Qing Wu leaned back in his chair, thinking, and then fell asleep. When he woke up, he was already approaching Goldenrod City.
Goldenrod City was the most prosperous and developed city in the entire Kanto region. Its total GDP accounted for a quarter of the Kanto region, standing alongside Celadon City as the twin jewels of Kanto.
The headquarters of Silph Co., famous throughout the Kanto region, was located in the heart of Goldenrod City, a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. Silph Co. was also the largest Poké Ball manufacturer in the entire Kanto region.
However, Qing Wu knew that Silph Co. had long since been taken over by Team Rocket, with the biggest contributor being Janine, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod City. It was precisely because of Janine's subtle cooperation that Team Rocket was able to smoothly take over Silph Co. and, with financial support from Silph Co., wreak havoc.
When Qing Wu just got off the light rail, he saw a large billboard: "Welcome, Elite Four Will, to Goldenrod City for guidance."
"So Elite Four Will has arrived in Goldenrod City." Elite Four Will had a profound influence on Qing Wu. In his previous life, they had many encounters, but all ended with Qing Wu losing "nine out of ten." Unlike Will, who respected Pokémon, Qing Wu at that time only regarded Pokémon as tools, so Qing Wu was not close to his Pokémon. Even when Qing Wu became an Elite Four trainer, this situation did not improve much.
Will once told Qing Wu a sentence during their final pursuit: "Pokémon are friends of humans. Only with sincerity can one truly understand the Pokémon's path and unleash their true potential." Qing Wu had never truly understood this until after his Gyarados died in battle. Only then did Qing Wu truly grasp the profound meaning of Will's words.
"But it's not too late now." Qing Wu looked at Will, this life mentor, and genuinely wanted to say thank you to him. Thank you for your guidance, which allowed me to say goodbye to the past.
Elite Four Guidance Sessions were public events that every Elite Four member had to participate in annually. The main purpose was to encourage commoners to become trainers. The establishment of the Alliance ended years of war and chaos.
The Alliance almost unified the entire Pokémon world, but the price paid was also enormous. In the early days of the Alliance, personnel were scarce, and it was the noble families who sent their elites to support the Alliance, which allowed the Alliance to function smoothly in its early stages.
At that time, the power of the noble families also reached its peak. They monopolized all kinds of resources in the entire Pokémon world, cut off access to precious Pokémon, and completely eliminated the possibility of commoners becoming trainers.
Later, after several reforms of the Alliance, the Alliance's central brain proposed the slogan of "allowing more commoners to become trainers." The Alliance also vigorously supported the construction of basic livelihood facilities, opening Pokémon Centers in various cities, which led to an increase in the number of commoner trainers.
The truly decisive event was the Alliance proposing the plan to become an Alliance affiliate. As long as one's family background was clean, and one paid an additional fee to the Alliance every year for ten consecutive years,
the Alliance would provide a high-aptitude starter Pokémon as the main Pokémon for Alliance affiliates, and Pokémon treatment fees would be reduced, with Pokémon Centers not charging any fees for trainers staying there.
Through various measures, the number of commoner trainers also grew, gradually becoming a steadfast force within the Alliance. Elite Four Will was a representative among commoners.
This greatly stimulated commoner trainers' enthusiasm for training, initiating the third training craze. Qing Wu greatly admired the previous Alliance leader. It was precisely because he resisted the pressure from noble families,
encouraged commoners to become Pokémon trainers, that he ushered in a golden age for the Pokémon world. However, this Alliance leader died accidentally in an incident. His successor was someone who only knew how to defend and not advance. Otherwise, organizations like Team Rocket wouldn't have emerged.
The Alliance Affiliate program also brought a lot of pressure to the Alliance. Due to the excessive number of applicants for starter Pokémon, the Alliance could not meet the demand and could only indefinitely postpone it.
Although Qing Wu was also an Alliance affiliate, when he was 15 years old, he still couldn't receive a starter Pokémon because there were too many applicants. However, Qing Wu remembered that his turn for a starter Pokémon would come soon.
In his previous life, he missed the time to receive his starter Pokémon due to his disappearance. This was also a regret in Qing Wu's heart. After all, his deceased parents had gritted their teeth and paid huge fees for ten years, hoping their child could receive a starter Pokémon issued by the Alliance, which was an unparalleled honor.
