Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

"Boss, we've struck it rich! We've struck it rich!"

In the dark, dense forest, a burly man with a buzz cut used night-vision goggles to observe Xia Chen, Ke Erni, and their elves in the clearing.

His hushed voice could not conceal his excitement.

"A shiny Ralts, Milotic, Zoroark, Riolu—all top-tier stuff! Damn, what's with the Eevee? What bad luck!"

The bearded man standing behind him couldn't help but breathe rapidly upon hearing the names of these elves.

Except for that Eevee, they're all big stuff!

The last lean man was also shocked, "Holy crap, after this he'll be set for life for three years!"

However, he immediately thought of something else: "Can we afford to offend the family background of someone who can raise such an elf?"

The crew-cut man observing the situation turned around and spat, saying with disgust, "So cowardly, no wonder you'll never eat four dishes in your life! Where is this? The Alberli Mountains, where there isn't a soul in sight. You're afraid of this? When the time comes... *click*, who the hell will know?"

As he spoke, he made a gesture of slitting his throat with one hand.

The lean man retorted, not to be outdone: "If we had a brainless idiot like you as our leader, we would have been arrested long ago! Families like theirs, wouldn't they have at least two Pokémon provided by their families? Do you think your goat and Flame Lion mounts are enough to fight them?"

The man with the buzz cut was speechless; he couldn't refute those words.

Although their line of work involves seeking wealth amidst danger, they also have to consider whether they have the life to claim it.

He had to admit that the lean man's words made a lot of sense.

"Stop arguing!" The bearded man who had been silent all along was clearly the leader of their elf poaching squad.

He said in a deep voice, "Let's test them first."

…………

In the wild, which is more terrifying, humans or wild spirits?

It is undoubtedly the former.

Most elves possess intelligence comparable to that of humans, especially the more powerful the elf.

Elves don't want anything from you humans. As long as you're not too short-tempered, it's not that dangerous if you can reason with them.

As for humans, you won't know if the other person is a traveler, an explorer, or an elf poacher.

Just like these three seemingly harmless guys with their smiling faces.

"Laru."

Feeling the intense gaze, Ralts cried out in concern. Sitting on Xia Chen's shoulder, she silently burrowed into his clothes.

Xia Chen knew that what Ralts sensed from them was definitely not goodwill.

Soroya, nestled in her arms, was trembling almost imperceptibly, for she could smell the foul, filthy stench emanating from these people.

But the clever girl knew that with her and Xia Chen's other elves' current strength, they would hardly be a match for this group of cunning elf hunters, so she could only suppress the overwhelming resentment in her heart.

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic ate ​​his food innocently, trying to lower their guard.

Riolu, like her trainer, is guileless and is currently watching these uninvited guests with wary eyes.

Her sense of justice made her realize the beastly nature hidden beneath the smiling faces of these people.

Cornee was much calmer than Riolu. Although she knew that these people were not good people, she still waited patiently for Xia Chen to express his opinion.

…………

As a meticulous person, Xia Chen must have considered the possibility of encountering danger during his trip.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to venture into this dangerous mountain forest with his strength, which was below the senior level.

The escape suit that the kind-hearted uncle Fladali gave him as a travel essential was a great thing that allowed him to escape the pursuit of elves below the Elite Four level.

As for those above the Heavenly King level, if you encounter them in the wild, you can only consider yourself unlucky.

However, the probability is not high. If it is a trainer, the few villains of this level in the Kalos region are all from Team Flare.

In other words, they are "one of our own," so there's nothing to worry about.

Pokémon of Champion rank or higher almost never appear on the path they are normally traveling on.

However, even the wisest person can make a mistake.

Now that they were truly in danger, Xia Chen realized the flaw in his meticulous planning.

The escape kit is for one person only, so you can run away by yourself. But what about Korne?

With no other option, Xia Chen had to find another way to escape.

The most important thing before that is to test the strength of these people.

Generally speaking, those who can become elf poachers are in a very awkward position in terms of strength.

It's roughly the kind of age where you reach a certain point in your life, unable to advance further or fall back down, stuck in the gap between senior and elite levels.

If you improve your skills further, becoming a Gym Leader offers a safer, more respectable, and more comfortable path, one that can earn just as much as this.

