Chapter 80: Come, Let's Count Up Your Sins!
Where there is light in this world, darkness will inevitably coalesce and arise. The two accompany each other, together forming the truest face of this world.
Because of this, many different professions exist.
Such as merchants, doctors, scholars, police, scientists, fighters, dancers, and so on, or the series of noble and righteous professions like Pokémon Trainer, Pokémon Breeder, Pokémon Groomer, Pokémon Judge, and so on.
However, not all humans are kind-hearted and drawn to the light. There are always some people who, perhaps forced by circumstances or perhaps due to a natural inclination for evil, choose to become a part of the world's darkness.
Among them, Pokémon Poachers are an existence detested by both humans and Pokémon.
They are always unscrupulous, committing all manner of evil in pursuit of monetary gain. When some illegal research institutions require a large number of test subjects, they will use various cruel methods to capture wild Pokémon on a massive scale to complete transactions with the research institutions. And when some malicious buyers make requests, they will transform into unreasonable robbers, snatching various owned Pokémon to satisfy the buyers' perverse demands.
Richard was a member of this despicable and evil group.
"Not bad, not bad. Another great haul tonight."
Walking on the road outside Verdant Leaf City, Richard smiled with immense pleasure, tossing a pink wallet up and down in his hand.
On his back, he carried a backpack stuffed to the brim.
"I really don't know who came up with the 'Fireworks Festival.' So many people squeezed together, isn't that just an invitation for me to make a move? After this haul, I'll have enough to have fun for a good few days. Better hurry back and meet up, otherwise it'll be troublesome if I miss this big operation."
Thinking of this, Richard quickened his pace.
As a member of the Pokémon Poachers, besides participating in the group's various evil activities, he also had his own personal quirk, which was that he loved to steal. Whenever he stealthily stole valuables from others, the addictive thrill made him deeply intoxicated.
Thanks to his truly exquisite thieving skills, he had never been discovered in his many past offenses, which made him increasingly arrogant. This time, when he saw the massive crowd gathered for the "Fireworks Festival," the stirring in his heart made him unable to resist going on a crazy spree, pulling off his biggest theft in history.
"Speaking of which, for no one to have discovered this, the police in Verdant Leaf City are really terrible."
Richard was practically floating as he walked.
But what he didn't know was that while no person had discovered his thieving, a Pokémon had.
Behind the figure of Richard walking forward, a Pokémon leaped into the air.
"[Brick Break]!"
A palm-blade, whistling through the air, chopped straight for Richard's back.
"Wh-what the hell!"
Perhaps it was the keen senses developed over a long time that alerted Richard. When a sharp gust of wind from a palm strike came from behind, the hair on his body instantly stood on end. Disregarding the large backpack he was carrying, he rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the attack.
He was somewhat shaken. He immediately placed his hand on his waist, holding a Poké Ball.
At this moment, in the light cast by the streetlight, a small dog-like Pokémon with what looked like a black mask on its face walked out.
"What the heck, it's just a Pokémon. How dare it sneak attack me?!"
After getting a clear look at his attacker, Richard, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief, which was quickly followed by a wave of annoyance.
However, after carefully sizing up the Pokémon before him, his eyes filled with greed.
"An unknown Pokémon? Very good. It looks like you can be sold for a high price..."
Richard licked his lips with a sinister smile. As a Pokémon Poacher, he could tell the considerable value of the Pokémon before him at a glance.
"Come out, Poochyena!"
A Poké Ball flashed, and a canine Pokémon covered in grey fur leaped out.
"Awoof!"
Poochyena stared fiercely at the Pokémon before it, baring its teeth in an attempt to intimidate its opponent.
Most Dark-type Pokémon have a ferocious temperament. Also being a dog, Rio was momentarily startled by Poochyena's intimidation.
But then, Rio revealed a "ferocious" smile and clenched his fists. "I couldn't beat a lv90+ Mewtwo, but you think I'm afraid of a lv15 Poochyena? Besides, Fighting-type has a natural advantage over Dark-type..."