"What a pity, to let you see when I received my starter Pokémon." This was also a regret in Qing Wu's heart.
"Excuse me." Qing Wu politely apologized to a tall woman in a uniform who bumped into him, his eyes glancing at the woman's familiar tall figure, familiar red-brown hair, and familiar red high heels. Isn't this Elite Four Will? How is she dressed like this?
"Elite Four Will is here, where is she? I need to find Elite Four Will to get an autograph!"
"Yeah, Elite Four Will is awesome!"
"Elite Four Will, I want to have your baby!"
A group of fans walked by, constantly shouting various slogans. Only then did Qing Wu understand why Elite Four Will was dressed like this. Terrifying fans.
Just then, Qing Wu had a piece of evidence of the Zhao family's crimes in his hand. Since Qing Wu couldn't give it to Miss Junsha of Goldenrod City, he could only ask this "old acquaintance" for help.
As Will walked, she suddenly felt something hard in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a thick book, which recorded all transaction records, and was also a ledger for illegal Pokémon transactions. At this moment, Qing Wu had already squeezed into the vast crowd, leaving no trace.
"There are so many people in Goldenrod City." Qing Wu casually found a fast-food restaurant to satisfy his hunger. Goldenrod City's black market opened at 10 PM and closed at 6 AM.
...
Every time it opened, a massive number of people would pour into Goldenrod City. After all, Goldenrod City was the hub city of the entire Kanto region, with a large flow of people, which also brought huge taxes.
Therefore, the Alliance basically turned a blind eye to the black market in Goldenrod City managed by Team Rocket. As long as Team Rocket didn't go too far, the Alliance wouldn't interfere too much in these matters. After all, maintaining peace and stability in the region was the Alliance's priority.
There were many ways to enter Goldenrod City's black market, the easiest being to show a Team Rocket badge. Nearly a quarter of Goldenrod City's industries belonged to Team Rocket. Team Rocket's shops were also only visible to Team Rocket members, who could see hidden special Team Rocket symbols in the shops. The fast-food restaurant Qing Wu casually found was an industry owned by Team Rocket.
Qing Wu waited in the fast-food restaurant until 12 AM. When the clock struck midnight, the fast-food restaurant was sparsely populated, with only a few people quietly sitting in the corners.
Qing Wu had already changed into a black robe and mask in the fast-food restaurant's restroom. The people around him also changed into black robes, seemingly companions heading to Goldenrod City's black market together. Qing Wu walked to the counter of the fast-food restaurant. A passionate clerk asked Qing Wu, "Sir, can I help you with anything?" The clerk showed no surprise at Qing Wu's attire.
Qing Wu lowered his voice and said, "Team Rocket's glory will spread throughout the world."
After hearing this, the clerk's expression became slightly nervous. After looking around and seeing no one, the clerk also lowered his voice and said, "We will ignite flames of war in various places around the world." The code was correct. Qing Wu honestly couldn't understand who came up with such a chuunibyou-sounding code.
"Ah, 2.9th Autumn." At this moment, in the secret base of the Dark Division, Qingwu suddenly sneezed. "Who in the world is thinking of me?" Qingwu wondered.
"Sir, please follow me." The clerk quickly motioned to another clerk to guard the counter, while he led Qing Wu to the fast-food restaurant's staff lounge.
"Please show your ID." The clerk said with a smile to Qing Wu. There was an LCD computer in the staff lounge. Qing Wu handed the Team Rocket badge with three bars to the clerk. The clerk placed the Team Rocket badge on the scanner. With a "beep," identity verification was successful. The clerk pressed a button, and a secret door opened silently.
"Sir, please enter." This secret passage led directly to Team Rocket's underground base. It was also during identity verification that the clerk saw that Qing Wu was a Captain-level member, so he was extremely polite to Qing Wu. If it were anyone else, he would have long since whispered a warning not to cause trouble in the underground black market.
"Sir, fighting is not allowed in the underground black market. Please control your behavior. If necessary, you can seek Team Rocket's help." The clerk gave Qing Wu a small hint.
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