Thanks for all the support on my Patreo-n so far! 3 advanced chapters at /xlucqs.

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  If you were to tell the William of the past that a year from now he would be the leader of Team Aqua and also one of the most relevant companies in the region—practically controlling all maritime travel—then he would have a very hard time believing it.

  He had always been ambitious, yes, with a clear and precise plan to climb to the top, but his quick and almost unbelievable rise was something that should be studied.

  One of the most important factors that led to where he was now was preparation. He had spent his early years training his Pokemon and planning. William used rough knowledge from his past life about Pokemon to formulate a plan—one he would follow to achieve his dreams of controlling the seas.

  And if he controlled the seas, he would be unstoppable.

  He followed that plan, and although some obstacles had gotten in the way—so had some lifelines that benefited him greatly.

  Now, Neptune Shipping had a large stake in Hoenn's economy. William was making lots of money. He also had access to tons of business deals with Hoenn's other core pillars—one such example being Devon Corp, with whom he managed to work out a deal in the last couple of weeks, despite Maxies meddling.

  And now, Shelly had claimed her rightful place in Team Aqua.

  William didn't know what sequence of events had originally led her to join Archie's Team Aqua, but for an aspiring young intelligent lady with a promising career ahead of her, it must have been bad for her to stoop so low and join Archie with his crazy dreams.

  On the other hand, William's goals and values are more closely aligned with her. William knew he had to get Shelly on his side as soon as he could. She was a valuable and smart asset for Archie, and William intended to elevate her to be more than that.

  There was some level of regret with what he did with her—with what he showed her, but it was a completely necessary thing to do. William had broken her, broken the protective layer surrounding her true self so it laid bare and barren to the world.

  Her true self was vulnerable and wanted strength, and William came along with just the perfect offer. He had broken her down, and now he would assist in building her back up again.

  Shelly had abruptly quit her job as a university teacher, stating she wanted to focus on her charity.

  Her charity did have some uses, and now Shelly was an Admin of Team Aqua and directly under him, he now controlled most of the decisions the charity made.

  AAA and Neptune Shipping would enter a partnership together, where they could both accomplish much more than they originally could.

  Speaking of, Neptune Shipping now dominated the legal seas and kept the region safe. Although this was good for William, it was not good for Poseidon—the leader of Team Aqua.

  Ships were being raided at a much lower frequency—because they were now lower in frequency—, leading to members becoming restless and agitated. There was more infighting and frustration going around, and people were starting to question his leadership.

  What he needed to do was try to balance Neptune and Team Aqua as best he could. He needed to show that he was still the leader of Team Aqua for a reason. And he had just the perfect plan for that.

  Instead of creating a tug-of-war with himself and moving to attack Neptune Shipping, he would instead broaden his horizons and go over to Hoenn's neighbours—Kanto and Johto.

  It was there that Neptune Shipping had no jurisdiction, and ships were ripe for the taking—their valuables and assets vulnerable..

  However, venturing into unknown territory was quite a dangerous move. As much as William knew about both regions from the games and the anime, it was only a rough translation and didn't accurately reflect what it was like in real life. Living there was different. He had already made the mistake of being too confident back when he raided that ship from Kalos—he wouldn't make that mistake again.

  Before he ventured into the region with his team and his ships carrying the name Poseidon, he needed an in. Someone knowledgeable enough about the region, its politics, its travel routes, and its dangers, so the time he ventured into the region he would be fully prepared for anything coming his way.

  And he happened to know just the perfect person for that.

  Just recently, he had ventured back into the black market and used the services of someone who could connect him directly to the leader of Team Rocket. He was an informant of some kind and had access to all kinds of information. It cost him a pretty penny, but it would soon be worth it.

  A direct line to the boss of Team Rocket.

  William sat in his office, eyeing the piece of paper that held the number of the leader of Team Rocket—of Giovanni.

  He called it.

  The phone rang a couple of times, then connected. There was a moment of silence.

  "Hello?" William asked. He was using a voice changer, and judging from Giovanni's following response, he was too.

  "Good evening, Poseidon," Giovanni responded.

  "Are you the leader of Team Rocket? The Don, as they call you?" William asked.

  "That I am. And you are the leader of Team Aqua—Poseidon. It's nice to finally make your acquaintance. I've been following your exploits for quite a while."

