having an easy time either."
Shiro shook his head slightly and looked away.
The same was true throughout Hoenn. Many respectable city residents might work for two or three years just to afford a single talented Pokémon. Yet the resources needed to raise it afterward could cost several times more than the Pokémon itself.
As a result, they would buy a Pokémon they couldn't afford to raise. They couldn't even afford Pokéblocks, and their Pokémon were too weak to win battles in the wild.
Many Pokémon never even completed their first evolution before growing old, their potential fading away with age.
The solution was actually quite simple. They only needed to save enough money to buy a secondhand Pokémon around the Intermediate-level, then catch large numbers of weaker Pokémon in designated areas of the wilderness and sell them on the black market.
With a year or two of hard work, earning a million Pokédollars was entirely possible.
If they were willing to take greater risks, they could resort to robbery and murder to plunder other people's wealth. That would make getting stronger even faster.
However, most respectable city residents neither knew about these methods nor dared to try them.
Even if they desperately wanted to become trainers, and even if they happened to hear about the possibility of illegally catching Pokémon, they would immediately shake their heads and wave their hands in refusal, saying, "That's against the League's laws! I'll be thrown in prison!"
And these were still city residents with legal identities and access to ordinary jobs.
Whether among the lower classes or ordinary citizens, only a tiny fraction had the courage to break the law. An even smaller number managed to rise above the rest and succeed.
Perhaps this was also why Gym-level trainers were so deeply respected.
Ultimately, none of this had much to do with Shiro anymore.
He had no intention of moonlighting as a police officer to manage these people, nor was it his responsibility.
Officer Jenny would probably have her hands full dealing with the aftermath.
For now, Shiro needed to find Team Aqua's location and see if he could get any answers from them.
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