Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Night.

The storm had swallowed the sea beneath a solid wall of black clouds. Lightning split the sky in blinding flashes, followed by thunder powerful enough to shake the air, while heavy rain hammered the water and whipped the waves into a violent mess.

Riku’s brother’s cargo ship struggled along the outer edge of the storm, rising and dropping with each swell. Not far ahead, hidden beneath the dark water near the eye of the storm, Team Aqua’s submarine continued tracking the Sea God.

Inside the submarine, the target remained bright on the detection screen. Amber watched the signal with growing excitement, already preparing to order the submarine deeper into the storm when another marker caught his attention.

The cargo ship.

It was still moving along the edge of the storm and slowly drawing closer to their position.

Amber frowned. Capturing the Sea God was already dangerous enough without an unknown ship wandering into the operation. If the vessel belonged to the League, or if anyone aboard decided to interfere after seeing what Team Aqua was doing, the entire mission could fall apart.

After thinking it over for a moment, he smiled.

There was an easier solution.

They could drive the ship away and rob it at the same time.

”Take us up. Get alongside that cargo ship.”

”Yes, Admin Amber.”

The submarine changed course and rose toward the surface. By the time it broke through the water, Amber and his combat team were already dressed in waterproof gear and preparing to board.

Amber released one of his Elite Four-tier Pokémon, then led the first group across to the cargo ship while the rest of Team Aqua followed behind him.

The ship’s third mate was making his rounds when he heard something hit the deck.

He turned and found himself surrounded by strangers in blue uniforms.

The third mate reached for a Poké Ball immediately.

”Gyarados, out!”

An Elite Four-tier Gyarados burst onto the deck with a furious roar, alerting the nearby sailors. The third mate began falling back toward the approaching crew while fighting, forcing Team Aqua to push through both his Gyarados and the defenders gathering around him.

Within moments, the deck erupted into battle. Water, ice, and electricity flashed through the rain as Pokémon collided across the slick metal floor, while sailors shouted orders and tried desperately to hold Team Aqua away from the bridge.

Up in the captain’s cabin, someone hammered on the door.

Riku’s brother let the sailor inside, and the man rushed through his report without bothering to catch his breath.

”Captain, we’ve got pirates aboard! They came up from a submarine, and they’re organized. The third mate is holding them off, but their leader’s strong. He’s getting pushed back.”

Riku’s brother’s expression hardened.

”The third mate is losing?”

That was enough to tell him this wasn’t some random group of thieves. The third mate was one of the few people he had deliberately left behind during the attack on Reiji because he trusted both his loyalty and his strength. He had an Elite Four-tier Pokémon of his own.

If one enemy was overpowering him, then whoever had boarded the ship probably had at least two Pokémon at that level.

Riku’s brother looked toward Cassidy and Butch.

”I’ve got something to deal with. If you want off the ship, leave whenever you like. If you feel like helping, I won’t complain.”

Cassidy smiled politely.

”Go deal with your problem. We got what we came for, so we’ll stay out of your way.”

They had already secured his agreement, and sabotaging him now would accomplish nothing. If this partnership actually went through, he would effectively become an ally anyway.

Riku’s brother nodded and started for the door, then stopped when he realized the two of them were still standing inside his cabin.

”Actually, you two need to leave too. I’m locking this place.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes, but both Team Rocket agents followed him out.

Riku’s brother switched the ship to automatic navigation, locked the cabin behind him, then followed the sailor toward the fighting.

From an upper walkway, he gripped the railing and looked down across the deck.

The battle had already become ugly.

His sailors were steadily giving ground, not because they lacked numbers, but because they had nobody strong enough to stop the best Pokémon on Team Aqua’s side. Every time the defenders tried to stabilize the line, another heavy attack forced them back toward the bridge.

”Any idea who these people are?” Riku’s brother asked. ”Any markings?”

