A Hundred Million

Mismagius was highly efficient, and after just half an hour, it returned with a few Ghost-type Pokémon, each carrying a person. They had caught a total of four "suspects."

When the leader of the group saw Yuga, he finally realized who had captured them. It dawned on him that Yuga's control over Verdanturf Town was even tighter than they had imagined; they had never stood a chance. It was laughable how they had thought their plan was flawless.

All four of them were immobilized on the ground by Mismagius's Mean Look, but their mouths were still free to speak. Yuga stepped in front of them and said, "I want to know some secrets about Kanda. Which one of you is willing to tell me?"

Though they were physically restrained, they could still talk, but all of them glared in silence, seemingly loyal to Kanda.

"Not talking, huh..." Yuga glanced at them. "If you don't speak now, you're going to regret it later."

Yuga didn't plan on using Hypnosis immediately. The night was long, and he wanted to have a little fun, making it worth for him to getting up in the middle of the night to deal with these people.

Hearing this, the captives glared at Yuga even more fiercely, but none of them showed any intention of speaking. They knew that saying more could worsen the situation, and now that they'd been caught, they certainly didn't want to implicate Mr. Kanda.

"Sigh..." Yuga sighed deeply. "Since you prefer to choose the hard way, I'll kindly oblige."

As he spoke, Roserade appeared by his side.

Seeing Roserade, the leader's eye twitched, and he finally spoke. "Gym Leader Shimizu, you should think carefully about this. Torturing people for a confession, even as a Gym Leader of the League, is still illegal!"

"Hah?" Yuga laughed incredulously. "You're telling me about what's illegal? Then can you tell me who you are?"

Upon hearing that, the man fell silent. All four of them were on the League's most-wanted list. While they weren't the most infamous criminals, a simple check would reveal their extensive criminal records.

Over the years, they had managed to survive thanks to Mr. Kanda's protection, and thus remained deeply loyal to him. If Yuga were to claim they resisted the arrest and got injured in the process, no one would doubt him.

Seeing the man lower his head, his expression unreadable, Yuga turned around to Roserade and said, "Let's see how tight-lipped they really are. We'll start with one of them."

Yuga scanned the four sitting on the ground and pointed to the shortest one. "Let's go with him."

The short man didn't know what Yuga had planned for him, but he couldn't help but shiver.

Roserade stepped forward, and from the flowers in its hands, a seed shot out. The seed landed, rooted in the ground, and within moments, vines sprouted, wrapping the short man like a cocoon.

Suddenly, a flash of light coursed through the vines, and the short man felt his body grow weak and powerless, the sensation worsening by the second as if his strength were being drained completely.

A deep fear rose within him. He had seen Pokémon use Leech Seed on others, but this was the first time he had experienced it himself.

"Roserade."

As it absorbed energy from the short man, Roserade sneered disdainfully. This experience wasn't even as satisfying as draining a Wurmple!

When the Leech Seed attached itself to the short man, Mismagius released him from Mean Look. But he was too weak to stand and collapsed to the ground, while the vines continued to drain his energy.

"So, how about it? Have you decided whether or not to talk? Keep this up, and you'll be nothing but a dried-up husk," Yuga said maliciously.

The leader of the group, unable to bear seeing his comrade being tortured, averted his gaze.

"You all quite loyal," Yuga remarked as the short man bit his lip, still unwilling to talk. But then his tone shifted. "I guess I'll have to see if the others are as stubborn."

Looking over the remaining three, Yuga pointed to a thin man. "Next up is him. Let's try a different approach this time."

With a glance at Roserade, Yuga gave a silent signal. Roserade understood and stepped forward, spraying two clusters of dark purple poison onto the thin man, who immediately began screaming in agony.

After extensive training, Roserade's poison was extremely potent, and the thin man instantly entered a state of severe poisoning.

Seeing his comrade writhing in pain, the leader yelled at Yuga with fury, "Bastard! You call yourself a Gym Leader of the League? Your methods are so cruel—how are you any different from us?"

