Chapter 796 - 796 - The Elite Four

The sea beside the cargo ship suddenly split apart, sending waves surging away from an enormous white shape rising through the darkness.

Reiji watched in disbelief as Lugia emerged from the water, its pale blue underside visible beneath its massive wings. The Legendary Pokémon was close enough that every movement stirred the air around the ship, forcing Reiji to brace himself against the railing.

"L-Lugia?"

He stumbled back a couple of steps. Around him, Spider's members abandoned their looting and stared at the Sea God, too stunned to care about the supplies slipping from their hands.

None of them knew why Lugia had come here, and its presence was overwhelming. Weaker Pokémon cowered beneath the pressure, while several Trainers struggled to remain standing.

Lugia barely acknowledged the people on deck. It was having enough trouble staying airborne, its movements growing increasingly unsteady as the sonic interference from Team Aqua's equipment continued to affect it.

With a strained cry, Lugia lost control of its flight and crashed onto the cargo ship. The impact shook the deck and threw up a cloud of dust, leaving the enormous Pokémon sprawled across the metal plating.

Reiji swallowed as he stared at it. He had already encountered powerful Legendary Pokémon such as Mewtwo and Giratina, but seeing a creature of that caliber up close still left him awestruck.

What puzzled him was how Lugia had ended up here. Team Aqua had supposedly dragged it into the depths, yet now it was lying on the deck of the very ship he had just captured.

He got his answer when Team Aqua's submarine surfaced alongside the freighter.

The hatch opened, and uniformed grunts began scrambling aboard, apparently unaware that Spider was still there.

"Move it! Get Lugia secured before Admin Amber runs out of time!"

"Keep the restraints on! We need to get it back to Hoenn!"

Their urgency vanished the moment they spotted the masked figures waiting on deck. These were the same people who had frightened them into retreating earlier, and none of the grunts seemed eager to try their luck a second time.

Reiji looked from the stranded Lugia to the men climbing aboard and sighed.

"I was going to stay out of this, but I guess that's not happening."

He released three Pokémon in quick succession: Toxicroak, Swampert, and Magnezone.

"Swampert, Magnezone, don't let them near Lugia."

The two Pokémon took up positions between the Legendary Pokémon and Team Aqua, while Toxicroak remained near Reiji. The grunts hesitated at the sight of their opponents, clearly reluctant to provoke another fight.

Amber's second-in-command stepped forward, however, and found his courage when he realized the three Pokémon were only quasi-Elite Four tier.

"What are you all scared of? They're just fake Spiders! They're no better than us! Come on, let's pay them back for earlier!"

Reiji chuckled at the man's attempt to rally his people. Apparently, Team Aqua hadn't learned much from their first encounter.

"Well, you heard him. Everyone, over here!"

Spider's members stopped rummaging through the cargo and gathered around their leader. Poké Balls opened one after another, releasing a group of powerful Pokémon that quickly surrounded Team Aqua's landing party.

The deputy's enthusiasm didn't last long.

Fighting broke out across the deck, with Team Aqua's grunts scrambling to defend themselves against Spider's disguised Pokémon. Reiji stayed out of the clash, leaving the weaker opponents to his subordinates while Naoki and the other Elite Four-tier Trainers kept watch.

There was no reason for him to get involved when his people already held such a clear advantage. He had something far more important to deal with.

With Toxicroak following close behind, Reiji approached Lugia. Swampert and Magnezone guarded the flanks, keeping the fighting away from the fallen Legendary Pokémon.

He released Kingler and pointed toward the capture net and the collar still attached to Lugia.

"Kingler, get those things off. Carefully."

Kingler approached with its enormous pincers and began cutting through the net. Once it had loosened the restraints enough to reach the collar, it worked the device free without injuring Lugia.

As Kingler worked, Lugia slowly opened its eyes and looked directly at Reiji.

He paused, wondering whether the Legendary Pokémon was about to communicate with him through telepathy. After waiting a moment and receiving nothing, he decided Lugia was simply watching him and motioned for Kingler to continue.

Gengar returned while they were removing the last of the restraints. Its belly was noticeably rounder than before, and it had apparently stuffed its storage space with so much loot that there was hardly room for anything else.

Sensing Lugia's overwhelming presence, Gengar had hurried back to its Trainer. It slipped into Reiji's shadow, but not before reaching out with one small black hand and quietly pulling a round white object from beneath Lugia.

Gengar swallowed the object in a single gulp.

Reiji was too occupied with Lugia to notice, and the weakened Legendary Pokémon didn't react either.

By the time Kingler finished removing the net and collar, Spider's members had driven Team Aqua back toward the submarine. Their opponents were badly outmatched, and the submarine was forced to retreat before its crew could secure Lugia again.