  "What do you know of my exploits?"

  Giovanni chuckled. "I know you raid ships and take their jewellery and belongings. I also know that, as a team, you're much stronger than the news lets on. They say Neptune Shipping snuffed you out, but that doesn't align with my reports—specifically, that you beat Juan and raided the ship from Kalos. This must mean you no longer see Hoenn as valuable…and you're looking elsewhere to expand, which is why you called me."

  How did he know I beat Juan? Is there a mole in my crew?

  "How do you know about Juan?" William asked, his voice betraying none of his uncertainty.

  "I have my ways. I'm guessing you called because you want a piece of…" there was a pause on the line— perhaps a drag of a cigarette. "Kanto and Johto."

  Spot on.

  "I do. I'd like your help—information about the region, its shipping routes, its most vulnerable spots, the different kinds of jewellery they wear, the most common Pokemon, everything."

  "And what's in it for me?"

  There was a pause on the line. William had considered this before.

  "Twenty percent of all the money we make from raiding ships in Indigo."

  "Twenty-five." Giovanni countered.

  …

  "Twenty-two. That's my final offer." William said.

  "Hmmm," Giovanni considered. "Deal. In exchange for 22% of your revenue, I will give you all the information you need about Indigo. In fact, you called at just the right time. I have quite some useful information for you right now. Approximately two days from now, the ship will be passing through Fuchsia. It's a private cruise, full of rich people with valuables ripe for the taking. We would do it ourselves, but we have too much going on right now to focus all of our resources into raiding the ship."

  "What ship?"

  "You might know it. It's called the S.S. Anne. Are you up for it?"

  William nodded. "More than up for it."

  "Very well. I'll send you all the details soon. However, in light of our partnership, some of our members will join you on this raid. You will collect them nearby at Vermillion port. They'll help you out and collect the 22% in person—it'll be much easier that way."

  William stood on the deck of the ship as the view of Kanto arrived. Beside him were his two Admins—Shelly and Matt.

  Ever since the events of the last two weeks, Shelly had joined William in his endeavour. He had promised to make her strong, while she would assist in achieving his goals of dominating the ocean.

  Just like William, she was disguised. She had taken on the pseudonym Ashe for her name. Matt was just…Matt. Team Aqua was his life, so he had no need for disguises or hiding his face. Even if he did, his large muscular body would be a big tell.

  Shelly, who was standing beside him, surveyed the ship with a look of surprise. It was her first time on one of these expeditions.

  Team Aqua moved as if they were a single organism, operating through the ship with efficiency and fluidity. One member hauled a crate of supplies down below deck, while another stood at the edge of the ship—communicating with their Pokemon, who briefly dipped their head above water to convey information.

  "I never expected…cohesion of this level when I signed up for this." Shelly said, slightly aghast.

  William eyed her. "And what did you expect?"

  "Not this. I expected some form of discipline, but this is extremely professional—almost as if they're diligent workers, not about to rob a ship."

  "It's their livelihood," William said. "These raids are the very reason these men can go home to their families and have their children eat. Of course they're taking it seriously."

  "I never thought of it that way…"

  "I did say we weren't the evil the news painted us out to be. Under all the masks, they're just normal people fighting for a living. They don't do it because they like it—they do it out of necessity. Well, most of them anyway. When you pick apples from the tree, you're bound to get a few rotten ones."

  "We'll be taking care of that soon though, don't worry…" William said.

  "So, what's the plan?" Shelly asked.

  "We're going to pick up the members of Team Rocket at the port. After that, we'll head out onto the open waters and raid the S.S. Anne." William said. He held a sheet of papers detailing the shipping route of the S.S. Anne.

  The port was now within sight.

  "We'll need to be on our A-game. Most of the people in our team have joined out of necessity, but Team Rocket…"

  "Kanto and Johto are going through periods of economic growth—there's no necessity in joining a team like that. The people who have joined did it because they like it—they like stealing Pokemon, like the power that comes with the costume, like the feeling of using their Pokemon for personal gain. Their entire business model of stealing Pokemon is inherently much more nefarious than stealing some valuables."

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  "We'll need to be very careful then," Shelly said.

  "Or the opposite," William countered. "I don't plan on being bullied by trainers with Golbats and Raticates. Let's show them we mean business."

