The night was quiet and carried a cool breeze. Darkness had enveloped the world, save for the bright moonlight and the glow of street lamps across the sea. Right now, William was standing in front of a place he had visited earlier today—Matthews Zoo.
William wasted no time. He threw out his Pokeball and gestured toward the large iron gate in front of him. Muscles bulged, and with almost no resistance, the gate was blown off its hinges.
"Thanks, Lochness," William said.
"Swamp!" Lochness grinned at the praise.
He strode into the zoo as quietly as possible, Lochness trailing not far behind him like a bodyguard. He wanted to get this over with quickly; his backpack was heavy, and his shoulders were beginning to ache.
He walked past all the other habitats, where Pokemon of all different types were trapped in their little makeshift dens. William wasn't lying when he spoke to Shelly—these Pokemon were trapped, but right now these Pokemon weren't his top priority. The other Pokemon wouldn't serve to benefit him in any way. The Water-type Pokemon would, and one specific Pokemon in particular would benefit him greatly.
William found that target quite quickly. It was hard not to find them. Amongst the sea of all different shades of blue, it was very easy to spot the white shade under the gaze of his flashlight, especially the fin which stuck out like a sore thumb. The bright light from his flashlight seemed to have woken the Pokemon up. Its wide, uncanny eyes stared at him with an indecipherable look. It reared its head and submerged out of the water to get a better look at him.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" William asked the Pokemon. "Do you like doing party tricks and people clapping at you? Do you like it here? It can't get any worse than this, can it? Right now, I'd say you're at rock bottom. Right now, I'd say you're at…zero."
A sudden shift from the Pokemon.
His suspicions were confirmed. They had been raised earlier in the day when he initially saw the Pokemon for the first time. He recognised the way it moved, the speed at which it moved, the way it easily responded to its trainers' commands despite being from another region. He realised this Pokemon was trained for battle. It must have previously belonged to another trainer before somehow being caught up in this mess.
William held out a Pokeball. "If you come with me, I promise I can make you a hero again. No pun intended."
And that was all the words that were needed.
The Pokemon nudged William's held-out Pokeball and disappeared in a flash of light.
One beep, two beeps, three beeps. Click.
The Pokemon had been caught. William almost couldn't believe how easy it had been to get his hands on a Pokemon of this calibre. A Pokemon this rare and this powerful in a zoo of all places. William laughed at it all. Hoenn had practically served him a powerhouse on a silver platter. Now he just needed to test it out.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
And there was his test subject.
The guard, unlucky enough to be working that shift, kept shouting at William before grabbing a Pokeball from his waist and sending out a Mightyena.
The grey and black wolf mirrored its owner's mood, growling and barking in an attempt to intimidate William.
"I'm placing you under arrest for the illegal capture of a Pokemon! Mightyena, restrain him!"
The Pokemon responded, charging toward William. But before it could tackle him, a large two-legged figure emerged from the shadows, grabbing the Pokemon with both of its gigantic hands.
Compared to Lochness, the wolf looked like a baby. Lochness' figure was large and imposing, and if William gave the order, he could snap the Mightyena in half—but he wasn't that cruel. Besides, he needed to test out his new companion.
Following the same train of thought, Lochness threw the Mightyena back toward its owner.
He threw his shoulder back and sent out his newly acquired companion. Palafin erupted in a flash of white light as its form came into view…flopping on the floor.
Across from him, the security guard chuckled. "And here I thought you came for something valuable. Of all Pokemon, you got the one who does circus tricks! What are you, a part of a show?"
"Mightyena, use Bite!" the guard shouted.
"Palafin, dodge it," William commanded.
To its credit, Palafin tried, but the unnaturalness of land for the sea creature made it hard for it to utilize its speed. The Mightyena's jaws clamped down, and Palafin let out a sharp cry. Palafin was sent flying backwards. The security guard laughed.
"Finally realized how useless that Pokemon is now, huh?" the guard taunted. "Send out your Swampert—not that it will do you any good. The cops are already on their way."