"I am a bastard, and I am cruel. What are you going to do about it?" Yuga grinned. "If no one talks, the next one will have an even worse fate." His gaze shifted to another man.

By this time, the poisoned thin man had collapsed to the ground, convulsing, with foam pouring from his mouth—a very horrifying sight.

"Well, it seems no one is talking. Looks like I'll be busy tonight." Yuga and Roserade moved towards the last remaining person besides the leader.

Just as Yuga finished speaking, the man couldn't hold out any longer. In tears, he cried, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

The leader immediately shouted, "Kuro! How dare you!"

The man called Kuro wiped his tears and snot, saying, "Boss, Mr. Kanda won't blame us. He's always treated us so well."

The leader: "..."

Yuga: "..."

Yuga thought to himself, Wow, even among criminals, there are simple-minded fools like this! That guy treated you well because he needed something from you, and you actually believed him.

After a night of interrogation, Yuga finally uncovered some incriminating information about Kanda from the four.

Kanda, as a top breeder, not only held a high position within the Hoenn Breeders' Association but also worked at the largest breeding facility of the Hoenn League.

Over the years, Kanda had been conducting his own secret research, hoping to one day achieve something that would make him famous.

However, research is expensive. To fund his ambitions, Kanda had been secretly smuggling high potential Pokémon from the League's breeding facility and selling them to private Pokémon Day Care.

The four men Yuga had captured were part of the crew that helped him sell the stolen Pokémon.

As for Honoka's adoptive father (or uncle), he was in cahoots with Kanda. The mining operation under his name was actually a front to launder Kanda's money. The money Kanda earned from selling stolen Pokémon needed a legitimate source.

Honoka's adoptive father might genuinely care for her, but he loves himself more. He had a weakness in Kanda's hands, so when Kanda asked him to use Honoka to gather information from Yuga, he had no choice but to agree.

The same was true for Honoka. She may have genuinely seen Luna as a close friend, but in the end, she chose family over friendship.

After obtaining the interrogation results, Yuga handed the four captives over to Masato Shirai the next day, while he contacted Steven to ask for help in investigating Kanda.

The private Pokémon Day Care involved with Kanda was called "Rainbow Day Care," located in Ever Grande City, near the Hoenn League headquarters.

Although the Rainbow Day Care wasn't as large as major private Pokémon Day Care like Aromatic Day Care, it was still a force to be reckoned with, ranking among the top five in Hoenn.

This Pokémon Day Care had always used Mudkip, one of the starters, as their selling point. Since the League didn't prohibit private Pokémon Day Care from selling starter Pokémon, these rare Pokémon became their marketing strategy.

In addition, they occasionally offered rare Pokémon like Ralts, Eevee, and Scyther. In hindsight, these Pokémon likely came from the League's breeding facility.

Upon hearing these details from Yuga, Steven took the matter seriously and immediately organized an investigation with the League's Investigation Bureau.

In addition to Kanda and the Rainbow Day Care, Honoka's adoptive father would also be investigated. If his collusion with Kanda for money laundering turned out to be true, not only would he be arrested, but Honoka's newly earned spot in the Investigation Bureau would also be jeopardized.

However, Yuga had no sympathy for her. He was only curious about how Luna would react.

After hanging up with Steven, Yuga took a deep breath, relieved that he had finally dealt with the nuisance that was Kanda.

Meanwhile, Kanda, waiting for news at home, was still blissfully unaware that disaster was looming. Despite his secrecy, once the League began investigating, they would inevitably uncover everything.

Just as Yuga came down from his room, he saw Robert standing in the store, smiling and waving at him.

"Robert, what brings you here?" Yuga hurried down the stairs and gave him a big hug. "Long time no see!"

Robert returned the hug and replied, "I came to Verdanturf Town for an event and thought I'd drop by to see you."

