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Abra was a highly intelligent species. Sato's real intention—how could he not understand it?
However, he also knew very well that just as Sato had said, his current strength was indeed far too weak, and he himself was the target of countless poachers' intense desire.
Unless he stayed hidden in the rarely visited deep mountains and forests to train, he would easily encounter another skilled poacher like Hook again.
But after witnessing the bustling human world, he really didn't want to return to the boring and lonely mountains anymore.
Most importantly, he had come to the human world because he longed to become as powerful as his father. His father had told him that if he wanted to strengthen himself quickly, the best way was to seek the help of human psychics.
Unfortunately, the number of psychics among humans was far too small. He searched for a long time without finding one, and instead encountered many low-intelligence humans who tried to capture him. He was forced to hide and run every day. Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.
Now, he had finally encountered a real human psychic—and the human even came straight to him. Supposedly, this human was also his lifesaver.
Although from his perception, this human psychic's mental power wasn't particularly strong, he looked young, and his other Pokemon seemed very powerful. Following such a person wouldn't be shameful.
More importantly, this human looked very rich—unlike that stingy poacher from before.
And to be honest, the food in the human world was simply too delicious. The days of eating nothing but tree fruits in the mountains were pure hell.
But although he had successfully stolen food many times using Teleport, he'd nearly been caught by strong humans several times. If he wanted to eat more delicious things in the future, he would need a human Trainer to pay for it.
[Alright—but remember what you promised! You can't keep me imprisoned inside a PokeBall all the time. And whenever you have something tasty, you must call me first.]
After thinking it through, Abra finally spoke to Sato through telepathy. For the sake of becoming stronger—and for good food—he reluctantly allowed this psychic with mediocre mental power to capture him.
"No problem. As long as you follow me, I guarantee you'll eat well and sleep well. Here—take these. I promise they're delicious."
Hearing Abra's words, Sato instantly realized this Psychic-type Pokemon was yet another glutton. He patted his chest confidently and laughed, then took out several gem-grade PokeBlocks from his spatial backpack.
It was Abra's first time seeing something as beautiful as gem-grade PokeBlocks. His instincts, honed from tasting many delicious foods, told him these colorful little cubes were definitely worth anticipating.
Sure enough, the moment he tasted one, Abra immediately fell under the spell of its indescribable flavor. Through telepathy, he urgently begged Sato to give him more gem-grade PokeBlocks.
"With Abra—a Pokemon that naturally knows Teleport, I can even teleport in front of others without arousing too much suspicion."
After successfully capturing Abra using a large bundle of gem-grade PokeBlocks tailored to his taste, the weight in Sato's heart finally lifted. He felt excited.
At that moment, several poachers emerged from the tunnel and returned to the lakeshore. A Crobat scanning the surroundings with ultrasonic waves quickly pushed Sato with its wing—he was still immersed in the joy of capturing Abra.
"The Black Cloud Poaching Group, huh… Looks like they've chosen the road to death as well."
Reminded by Crobat, Sato immediately regained focus and used his mental power to scout the newcomers. When he saw the four battered members of the Black Cloud Poaching Group, he knew they had also taken a dead-end passage.
There were nine tunnels in the rock face. Without the ability to use machinery to investigate them, poachers could only try each one by luck in their search for the path leading to Altaria.
But just like what Hook encountered before, and what the Black Cloud group faced now—if they chose wrong, not only would their efforts be wasted, they would also face the deadly traps hidden within these tunnels.
The Black Cloud group originally had five people; now only four remained, and all of them looked battered. Clearly, something terrible had happened inside.
Adding the Black Cloud group, Sato had now confirmed two tunnels were dead ends.
In truth, the reason he chose to wait by the lake was to let these poachers help him find the correct passage, reducing the number of risks he himself had to take.
After suffering a crisis once, the Black Cloud poachers had learned their lesson. Instead of trying a second tunnel right away, they rested where they were—just like Sato—and waited for others to return.
Soon, Shadow and members of the other three major poaching groups also emerged from the tunnels.
Shadow, the lone wolf, looked the same as before. But the members of the other three groups were all covered in dust.
As for the Crag and Gale Poaching Groups, there was no need to say more—these two spent as much time fighting each other as exploring the tunnels. Now, both groups had only three members left, each one injured.
The Malevolent Ghost Poaching Group, however, still had seven members, a testament to how experienced the sickly-looking elder leading them was. Under his leadership, they maintained a clear numerical advantage.
However, after using life-saving secret techniques to cross the underground lake, their condition seemed poor. Everyone looked as sickly as the old man, as if they had just recovered from a major illness.
"Judging by their expressions, all of them chose dead ends… That means four tunnels remain unconfirmed. From here on, it'll all depend on luck. Whoever gets lucky has a great chance of obtaining the Pokemon egg and capturing Altaria."
Sato carefully observed the faces of the poachers with his mental power. Seeing that everyone looked frustrated, he knew none of them had found the correct passage.
He thought they would rest and then choose tunnels again.
Instead, something Sato completely did not expect happened.
At that moment, the Black Cloud, Crag, and Malevolent Ghost poaching groups suddenly teamed up and surrounded the members of the Gale Poaching Group.
"What's going on? Based on logic, shouldn't Black Cloud, Crag, and Gale join forces to weaken the Malevolent Ghost group? Looks like the grudges between them are far more complicated than I thought."
Watching the three groups turn on the Gale Poachers simultaneously, Sato was genuinely surprised.