Without a word, William withdrew his Pokemon.
William then smirked, his expression calm and unshaken. "Who said I was done?"
William sent out his new Pokemon again, but this time…it looked completely different.
Whereas before it had been a docile and derpy dolphin, it now stood as a powerful and muscular creature,—much more human-like in appearance—exuding an aura of absolute confidence. It puffed out its chest which had turned a dark red surrounded by white. Previously, it had struggled to operate on land, but now its fins had been replaced with powerful limbs made of seafoam which made battling on land no problem at all.
It had gone from 0 to 100—or 0 to Hero.
"You seem like a guard who enjoys a power trip, using what little authority you have to feel better about yourself," William chuckled. "Let me show you the true meaning of a power trip."
"Palafin, use Jet Punch."
The Pokemon in question nodded, leaping from the ground with a tremendous burst of speed, cracking the pavement in the process. A powerful torrent of water swirled around Palafin's right fist—like a miniature whirlpool. It condensed and gathered energy and with a massive bang it was released.
The Mightyena didn't even have time to react. One moment it was standing proud, and the next, a fist made of water slammed into its body, sending it sprawling across the pavement. The Mightyena let out a small whimper before its eyes turned white. It was over before it even started.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," William said. "Though I suppose it's to be expected—it was a security guard's Pokemon. Two completely different worlds…"
Meanwhile, the security guard could only stare in shock.
"Palafin, knock him out," William said. As the guard mentioned, the cops were on their way—he needed to be quick.
With a punch—which was most likely a very light tap for Palafin—the guard slumped to the floor unconscious. William, who had abandoned his backpack against the side of the aquarium, jogged on over to it. He climbed up one of the ladders leading to the top, backpack in hand, and dumped the contents into the aquarium.
Lochness jumped up alongside him and began communicating with the water-type Pokemon. William didn't know what he was saying, but he was sure it was a damn good speech. Looks like he took after his owner. After a few minutes, most of the Pokeballs had been willingly used, leading to the capture of a majority of the Pokemon here.
His Swampert grabbed the wet Pokeballs floating at the top of the water, and they began stuffing them into the bag. It was like a GTA5 heist, only instead of stealing money, they were stealing—or rather liberating—Pokemon.
Just as they finished up, they heard the sound of sirens. Jennys.
"Time to go, guys," he said to his partners.
"Thanks, buddy." William said, withdrawing his starter.
He turned to the Palafin. "And thank you, friend." The thought of gaining another juggernaut was still unbelievable to him.
"Huh. Juggernaut. Do you like that name?"
Palafin nodded enthusiastically.
"Well then, looks like that's your new name." With a smile he withdrew Juggernaut into his Pokeball, and with a backpack full of freed Pokemon, ran off into the night.
30 Pokemon, that was the number of Pokemon he had captured from the zoo. It had a wide range of water type Pokemon which would benefit the team. However, one downside is that these Pokemon were domesticated, but they could also be undomesticated with enough training.
Some of these Pokemon would be handed out to members, while others would be trained to act independently—but for Team Aqua as a whole. Below from his office, the distant sounds of fighting and shouts were heard. There was currently a training session going on.
In a wide room surrounded by four slabs of grey concrete, the Team Aqua members were busy training. The room had been split into five sections, each with two trainers and one instructor overseeing them.
If they wanted to establish Team Aqua as a true superpower, they needed a strong foundation, and that foundation came from their grunts—the most abundant resource in the group.
Contrary to what most believed in his previous world, or what was most commonly portrayed, becoming a Pokemon trainer wasn't as easy or accessible as one might think. Pokemon, capable of becoming weapons of mass destruction, were—understandably—heavily regulated. To become a trainer, you needed a license, which could only be obtained by paying for it through an expensive exam or by attending trainer school, which also cost money.
If anyone could be given a starter Pokemon and use it to travel the world and possibly become a full-fledged trainer, well…the logistics of it would be terrible. The modern day equivalent in his old world would be giving everyone a lottery ticket, and if you won you would get a nuke. It was a system which terribly favoured the rich— because they were the most respected and most contributing people to society—by giving them powerful creatures capable of many things, and that system gave birth to evil villain teams like Team Rocket and Team Aqua.
