A moment later, a burly man in a short-sleeved shirt pushed a small metal cart toward the crowd.
"It's Brother Foster," Evan thought.
Everyone lowered their heads. No one dared meet Foster's gaze.
He was a man who had lived his entire life at sea—born on the ocean, raised on a deck, never having touched land even once. His instinct for wind, tides, and waves was legendary. Foster was the "eyes" of the Giant Shark.
Because of this talent, the captain was already grooming him to become the ship's third First Mate.
"Heh… you rookies look pretty excited, yeah?" Foster teased.
His voice only made the newcomers more tense.
"Alright, line up! Pick your Poké Ball in the order I call your names."
He ripped off the cloth covering the cart.
Twenty gleaming Poké Balls lay neatly arranged, ten on the top row, ten on the bottom.
The newcomers' eyes burned with desire.
Evan's gaze, however, went straight to the two Poké Balls on the far left, remembering Mrs. Meta's hint.
The Poké Balls looked almost identical. Their contents were pure luck.
Whatever Pokémon you picked—good or bad—was yours for life.
"The first one—Evan Crowe!"
A wave of murmurs broke out.
His peers watched with envy.
Even the older pirates raised their brows.
Evan stepped forward calmly. He glanced once, then reached out and chose the top left Poké Ball.
"Hope this brings me some good fortune," he whispered.
He clutched the Poké Ball tightly.
"Next—Landon Reed!"
"Next—…!"
One by one, boys came forward.
Evan noticed that one of his close companions grabbed a Poké Ball from the right side.
He opened his mouth slightly but stayed silent.
Soon, all twenty Poké Balls were taken.
Evan's heart thudded. He wanted nothing more than to open his Poké Ball immediately.
"Hahaha! From today on, none of you are newcomers anymore! Complete the afternoon assessment, and you become full-fledged pirates!"
The joy of receiving a Pokémon instantly twisted into nervous dread.
The veteran pirates returned to their duties, leaving the teenagers on deck with a rare moment of freedom.
It was the only day off they would get all year.
"Come out, my partner!—Oh! It's a Taillow!"
"My Pokémon is a Sharpedo!"
One after another, the boys released their Pokémon.
And then—
"HELP! AHHH!"
A scream cut through the deck.
A boy lay on the floor, his arm clamped tightly between the jaws of a vicious Sharpedo.
Blood splattered as its serrated teeth tore through flesh.
The other teenagers stumbled backward in terror.
They had assumed Pokémon would obey them just because they were "trainers."
Evan didn't spare them a glance.
He quietly slipped away, disappearing below deck.
---
Evan's First Partner
Evan entered the dim lower cabin where the newcomers slept.
He took a slow breath.
"Come out… my first Pokémon."
A flash of white light.
A Corphish appeared—its red shell gleaming, claws raised defensively.
"Heh!"
The Corphish snapped its pincers, wary of its surroundings.
Evan forced a gentle smile and slowly produced a deep-blue energy cube from his pocket.
"This is a Water-Type Basic Energy Cube. I saved up for months to buy it from Brother Foster."
He crouched down.
"Here. You must be starving."
He had only one way to tame this creature—food.
Fighting it was impossible.
The Corphish was half a meter tall with claws strong enough to crush bone.
Drawn by the aroma, the Corphish hesitated… then hunger won.
With a quick snip, it grabbed the cube and shoved it into its mouth.
The moment it chewed, its expression melted into bliss. Its eyes narrowed, its body relaxing.
Evan's eyes brightened.
"Good. There's more. Stick with me, and I'll make sure you eat like a king."
Corphish, who had never seen such kindness—or such delicious food—submitted immediately.
Shrimp never refuse.
As long as the food keeps coming.
"Corphish!" it chirped happily, waving its claws.
"One day," Evan whispered, "we'll conquer this world together…"
---
Testing Moves
"Alright, Corphish. Show me what you can do. But don't damage the cabin."
"Cor-phish!"
Its shell shimmered with a pale white glow.
"Harden," Evan nodded.
"Anything else?"
Corphish snapped its pincers together with force.
"Clamp. Good."
Then it opened its mouth and released a spray of pale-blue bubbles.
