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When the rest of the Patrol Team finally arrived at the scene, they discovered more than a dozen poachers bound with thick ropes, all forced to squat on the cold ground in defeat. The snowy battlefield told a grim story of what had transpired – numerous Pokémon corpses littered the white landscape, and most shocking of all, a human body severed cleanly at the waist. The gruesome sight made it clear to everyone just how fierce and deadly the battle had been.

Jayce sat quietly on a large boulder, drawing slowly on a cigarette as he tried to calm his nerves. His expression remained composed and stoic, showing no trace of relief or joy that typically comes from surviving such a close brush with death.

“Captain, did you really capture all of these poachers by yourself?” asked a member of the Patrol Team’s first squad, his voice filled with amazement and disbelief.

“Jacob caught them all, not me,” Jayce replied, pointing toward the young trainer with obvious irritation in his voice. “You were all so slow getting here. If Jacob hadn’t been present, you would have arrived only to collect our dead bodies instead of arresting criminals.”

As Jayce spoke these words, his gaze shifted to study Jacob more carefully. Having lived in these remote mountains for many years, cut off from regular news and updates, he hadn’t heard Jacob’s name before, or perhaps he had heard it mentioned once in passing and simply forgotten. After all, life in the mountains was harsh – just surviving each day was challenging enough without worrying about keeping up with current events or famous trainers.

Initially, Jayce had assumed Jacob was just another wealthy young man from the city, someone here for a brief, safe experience to add to his resume. He never expected Jacob to have a King-level Alakazam as his protector. This revelation made Jayce extremely curious about Jacob’s true identity and background.

“Let’s get moving,” Jayce announced, standing up and brushing ash from his cigarette. “We need to take this group of poachers back to camp. Maya, when we return, you’ll write the official report. Make sure the main credit goes to Jacob – Maya and I were just providing assistance.”

“Understood, Captain,” Maya responded. She was the young woman who had been dispatched from Mindara City to join their team.

The members of the first squad were quite excited about successfully taking down such a large poaching operation today. However, they were even more curious about exactly how Jacob had managed to capture this entire group. Given the poachers’ reputation for ruthlessness and their willingness to fight to the death, it seemed unlikely they would have surrendered so easily.

On the journey back to camp, Jacob found himself lost in deep thought. The events of today had given him much to consider and process. He decided to strike up a conversation with Jayce along the way.

“Captain Jayce, may I ask you something?” Jacob inquired politely.

“What is it? Just ask directly,” Jayce replied with his characteristic straightforwardness. He had been thinking about befriending Jacob, recognizing the value of maintaining good relationships with powerful trainers. “We’re comrades who’ve faced life and death together now, so there’s no need to be so formal with each other.”

“I wanted to ask if you’ve ever heard of a trainer named Rory?” Jacob asked, hoping to learn more stories about his father from someone who might have known him.

“Of course I’ve heard of him,” Jayce said, turning to look at Jacob with renewed interest when he heard the question. “Rory and Dante were the two most talented individuals in our Patrol Team back in those days.”

“Dante?!” Jacob exclaimed, uncertain whether the Dante that Jayce mentioned was the same person he knew. “Are you talking about the wanted criminal Dante?”

“Yes, that’s the one,” Jayce confirmed, his eyes showing a hint of bitter sadness. “Dante used to be my captain back then. Wait a minute… Rory, Jacob? What’s your relationship with Rory?”

“Rory is my father,” Jacob replied respectfully. “Could you tell me about the two of them? I’d like to hear their story.”

Jacob felt genuinely shaken by this revelation. This was the first time he had heard that his father and Dante knew each other personally. Connecting this new information with his recent experience in the Grass Insect Secret Realm, Jacob began to suspect that his father was hiding something important from him.

“What specifically do you want to know about them? I don’t actually know that much about their personal lives,” Jayce admitted.

“Anything at all would be helpful,” Jacob said with a sincere smile. “I just want to hear their old stories, whatever you can remember.”

“Both Dante and Rory were my seniors in the Patrol Team. I heard they were about the same age when they joined,” Jayce began, his voice taking on a nostalgic tone as he recalled past events. “When they came to the Patrol Team, Rory was sent by the Pokémon Association to provide support to our operations, while Dante came here on his own initiative.”

“I heard they were both incredibly skilled trainers. Not long after joining the Patrol Team, they became the main forces of their respective squads. Within just one year, they had both been promoted to captains of their own squads.”

“Later, when Rory’s two-year service period ended, he captured a Larvesta and left the Patrol Team to pursue other opportunities. Dante, on the other hand, chose to stay with the Patrol Team for several more years before eventually leaving. Captain Dante always worked with complete dedication, always positioning himself at the forefront of every dangerous poacher arrest operation. To be completely honest, I really can’t understand why he would eventually do such terrible things. You already know what happened to him later.”

Jayce paused suddenly at this point, seeming to consider his words carefully.

“Actually, if you really want to learn more about Dante, you should ask Deputy Captain Antonio. Captain has been stationed here for decades – he should know much more than I do about those early days.”

“I understand. Thank you, Captain,” Jacob replied gratefully.

When they returned to the Patrol Team camp, Roger had obviously already heard about what had just happened. He frowned as he looked at the dozen or so captured poachers lined up before him.

