Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 725 The Rockets' Order
The original population of Delibirds was wiped out by Pokémon hunters.

To be honest, when Luo Mu saw the news about the Pokémon Hunter event on the camp bulletin board, he didn't even think about it.

After all, there are many Pokémon species living in this vast Frosty Mountain, so what a coincidence!
But the facts are already clear.

Putting aside Mr. Trump's request, there was also Luo Mu's own idea.

Even for the sake of the messenger birds' feelings, he had to set off to completely rescue the messenger bird colony.

Luo Mu recalled Ninetales into its Poké Ball, picked up his bear apprentice and Delibird, and sat directly on Xeno'jiiva's back, directing it to dash off in a certain direction.

In Luo Mu's eyes, an arrow that only he could see was guiding him in real time.

A biting wind picked up again, and a few snowflakes occasionally drifted down onto Luo Mu's exposed skin, bringing a chilly sensation.

Luo Mu looked up at the sky and murmured, "...A blizzard is coming soon."

In fact, Nine-Tailed Fox, who is quite sensitive to such matters, had already reacted to the omen of the snowstorm while on the way to the territory of the Messenger Birds.

The snowstorm did come rather quickly.

The arrow in my eyes moves from time to time, even without needing the system to provide a prompt.

Luo Mu could tell that the group of Pokémon hunters had probably succeeded in their mission, so to avoid any unforeseen complications, they chose to move on despite the impending snowstorm.

The other party's vehicle should be a specially modified snowmobile capable of adapting to various terrains.

There might even be flying vehicles.

I don't currently have enough means to deal with aerial attacks. The messenger bird can only catch up on its own, and it can only carry the bear apprentice in flight. Even the burn bug would have some difficulty.

Summoning Calycerin directly is one solution, but Luo Mu felt that rather than staying put and waiting for Calycerin to arrive, the messenger bird preferred to take the initiative to rescue its own kind.

Moreover, although movement will be restricted in the upcoming heavy snow, the wind and snow will also provide the most suitable cover.

what did you say?
No need for cover, just let Xeno'jiiva overtake the Pokémon Hunter and use its electric attack to wipe out the entire field?

Luo Mu didn't think it was a good idea.

Even for a seasoned and highly skilled Pokémon investigator like Lance, why do they often choose to infiltrate when carrying out missions, instead of brazenly running up to the target and conducting a respectable "assassination"?

the reason is simple.

The world's cutting-edge technologies are too varied, complex, and impossible to defend against.

You never know what kind of Pokémon hunter you'll be targeting, who might be wielding all sorts of high-tech weapons, like the petrification gun from Hunter J, which can even petrify legendary Pokémon.

He still travels the world with a fishing net in hand, going out alone with a net, embracing a primitive style.

Luo Mu would not let the X-Touch cat take that risk.

"Let it rain, let it rain. When the time comes, the wind and snow will be the best camouflage."

As he watched the notifications indicating that he was getting closer to his goal, Luo Mu murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, on the steep mountain road leading to the other side of the Frosty Mountain Range.

The convoy, neither large nor small, was moving at a steady speed.

The vehicles in the convoy were all multi-terrain off-road vehicles painted in camouflage, with the rear sections covered by black cloth, except for the front sections.

As the cold wind blew, the outline of the box looked somewhat like an iron cage, and sounds came from inside from time to time, as if a large number of living creatures were being kept inside.

The camouflage paint, which would normally conceal its presence well in the dense forest, was quite conspicuous in this almost entirely white environment.

This is why both the drivers and the people watching from the surveillance cameras were extremely tense.

In the passenger seat of the lead vehicle, the bald, burly man, the team leader, was tapping on the window from time to time. His gaze towards the outside world showed not only vigilance but also unease.

They are Pokémon hunters, and some people also call them poachers or bounty hunters.

But regardless of their titles, they only have one job to do for making a living.

— Take the money, and then get the Pokémon, items, or rare treasures that the buyer needs.

Although Mt. Frost is a protected area in the Padilla region where poaching is strictly prohibited, such warnings are of no use to most Pokémon hunters.

