Sammy had been wandering the port for what felt like a hour, quietly taking down more and more of the masked man and releasing their Pokémon back into the wild. His Eevee stayed close to his heels, ears perked, alert to every sound incase a danger. Eventually, his steps slowed as he reached a part of the docks that was eerily quiet.
A massive ship loomed ahead, its surface painted a matte gray that devoured the light from the fires nearby. It didn't look like it belonged to this port. The deck buzzed with activity, full of people in black suits and identical purple masks, all moving with eerie coordination.
Sammy crouched low beside a crate, scanning the scene. "We found them," he whispered, and his Eevee answered with a low, cautious cry no louder than a breath.
Adjusting the purple mask over his face, Sammy swallowed hard and stepped forward. Confidence was not on his side, but he faked it as best he could. All eyes locked onto him the moment his foot hit the ramp.
Then she emerged.
A woman stepped forward from the group. Unlike the others, she wore a white mask, her long wolf cut hair snow white and sharp brushed her shoulders. She moved with an unsettling grace, and her piercing blue eyes fixed on Sammy's green ones like blades. A chill slipped down his spine.
"So?" Her voice was clipped, cool, and businesslike. "Did you find the crystal?"
Sammy froze for just a second but it was enough to register the weight of her gaze. He quickly forced a buggy, nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"Ah—well, you see, ma'am... I was with the others, but suddenly my stomach started acting up, y'know? I had to seperate with others real quick and when I got back, they weren't at the same spot, so I figured the mission was over and, uh, came back here." He laughed weakly. "Guess... it's not over?"
Silence.
The woman let out a slow, tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why does the Boss always stick me with the dumb ones?"
She waved her hand sharply as if swatting a bug. "Just get out of my sight."
Sammy gave a sheepish bow, smiling beneath the mask. "Sorry again, ma'am." He stepped past her and onto the ship's main deck, letting out a shaky breath as he scanned the area, his Eevee padding beside him.
"Alright, let's find some clu—"
Before he could finish, an arm looped tightly around his neck from behind.
"Man! I can't believe you actually talked to Miss Charlotte like that!" came a voice, cheerful and laughing far too loud for comfort.
Sammy tilted his head and caught sight of a boy about his age, dressed in the same black uniform, purple mask in place. He radiated a kind of effortless charisma.
"Yeah, I thought I was gonna die," Sammy chuckled awkwardly, trying to play along.
"If she'd really gotten mad," the boy grinned under his mask, "you'd would wish to die rather than whatever she did with the other guys!"
A cold chill danced down Sammy's back while listening him.
"Anyway, name's Alpha. That's my codename. Nice to meet you."
He extended a hand, and Sammy, after a moment's hesitation, took it.
A codename…? Is that's how they work?Sammy thought. That helps, I guess. But how the hell is someone this joyful part of something like this?
"I'm… S—Soter," Sammy stammered, catching himself before blurting his real name. "Nice to meet you too."
"So," Sammy continued, trying to sound casual, "about this 'Crystal' we're after... couldn't we find it somewhere else? Doesn't really make sense to be digging around here, right?"
Alpha tilted his head, looking at him with blank eyes. "Soter… didn't you pay attention when the Boss explained what the TerrainCrystal is?"
Sammy's mouth clamped shut and his brain short circuited as Alpha leaned closer with blank eyes. Then, Eevee rubbed against Sammy's leg and let out a soft cry. Sammy quickly holded the little Pokémon and lifted it towards Alpha.
"This little guy was super sick that day," Sammy said, faking urgency in his voice. "I had to miss the whole meeting to take care of him."
He leaned down and whispered to Eevee, "You're my god now."
Eevee gave a smug little smile as Alpha turned turned to Eevee then to Sammy.
"Oh. Well… alright, I guess that can happen..." He straightened up. "Then let me explain. The TerrainCrystal isn't just a Crystal. It's an artificial stone, engineered by Professor and the Gym Leader Blaine."
"Blaine?" Sammy asked, his tone a mix of surprise and disbelief.
"Yeah. He was trying to simulate intense sun in his gym without relying on Sunny Day or any Pokémon. But what he created went beyond genius. He made a crystal that can manipulate both weather and terrain. Fire type attacks trigger sun. Grass types trigger grassy terrain. It reacts to different elemental energies and it's compatible with several others."
"Just imagine what kind of Adapted Pokémon we could make with something like that!" Alpha said, eyes glowing with excitement.
Sammy's expression darkened behind his mask. Make...?Sammy's fists clenched unconsciously.
Before he could ask more, a group of masked figures rushed onto the ship carrying a reinforced capsule. Inside, pulsing like a living heart, was a rainbow hued crystal. Its surface shimmered and shifted between colors, never settling for more than a second.
"There it is!" Alpha beamed. "C'mon, let's take a closer look!"
Sammy stood frozen as Alpha ran ahead, his eyes glued to the crystal. A storm of emotion brewed behind Sammy's mask.
Confusion.
Sammy slowly reached for the Poké Balls clipped to his belt Tusk and Vex. His hands hovered over them as his brow furrowed beneath the mask.