”Nothing obvious except the uniforms. They’re all in blue, and most of them have some kind of skull-looking symbol on their bandannas or sleeves.”

”A skull?”

Riku’s brother raised his binoculars and focused on the attackers below.

The symbol became clear almost immediately.

So did the man directing the fight.

Amber stood among the attackers with two Elite Four-tier Pokémon nearby, Pelipper and Sharpedo. Behind them, Team Aqua’s submarine remained alongside the cargo ship.

Riku’s brother lowered the binoculars.

”That’s no pirate crew.”

He released Slowbro beside him.

”Get me down there.”

Slowbro caught hold of him, and the two vanished with Teleport.

They reappeared on the main deck directly behind the third mate. Slowbro reacted the moment its feet touched the ground, unleashing Psychic across the attackers pushing toward the bridge.

Several Team Aqua members and their weaker Pokémon were thrown backward by the sudden wave of psychic force.

Sharpedo didn’t budge.

The Psychic-type attack washed over the Dark-type Pokémon without effect.

Amber looked over with a grin.

”Finally. I was starting to think this huge ship didn’t have anyone worth fighting.”

He cast a dismissive glance at the exhausted third mate before focusing on the newcomer.

”Slowbro, huh? Better than what I’ve seen so far, but that’s not exactly the Pokémon I’d want to bring against Sharpedo.”

Riku’s brother ignored the provocation.

”If I’m not mistaken, you’re Team Aqua. You usually operate around Hoenn, so what are you doing all the way out in the Orange Archipelago?”

He had heard plenty about them over the years.

Anyone who spent enough time at sea eventually did.

Team Aqua believed humanity had taken too much land and habitat from Pokémon and wanted to expand the oceans to restore what they considered the natural balance. Sailors tended to describe the idea much more simply.

They were lunatics.

When Riku’s brother first started working at sea, older crews had repeatedly warned him to avoid Team Aqua whenever possible. If they could disengage, they should. If Team Aqua refused to let them leave, then the only remaining option was to fight.

Amber looked pleased by the recognition.

”Not bad. Our reputation reached this far?”

”Don’t flatter yourself. I know enough.”

Riku’s brother glanced toward the submarine, then back at Amber.

”You came here for something. What is it?”

”You’re half right about us, by the way. We’re not pirates.”

”I don’t care what you call yourselves. I’m trying to get this ship away from the storm. I wasn’t blocking you, I wasn’t chasing you, and I had no reason to bother you. So why attack my ship?”

Amber spread his hands.

”If you’d kept sailing without noticing us, maybe I would’ve let you go.”

”But now you know we’re here.”

Riku’s brother’s eyes narrowed.

”So?”

”So now I can’t have you leaving. At minimum, this ship goes to the bottom. Whether anyone aboard goes with it depends on how cooperative you feel like being.”

Riku’s brother gave a humorless laugh.

”Yeah. Definitely lunatics.”

Amber grinned wider.

”I’ll take that as a compliment. Now do me a favor and surrender before this gets annoying.”

There was no point pretending this could still end peacefully.

Riku’s brother reached for another Poké Ball.

”If it’s that annoying, then don’t bother.”

Neither side moved for a heartbeat.

The sailors tightened their grip on their Poké Balls, while Team Aqua’s members spread out across the deck, eager to finish what they had started. Rain poured between them, lightning flashed overhead, and both groups waited for the first command that would turn the standoff into another full battle.

Then someone started clapping above them.

Slow, deliberate applause cut through the storm.

Everyone on deck looked up.

The sound had come from somewhere higher on the cargo ship, far above both groups.

For the first time since Amber boarded, the confidence on several Team Aqua members’ faces slipped. Riku’s sailors reacted no better. Nobody on either side knew who had climbed above them unnoticed, and after one group of intruders had already appeared from beneath the sea, a second surprise guest was the last thing anyone wanted.

The storm raged around the ship while every eye turned toward the source of the applause.

[End of chapter]

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