Bloop—bloop—bloop—
Evan waved the bubbles away.
"Foam. Not Bubble Beam."
Corphish had mastered Foam, Clamp, and Harden.
"Not bad at all."
"Corphish!" It cried excitedly and posed dramatically—surrounded by water, as if trying to dive.
Evan's eyes widened.
"Aqua Jet?"
But the water evaporated immediately.
Move failed.
Even so, Evan grinned.
"It's inherited a move. It just can't perform it yet."
Corphish cheered, but secretly hid one more move in its memory—
a bizarre one that involved dancing.
It didn't understand it.
And it didn't want to look foolish in front of its new master.
---
Afternoon Assessment
Another group of teens gathered on deck.
But this time, one was missing.
Fresh bloodstains streaked across the planks.
Evan stared quietly.
"The boy with the Sharpedo… dead."
His blood had been dragged toward the edge of the ship.
First Mate Nathan Shaw stepped forward.
"My dear newcomers, sadly, one of you has already failed to tame his Pokémon."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
But Shaw didn't slow down.
"Unfortunately, even more of you will be eliminated this afternoon."
No one knew what "eliminated" meant.
But the dread in Shaw's voice said enough.
"Bring them up!"
Pirates rolled metal cages onto the deck.
Inside were common Hoenn Pokémon:
Zigzagoon.
Wurmple.
Taillow.
"Your task," Shaw said coldly, "is to kill them."
Then he walked away.
Veteran pirates crowded around, laughing and placing bets.
"I'll put a beer on the tall kid!"
"Three packs of cigarettes on Evan Crowe!"
"Damn, that much? You trying to starve next month?"
Everyone agreed on one thing—
Evan was the strongest of the newcomers.
Evan stepped forward.
The other boys trembled, too scared to approach the cages.
He released Corphish.
"Corphish, crush that Wurmple."
Evan's voice was flat.
Emotionless.
Corphish hesitated—then obeyed.
White light gathered between its claws.
Clamp.
The Wurmple's life faded quickly.
"Hah! I won! Pay up!"
The older pirates cheered.
Evan recalled Corphish and returned to his place silently.
Boy after boy stepped forward. Many succeeded.
Many failed.
And failure…
"Retrieve his Poké Ball. He'll work as a janitor on the lowest deck."
"No—no, please! Give me another chance!"
A pirate kicked him aside.
"Shut up!"
A Crawdaunt lumbered forward.
Its massive claw descended.
Crack.
The boy's head burst like a melon.
Blood splattered across the deck.
The teenagers screamed.
The Crawdaunt turned toward them, eyes glowing red.
They froze like prey.
Evan stared calmly at the corpse.
"Human life is the cheapest resource here."
The body was tossed into the sea.
Food for the endless ocean.
---
Night — Lower Deck
The boys excitedly discussed Pokémon, their voices trembling with leftover fear.
Evan wandered into the mess hall, scanning the room.
His eyes lit up.
He walked over with two bottles in hand.
"Brother Foster, mind if I drink with you?"
He set the bottles on the table.
Looking at the luxurious dishes, Evan smiled.
"As expected of the Giant Shark's eyes. The captain really treats you well."
Foster grinned.
"Brother Crowe, eat whatever you want."
Wine was rare at sea.
Sharing it was a gesture of trust and brotherhood.
After a few bottles, Foster leaned in, drunk and chatty.
"Brother, has Mrs. Meta been busy? Haven't seen her lately."
Evan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Was he fishing for information?
"No, she's just…"
Evan gave a vague answer and changed the topic.
The room grew emptier as the night went on until only the two remained—drunk and staggering.
They stumbled out together.
At the fork in the corridor, Foster slapped Evan's chest.
"Brother, if you ever need help—come to me! I can handle anything!"
He patted Evan's shoulder and walked away.
Evan watched his departing figure, expression unreadable.
What Evan did not see was this:
The moment Foster turned the corner, he straightened.
His drunken swagger vanished completely.
His steps became sharp and measured.
"With my skills… I might really become the third First Mate."
He had befriended Evan for one reason:
Evan had Mrs. Meta's ear.
And one word from Evan could change Foster's fate.