“Peter?” Roger clearly recognized Peter, who was the leader of the poaching group. “You’ve all worked hard today. Go get some proper rest and sleep. Leave the rest of the paperwork and processing to me.”

Jacob returned to his assigned room, but Antonio was nowhere to be found. During the journey back, he had learned from other team members that Antonio, who also served as a teacher in Green Mountain Town, had to leave at six o’clock every morning for his classes and didn’t return until nine at night, sometimes even as late as eleven or twelve if he was delayed by school activities or other responsibilities. At the same time, he still participated in patrol duties on weekends, making him the hardest-working and most admired member of the entire Patrol Team.

After taking a simple wash, Jacob lay down on his bed and stared up at the mosquito net with a heavy heart, his brows tightly furrowed in concentration. The encounter with the poachers today, as well as his conversations with Jayce and the captured criminals, had sparked some new and troubling ideas in his mind.

First, regarding the patrol members: their income could honestly be described as quite low, even lower than what food delivery workers earned in major cities. However, the primary benefit of being a patrol member was that after completing two years of service, they were granted permission to capture one Pokémon in the Wilderness Area.

Many people came here to serve for two years, not only to enhance their resumes but also because the opportunity to capture a Pokémon from the Wilderness Area was an important motivation and reward.

Second, regarding the poachers: poachers faced the constant risk of being caught by the Patrol Team and potentially dying at the hands of wild Pokémon during their illegal activities. However, as long as they could return alive from their expeditions, the proceeds from a single successful poaching trip were enough for them to live comfortably for several years.

Both the patrol members and the poachers were struggling individuals, honest people trying to make a living in difficult circumstances. The real beneficiaries were the other parties involved in the Pokémon poaching industry chain.

Pokémon poaching had evolved into a complete industrial chain: poachers captured Pokémon and sold them to smugglers, who then transported and sold these illegal Pokémon to various Underground Black Markets, and the Black Markets then sold them to people who needed Pokémon but couldn’t obtain them through legal channels.

Of all the profits generated by this system, poachers probably only received about one-tenth, smugglers earned approximately three-tenths, and the Underground Black Market kept six-tenths for themselves.

For example, if a Pokémon sold for one million Pokédollars in the Black Market, the Underground Black Market would acquire it from smugglers for only about four hundred thousand. Smugglers would acquire it from poachers for only one hundred thousand.

Layer by layer of exploitation, layer by layer of squeezing: poachers took the greatest risks for the least money, while the Underground Black Market took the lowest risks for the most money.

Of course, the hardest-working individuals were the Patrol Team members; not only did they receive the lowest salaries, but they also faced the risk of losing their lives at any time while protecting the wilderness.

Jacob now had a bold and potentially revolutionary idea: what if he could integrate the entire industry chain under unified management?

Integrating the Patrol Team, poachers, smugglers, and the Underground Black Market would benefit many people significantly and create a more efficient system.

For example, the Patrol Team: after integration, their treatment and income would certainly increase dramatically, and their missions would no longer be as dangerous since they wouldn’t be fighting against the very system they were trying to control.

Poachers would also see a substantial surge in income and would no longer face the risk of fighting the Patrol Team to the death, since they would be working together rather than against each other.

Smugglers presented the most straightforward case in this regard; their primary benefit would be a significant increase in income and reduced risk of capture.

The benefits for the Underground Black Market were even clearer: a more stable and predictable supply of goods, avoiding situations where they couldn’t receive Pokémon for several months due to stricter patrols or successful law enforcement operations.

Finally, this system would also benefit the development and ecological protection of the Wilderness Area. As long as the various forces were properly integrated and managed, Jacob could completely manage it like a regulated Secret Realm, only taking some Pokémon eggs rather than fully grown Pokémon. This approach would neither significantly impact the overall Pokémon population nor compromise the guarantee of a stable source of income.

Integrating the entire poaching chain could truly be described as a win-win situation for multiple parties. The old Jacob would never have dared to even think about such an ambitious and potentially dangerous plan, but with his Champion-level Iron Valiant as protection, his mind had become much more active and willing to consider bold strategies.

However, implementing such a plan would also offend many powerful people and interfere with many people’s existing networks of interest and profit.

The most offended party would undoubtedly be the Pokémon Association. The Pokémon Association had established the Wilderness Area not only to protect wild Pokémon but also to generate revenue by selling capture quotas to wealthy trainers.

A single capture quota in the Wilderness Area could cost as much as a million Pokédollars, but all the money from selling these capture quotas went directly into the Pokémon Association’s coffers, and Patrol Team members didn’t receive a single cent of this revenue.

Jacob frowned deeply as he considered the implications. This matter indeed had tremendous potential for profit and positive change, but it absolutely could not be done openly or through official channels.

He was currently in a honeymoon period with the Pokémon Association, having recently gained their favor and support, so he naturally couldn’t openly challenge their authority or business model. Therefore, Jacob realized he could only pursue this plan secretly or delegate the implementation to others who could operate without direct connection to him.

Should he establish a new organization for this purpose? Perhaps something called Team Rocket? It would be fitting to revive the glory and reputation of Team Rocket in this world, though with a different purpose than the original organization’s criminal activities.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep