Immediately after, a burly man in short sleeves slowly pushed a small cart in front of the crowd.
"It's Mr. Furuta!" Sieg muttered to himself.
The others, however, silently lowered their heads, not daring to make eye contact with Furuta. There was not a single person on board who didn't know of Furuta's life at sea.
Since birth, he had never set foot on land even once. Therefore, his mastery of ocean currents, waves, and wind directions was incredibly precise. He was considered the "eyes" of the entire Megalodon ship.
Because of this unique skill, the captain valued him greatly and was preparing to promote him to the third first mate.
"Heh heh, you rookies must be really excited, huh..."
After some teasing, the crowd became even more nervous.
"Alright, line up and pick one by one according to the order of your names!" Furuta lifted the cloth, revealing 20 shining Poké Balls in front of everyone.
All the newcomers stared at the Poké Balls with burning eyes. Sieg's gaze fell on the two Poké Balls at the far left.
There were two rows of Poké Balls, upper and lower, but they looked identical from the outside. Choosing was purely based on luck; whichever one you picked, that would be your Pokémon. No room for negotiation.
"The first one, Sieg!"
When Sieg's name was called, his peers showed expressions of envy.
Even the old pirates watching from the side had expressions of anticipated amusement.
Slowly approaching the cart, Sieg quickly scanned the Poké Balls and finally chose the one at the far left on the upper row.
"Hope this brings me good luck."
Sieg clenched the Poké Ball tightly, silently praying.
"Next, Nagashima…"
"Next, ..."
One after another, more youths whose names were called stepped forward to choose.
"According to the information from Metako, the further to the left the Poké Balls are, the better they should be." Sieg thought to himself.
Watching a companion he was on good terms with pick a Poké Ball from the right side, Sieg's lips parted slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
Soon, all the Poké Balls were chosen.
Sieg couldn't wait any longer, he wanted to see which Pokémon was inside his Poké Ball.
"Haha! From now on, you are no longer rookies. After completing this afternoon's assessment, you will officially be pirates!"
The recruits, who had been immersed in the joy of getting their Pokémon, instantly tensed up.
Following the dismissal order, the veteran pirates returned to their posts, while the recruits remained on deck. This was now their free activity time!
This was also the only vacation they got after a year of hard work.
"Come out, my Pokémon! ... Ah, it's a Taillow!"
"My Pokémon is a Carvanha."
One by one, they eagerly released their Pokémon, but from the looks of it, things weren't going well.
"Help! Aaaah—"
One boy collapsed on the ground, a Carvanha viciously biting into his arm, tearing his flesh apart.
Sharp teeth, powerful jaws!
The surrounding youths retreated in terror, not daring to approach. In their impression, weren't Pokémon supposed to obey commands before acting?
Sieg had no interest in dealing with these rookies, nor any intention of helping.
He quietly retreated behind the crowd and eventually disappeared from the deck.
At that moment, in the deepest part of the ship where the rookies usually slept, Sieg decided to release his Pokémon for the first time.
"Come out, my first Pokémon." His tone carried a trace of anticipation.
With a flash of white light, a Corphish appeared!
"Cor Cor!" The Corphish waved its pincers as soon as it appeared, looking very alert.
Sieg tried to maintain a gentle expression as he slowly took out a deep blue Pokéblock from his pocket.
"This is a basic Water-type Pokéblock I saved up to buy from Mr. Gutian." Sieg slowly squatted down.
"Come on, Corphish, try one. You must be starving, right?"
Sieg's method of taming Pokémon was simple: food temptation. Honestly, in his current situation, he had no other choice.
As for forceful taming...
Looking at the half-meter-tall Corphish with its huge pincers, Sieg immediately dismissed this ridiculous idea.
The Corphish stared at the blue Pokéblock, which was exuding an enticing aroma. In the end, its hunger overcame its fear of the unknown.
"Cor—"
Quickly, it used its pincers to send the energy Pokéblock into its mouth.
As soon as the food entered, its wary expression instantly turned into one of enjoyment, eyes narrowing and emitting satisfied sounds.
Seeing this, Sieg revealed a confident smile.
