"I'm a genius. Is that not allowed?" Shiro answered helplessly.
That old woman Agatha was really annoying. She kept asking the same questions again and again and trusted no one.
He felt a bit emotional inside.
After leaving Galar, telling the truth always meant no one believed you.
The outside regions were truly losing their ways. There was not even a shred of basic trust left…
Agatha's face darkened again. She kept chewing over the word "genius," as if it had stirred up some deep hatred from the past.
The crew members and passengers nearby hurried to persuade her.
"Elite Agatha, Dr. Shiro is so young. He really is a genius."
"When the doctor boarded the ship, the captain already spoke with Professor Rowan. He truly is a researcher."
"Please go inside and rest first. We still have to head back."
After hearing this, Agatha caught something odd.
"Where is your captain? Why is the first mate acting as captain?"
Everyone fell silent at once and turned to look at Shiro.
He explained again without losing patience, "Captain Walt was an undercover agent for Team Rocket. That has already been confirmed. He was the one who leaked the S.S. Anne's information to the pirates…"
As he spoke, Dale rushed out of the cabin in a panic. He ran to Shiro and said, "Dr. Corviknight, Dr. Corviknight. Are you alright? Is this old woman deliberately giving you trouble?"
"I'm fine," Shiro said calmly. "Grandma Agatha is just getting on in years."
Agatha's face turned pitch black. She was about to scold him when a sudden cry rang out nearby.
"Dr. Corviknight?"
Lorelei jogged over with an excited look. She hugged her notebook tightly. Her voice sped up with joy.
"You're the Corviknight who published the Evolutionary Magnetic Field theory?"
"That's right."
"And the one who summarized the basic Pokémon evolution paths…"
"That's right."
"Then this year's research summit," she fired questions like rapid shots, "was it because of Professor Oak's invitation that you boarded the S.S. Anne from Galar…"
Before Shiro could reply, Agatha lost control the moment she heard that name.
That damned Samual Oak again.
Truly hateful.
She slammed her cane hard and shouted, "Lorelei! Come back!"
Lorelei glanced back at Agatha, clearly reluctant. She then looked at Dale standing straight beside Shiro in his white lab coat, her eyes filled with envy.
But under Agatha's pressure, Lorelei still walked back and started scribbling rapidly in her notebook.
Agatha's expression was ugly. She snorted and walked into the cabin on her own. Lorelei followed closely behind.
Tobias on the deck was also released by Gengar. He lay on the ground and groaned.
Most of the passengers had dispersed. Only Dibor and a well-dressed middle-aged couple remained.
"Dr. Corviknight, may I ask about some Pokémon that are on the verge of evolution…" Dale had just begun when Dibor came over.
"Dr. Shiro, I am the general manager of Galactic Eterna Company from the Sinnoh region," Dibor said with a flattering smile. "If you ever need anything in Sinnoh, you can come to me at any time."
He handed over a simple business card. It only had a handwritten name and phone number.
Shiro took it and replied, "Alright."
Dibor left with a smile.
The middle-aged couple stepped forward as well and handed over their card. The man looked wealthy and spoke carefully.
"My name is Cairo. I am the financial director of Devon Corporation in the Hoenn region. If you're interested in Hoenn, Devon is willing to help you."
"Okay."
Shiro took it as usual and slipped it into his pocket.
After giving a nod, Cairo did not enter the cabin. Instead, he and his wife went to help Tobias up from the ground and spoke softly,
"Tobias, we'll be returning soon. You should go inside first."
"Return?" Tobias's face flushed red. "Uncle Cairo, don't you want to avenge Lily at all? An Elite Four member is here. At the very least, we should wipe out all those pirates before leaving!"
Cairo fell silent. His wife's eyes turned red. She hugged Tobias and whispered, "Let's go first. Being alive is already a blessing."
"Even the Elite Four won't go kill pirates! Then I will!" Tobias roared. He shook off the aunt's hand and tried to climb over the railing.
Cairo rushed forward to hold him. Two crew members behind them also ran over to help.
Watching this, Shiro felt puzzled.
This kid is called Tobias… Is he that guy from the anime who crushed the Lily of the Valley Conference with Darkrai?
The one officially arranged to block Ash from winning.
If he really has a grandfather who's a League Vice Chairman, that would fit.
But what exactly is he shouting about? Does he have a grudge against the Red Devil Pirates? Red Devil and his subordinate Arne were all talented people. They even spoke nicely…
"Dr. Corviknight," Dale explained in a low voice. "When I boarded the ship, Tobias was already shouting about going down to kill pirates."
"Do you know why?" Shiro asked casually.
Dale continued. "I heard that all the passengers captured at the start were from S.S. Veil. A pirate mole inside leaked the ship's information. When they were close to the Sinnoh region, they were intercepted by three pirate groups from the Triangle Sea."
"The three groups divided the Pokémon, resources, and hostages. The Red Devil Pirates were the strongest, so they took the most resources and the fewest hostages."
"Normally, hostages are told to notify their families to pay ransom. But only the Red Devil Pirates sent a message to the League asking for negotiations…"
After hearing this, Shiro was surprised.
So that one-eyed guy really was the strongest among the three.
The other pirate groups did not dare contact the League. Only that guy did. That took some nerve.
Which meant there were still hostages on the other two islands…
He lightly tapped his forehead and thought about whether to rescue them along the way.
It was absolutely not because he wanted the Pokémon resources or any possible Kyogre shell fragments. It was purely for humanitarian reasons.
But the S.S. Anne had already set sail. There might not even be Kyogre fragments left on the other islands.
As a Galarian with a questionable identity, forcing the entire ship to wander around the Triangle Sea would likely cause another clash with that old woman Agatha. If his identity as a Galar fugitive was exposed, it would be very bad.
"Dr. Corviknight," Dale said again. "This is all the information I heard Bria gather. Other passengers also said Tobias became so extreme because his young girlfriend was killed by pirates right in front of him…"
'Inhuman!' Unown A shouted inside Shiro's head. 'Go help Tobias take revenge.'
'Inhuman indeed.' Shiro cursed along, then sighed. 'But the ship has already sailed. Once a ship starts moving, it's like an arrow leaving the bow…'
'Are you sure?' Unown A asked.
"???"
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