"Take this!"
Taking a large step forward, his right arm drawn back like a full bow, Rio threw a punch without hesitation.
Poochyena let out two low growls, opened its mouth wide, and bit down with its sharp teeth.
"Biting me? Eat this [Aura Sphere]!"
Rio changed his fist to a palm. He condensed his Aura energy into a shimmering azure blue energy ball and sent it spinning towards Poochyena.
Unable to dodge in time, Poochyena took the full force of this energy projectile. [Aura Sphere] already had considerable power, and coupled with the Fighting-type's advantage over the Dark-type, it was super effective.
However, Poochyena was also quite tenacious. Its body trembled slightly, but it still managed to stabilize itself.
A command from its trainer came from behind: "Poochyena, use [Tackle]!"
Poochyena's eyes turned fierce. It moved its four limbs, and howling, it charged over.
But Poochyena's speed was already inferior to Riolu's to begin with, let alone a Riolu like Rio who had allocated points to speed.
"[Detect]!"
Rio concentrated his mind to see through Poochyena's opening, then stepped aside to dodge its [Tackle].
"[Quick Attack]!"
Then, his figure became like a flash of lightning. He turned and chased after the Poochyena that couldn't brake in time, then used the explosive charge of [Quick Attack] to knock Poochyena into the air.
Finally, he leaped high.
"[Brick Break]!"
A palm-blade, covered in brownish-red Fighting energy, chopped down from above.
"Bang!" Poochyena crashed to the ground, its eyes already turned to "@".
[Detect]! [Quick Attack]! [Brick Break]! The three moves were executed smoothly, making everything happen in a flash. Even Poochyena's trainer couldn't react before the battle was already over.
After experiencing various major battles, even a duel with the super legendary Pokémon Mewtwo, facing this Pokémon whose level was lower than his and whose strength was far inferior, victory was an inevitable result.
"P-Poochyena?!"
Richard's face changed drastically, looking at his Pokémon being defeated just like that in disbelief.
At this moment, he saw Rio leisurely walking towards him, and he suddenly panicked.
"Damn it, don't come over here!"
This Pokémon Poacher, who was usually extremely vicious, never thought he would one day be frightened by such a Pokémon. He hurriedly fumbled at his waist, trying to call out another Pokémon.
Rio nonchalantly extended his left paw, pointing at Richard. He lowered his head slightly, then flicked it forward.
"Now, let's count up your sins!"
"[Quick Attack]!"
Richard naturally couldn't understand Rio's gibberish Pokémon language and hurriedly tried to throw the Poké Ball in his hand.
Rio wouldn't give him a chance to fight back. He used [Quick Attack] again, and in the next instant, he was beside the human. "Thud," a punch landed on the back of Richard's head.
"The thing I hate most is thieves... Heh, ptui."
Rio wiped his fist with some disgust, leaving the unconscious human on the ground behind him.
Of course, if Rio had known that this human was not just a thief but also a Pokémon Poacher detested by gods and ghosts, he surely wouldn't have let him off with a simple knockout.
…
In the Verdant Leaf City police station, the officer on duty rubbed the space between his eyebrows, somewhat tired.
After the "Fireworks Festival" ended earlier, a large number of tourists had come in to report that their important valuables had been stolen. The number was so large that the officer on duty was busy just taking down reports until it was nearly midnight.
"Damn it, why are there so many cases? These thieves are really lawless."
The on-duty officer drank some tea in frustration, then stood up, intending to open the window for some fresh air.
But as soon as he opened it, a large black shadow at the entrance of the police station startled him, making him wide awake.
"What is that..."
He turned on his flashlight to check and found that it was, surprisingly, an unconscious man and a Poochyena, and a bag stuffed full of things had been placed at the entrance by someone.
He pulled open the bag and saw that it was full of wallets, necklaces, and other valuables...