"Don't worry, Corphish, I've got more of these. As long as you behave and listen, you'll never lack Pokéblocks in the future…"
Sieg worked hard to paint a rosy future, and Corphish was instantly won over, having never encountered such treatment.
"Corphish never yields! Unless there's free food and lodging."
"Cor Cor!"
The Corphish kept waving its pincers, looking all fired up.
"One day, we'll definitely conquer the world…"
Sieg's mouth was getting dry from speaking, but seeing Corphish's admiring expression, his own anticipation grew.
...
"Corphish, show me your special moves. Just be careful not to damage the cabin."
Sieg immediately started to display his authority as a trainer.
"Cor Cor!" Corphish's body emitted a white sheen.
"That's Harden!" Sieg commented.
"Anything else, Corphish?"
Upon hearing its trainer's words, Corphish raised its pincers again and clamped at the air.
"That's Vice Grip."
"Not bad, not bad, quite talented indeed."
Sieg didn't hold back on his praise for Corphish, even if its moves were the most basic ones.
"Cor Cor!" Corphish happily bounced around, and when it spread its pincers, a stream of azure bubbles was released.
"Cough, cough... alright, alright, Corphish, stop it now." Sieg waved his arms, popping all the bubbles.
"That should be Bubble. If it were Bubble Beam, it would've been more intense."
Sieg pondered silently.
Corphish currently knew Bubble, Vice Grip, and Harden.
"Cor Cor~"
Corphish chirped eagerly twice, trying to get Sieg's attention.
Looking over, Sieg saw Corphish enveloped in a swirling stream of water, poised in a diving stance.
"This is...!"
Just as Sieg was getting excited, the water stream slowly dispersed.
Move failed.
Even so, Sieg was ecstatic. This was clearly a hereditary move.
And from the looks of it, it seemed to resemble Aqua Jet.
"Not bad, not bad, little lobster soldier. You are quite talented. In the future, we will definitely grow bigger and stronger…"
Sieg kept painting grand visions, and the little lobster soldier listened with boiling excitement.
But in truth, it hadn't told its new master that there was still one move lingering in its mind, yet no matter what, it couldn't execute it.
Moreover, that move was far too strange; it required performing a bizarre dance.
It didn't understand. It couldn't figure it out…
Soon, the whole morning had passed, and it was time for the recruits' afternoon assessment. On the deck, another group of youths was present, but this time, it seemed one person was missing.
Sieg noticed that the bloodstains on the deck hadn't completely faded yet. Even though they had been wiped once, faint red marks still remained.
"That young man with the Carvanha," Sieg thought silently.
"Looks like he's dead…"
Sieg watched as the bloodstains were slowly dragged toward the edge of the ship.
The person conducting the assessment was still the same first mate, Nagata Shin.
"Listen up, unfortunately, one of you has already left us without even taming a single Pokémon."
While everyone was still mourning over this, Shin suddenly shifted his tone: "However, I believe in this afternoon's assessment, even more people will be eliminated!"
Everyone was visibly shocked. They didn't know what the consequences of elimination were, but judging from his tone, it was clearly nothing good.
"Alright, bring them up!"
At Nagata Shin's command, several seasoned pirates slowly carried cages onto the deck.
Inside the cages were captured Pokémon!
"Hissss!!"
"Roar~~"
There were Seviper, Wurmple, Taillow, and other common Pokémon from the Hoenn region.
"Your task today is to kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the first mate left, no longer paying any attention to the rookies.
The veteran pirates, on the other hand, watched this scene with great interest, even placing bets among themselves on who would be the first to stand out.
"I bet a bottle of beer!"
"I'll bet three packs of cigarettes!"
"Damn, you're going that big? Planning to starve this month?"
"Exactly, it'll be over a month before we dock again to resupply."
Almost all the pirates were betting on the youths they favored, but without exception, Sieg had the most bets placed on him.
Sieg stared resolutely at the Pokémon inside the cages.
The surrounding youths trembled with fear, not daring to step forward. Though they had been captured for training over the past year, they had only done odd jobs and learned basic survival skills at sea. They had never truly killed before.