Robert was as dashing as ever, catching the eyes of many female customers in the store.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

Yuga happily led his friend to the reception room, where he learned that Robert and Aunt Johanna were attending the same event. Like Aunt Johanna, Robert was a top Coordinator, representing the Hoenn Pokémon Contest while Johanna represented the Sinnoh Pokémon Contest at the event.

"I was planning to get in touch with you soon, but you beat me to it by showing up." Yuga patted Robert on the shoulder.

"You needed me for something?" Robert asked curiously.

Yuga smiled mysteriously. "It's something good."

At that moment, Wigglytuff came in with tea, and Yuga whispered something in its ear. Wigglytuff smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

"What's going on? You're being so secretive," Robert's curiosity was piqued.

Yuga laughed. "Alright, no more teasing. Let me tell you." He then explained his plan to sell Robert a Larvesta.

Robert jumped up from his seat. "Are you serious? You're not kidding me, right? An indigo potentnial Larvesta?"

Yuga replied, "What would I gain by lying to you?"

"Fantastic! I'm so glad to have a friend like you!" Robert said excitedly, shedding his usual calm demeanor. If his fans saw him like this, they would be shocked.

"Don't get too excited yet, I'm not giving it to you for free, you still have to pay!" Yuga couldn't help but tease him.

Robert had also attended the auction in Kalos and knew very well the value of an indigo potentnial Pokémon. Back then, that indigo potentnial Larvitar was bought by Lysandre's side for a whopping two billion, and just thinking about it still made one's heart race.

Of course, auction prices tend to be a bit inflated, and Yuga definitely wouldn't rip off his friend like that.

Besides, Larvesta couldn't be compared to Larvitar.

However, now that Yuga thought about it, where did Lysandre take that Larvitar? He didn't see it when he was encircling Team Flare. But since Lysandre was captured by the Kalos League, maybe Larvitar had already fallen into their hands.

"How much do you plan to charge me?" Robert swallowed nervously. "If it's too expensive, I won't be able to afford it."

Yuga thought for a moment, just about to answer, when he saw Wigglytuff walk in with the Larvesta, accompanied by its mother, Vivillon.

Since her baby was about to have a new Trainer, Vivillon naturally had to come and check things out, though she was already quite familiar with Robert.

Vivillon landed on the table, casting a scrutinizing glance at Robert, feeling that someone she once liked now seemed a bit off.

But she understood Yuga's reasoning and felt that aside from Robert, no one else was more suitable to be her baby's Trainer.

Vivillon: (_) Oh well, let's just settle for him.

Vivillon's gaze left Robert confused, so Yuga explained, "Larvesta is Vivillon's child."

Robert suddenly realized, and now understood the look Vivillon had given him.

Larvesta was very well-behaved, showing no signs of unfamiliarity when Robert touched it. Instead, it blinked its bright blue eyes curiously at Robert, who was utterly charmed.

He turned around to Yuga and, gritting his teeth, saying, "Alright, name your price. Whatever it is, I'll pay!"

Hearing this, Yuga grinned, "One billion."

With Larvitar priced at two billion, Yuga cutting it in half was more than fair.

Robert also knew Yuga wasn't overcharging, so he steeled himself and said, "Fine, one billion it is. Just give me some time."

Robert's family was wealthy, so one billion was definitely something he could gather, though it wouldn't be easy for him to come up with it alone.

If necessary, he'd hit up his senior! Robert had already made up his mind—if he couldn't gather enough, he'd go to his senior, who was way richer than him.

"Alright, take your time. No rush. I'll hold it for you," Yuga replied, of course, not refusing. Besides, Larvesta wasn't ready to leave its parents just yet anyway.

Because his mind was preoccupied with raising the funds to buy Larvesta, Robert became somewhat absent-minded in their conversation, so Yuga had no choice but to send him off.

"If you have something to take care of, go ahead. You're going to be in Verdanturf Town for several days anyway. You can come back another time."

"I'll head out for now, and I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Intent on quickly finding his senior to discuss things, Robert got up and hurriedly left YoYo Day Care.

Watching Robert's departing figure, Yuga smiled and shook his head.