Several grunts failed to make it aboard before the hatch closed. Spider captured those left behind, confiscated their Poké Balls, and knocked them unconscious before placing them with the Black Ship sailors.

With the interference device gone, Lugia gradually began recovering its strength. It struggled upright, spreading its wings as it prepared to take flight.

Reiji immediately recalled Toxicroak, Swampert, Magnezone, and Kingler. He raised both hands to show that he meant no harm, then backed away and ordered his people to do the same.

Even weakened, Lugia was a top-tier Legendary Pokémon. If it misunderstood their intentions and attacked, there was little chance the cargo ship would survive, much less the people standing on it.

Lugia rose into the air and regarded the masked Trainers below. Reiji's dark aura made it uncomfortable, but these humans had freed it from Team Aqua's restraints, and it could sense that they meant it no harm.

Its gaze settled on Reiji for a little longer.

Lugia seemed to sense the Silver Wing in his possession, and a flicker of surprise crossed its face. Somehow, this masked human was already a Trainer it had acknowledged.

Even so, Lugia made no attempt to communicate. After one last look at Reiji, it spread its wings and dived into the ocean, disappearing beneath the surface.

Only when the water settled did everyone finally relax.

"Boss, that's it? Lugia just leaves?" Naoki asked, sounding a little disappointed.

He had grown up hearing stories about Legendary Pokémon, and part of him had expected something more from an encounter like this. In cartoons and comics, saving a Legendary Pokémon usually earned its friendship, or at least led to some unforgettable adventure.

Instead, Lugia had departed without so much as a word of thanks. Naoki supposed that was what he got for believing the stories, even if meeting the Sea God in person had been incredible enough.

"What else did you expect?" Reiji asked, giving him an incredulous look. "You wanted Lugia to invite us on an adventure?"

They were practically helpless in front of a Pokémon like that. Without Team Aqua's specialized equipment, nobody aboard the ship would have stood much chance of restraining Lugia in the first place.

Still, Lugia hadn't left them entirely empty-handed.

As it disappeared beneath the waves, a single silver feather drifted down through the night air. Reiji held out his hand, and the feather settled gently into his palm, giving off a soft silver glow.

Naoki leaned closer.

"Whoa. What's that?"

"A Silver Wing. A souvenir."

Reiji took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, carefully wrapped the feather, and placed it in his backpack. With the one he already owned, that made two Silver Wings.

The item was said to be capable of summoning Lugia, but Reiji didn't know what else it could do. More importantly, he wasn't foolish enough to think summoning a Legendary Pokémon meant he could order it around.

Lugia might answer the call, but whether it agreed to help was entirely up to Lugia.

A Silver Wing wasn't a contract, much less proof of ownership. Anyone who expected Lugia to obey their every command was asking to be flattened before they even realized what they'd done wrong.

Shingo was still staring at the place where Lugia had vanished.

"Man, that was something else. So that's what a Legendary Pokémon is like..."

Until tonight, he'd only heard about creatures like Lugia in stories. One operation with Spider had already given him enough extraordinary experiences to last a lifetime.

Reiji noticed a distant light approaching across the water and brought everyone back to business.

"Keep what happened here to yourselves. And recall your Pokémon. The League's probably coming."

Naoki followed his gaze toward the small light growing steadily brighter on the horizon. He immediately turned to the others and raised his voice.

"You heard the boss! Pack it up! We're heading back to the yacht!"

The members hurriedly recalled their Pokémon and released their Flying-types. One after another, they left the cargo ship for the uninhabited island where their yacht was waiting, still talking excitedly about their encounter with Lugia.

Just as the others were leaving, Gengar sprang out of Reiji's shadow and began pointing frantically toward an empty section of the deck.

Reiji followed its gaze and immediately recognized the familiar distortion spreading through the air. Someone was attempting another long-distance Teleport, apparently determined to reach this ship before the night was over.

"Another one? Who the hell is coming this time?"

Given the approaching League vessel, he suspected these were the reinforcements Danny had requested earlier. He had no intention of letting another unexpected guest appear in the middle of his operation.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball! And this time, nobody should be around to stop you!"

Gengar formed two Shadow Balls and hurled them at the distortion, aiming to disrupt the Teleport before whoever was coming could complete the journey.

Naoki had just finished sending the others away when he noticed the commotion and hurried back to Reiji's side.

"Boss, what's happening?"

"Reiji-nii?" Shun called anxiously, watching the distorted air above the deck. He had stayed behind with several stronger members, although he clearly wasn't comfortable with the situation.

Tai stood nearby with his arms folded, studying the disturbance. A.J. had also remained, curious about who might be arriving, while Kazuma waited to see whether Reiji needed anything else.