A protected area? They've trespassed on a protected area!
However, for most Pokémon hunters, Mount Frost has been a forbidden place since a certain day almost a year ago, a place they are unwilling to come to carry out missions.

The fundamental reason why Frostmoor Mountain is avoided like the plague by criminals known for their daring and dangerous nature is due to one thing—

A notorious poaching gang led by the renowned Pokémon hunter J, who only accepted high-priced jobs from the wealthy, was wiped out while on a mission in the Frosty Mountains.

Even Hunter J, the leader, couldn't escape being handcuffed and brought before the International Court of Justice.

Who would dare come to a place where even Hunter J could be caught off guard?
Therefore, after Hunter J was arrested and sentenced, the number of Pokémon hunters visiting Frosty Mountain dropped sharply. Even if there were any, most of them were just newbies who knew nothing about the game.

Normally, an old team like theirs would never have taken the risk of coming here.

But things didn't go as planned. Whether they came or not wasn't up to them, but rather to the local bullies who were usually active there.

"The Rockets".

A massive evil organization that spans the Kanto and Johto regions and has remained powerful despite the Alliance's continued efforts to suppress it.

Compared to Team Rocket, these Pokémon hunters are nothing.

Naturally, they couldn't refuse the request from the Rockets.

The other party was not stingy with money, but the mission objective left them somewhat puzzled.

Capture a large number (no fewer than one hundred) of messenger birds; the mission location cannot be in the Kanto/Johto region.

To be honest, when he received this mission, the bald boss's first reaction was that the girl with glasses was using Team Rocket's power to mess with them.

How could they not recognize Delibird, a Pokémon that is frequently active in the Kanto/Johto region?

Regardless of their racial potential, in terms of sheer numbers, while they may not be as numerous as the Pikachu species, which are as plentiful as stray dogs on the street, they are certainly not rare either.

After all, the Johto region is known to be home to the most messenger birds.

It's like sending countless Team Rocket members out into the wild to catch them yourself; gathering thousands of them in a short time wouldn't be a problem.

They approved funding and issued missions to the Padia region, which is half a planet away from them.

What's going on?

So, the bald boss really thought that the girl with glasses from the Rockets was making fun of them.

But the deposit promised by the Rockets was quickly deposited into their account. People in this line of work are often driven by money.

Even though I was annoyed by that bespectacled girl who looked down on me, now that the deposit had been received, I naturally had to carry out the task.

In fact, from the perspective of choosing partners, Team Rocket, who are surprisingly trustworthy, are already considered a high-quality partner that most Pokémon hunters would be eager to cooperate with.

There are even examples of exceptionally talented hunters being noticed by Team Rocket and eventually recruited as members.

The most widely known name in the Pokémon Hunter world is probably Bishas, ​​who is now a high-ranking executive in Team Rocket and was once a hunter himself.

But recently, I haven't heard any rumors about them at all.

It's unclear whether he perished in internal strife, was captured by the alliance, or simply met his demise unexpectedly.

In short, the Rockets, who are unlikely to engage in double-crossing and care about their image, are already a very high-quality partner and are very generous with their money.

Furthermore, almost a year has passed since Hunter J was arrested, so the level of vigilance on Frostbite Mountain should have been significantly reduced.

With gritted teeth, they traveled from the other side of the planet to this place to begin their mission.

Because the Rockets gave them a tight deadline, they didn't have time to change the convoy's paint scheme to suit the snow before they hurriedly set off.

Fortunately, things went as they had predicted.

The Padiya League's security measures on Frostbite Mountain were by no means weak, after all, their tracks had already been discovered by the police and rangers.

But they don't believe that this level of vigilance could cause a legendary figure like Hunter J to suffer an unexpected setback.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

The level of vigilance has gradually weakened over time.

Given this, they naturally don't need to have any extra scruples when they act.

A small group of people were sent out to place "smoke bombs" at the top of Frostbite Mountain, where many rare Pokémon live. They deliberately injured and drove away some Whales and Mega Whales. This series of actions successfully diverted the attention of the police and forest rangers.