As the stalemate dragged on, Sieg slowly took out a Pokéball and released his Corphish.
"Corphish, charge up and clamp that Wurmple to death!" Sieg's tone was cold, expressionless.
Corphish froze slightly at the command, hesitating as it looked back at its master.
But in the end, it did not dare to disobey orders. It waddled toward the cage on its six short legs.
Raising its proud pincers, a milky-white energy slowly gathered. Under the terrified gaze of the frail Wurmple, the pincers slowly closed in.
Clamp!
The life force of the Wurmple gradually faded!
"Haha, I win! I win! Hand over the cigarettes!"
The veteran pirates laughed and jeered heartily.
Sieg retrieved the little lobster soldier and silently retreated to the group, not saying a single word.
Gradually, other youths stepped forward, their voices trembling as they awkwardly commanded their barely familiar Pokémon.
Some succeeded, naturally, while others failed.
And for those who failed…
"Take back their Pokéballs. From now on, they're gonna stay at the bottom level as menial workers."
The pirate's tone was icy cold. To them, only those who completed the challenge were considered one of their own.
"No… no, please, give me another chance! I beg you… just one more chance…"
The young man's voice trembled as he kept begging.
One of the pirates immediately stepped forward and kicked the young man aside, cursing angrily: "You have a death wish?!"
A ferocious Crawdaunt appeared!
Its massive pincers slowly lifted, and with one blow, smashed the young man's skull.
Brain matter splattered, blood flowed.
"Ahhh!!!!"
The rookies screamed in terror.
The Crawdaunt turned its head to look back. Its vicious gaze silenced the rookies, who no longer dared to move or make a sound.
One by one, they became obedient quails, drooping their heads.
Sieg silently glanced at the young man's headless corpse and thought to himself: "Here, human life is the cheapest thing of all."
Eventually, the corpse was slowly cast into the sea, becoming nourishment for the endless ocean.
...
Nighttime, lower deck cabins.
The young recruits were chattering about the marvels of Pokémon.
As for the deaths of the two youths earlier, no one dared to mention them, nor did anyone wish to. For them, it was a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Sieg roamed the dining hall, his gaze sweeping around as if searching for something.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he approached while carrying two bottles of liquor.
"Mr. Furuta, I've come to drink with you." Sieg placed the two bottles on the table.
Looking at the lavish dishes on the table, he couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Furuta truly lives up to his reputation as the 'Eyes of the Shark'. The captain clearly values you greatly, to provide you with such amazing food."
Furuta looked at the young man in front of him and said: "No need to be so polite, Sieg. Eat as you please."
The two of them each opened a bottle and drank merrily, exchanging all sorts of information.
Out on the resource-scarce ocean, only when the ship docked at a port could supplies be replenished.
Therefore, alcohol was always a rare commodity.
It was also the best way for men to bond.
"My friend, is Lady Metako particularly busy lately? Haven't seen her around." Furuta asked, using his slight drunkenness to probe subtly.
Sieg's eyes flickered. This probing for information, could it be that he wants to…
"Oh, not really. Lady Metako, she…"
Sieg gave a vague answer and quickly changed the subject.
As time passed, the number of people in the dining hall gradually dwindled until only a few remained.
By then, the two were already thoroughly drunk, staggering as they left the dining hall.
Their steps were unsteady, but they still supported each other as they departed.
At the moment of parting, Furuta patted his chest and promised Sieg, "Brother, if you ever encounter any trouble or difficulties, don't hesitate to come to me. I'll take care of everything for you!" With that, Furuta patted Sieg's shoulder and turned away.
Sieg watched Furuta's receding figure, a strange expression appearing on his face.
However, Sieg did not know that after he left, the seemingly drunk and staggering Furuta suddenly became expressionless and walked steadily, showing no signs of inebriation.
Furuta secretly thought to himself: "With my strength and experience, and my reconnaissance skills at sea, perhaps I have a chance to become the third first mate?"
The reason Furuta had lowered himself to befriend Sieg was that he knew Sieg could speak in Lady Metako's presence.
As long as Sieg was willing to put in a good word for him at a critical moment, his chances of success in the competition would greatly increase.