  He let the statement hang ominously in the air.

  The port had been closed off—partly due to Giovanni's and Team Rocket's influence. Only the members of Team Rocket remained, dressed in their black suits with a massive red R emblazoned in the center.

  They lounged around—some sitting on crates, others standing. A pair of grunts shadowboxed and playfully sparred with each other. A few of them were smoking.

  The ship pulled into the port, and the anchor was dropped. The members of Team Rocket boarded the ship with swagger, walking casually and laid back as if they owned the ship.

  They stepped foot onto the ship, led by one of the Admins—Proton.

  William walked up to meet him as the Team Rocket members began spreading across the deck.

  "So, you're the one they call Poseidon?" Proton walked over, sizing William up.

  William remained unfazed. "Keep your grunts in line, and we'll have no problems." He didn't even bother to introduce himself.

  "Or what?" Proton challenged.

  "Or they'll have to swim back to shore."

  Proton narrowed his eyes and stepped up to William. William didn't move.

  "Tch." Proton scoffed, then turned and walked away. Team Rocket took their own section of the ship. Across opposite sides of the deck, both the teams eyed each other, sizing them up and wondering how they would fare in a battle. There was a certain level of respect between two villain teams, but also hostility.

  Luckily, the trip didn't last long enough for any problems or conflict to break out. The target ship soon came into sight thanks to the quick speed of their ship. Given its sheer size, it was easy to spot even from a distance. But that size was also a crutch—despite being expertly crafted, it sailed slowly through the waters, allowing William's ship to catch up with little resistance.

  Both teams began to prepare. Pokeballs were clutched, backs were stretched, and necks were cracked.

  The ship sailed parallel to the S.S. Anne. Boarding was a challenge with the massive vessel still in motion, but William ordered the Pokemon in the waters to push against the ship, forcing the S.S. Anne to a gradual halt.

  Several ladders were deployed—and just like that, the raid began.

  The open deck—which barely covered half of the ship's length—of the S.S. Anne was larger than William's entire ship. Passengers and sailors stood frozen in shock as Team Aqua and Team Rocket stormed aboard with electrifying speed.

  High pitched screams were heard as panic spread.

  One sailor, attempting to play the hero, released a Raticate—but it was quickly defeated, overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.

  "Take everything they've got—every person on this ship! We will meet back here!" William commanded.

  "Boys, with me!" Proton shouted, storming off toward another section of the vessel as team rocket followed him.

  William turned, pointing at a few of his grunts. "You five—tail them," he ordered. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid. And if they do, keep them in line as best you can."

  He turned to another group, "You guys should head to the control room and make sure the ship is stopped. Make sure the ship does not move."

  From there, the raid intensified. For Team Aqua, it was like clockwork—they had done this a hundred times before. Though never on a scale like this.

  The S.S. Anne was massive—with hundreds of rooms, several dining halls, and even shopping centers. Why would anyone need to shop for clothes on a boat? William briefly wondered.

  Team Aqua moved as one at first, then began to fan out as more hallways and entrances were presented to them—splitting into smaller squads and sweeping through different sections of the ship with practiced precision.

  Beside them were their Pokemon partners, assisting in the intimidation and stealing while also carrying heavy bags of possessions.

  William mostly stayed on the outskirts, observing the way his team moved. Occasionally, he would spot someone who wanted to cause some problems and intervene. He didn't want any of the passengers to be hurt and make things worse.

  Both Team Aqua and Team Rocket met back up on the deck of the S.S. Anne. In the centre of the deck, the wooden floorboards creaked and moaned in protest as they held up the mountain of valuables stacked on top of each other.

  Pelippers swooped through the skies, assisting in carrying the valuables back to the ship as they stored the large bags in their gaping mouths, quickly moving back and forth.

  Once they were all back on the ship, Thomas—one of the grunts he had sent to watch over Team Rocket—went up to him.

  He cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered to him. William's eyes widened.

  He sent a look to the three other people who were part of the group he had sent to observe team rocket. They subtly nodded, faces down and disappointed. William silently let out a groan of irritation.

  On the other hand, Team Rocket cheered and laughed. One of them clumsily grabbed a bag full of alcohol—knocking down a few other bags of valuables in the process—and began handing out bottles for the team rocket to drink.