This meant that many members of Team Aqua were regular people who once held normal jobs. Office workers, labourers, shopkeepers—the types of professions you never really thought about in a world like this, but which were needed to keep the world running. Someone had to do it. Yet, the disparity was clear between the rich and powerful, with no restrictions on their Pokemon, and the poor and weak, who could only have companion Pokemon at most. The only chance normal working people had was if they saved up enough money for their child to attend trainer school or got a very lucky break.
When William was a kid, his only real way of escaping the awful situation he had been born into was to become a trainer, to rise through the ranks and become something. But as soon as he realized that was impossible, as soon as he understood all the cards were stacked against him, he decided to take matters into his own hands—quite literally, with a rock.
It was then he fully realized this world was no longer a game or franchise like he had been treating it; it was a real world, with real people and real issues. He had spent the next few years capturing Pokemon—illegally, of course, since he had no license—and training them to be what they are now: strong and powerful enough to enact his will.
Now, all these years later, William could offer people the opportunity to become something. Fame, power, wealth—he could put a Pokeball into their hands and give them a chance to shape their own destiny rather than conform to the whims of a society that favored the wealthy and privileged.
Many of these people, before even joining Team Aqua had never even had the chance to own a Pokemon other than common house pets. They watched these people on TV battle and fight with terrifying Pokemon, while they had to watch from their homes, knowing that they would never be like that.
Now that they had these Pokémon, they needed to train them. Evolution was a huge jump in power for most Pokemon, and along with increasing the connection the trainers had to their Pokemon, this was the main reason these training sessions took place, to get these Pokemon stronger, and to get these Pokemon to evolve. If Pokemon evolved the team would evolve.
There was a knock on the door. William flinched. It was hardly a knock—it sounded more like a loud bang, which meant it could only be one person. The person with all the strength in the world but none of the ability to control it—Matt.
Matt had recently taken on the role of William's personal secretary—a situation William knew needed to change. Matt was an admin after all, and had far more important things to be doing.
The large man ducked to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe as he entered the room.
"Boss, I've got the most recent reports from the shipping raids. There's something you need to see, page 5." Matt said, handing over a thick file of papers.
"Thanks, Matt," William replied, taking the file. Without another word, Matt left.
He flicked through the pages, glancing over reports of the shipping raids along with the valuables they had gained from them.
Jewelry, rings, cash, and other treasures were collected and then sold on the black market. That was how they made their money. They typically targeted small merchant ships to avoid drawing too much attention from the League, but William had plans—plans that involved the opposite. His plans involved getting attention.
And what he found on page five was the perfect way to do it. During one of the raids on a passing merchant ship, they had somehow acquired information about a delegation ship from a far-off region. It seemed one of the regions wanted a piece of the pie that was Hoenn. According to the report, the delegation included a harmless League official and, more importantly, a gift: a Pokemon for the new champion.
Given that the champion specialized in Water-type Pokemon, it was obvious what type the gift Pokemon would be. William weighed the odds. Was this really just as it seemed—a perfect opportunity, a combination of luck and preparation? Or was it a trap?
They hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to attract increased attention from the League, and even if they had, the League should still be busy dealing with the fact that they had just crowned a new champion. He was fairly certain Wallace had more pressing issues to handle than some pirates. You don't stop running in the middle of a race—especially at the most important part—unless it's urgent.
The region had been left in shambles: high unemployment—which was one of the main reasons Team Aqua had gained notoriety—, a weak government, and a lack of strong trainers. Heck, one of the elite four was a young girl. Wallace should be focused on addressing all of that, not them.
Logically, it shouldn't be a trap, but improbable things did happen. With that in mind, he made his decision. Team Aqua would raid that ship and steal the Pokemon. And just in case it was a trap, William would go there himself. Good, then it was decided. He would raid that ship, and add another Pokemon to his team, and show Hoenn that they mean business.
