59. Poachers
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"Are you alright?" Misty asked, a little worried after repelling the Zubat. Several people gathered around the man.
"Ahhh!!! Thank you for asking, I'm alright," the man exclaimed. Despite being attacked by Zubat, he didn't suffer any serious injuries. Instead, he stood up energetically and rushed towards Ash.
Ash dodged instinctively, causing the man to miss and fall to the ground.
"Uncle, are you alright?" Misty asked, concerned after seeing him attacked by Zubat and then taking a hard fall.
"Uncle? You call me Uncle? I'm not that old! I'm from the Pewter City Science Museum, Love and Courage Research Institute. I'm Seymour!" Hearing Misty's words, Seymour sprang up, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Uh..." The three of them were speechless. This guy seemed a bit odd.
"So, Uncle, why did Zubat attack you?" Misty asked, still using the term "Uncle" since he was indeed older than them.
"Well...you'll know when you come with me," Seymour said, dropping his serious tone.
He led the way, and the group followed him into the cave.
At first, they thought the cave would be dark and damp, but it was brightly lit, almost like daylight.
"Ah?" Misty exclaimed, noticing the light bulbs strung along the cave walls, spaced about every five or six meters, illuminating the entire cave.
"What's going on here? Why are there electric lights in the cave? It's even brighter than outside," Misty asked in surprise.
"Whoever did this disrupted the Pokémon's natural habitat," Seymour explained as they walked.
Most Pokémon in caves prefer darkness, but with the cave so brightly lit, they can't adapt. Zubat, in particular, are affected. They're naturally aggressive toward intruders in their territory, and although they have no eyes, the bright light makes them uncomfortable.
Moreover, Zubat evolve into Golbat, which have eyes. Some Zubat that are ready to evolve avoid doing so in this environment, making them more aggressive.
"Because the Moon Stone is valuable, people often come here looking for it. Although few find it, their presence disrupts the Pokémon," Seymour continued, clearly upset by the damage.
"In order to protect this place, I conduct research while patrolling," he continued.
"So do you know who did this?" Misty asked.
"Not yet..."
"Pika??" Pikachu's ears on Ash's shoulders suddenly perked up.
"Huh? What happened to Pikachu?" Misty asked, noticing Pikachu's alertness.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu whispered twice on Ash's shoulder after hearing the sound.
Listening to Pikachu's response, Ash frowned slightly, then closed his eyes and focused. Since gaining that power, Ash's senses had become much sharper.
"What's wrong with Ash?" Misty couldn't help but ask, looking at Ash and Pikachu curiously.
"Someone's coming!" Ash said after a moment. He could sense someone approaching, which was clearer in the confined space of the cave.
"Someone? Could it be the person who did this?" Misty said, a bit worried.
"Hide and take a look first!" Seymour quickly suggested.
The four of them immediately found a place to hide. After a while, they heard footsteps. Brock looked at Ash in surprise. Pikachu's hearing was already excellent, but they only now heard the footsteps. Ash could distinguish them from such a distance—no wonder his father had said he was special.
Misty dared not speak and looked a little nervous. She hid behind Brock, carefully peeking towards the cave passage. Two figures gradually appeared.
Looking closely, they saw two men, both wearing vests and looking strong and sturdy. One had a bald head with a scar on his mouth, giving a more intimidating appearance. The other had a cropped cut and fierce eyes, clearly not someone to be trifled with. He was carrying a black bag over his shoulder, which looked heavy.
"These two don't look like good people," Misty whispered cautiously into Ash's ear.
"Hush!" Ash signaled for Misty to be quiet, raising his index finger. He was puzzled. If he remembered correctly, it wasn't these two who had caused the disturbance in the cave. He didn't recognize them from the anime either. But considering the amount of work done on the light bulbs, Team Rocket must have been here for a while. His progress differed from the anime—he hadn't spent days in Pewter City. After finishing the gym battle in one day, he set off immediately. Therefore, it was possible that others had passed through here while he would have still been in Pewter City in the anime.
"Why do we have to come to this dump? We should be heading to Viridian City," the bald man grumbled, clearly uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, the trading time we agreed on is still a while away. I got a new commission earlier. Someone's offering a high price for Clefairy. It's a rare Pokémon," the short-haired man responded calmly.
"Hmph! Who wants a Pokémon like Clefairy? Must be some rich guy trying to please his daughter or wife. These rich folks are really stupid," the bald man said disdainfully.
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100 power stones=1bonus chapter