"You're done," said William, looking at the defeated Juan across from him.
The Gym Leader, who once held an aura of confidence in his victory before the fight even began, now had a defeated look on his face as he clutched the Pokeball of Milotic.
"You said 6v6, standard league rules, right? I beat you." He looked towards the Dewgong he stood on, looking defiant and ready to fight. "I still have four Pokemon to spare, as well as the entire might of my team. You stand no chance. Go, leave, and tell your Champion that Team Aqua took this ship."
William had initially considered killing Juan. Removing a fellow Water-type specialist this early would benefit his plan in many ways but derail them in many others. Most notably, if he died, then the Gym Leader spot would be open, and he knew who would most likely fill that spot. He couldn't allow that. The league also didn't take kindly to killing one of their own. They had gained attention, yes, but killing him would—in the simplest of terms—bring his wanted level to a five star.
With his only Pokemon left being the one he stood on and a few unused extras—his weaker Pokemon—, Juan could only grit his teeth and lick his wounds. He looked at William with a stare that promised vengeance and redemption. With nothing more to say, he turned, leaving with his Dewgong, his wounded pride and Pokemon, and his Pokeballs.
With a Gym Leader defeated, Team Aqua had taken a massive leap in their standing in the world—just as William had promised when he became leader. He smiled under his mask and raised a fist into the sky.
Team Aqua cheered.
"Alright, boys, now that our little distraction has left, let's loot this ship! Take everything!"
More cheers erupted as the crew got to work.
William returned to the ship, leading the robbery. On the deck, the civilians had been gathered, their valuables stripped away. Nothing was off the table—packets of cigarettes, expensive clothing, jewelry—anything that could be sold on the black market where it wouldn't be traced.
"Please, that's a family heirloom!" a voice cried out.
"It looks expensive," one of the grunts said with a grin.
William strode over. "Let them keep it."
"But...boss…"
He had watched too many movies—movies where something important was stolen, and the owner would stop at nothing to get it back, seeking revenge. He already had the government dealing with them; he didn't need to rack up a long list of individuals with personal grudges.
Taking something of significant sentimental value would do just that.
Just take the valuables and don't make anything personal. That way, it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass in the future. It was also that reason he never physically hurt anyone on the ship unless they tried to fight back.
Although, his rash decision-making this time had almost done exactly that—bite him back in the ass.
He hadn't expected this—a gym leader on the boat. If it had been a member of the elite four instead, things might have gone very differently. The elite four were a different calibre that he didn't want to mess with right now. That could have been the end of Team Aqua right then and there.
William had been too rash. He needed to be more careful in the future.
However, as his gaze settled on the Pokemon meant for Wallace—a rare gift from Kalos—he knew one thing for certain—his gamble had paid off.
Looks like they would have to send him another Froakie, because he was taking this one. They really were handing him Pokemon at this rate weren't they? The Frog-like Pokemon had been placed in a cage, a spacious cage with a decent portion of Pokemon food and water, as well as a bed for him to sleep on. looks like they had caught the Pokemon in the wild without actually using a Pokeball, and were transferring it to Wallace so he could capture it.
It was a more authentic experience than just handing him a Pokeball. Made it feel like it was actually Wallace's Pokemon. Well, now it was his Pokemon.
In the cage, the Froakie stared at him with a mix of apprehension and uncertainty. The commotion must have woken it up and put it on high alert.
William took off his black mask, flashing the Pokemon a smile. He grabbed a Pokeball from his waist belt and slid it through the metal bars.
"You can either be free or stay here." That was all William said.
When you put Pokemon in terrible positions and situations, most alternatives are seen as lifelines. People really took these creatures for granted as if they didn't have personal feelings and free will. Maybe if they had treated this Pokemon with some respect, it wouldn't have walked over to the Pokeball and touched the center button.
But it did.
A red light enveloped the Froakie, and it disappeared into the Pokeball. William stuck his hand through the bars and grabbed it.
"That makes double digits," William said, pocketing the Pokeball into his coat.
He searched the room for any more valuables. Nothing noteworthy—bottles of water, kilograms of Pokemon food—nothing worth taking.
Except…
William pried open the last crate with his hands, expecting to find nothing useful as usual.
Instead, he found jackpot.
Evolution Stones. Technical Machines. Ultra Balls. Potions.
And that was just on the surface, barely covering a portion of the crate's height. This was worth more than common jewelry and valuables. The trade of popping up on the government's radar to obtain a Froakie was quite even, but this tipped the scales completely in their favour. This could fund their team for years. Or better yet…
Now they were no longer just a group of miscreants, no longer something minor like a small itch, now they were a massive gaping cut, and the government would be forced to deal with it. Or someone else...
I'm ready. Your move Wallace.
He sent out Lochness, smiling at him. The Swampert was a bit battered and worse for wear, but otherwise in good condition. Juan and his Pokemon hadn't even managed to get his ability to activate.
"Looks like we hit the jackpot, buddy." William grabbed a pink bottle from the crate and checked its label.
Hyper Potion.
"Let's get you in better shape," he said, turning the bottle toward Lochness and spraying it a few times.
A few cuts and bruises faded.
"Fuck it."
He unscrewed the lid and doused Lochness with the contents of the potion. The liquid slowly seeped into his skin, and as it did, each and every last wound disappeared. He spent the next few minutes doing the same for his other Pokemon who were injured.
They returned to their ships an hour later, carrying crates, bags, and pockets full of valuables. It was their biggest haul yet.
William took off his mask again, wiping the sweat from his forehead and slicking his blue hair back.
As they sailed back to headquarters, the crew celebrated with drinks and hot food and party music, exchanging stories and showing off the valuables they had found.
They would have to hand everything back to William before leaving the ship, but he was nice enough to let them enjoy the shiny things—temporarily.
The first step he did was properly sort through everything they had gathered during the raid and figure out what to keep and what to sell.
William sorted through the supplies.
TM for Snore, Sell.
Quick Ball, Sell. They weren't in any hurry.
A necklace with an amethyst pearl in the centre, Sell.
TM for Haze, Keep. That would have been useful for Britney before.
Super Potion, Keep. Just a few would do.
Ultra Ball, Keep.
Fire Stone, Sell. They were a water type team.
Hyper Potion, Keep.
These resources would go a long way in helping Team Aqua.
First, he would sell them on the black market—he was typically the one handling sales before he took over leadership. He was used to negotiating higher prices for the items they sold and lower prices for the ones they needed to buy.
Selling items this valuable in such large quantities always attracted unwanted attention. The black market could be a dangerous place, and someone strong needed to protect these goods.
And he was strong.
He had just defeated a Gym Leader without barely breaking a sweat.
A weak and complacent Gym Leader? Yes. But a Gym Leader nonetheless.
Juan had won the Conference League years ago, spending the next few years riding off that fame to build influence and make connections. One of those connections had obviously been Wallace, which had ultimately landed him the job.
The point was, he was rusty. This eye-opening loss would probably set him back on track, though. Again, he would have loved to kill him and steal his Pokemon, remove a permanent thorn in his side, but the consequences would be bad. He was not above killing, but only when it was absolutely necessary. He understood the value in life but also the value in ending one.
Now, with the money and resources he got from the raid, he could proceed to the next step of his plan, much faster than he initially anticipated…
Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 begins.