30 Pokemon, that was the number of Pokemon he had captured from the zoo. It had a wide range of water type Pokemon which would benefit the team. However, one downside is that these Pokemon were domesticated, but they could also be undomesticated with enough training.
Some of these Pokemon would be handed out to members, while others would be trained to act independently—but for Team Aqua as a whole. Below from his office, the distant sounds of fighting and shouts were heard. There was currently a training session going on.
In a wide room surrounded by four slabs of grey concrete, the Team Aqua members were busy training. The room had been split into five sections, each with two trainers and one instructor overseeing them.
If they wanted to establish Team Aqua as a true superpower, they needed a strong foundation, and that foundation came from their grunts—the most abundant resource in the group.
Contrary to what most believed in his previous world, or what was most commonly portrayed, becoming a Pokemon trainer wasn't as easy or accessible as one might think. Pokemon, capable of becoming weapons of mass destruction, were—understandably—heavily regulated. To become a trainer, you needed a license, which could only be obtained by paying for it through an expensive exam or by attending trainer school, which also cost money.
If anyone could be given a starter Pokemon and use it to travel the world and possibly become a full-fledged trainer, well…the logistics of it would be terrible. The modern day equivalent in his old world would be giving everyone a lottery ticket, and if you won you would get a nuke. It was a system which terribly favoured the rich— because they were the most respected and most contributing people to society—by giving them powerful creatures capable of many things, and that system gave birth to evil villain teams like Team Rocket and Team Aqua.
This meant that many members of Team Aqua were regular people who once held normal jobs. Office workers, labourers, shopkeepers—the types of professions you never really thought about in a world like this, but which were needed to keep the world running. Someone had to do it. Yet, the disparity was clear between the rich and powerful, with no restrictions on their Pokemon, and the poor and weak, who could only have companion Pokemon at most. The only chance normal working people had was if they saved up enough money for their child to attend trainer school or got a very lucky break.
When William was a kid, his only real way of escaping the awful situation he had been born into was to become a trainer, to rise through the ranks and become something. But as soon as he realized that was impossible, as soon as he understood all the cards were stacked against him, he decided to take matters into his own hands—quite literally, with a rock.
It was then he fully realized this world was no longer a game or franchise like he had been treating it; it was a real world, with real people and real issues. He had spent the next few years capturing Pokemon—illegally, of course, since he had no license—and training them to be what they are now: strong and powerful enough to enact his will.
Now, all these years later, William could offer people the opportunity to become something. Fame, power, wealth—he could put a Pokeball into their hands and give them a chance to shape their own destiny rather than conform to the whims of a society that favored the wealthy and privileged.
Many of these people, before even joining Team Aqua had never even had the chance to own a Pokemon other than common house pets. They watched these people on TV battle and fight with terrifying Pokemon, while they had to watch from their homes, knowing that they would never be like that.
Now that they had these Pokémon, they needed to train them. Evolution was a huge jump in power for most Pokemon, and along with increasing the connection the trainers had to their Pokemon, this was the main reason these training sessions took place, to get these Pokemon stronger, and to get these Pokemon to evolve. If Pokemon evolved the team would evolve.
There was a knock on the door. William flinched. It was hardly a knock—it sounded more like a loud bang, which meant it could only be one person. The person with all the strength in the world but none of the ability to control it—Matt.
Matt had recently taken on the role of William's personal secretary—a situation William knew needed to change. Matt was an admin after all, and had far more important things to be doing.
The large man ducked to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe as he entered the room.
"Boss, I've got the most recent reports from the shipping raids. There's something you need to see, page 5." Matt said, handing over a thick file of papers.
"Thanks, Matt," William replied, taking the file. Without another word, Matt left.
He flicked through the pages, glancing over reports of the shipping raids along with the valuables they had gained from them.
Jewelry, rings, cash, and other treasures were collected and then sold on the black market. That was how they made their money. They typically targeted small merchant ships to avoid drawing too much attention from the League, but William had plans—plans that involved the opposite. His plans involved getting attention.
And what he found on page five was the perfect way to do it. During one of the raids on a passing merchant ship, they had somehow acquired information about a delegation ship from a far-off region. It seemed one of the regions wanted a piece of the pie that was Hoenn. According to the report, the delegation included a harmless League official and, more importantly, a gift: a Pokemon for the new champion.
Given that the champion specialized in Water-type Pokemon, it was obvious what type the gift Pokemon would be. William weighed the odds. Was this really just as it seemed—a perfect opportunity, a combination of luck and preparation? Or was it a trap?
They hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to attract increased attention from the League, and even if they had, the League should still be busy dealing with the fact that they had just crowned a new champion. He was fairly certain Wallace had more pressing issues to handle than some pirates. You don't stop running in the middle of a race—especially at the most important part—unless it's urgent.
The region had been left in shambles: high unemployment—which was one of the main reasons Team Aqua had gained notoriety—, a weak government, and a lack of strong trainers. Heck, one of the elite four was a young girl. Wallace should be focused on addressing all of that, not them.
Logically, it shouldn't be a trap, but improbable things did happen. With that in mind, he made his decision. Team Aqua would raid that ship and steal the Pokemon. And just in case it was a trap, William would go there himself. Good, then it was decided. He would raid that ship, and add another Pokemon to his team, and show Hoenn that they mean business.