Captain Walt was tidying up his things and getting ready to go to sleep.
It was already past eight in the evening, close to nine.
Aside from one or two crew members on night duty and the rotating service staff in the service area, everyone else had already gone to rest.
"Ha~"
Walt yawned, casually brushing his graying beard. His eyelids drooped halfway shut.
The ship had only just reached the outer edge of the Triangle Sea. It was still far from the Red Devil Island and the Red Devil Pirates' territory.
Normally, pirates did not appear near the edge of the sea zone. He could still enjoy a good night's sleep today.
Thinking this, Walt patted his belly, pushed the messy items on his desk aside, and hung his coat on the rack. He was about to head to the bathroom to take a shower.
Knock, knock, knock…
Knocking came from outside the door.
"Captain Walt! I have an urgent matter!"
It sounded like one of the crew members on night duty.
Did they spot something unusual?
Then why not contact him directly through the communicator?
Walt thought about it briefly and opened the door.
A jet of pitch-black ink sprayed straight into his face.
A strong numbing sensation instantly spread through his body. As he staggered backward, something leaped onto him. His joints were tightly bound, leaving him completely unable to move.
Pirates.
Walt's head spun.
Why were pirates appearing now?
They had only just entered the Triangle Sea.
Luckily, the S.S. Anne was practically an empty ship. But there was still that young Pokémon researcher onboard.
The attack was too sudden. There was no time to warn Shiro.
Walt struggled with all his strength, sweat pouring down his face. The Poké Balls at his waist were seized immediately by strange tentacles. In the end, he collapsed onto the floor, unable to get back up.
"Octillery, well done."
Arne recalled Slowpoke, kicked the crew member aside, and took the Poké Balls handed over by Octillery.
He glanced inside briefly. They were mostly Water-type Pokémon. Four were at Advanced-level, and one was at Gym-level.
After confirming that all the Poké Balls were locked, Arne tossed the four Advanced-level Pokémon to the four pirates nearby who could not take their eyes off them.
"A reward from Boss Red Devil."
"Thank you, Boss Red Devil. Thank you, Boss Arne."
The four pirates accepted the Pokémon with delight and kept thanking him.
Arne then squatted down and looked at Captain Walt, whose face was smeared with ink and whose mouth was still buzzing. He waved his hand, signaling the two Octillery to release the tentacle blocking Walt's mouth, and asked coldly, "Where are the passengers on this ship?"
Walt gasped for air. His vision was blurred. He vaguely saw a thin pirate in front of him and explained in broken breaths, "After receiving the message and rushing over, I temporarily evacuated all the passengers in Galar... We planned to pick them up again after rescuing the hostages."
"Galar?" Arne muttered, clearly doubtful. "Isn't the Galar region very closed-off? Why would they accept your passengers?"
"One of the passengers could contact a Gym Leader in Galar..." Walt replied anxiously.
Hearing this, Arne took out a Poké Ball again and released Slowpoke. He frowned and demanded, "What's the name of that Gym Leader?"
"Ka-Kabu! Gym Leader Kabu!" Walt shouted nervously upon hearing Slowpoke's cry.
"Kabu?"
Arne recalled Slowpoke and waved his hand, ordering the four pirates to carry Walt away.
He had heard of that name. Recently, Kabu had been closely connected with a newly emerging Team Rocket force nearby and had been involved in some transactions.
It sounded believable. But the truth did not really matter.
What mattered was how many people were still on the ship, and whether there was any chance to find those who had already left.
* * *
Arne stepped back onto the deck and issued orders to the dozen or so pirates who had just boarded.
"Search every room carefully! Find everyone and every Pokémon on this ship! Even if it's just a Caterpie, bring it to the deck!"
The pirates immediately responded with noisy excitement.
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's go! I love hide-and-seek!"
"Grab everything!"
After shouting, they rushed like sharks smelling blood, releasing their Pokémon as they charged into the ship.
Their objective was very clear. They ignored the main hall and the dim training areas, heading straight for the passenger cabins.
* * *
A short while later, a wave surged up against the side of the S.S. Anne. A massive crimson octopus paused briefly on the wave, then leaped onto the deck, carrying a muscular man on its head.
"Boss Red Devil!"
Arne called out and walked over to the giant octopus, watching as the muscular man lightly jumped down onto the deck.
The man's skin was sallow. A scar of unknown origin ran straight from his forehead down to his chin. His remaining eye was vicious and fierce. He wore only a short-sleeved jacket and shorts.
He ignored Arne and immediately fixed his gaze on the tightly bound Walt.
"Boss Red Devil." Arne quickly offered the Poké Balls taken from Walt. Inside was that Gym-level Water-type Pokémon.
Red Devil casually took it, glanced at the Sharpedo inside, then tossed it back to Arne.
"Keep it yourself."
"Yes." Arne had expected this and showed no excitement.
Boss Red Devil, the leader of the Red Devil Pirates, only liked using Octillery and only trained Octillery. He could already reliably raise Octillery to Gym-level.
Though Octillery looked ugly, its practicality was extremely high.
Arne did not know why Red Devil favored this Pokémon. He only liked powerful Pokémon.
"Walt!" Red Devil shouted sharply. "Are there any other passengers on this ship?"
Just as Captain Walt was about to answer, Red Devil continued in a chilling tone, "If you lie, for every passenger we find, I'll have my Octillery eat one of your legs."
"..."
Walt hesitated briefly in his heart.
It was not that he cherished his legs. It was just that the young researcher was about to become a hostage anyway.
He had never expected the pirates to strike so quickly. With no warning, Shiro would definitely be discovered.
The pirates already had plenty of hostages. One more or one less made no real difference.
Either way, they would all be held by Red Devil for a while, waiting for the League official to figure out a rescue plan.
Walt answered honestly, "There is still one passenger. He chose to stay on this ship himself."
"Hm?" Red Devil's face seemed to form a smile. "Who?"
"A very young researcher," Walt said quickly. "He's from Galar. After we evacuated the other passengers in Galar, he boarded on his own. Professor Rowan introduced him. We tried to drive him off, but he wouldn't listen."
He added, "That person is in First Class Cabin 102. You'll see it as soon as you reach the top deck."
"Oh, not bad."
Red Devil nodded in satisfaction and called to the Octillery beside him.
"Eat his right leg."
**
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