Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

”Enough. It’s the middle of the night. Laugh that loudly and you’ll wake them up.” Reiji reached over and smacked Gengar lightly on the head. It was surprisingly nice to touch. No wonder Agatha liked resting her cane against Gengar’s head.

”Keh-heh.” Gengar stuck out its huge tongue, still grinning like an idiot, but it stopped messing around. It listened to Reiji well enough. Then again, the real one it feared was Poliwhirl. Every time it got out of line, Poliwhirl beat it senseless.

”Spinarak, drag them into the sea. We’re moving on.” Reiji left the cleanup to Spinarak and went looking for the next target. These people were already dead. Tossing them into the ocean was no different from feeding sharks. He had been throwing those stupid fish breakfast for a long time now.

Next came the room where the creep’s bodyguards were staying. They weren’t just guards. They also worked as sailors, which probably meant they spent plenty of time running scams and doing dirty work on the side.

”Spinarak, open the door and loot the place. Darkrai, put them to sleep. Gengar, clean up after.” Reiji didn’t go in himself. He was wearing stab-proof gloves, and he had no intention of leaving fingerprints behind.

By the time the three Pokémon were done, everyone inside had been wrapped up in Spinarak’s silk and dragged off to feed the sharks.

After that, they moved up to the top floor of the luxury liner. That was where the creep was staying, and there were still two guards posted outside his door.

The creep lived on this floor, and so had Reiji earlier, just on a different level. Blaine, the captain, the first mate, rich passengers, and stronger Trainers all stayed up here. That meant one thing: if he wanted to make trouble on this floor, he had to do it clean.

Luckily, it was the dead of night, when people slept the deepest. The two guards outside were already nodding off. As far as they were concerned, tonight would be no different from every other night. Nothing was going to happen. That was exactly why they got careless.

Thankfully, the creep’s father wasn’t on this floor. He was probably still working the late shift down below—meaning the underground black market.

”Two Pokémon on guard duty, two bodyguards, all around tournament level from tonight. Only two Pokémon are out. The other four are still in their Poké Balls...”

”We go in through the window. Draw them inside and force them to sleep.” Reiji stepped onto the ocean-view balcony outside the creep’s room and had Darkrai put the creep to sleep first. Then he opened the window and sent Spinarak inside to make a little noise.

Tap. Tap-tap-tap.

”What was that?”

”Huh? From the young master’s room?”

”No way...”

The guards outside heard it and opened the door to check. The first one stepped in—and dropped with a dull thud, along with his Pokémon.

The second guard heard that and rushed in after him.

Another thud.

Then silence.

The door swung shut again. Neither guard came back out. The moment they entered, Darkrai forced them into sleep from the darkness. Along with the creep in bed, that made three people in the room.

Not that nobody noticed.

Itsuki was asleep next door, and the Gallade meditating beside his bed caught the movement almost at once.

But the moment Gallade recognized Reiji’s familiar presence, it turned to look at its own Trainer, then slowly closed its eyes again. It said nothing. It gave no warning. It didn’t wake Itsuki and tell him his good friend next door was about to die.

The truth was simple: Gallade hated the man next door too.

It couldn’t interfere in human affairs, any more than anyone else could. It had spent more than one night feeling lucky that Itsuki was a decent Trainer. If it had ended up with someone like that creep, it would have Teleported away long ago.

Only then did Reiji step through the balcony door and enter the room properly. The two unconscious guards were on the floor, and their Pokémon had already been returned to their Poké Balls.

”Heh. Guess his father knows exactly what kind of son he raised. That’s why he posted two guards here. Otherwise why would the captain’s son have no guards at all?” Reiji gave a cold laugh and glanced at the creep sprawled naked on the bed. He had probably just finished fooling around before passing out without bothering to get dressed.

”Spinarak, loot him. Gengar, clean up after.” Reiji spared the creep one look, then stepped back onto the balcony, lit a cigarette, and stood there facing the sea wind.

He only got through two drags before Spinarak and Gengar had stripped the room of anything valuable. All three men had been bound in silk. All three had been poisoned. They would die quietly, painlessly, and without anyone noticing a thing.

Shame, really. The young master could have used a good beating first.

But that would’ve made too much noise, and Reiji had no taste for torture anyway. Killing was killing. He didn’t do it for sport.

”Mmph—mmph—”

When the creep was dragged out onto the balcony, the cold wind finally shocked him awake. The first thing he saw was a dark figure standing with its back to him, and terror hit him all at once.

”Shh. Keep it down. It’s fine.” Reiji turned back, raised one finger to his lips, and let Spinarak climb onto his shoulder. The old feeling came right back.

Then he leaned down close to the creep’s ear. Gengar’s cold, ghostly air clung to him as he whispered, ”Enjoy the fear of the night. You won’t live to see the dawn.”

”Mmm—mmph—” The creep’s eyes begged. It was the first time he had ever looked death in the face. He had always assumed he wouldn’t die, or at least not like this. But it had come fast—too fast, and with none of the dignity he thought he deserved.

Unfortunately for him, Reiji didn’t notice the begging.

It was too dark.

”Sleep.”

Darkrai dropped Dark Void over him, and the creep sank back into unconsciousness. Dawn was already breaking at the horizon. It was time for them to get off the ship.

Once the creep collapsed, Spinarak jumped back on him and wrapped him tight again. If the poison didn’t kill him, suffocation would.

”What about the little one?” After Darkrai put the creep back under, it reminded Reiji about the last loose end.

”Right. Almost forgot.”

He looked down and finally noticed the small blue dog chained on the balcony. Riolu was staring up at him with round, wet eyes and open hostility. It had seen everything that happened tonight.

And it had stayed perfectly quiet through all of it.

Reiji walked over to the little doghouse, stepped on Riolu’s Poké Ball, and crushed it under his boot. Then he took out a new Poké Ball and held it toward the little guy. ”Come with me. I’m not a good person either, but at least I’m honest about it.”

”Arf?” Riolu’s aura told it exactly what Reiji said was true. He wasn’t a good person at all. In fact, the darkness around him ran even deeper than the creep’s. No chance. Riolu had no intention of going with someone like that.

”Still baring your teeth at me?” Reiji laughed under his breath, then sighed. ”Fine. If you’re not saying no, I’ll take that as a yes.”

He tapped the Poké Ball lightly against Riolu’s head.

Riolu froze.

Was this guy blind? Couldn’t he see it was growling at him? That was what hostility looked like. Why was he still trying to catch it?

But once Riolu went into the Poké Ball, it never got its answer.

”We’re leaving.” Reiji took Riolu, climbed onto Pelipper, and flew away from the luxury liner into the breaking dawn.

A new day had begun.

And he was heading toward the mountains at the edge of the sky, toward the road ahead, and whatever waited next.

The dark line of land in the distance was the Kanto mainland.

He was getting off the ship.

As for the creep and the other two?

Pelipper had already dumped them into the sea.

Far out.

Hopefully the sharks didn’t miss breakfast.

[End of chapter]

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