  "So we take 50% of all of this?" Proton said, mostly to himself.

  "You take 22%. No more no less." William clarified.

  Proton laughed. "22%, really? After all the work we did on the ship? You should be grateful we were there. You should be grateful we gave you all the information you needed. It was the R on our shirts which brought the passengers in line."

  "That was the agreement with your boss, 22%" William spat. He was beginning to lose his patience. "And in my opinion, you don't even deserve 22%. You've covered less than 22% of the ground, and got less than 22% of the valuables here because you were too busy messing around—taunting innocent civilians, beating them up, making threats. You would have done worse if you had the time. For a group as big and influential as yours, I expected more. Intelligence. Discipline. Someone in charge who isn't…you."

  "Because of my agreement with your boss, it wouldn't be good to do anything to you. Instead, I will punish one of my own crewmates as a warning to yourself. I heard he joined in, yes? He was ordered to observe your group—instead, he joined in your debauchery. Maybe if this member was intelligent or loyal, he could explain he was doing this to spy on you. But I know this person: he is violent and takes pleasure in feeling some form of power over others. I know what kind of man you are…John."

  All heads turned to a short and stocky man with specs of blood on his blue and white striped shirt. John's face paled.

  "Tie him up!" William ordered. John immediately began to shout and beg, but he had broken one of the codes of Team Aqua, and he needed to be punished.

  William turned to Proton as chains were tied around John, "Our idea is that we live by the sea, and we die by the sea. The members in this group take from the sea, so when we die, we must return it to its natural order and give back to the sea, with our bodies as compensation. We also bury those unfortunate enough to die in our service in the ocean, though we give them a much more respectful ceremony and sending off compared to what you're about to see now."

  The man screamed and jeered, begging for one last chance to make things right. He said he had a family—but William knew he was lying in a desperate attempt to live.

  William held out his hand in a neutral position, and then…Thumbs down.

  "Throw the traitor overboard."

  John struggled and struggled, flailing like a fish out of water. Soon, he would be in that water, unable to stay afloat with his limbs tied in chains.

  SPLASH

  John was thrown overboard, letting out one last scream before being engulfed by the waves. John had been a violent man—who probably thought William had grown soft—so he saw fit to do what he did.

  He had just succumbed to his base desires, just like the members of Team Rocket.

  If you let one member of your crew get away with this, it would set a standard—a standard that said you could break the rules.

  And that was never good.

  William walked up to Proton. "You either take 22% of the valuables, or the same will happen to you. Fuck the agreement."

  Proton gulped. He went with the 22%.

  Team Aqua and Team Rocket went their separate ways after they were dropped off at the port, taking 22% of the valuables with them.

  William hoped he would never have to deal with Proton again. He was so close to killing him, so close to drowning him in his arrogance. If he hadn't made an example out of the grunt he had killed, he would've made an example out of Proton—consequences be damned with Team Rocket's partnership.

  The man was psychopathic and sadistic, but that was why Giovanni kept him around—he was Team Rocket's mad dog, kept on a leash and only let go when the situation called for it. But why did Giovanni send Proton if he wanted a partnership with him? Surely someone else would have been better?

  "Are you okay, boss?" Matt asked. "We should've taught them a lesson." He cracked his knuckles, an angry look on his face.

  "Maybe in the future," William said. He looked off into the distance. The sky was bright blue with great white clouds. There were five dots in the distance. William chalked them up to some migrating Pokemon and paid it no attention. However, as he continued to look into the sky, those five began to increase in size at a very quickening pace.

  These weren't Pokemon migrating somewhere—they were running for their life, or running to take someone's life…

  William could finally now make out the five figures in the distance. Two Dragonites, a Charizard, an Aerodactyl, and an Altaria. terrifying Pokemon in their own rights, but what scared him even more was the figure riding atop one of the dragonites—a spiky red haired trainer with sharp eyes and a stern face.

  Lance.

  "Fuck…" William whispered. They were screwed.

  But before he had any time to contemplate, a shrill, almost deafening noise cut through the air. All activities on the boat ceased as the attack seemed to freeze time itself.

  A yellow beam of pure energy erupted from one of the Dragonites, heading right toward the ship, threatening to end all of William's plans so far.

  William's world turned yellow.