Shingo noticed Shun lingering and gave him a tap on the shoulder.

"Come on, get out of here. You don't need to be involved in this."

Shun looked toward Reiji, reluctant to leave while the others were preparing for another fight. But he knew Shingo was right. He wasn't strong enough to make much difference against an Elite Four-tier opponent, and staying would only give the others one more person to protect.

"All right. I'm going."

He released a Flying-type Pokémon, which caught him in its claws and carried him away from the ship. Shun looked back once as he departed, frustrated that he still wasn't strong enough to stand beside Reiji when things got dangerous.

He promised himself that wouldn't always be the case.

Kazuma approached Reiji while the remaining members waited for instructions.

"Boss, do you need us to stay?"

"Go. I'm not saying it again."

Reiji never took his eyes off the approaching Shadow Balls. A.J. and Kazuma had no reason to risk exposing their stronger Pokémon here, especially when the League's reinforcements could appear at any moment.

They finally obeyed, leaving only Naoki, Tai, and Shingo beside him.

The two Shadow Balls struck the distortion almost simultaneously.

An explosion tore through the deck, ripping open a large hole in the metal plating. The corridor below was suddenly exposed, along with several severed cables that hung across the opening, throwing sparks into the darkness.

At the same moment, the unstable space above the hole split apart, and a figure stumbled out of the interrupted Teleport.

With the deck missing beneath his feet, the newcomer barely managed to grab one of the exposed cables before falling into the corridor below.

A Slowbro emerged immediately afterward, but the explosion had disrupted its Teleport badly enough that it couldn't maintain its balance. It tumbled straight toward the opening.

Reiji frowned at the sight. He'd tried twice tonight to interrupt a long-distance Teleport, and both times the incoming Trainer had managed to reach the ship anyway.

Such a long journey was dangerous even under normal circumstances. Interference during Teleport could cause a traveler to become lost in the unstable space between locations, so whoever had just arrived must have paid a considerable price to force the move through.

"Who attacked me? Where's Danny?"

A man's irritated voice came from inside the hole.

The newcomer hauled himself back onto the deck, revealing a head of striking purple hair. His red formal attire and black tailcoat looked absurdly out of place among the wrecked metal and scattered cargo, especially with a black mask covering his eyes.

Reiji recognized him almost immediately.

The man brushed the dust from his clothes and studied the four figures standing nearby.

"Who are you? Wait, those outfits... Are you the Spider pirates Danny reported?"

"Well, look who it is," Reiji said with a chuckle. "Will, the Psychic-type member of the Elite Four. That explains the Teleport."

Will gave him a curious look. He hadn't expected the masked stranger to identify him so quickly, much less sound so relaxed about it.

Behind his back, Reiji made a subtle gesture toward his companions.

Naoki, Tai, and Shingo recognized the signal immediately. They released their Flying-type Pokémon and took off together, leaving Reiji alone to face the newcomer.

He wasn't particularly worried now that he knew who had arrived.

If the League had sent Lance or Lorelei, Reiji would have been far more cautious. But Will was a relatively new member of the Elite Four, and Reiji knew something about his connections that gave him a very different kind of advantage.

Will watched the others disappear into the darkness.

"Staying behind so your friends can escape? Since when did pirates become so loyal?"

He took out Slowbro's Poké Ball and recalled the injured Pokémon. The disrupted Teleport had taken its toll, and Will knew he wouldn't have escaped the wrecked deck so easily without his own psychic abilities.

Reiji seemed thoroughly amused by the remark.

"Funny. Is Team Rocket supposed to be some shining example of loyalty?"

Will paused, visibly confused.

"Team Rocket? What are you talking about? Does Spider have something to do with Team Rocket?"

As far as Will knew, Spider was merely a pirate organization the League had been investigating. He couldn't see why its leader had suddenly brought up Team Rocket, unless the man was trying some absurd trick to convince him to let them go.

Reiji casually took out a cigarette, lit it, and drew on it before answering.

"Team Rocket really does have its fingers everywhere, doesn't it? The League has no idea how badly it's been infiltrated. They're even training Team Rocket's people for them."

Will stared at him.

Reiji had just exposed the secret he'd been relying on to keep this confrontation from turning into a straightforward arrest. Will might be a member of the Elite Four, but he also had ties to Team Rocket that he couldn't afford to have exposed.

And Reiji was perfectly willing to use that against him.

If Will insisted on keeping him here, Reiji would make sure the encounter became a disaster for both sides. Spider had its own secrets, but Team Rocket was hardly in a position to accuse anyone else of criminal activity.

After all, the League had spent years treating Team Rocket as one of its most dangerous enemies.

Compared with them, Spider barely registered.

[End of chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]

[[email protected]/BellAshelia]

[Thanks for your support!]