"What the hell does that mean?" he thought, biting his lip hard enough to taste his blood. Confusion mixed with anger stirred in his chest like a storm.
"I need to talk to Professor Cherry. Immediately!" His whisper barely escaped before a thunderous voice shattered his train of thought.
"EVERYBODY!"
A tall, broad shouldered man stood at the front of the ship, his bald head gleaming under the silver moonlight, a white mask hiding his face. Beside him stood the same woman from before. The one with the white mask and wolf cut hair that fell like snow to her shoulders. Her presence was colder than the air rolling in from the sea.
"Tonight, we've shown the world who we are!" the man roared, his voice booming across the deck. "Not only did we take down a Gym Leader, we took the Terrain Crystal straight from the Gym itself!"
A cheer erupted from the surrounding crew, their voices echoing across the steel and water. But Sammy didn't cheer.
His eyes widened behind the mask. "They took down Wild?!" he thought in disbelief. "They actually beat a Gym Leader…?"
The bald man raised a Pokéball high, then hurled it into the air. With a flash of red light, a long, serpentine Pokémon emerged its body covered in sky blue scales, with a snowy underbelly and delicate wing shaped fins on the sides of its head. A Dragonair, majestic and calm, hovered before its trainer.
"Use Flamethrower!"
Dragonair reared back its head and released a stream of blazing red fire. The flames struck the rainbow-colored crystal now held in a containment field at the front of the ship. As the fire made contact, the crystal absorbed it and then radiated intense heat outward, a blast so hot it felt like the midday sun had been dragged into the middle of the night.
Sammy instinctively raised his arms to shield his face, along with some of the crew. When he lowered them, sweat glistened on his brow.
"TODAY! WE WON!" the bald man bellowed, fist raised triumphantly.
But his victory speech was cut short.
A blur of pink sliced through the night a Gligar, spinning and diving, blitzed across the deck with dizzying speed. It slammed into the containment field, knocking the crystal into the air, then caught it mid flight in its clawed tail. The scorpion like Pokémon hovered overhead, grinning mischievously as it dangled the crystal above the stunned crew.
A vein throbbed visibly on the bald man's forehead.
"Whoever brings me that Gligar ALIVE gets 100,000 Pokédollars!" he roared. "NOW!"
Dragonair's eyes lit with rage as it summoned flames once more, hurling another blazing stream at the Gligar. Dozens of trainers reacted instantly, sending out their Flying types to intercept and retrieve the crystal.
Then, a voice rang out from the deck below.
"Gligar! Use the crystal to block the flames! Electabuzz use Thunder Punch on those birds!"
A Pokéball arced through the air and burst open with a flash. Electabuzz landed with a snarl, fists already crackling with electricity. Gligar spun midair and raised the crystal. As before, it absorbed the flames instantly and expelled another wave of searing heat, sending several trainers stumbling back.
Electabuzz leapt into the fray, fists glowing bright. One after another, it smashed into the enemy Flying types, slamming them into the deck or the water with brutal precision. Gligar descended beside its trainer. Khan, who now stood at the ship's edge, holding the TerrainCrystal in his hands.
He examined it calmly. "Not as hot as I expected it to be," he muttered, weighing it thoughtfully.
From above, a voice laced with flirtation called out to him.
"Hey, kid!" It was the white-masked woman, leaning over the railing, her voice dripping with feigned sweetness. "If you give us that crystal, we'll pay you handsomely and forget about this whole little... incident. What do you say? Be a good boy and help us out, okay?"
Khan looked up at her, unimpressed.
Then he fumbled.
The crystal slipped from his hand.
Everyone on the deck flinched in shock only for Electabuzz to catch it smoothly and hand it back with a grunt.
Khan stared up, his expression unreadable. "Will you guys just shut up already?"
He held the crystal up.
"I've got one question!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos like thunder. "Where is Admin Luke?!"
The woman stiffened. The bald man's expression darkened behind his mask. They exchanged a glance tense, nervous.
"How do you know that name?" the bald man barked.
From behind him, the woman discreetly reached for a Pokéball hidden behind her back.
Sammy, now standing near the edge of the ship, stepped forward. The wind pulled at his jacket as he held his hand out dangling the crystal over the side of the ship.
"Just answer," Sammy said coldly. "Or this thing goes swimming."
Gasps erupted across the deck. Even the most hardened masked figures took a cautious step back.
"What an asshole," Alpha muttered beside Sammy.
"Y-yeah… what an asshole," Sammy echoed awkwardly, forcing a laugh to keep up the act.
But then Alpha leaned toward him, his voice low.
"Come with me. I've got an idea."
Sammy hesitated.
He looked down at his Eevee, who stared up at him with curious eyes. Then he glanced back at Khan, still standing strong with Electabuzz and Gligar beside him, defiant in the face of an entire criminal ship.
Sammy clenched his fists once… then nodded.
"I'm right behind you," he whispered as he taked out a Pokéball from his pocket.
"Go crazy after hearing the signal." Khan said to the pokéball and clicked on its button before throwing outside of the ship.