==================================================================
In the early hours of the morning, off the coast of Lilycove, Mossdeep, or Sootopolis, if someone were to stare out into the ocean, then they might have seen a great titanic vessel of wood with blue sails traversing the seas.
The ship looked expertly crafted, and from a glance you could tell dozens of hours of hard work was put into this ship. Everything down from the wheel to the hull was a light brownish wood which was much stronger than typical wood.
William often wondered how on earth Archie had managed to secure a beautiful ship like this. Maybe they had stolen it, or maybe Archie had lavishly spent a large amount of funds to have this ship crafted for them. He didn't know; he never bothered to ask.
He was currently standing on this ship, dressed in a dark blue outfit with a long coat adorned with black epaulettes, leaning over the supporting deck and breathing in the salty sea air through his mask. He looked straight out of One Piece.
And yes, you heard that right, a mask. On his face was a pure black mask, shrouding his distinctive blue hair and features. William didn't plan to have his identity revealed, so the mask was necessary to hide it. He would have preferred if his face wasn't known at all to anyone in Team Aqua, but he couldn't exactly go around trying to join Team Aqua in a suspicious mask, everyone would think he was a spy. Some contact lenses and wigs were the best he could use.
As for his name, only a select few knew the name William; to most, he was known by the pseudonym Poseidon. That was something he could afford to hide.
Having his face as well as his real name exposed wouldn't do him any good with what he had planned. William continued to gaze out into the ocean while his team manned the ship. Humans and Pokemon ran across the deck, working together. There was something relaxing in the harmony of a group of Pokémon and humans working together on a ship in order to complete a singular goal.
This thing is the closest I have to family, William thought, looking around the ship. And you need to protect your family.
"Boss, one of our spotters said he saw the ship, roughly 20 degrees east. Maybe 5 minutes away." one of the grunts came up to him and said.
"You sure it's the ship?" William asked.
"Yeah, it's got an unknown flag on it. Looks different from the ships we usually raid." the grunt said.
"Right, lads! Ships in sight! Grab your Pokeballs and get ready for battle!" William shouted, springing into action immediately. The entire atmosphere changed. It was getting serious. They got paid by the job after all.
The ship's course was adjusted, and they began to intercept the vessel. Their ship was faster, much faster. They had sailed east from their base of operations in Lilycove, keeping parallel with the ship's destined location. Ever Grande City was to the south, but now, with the ship coming towards them, they had no need to wait.
They were ready to catch it.
William stood at the bow of the ship, the wind whipping his dark blue coat as their vessel closed in on the target. The sleek enemy ship was cutting through the waves, but not for long. His voice, calm yet commanding, rang out over the deck.
"Sharpedo's! Circle them!"
The Sharpedo's, roughly four in number, were released into the seas below. Their fins sliced through water like butter, carrying them quickly towards the other ship. Once they got there, they ominously circled the ship. Any attempt to secretly send for help or fight using their water type Pokemon would be spotted immediately.
No need for any of the other measures. Ship seems harmless...
William's hand went towards his belt. He retrieved one of his Pokeballs. "Lochness! Go!" As they neared closer to the ship, his Swampert dived into the waters below.
The ship had slowed down but hadn't completely come to a halt. Suddenly, Lochness grabbed the hull of the ship, using its monstrous strength to stop it completely. Now the ships were practically next to another.
The crew of Team Aqua sprang into action. The anchor was thrown, ropes were flung across the gap, and grunts swung onto the enemy deck, accompanied by Pokemon like Crawdaunt and Mightyena in order to add to the intimidation. Crawdaunt smashed open locked crates with its crab limbs, while Mightyena circled and growled and barked at the opposition, slowly rearing them into a small corner of the ship like they were cattle.
William leapt onto the enemy ship with practiced ease, landing on the deck with a light thud. Lochness surged alongside him, dripping in water, towering over the stunned enemy crew. One sailor, desperate to fight back, threw out a Pokeball.
A Manectric appeared, snarling as it stood ready to defend the ship.
