On Octillery Island, the pirates of the Red Devil Pirate Crew pushed open their doors one by one and stared at the chaotic sea with trembling eyes, swallowing hard.
Someone muttered first, "The Tentacool Pirates... they're just gone?"
After a while, when they saw that the S.S. Anne had no intention of turning back, the crew finally began walking toward the shore, whispering among themselves.
"They're finished."
"It was that guy. It had to be him..."
"Good thing we listened to the boss and didn't go join the fun."
"Wait, where's the boss?"
The pirates had just begun to stir uneasily when a voice suddenly called out, "Boss said we're taking over Tentacool Island!"
They turned and saw it was Arne, the leader's most trusted aide. Now that he had a Gym-level Pokémon, he could be considered the vice-captain.
No one questioned him, and under his lead they rushed toward the shore.
There, many members of the Tentacool Pirates were swimming desperately back to land.
Once all the pirates had gathered at the coast, Octillery Town slowly returned to silence.
At the northern edge of town, the red-painted house creaked open, and Red Devil stumbled out drenched in sweat, clutching his bleeding eye. He dragged the corpse of a thin man behind him.
From inside the doorway, a thick tentacle stretched out and tossed two Crawdaunt with shattered shells onto the ground.
Red Devil looked toward the sea. The S.S. Anne was now only a faint shadow in the distance, and along the shore the slaughter was one-sided.
Sitting on the steps, he muttered, "The Triangle Sea... from now on, only the Red Devil Pirate Crew will remain."
He wiped the blood from his face. His expression turned cold as he pulled a blue crystal ball from a brown cloth bag. As his gaze fixed on it, the surface of the crystal slowly shifted, revealing a scene that did not belong to this place.
A deep voice echoed from within.
"Red Devil, you killed that Lobster. What are you trying to do?"
"Sir." The Red Devil showed an ugly smile full of wrinkles. "I want to unify this sea and help you achieve that greatest dream..."
Silence followed for a moment before the voice spoke again.
"The Sea God will favor you."
* * *
Aboard the S.S. Anne, the passengers and crew had not yet recovered from the shock.
Some could guess it was psychic power, but they had not seen a Pokémon. The way the pirates were dealt with so casually felt like someone crushing a few ants. Even an Elite Four member like Agatha had been unable to handle them, and everyone could sense there was more beneath the surface.
This researcher actually dared to kill pirates. Was he not afraid of angering Sinnoh League's leaders?
"Dr... Dr. Shiro..." Cairo wiped sweat from his forehead and said sincerely, "Thank you."
Shiro nodded. After smiling at the couple, he patted the stunned Dale on the shoulder and walked toward the cabin, the crowd instinctively parting for him.
Many followed until they reached the dining hall. Only when he sat down and glanced at them strangely did they snap out of it and disperse, leaving about half of them gone.
Among those who remained, Dibor stood at the edge with flickering eyes, feeling uneasy. His company was in Eterna City, Sinnoh. If this person were targeted by the League after arriving and used the contact he had given, it might drag down Galactic Eterna Company.
Yet since he had already handed over the business card, asking for it back would be embarrassing.
After hesitating, Dibor stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Dr. Shiro, the card I gave you earlier was too plain. May I replace it with a more suitable one to match your status?"
Shiro glanced at him and understood the man was simply protecting his own interests. Without a word, he tossed the plain white card back.
"Go ahead."
"Yes, yes..." Dibor failed to catch it. He quickly bent down to pick it up, then left without looking back.
Shiro shifted his gaze to Cairo. "Do you want your card back too?"
"Of course not." Cairo pulled his wife to show gratitude again. "Thank you once more for avenging my daughter. No matter what difficulties you face in the future, Cairo, Financial Director of Devon Corporation in Hoenn, will always help you..."
"I was only doing a job I was paid for," Shiro replied.
Cairo smiled and said nothing more. He gently led his wife away as she wiped her tears.
"Dr. Corviknight!" Only then did Dale rush over, clutching his head as he shouted, "You were amazing just now!"
He was so excited that he almost wished he had charged forward to fight the pirates himself, his voice uneven and breathless.
"Dr. Corviknight, that Ayla actually dared to confront an Elite Four member like that... and Agatha didn't even dare to strike directly. And you just casually stopped time with a wave of your hand, then snapped your fingers and everything went back to normal. Th-this... what kind of ability is that?"
Just then, Bria hurried over, trying to pull him back.
"Dale, Dr. Corviknight is very busy. Let's go back first..."
"Bria!" Dale waved his arms wildly. "Didn't you see what happened? Dr. Corviknight just reached out his hand. From so far away, that pirate was grabbed by the throat. Then he flicked his fingers and those two pirates just... ah!"
He tugged at his messy hair, unable to figure out what kind of move it was. Even an Elite-level Alakazam would have to appear and use a spoon to control psychic power, right? Could it be that Corviknight himself was an incredibly powerful psychic?
With eyes full of curiosity, he looked at Shiro. "What exactly was that ability? Dr. Corviknight, are you also a psychic?"
Behind him, his assistant Bria looked troubled. She felt completely helpless with this guy.
'Who asks something like that… and in public too!'
She screamed inside her head.
But Dale did not think that far. He only wanted an answer. What kind of Pokémon ability could actually stop time?
"The Pokémon..." Shiro coughed lightly before answering. "It's an ancient Pokémon you've never seen before. As for me, I am indeed a psychic."
"A psychic!"
Dale somehow pulled out a pen and paper and began firing off questions.
"Then is your daily life different from ordinary people? For example, when you look at things, do you have two kinds of vision at once? One from your eyes and one from your psychic perception—"
"Dr. Corviknight!" Bria forced a smile and slammed Dale's notebook and pen onto the table, cutting off his endless questions.
She quickly explained, "He's just like this... Actually, we have something to do. We won't disturb you any longer..."
"What do we have to do?" Dale scratched his messy hair in genuine confusion.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!