If their skill level drops a bit, amateur or beginner-to-senior level trainers don't have the ability to poach.

Amateur poaching? A kangaroo mother like Tapu Bruins could slap you away!

In this situation, only those mediocre trainers with ulterior motives would choose this crooked path.

…………

As the atmosphere grew heavy, Xia Chen calmly took a sip of fish soup, breaking the silence of the dense forest.

"Have the three of you had dinner yet? Would you like to have dinner together?"

Today's book recommendation: *Konoha: The Plot Collapse*

A new Naruto book~

Chapter 139 Five Colors Ascend to the Top, Eevee Evolves!

Elf poachers are not necessarily all treacherous and cunning, but those who can operate outside and escape Interpol's capture are certainly not innocent.

Although Diego had never heard of the "empty city strategy" from the ancient Eastern Empire, he had been out in the world for a long time and was not intimidated by the words of this young man.

Using the bright light on the table, he squinted and observed the composed Xia Chen for a while before sitting down in the last empty chair.

Behind him stood two men, one strong and one thin, like two guardian generals, with their hands on their waists, ready to pull out Poké Balls at any moment.

Goodness, they're not hiding this from anyone.

Xia Chen silently complained to himself.

It seems they are experienced elven poachers. You can tell from their own and the elves' reactions that their identities have been exposed, which is why they are no longer trying to hide it.

Xia Chen pondered this in his heart.

He understood that the enemy was also pressuring him, telling him to reveal his trump cards and see if he could handle them.

As for trump cards, Xia Chen didn't have any. All his cards were on the table: a few baby-level Pokémon plus a Milotic.

But how should we define this "baby"?

Xia Chen touched Eevee beside him, who was holding a berry and munching on it, looking like a silly daughter of a wealthy landowner. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

We can only hope that she has some experience in field combat as well.

…………

Seeing that Xia Chen had no reaction, the bearded man began to probe further.

"It's fate that we met. My name is Diego. My two brothers and I are training in the Alpine Mountains. What's your name, young man?"

Xia Chen smiled and replied, "Xia Chen is from Donghuang and is traveling in the Carlos region. This is my sister, Korni."

He didn't hide the fact that he was a foreigner; it was obvious from his appearance, so there was no difference whether he hid it or not.

If you don't take the initiative to speak up, the other person might think you lack confidence.

Diego narrowed his eyes slightly and deliberately repeated, "Oh, a Donghuang person? You don't have many friends here, do you?"

He stared intently at Xia Chen's reaction, trying to glean something from his expression, but Xia Chen's expression remained as calm as still water.

But Xia Chen said nothing, yet he said everything in reality.

Faced with several complete strangers who have no good intentions, a normal person would have already pulled out a Poké Ball after being tested like this.

If he's not revealing them now, it means that all his Pokémon are probably just the ones he's openly known to the public.

Milotic, Shiny Ralts, Riolu, and Zorua

A look of almost insane greed flashed in Diego's eyes.

These Pokémon, combined, must be worth tens of millions, right?

He snapped out of his reverie and suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha, don't misunderstand. When you're traveling, having more friends means having more options. If you don't mind, let's be friends?"

Instead of taking immediate action, he chose to "boil the frog slowly."

…………

Frankly speaking, boiling a frog in lukewarm water is a very risky approach; after all, everyone knows that things can go wrong if you wait too long.

Diego did this because he wanted to capture all of these Pokémon at once and bring them all into his possession.

What if we choose to act now and the four Pokémon immediately split up and run away?

Although they are all baby-level Pokémon and won't be very fast, it's so dark that maybe two of them have slipped through?

These sprites, no matter which one runs away, will make you lose a whole year's worth of rewards.

Besides, the signal jammers carried by his team have been covering this area, so Xia Chen has no chance of asking anyone for help.

As for the resistance of those two immature brats and those elves?

Aside from Milotic, what threat could the other Pokémon pose?

Especially that Eevee, it even brought an unevolved Eevee on its trip! What an innocent young master!

Today, let him see the cruelty of this world!

…………

Feeling confident that everything was in order, Diego looked at Xia Chen and took out a Poké Ball from his waist.