William raised an eyebrow. "You think an Electric-type is going to save you here? Lochness."
Before the Manectric could react, Lochness moved with unbelievable speed, crushing the Pokémon in its grip. In an attempt to defend itself lightning discharged from the Manectric, but Swampert was immune. It simply dissipated from his skin as though it never touched him. With a quick and powerful punch from its massive arms, the Manectric fainted.
"Going to need more than that to defeat our boss!" one of the grunts said, cheering.
"Anyone else?" William asked, his voice cold. The enemy crew froze, their eyes wide with fear. He barely spared a glance at the league official from Kalos— a fat old man.
"No?" William questioned. "Tie them up then," he said to his team. He pointed towards the League official. "And put something over his mouth. Politicians and their silver tongues piss me off."
"Yes boss!" the crew replied.
…
"Smaller than expected," William said, surveying the ship as his subordinates wrapped the people up in zip ties. It had taken less than 5 minutes to do it.
"Indeed," a voice replied, and his eyes widened as he recognized that voice. Only a few weeks ago, he had heard it on TV when the speaker was appointed the new Gym Leader of Wallace's old gym.
It was Juan. Throughout this whole ideal he had managed to remain hidden, but now he sat—posture relaxed—on a box of crates.
William's mind raced with thoughts. Was this a trap? Was there anyone else here? Were there actually any Pokemon?
Although his mind raced with these thoughts, on the outside he stayed calm and collected.
"Gym Leader Juan. It's unexpected to see you here."
"I'm afraid I can't say the same," Juan replied. "Wallace told me about your little group of miscreants, how you were robbing the seas. I figured you'd somehow find out about the delegation ship from Kalos, so I thought I would come along, just in case. And here we are. Relations between Hoenn and Kalos are paramount, and it's very rare Water-type Pokemon will go a long way to that relationship."
And he was, of course, very right. Although on the outside it may seem like a nice gesture to give a Pokemon from their region, in reality, it was much more than that.
They were gifting a Pokemon, yes, but they were also giving the champion of another region a weapon. First and foremost, Pokemon are partners, but when you rule a region or take up any type of governmental role in that region, you effectively sign off on your Pokemon becoming weapons for that region.
If a region were to come under attack, it was expected that the champion, the Elite Four, and the Gym Leaders would use their Pokemon to protect that region—even more, so they were the first line of defense.
By gifting this Pokemon, Kalos was essentially saying: "We are gifting this Pokemon to you because we trust you and we are allies, and see no future in which we will go to war and that gift will bite us back in the ass."
"I will give you this chance. Leave now with your little group of thugs, or I will unleash hell on you," Juan said.
William chuckled through his mask. "How about this: give us the Pokemon, and we will leave without harming anyone."
Juan brought a hand to one of his Pokeballs. William did the same. Intense silence cut through the air. His team glanced between William and the gym leader, visibly nervous but confident in their boss.
"I don't wish to destroy this ship. How about we fight on the open water below?" Juan suggested, his tone playful, almost casual. "That way, your subordinates can have front-row seats on the ship to watch you lose."
Beneath his mask, William chuckled. It was a desperate attempt to gain a considerable advantage wrapped up in a joke and taunt. Water-type specialists were best when fighting on water—it was obvious. By fighting on water, they would have a significant edge over anyone else. Juan was trying to provoke William into a disadvantage.
But William was a water-type specialist as well. This was no disadvantage; it was an even playing field— allowing both trainers to fight at their max capacity. It was a chance to test his full strength against the full strength of a gym leader, one of the strongest trainers in the region.
"Very well," said William. They made their way off the ship, each of them settling for standing on a Pokemon in a place on a platform. William stood on one of team aqua's Wailmers, while Juan stood on his own Dewgong. They were sufficient enough distance apart to hear their opponent, but also be relatively safe from the fight.
And without another word, both trainers reached towards their belt—this time grabbing a pokeball, and threw them out into the open sea, the beginning of William's first major challenge as the leader of Team Aqua.