They arrived unnoticed at the messenger bird gathering place, captured an entire flock of messengers, and then made a hasty escape.

According to the Rockets player with glasses who gave them the tactical advice, in a faraway Eastern country, this move is called something like "feinting to the east while attacking the west."
It works quite well, and the bald boss decided that once they returned to their base, they would use this trick to dangle those Officer Jennys, Interpol agents, and rangers like a peepdog when they came out to operate again.

—But all of this is contingent on them being able to successfully return to the border crossing point of Padia at the end of the mountain range near Frostbite Mountain, and board the spaceship arranged by the Team Rocket girl with so many vehicles.

The bald leader paused in his rhythmic tapping on the car window and took several deep breaths.

Even though everything is going smoothly, why do I feel so uneasy?

At that moment, a report came through the bald boss's earpiece from his underling.

"Boss, the snowstorm is getting worse, it looks like a blizzard is about to hit!"

"Should we rest here until the blizzard passes before continuing?"

"No." The bald leader frowned deeply and commanded in an authoritative tone, "Pay attention to the road conditions and keep moving forward. The longer we stay on Frostmog Mountain, the more likely we are to be discovered."

"To avoid any unforeseen complications, we must forge ahead despite the blizzard!"

As the leader of a poaching gang that was approached by Team Rocket, the bald, burly man was no ordinary person, and his underlings obeyed him without question.

Even though they were fully aware of the impact of the blizzard on driving safety, they still faithfully carried out the bald boss's judgment.

The heavier the snowstorm, the more expensive the bird!

After completing this deal, the Rockets' generous reward will be enough for them to live a carefree life for a long time!

Amidst the fierce wind and snow, the sound of the car engine did not gradually disappear; instead, it roared like a giant beast.

But unbeknownst to them, a lithe figure was already standing on the cliff, looking down at them.

"As expected, there are multiple Pokémon hunters present. Judging from the size of the convoy, it's probably a sizable poaching group."

Sitting on the back of the Röntgen cat, Luo Mu also looked down from a high place.

Even though the weather had turned into a blizzard and severely obstructed visibility, it was still enough to make out the headlights of the cars.

Losing its composure, the messenger bird frantically flapped its wings, trying to swoop down, but was immediately grabbed back by Luo Mu.

"Don't rush, didn't I tell you not to act rashly?"

While reassuring the messenger bird, Luo Mu also awaited the response from the X-cat.

At this moment, the Röntgen Cat's eyes were like torches, its bright, golden eyes seemingly able to see through everything in the world.

This is indeed the case.

The Roentgenie cat race possesses a unique racial talent: consuming stored electrical energy within their bodies to activate "X-ray vision."

The weaker ones can see through walls, while the most powerful of them, the Roentgen, can see through even endless wind and snow.

Luo Mu's Xenophon Fischl has this ability.

Through the heavy snow and the black-clothed box, the Röntgen cat saw the same silhouette as the messenger bird.

Regardless of whether these messenger birds are a later group or are members of the original messenger bird lineage.

At this moment, the group of Pokémon hunters were indeed transporting a large number of Delibirds away.

The Röntgen cat closed its eyes, and when it opened them again, its eyes were no longer glowing.

It turned its head and called out to Luo Mu on its back.

"Meow!" (It's them!)

"Okay, I see."

Luo Mu nodded immediately and squinted his eyes as he pondered.

Judging from the direction the convoy was traveling, they were heading towards the end of the mountain range near Frostmoor, which is the border of the Padiya region and almost impossible to govern.

After all, what followed was a vast ocean.

Ordinary Pokémon hunters, after participating in the Mt. Frost event, can only choose to take other routes, unless they, like Hunter J, directly use a battleship, they cannot leave.

Judging from the way these Pokémon hunters are moving forward so resolutely, it seems there are people waiting for them at the end of the road.

It's unclear whether the receiving vehicle will be a spaceship or a ship.

So, should I strike first and intercept these guys in advance?
Or should we remain still and continue following them, while also taking down any potential accomplices?
(End of this chapter)