A/N: Vote with your power stones!
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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, starting the beginning of William's first major challenge as the leader of Team Aqua.