No need to make this complicated, I reach down to the unconscious grunt and grab his blue bandana to wrap my right hand. Then picking back up the net gun in the hallway I sling it over my shoulder. Before forgetting I snag the few pokeballs these two had on their belts and drop them in my dive bag.

Best clue in my greninja pal, “You keep hidden and stop anyone from grabbing a pokeball, snag it with your tongue, knock it out of their arms, doesn’t matter. We’re going to keep stealth if possible but I don’t mind being fast and loud should that fail. None of these clowns are leaving this boat.”

It nods, “Grren!”

Looking down the hall and at my Joltik on my shoulder, “Our first target is the aft deck below and then whatever bay they launched their assault on the cargo ship from. Web up every one behind me Tess, and zap’em if someone comes for my back.”

She chitters in a kind of nervous excitement.

The rains outside picks up a notch and the whole boat begins to rock in the chop now that it's dead in the water. Moving quickly at a crouch under any room windows I make for a ladder well or stairs. Which I find soon as I turn the corner at the end of the hall.

My dive shoes help me stay steady while I poke my head down.

“Gah! Shit that hurt!” Seems someone else isn’t as well equipped for the weather.

A woman is trying to pour gas in an outboard motor tank on an inflatable raft, “Get off your ass and check the bridge. Find out why we aren’t getting out of here!”

She calls on her radio as I pull out of sight, “Leave the eggs, if the boat doesn’t get moving we’re taking the priority haul and bailing.”

Thudding of steps up the stairs, I square my legs, back against the wall. A head barely passes the corner, a quick left jab puts stars in his eyes. I grab his collar and belt and pivot him into the hallway wall with a solid thump, a final right fist drops him. I grab his two pokeballs off his belt. “Wrap him Tess.”

While she hogties him I check down the stairs again just in time to see the woman running back further into the ship and out of sight. Hopefully she didn’t hear me.

I slide down the railing and make a quick dash for the raft, my dive knife cuts the fuel line. Another raft is strapped to a wall but it’s deflated, the motor on a rack detached.

A flash of light from the corner, and a weird chirp. Carefully walking over I find a couple waist high animal crates. In the first is a rather high strung miniature zebra, the second is a ...blade ninja lawn gnome?

It takes a stance, “Paaw.” And slashes at the metal latch to the crate.

“Shhhh, relax little guys. No one is stealing you today.” They seem to chill a bit.

The woman runs back into the room without even noticing me crouched by the cages. The little blade guy scrapes his blades together in frustration.

“NO!, who did this! Shit!” She turns to race back wherever she just came from but I step out and closeline her to the ground.

“Who the fuck are you!” Before her hand can grab a ball a tongue whips from the shadows and takes it. My Joltik is quick to follow up by webbing her face to the floor. Greninja hands me the pokeball before using a nearby rope to help Tess tie her up.

This room has a hatch and another hallway where the woman came from and was headed for. There are no doors to secure here; it's just an open deck, the hatch reveals a supply and electrical closet. Hallway it is.

On the left are two doors, the right is windows to the dim and raining outside. Down the hall I can see a man bending down to a pokemon crate from near a large bay door and into the ship.

There's a flash of light, “Dammit! Why did it have to be electric types? Why aren’t we moving?!”

Quietly as possible I check the two doors, both empty bunk rooms. Peeking into the bay room I find it stretches across the boat. Four men are trying to secure thirty odd crates of pokemon. As luck would have it a smaller crate slides along the deck as the ship tilts to my side.

The crate stops just before me. Inside a foot tall, purple pill bug widens its eyes at the sight of me. I really need to start studying all the pokemon, there's only what, a thousand of them?

I signal it to keep quiet, the clever bug nods. One of the grunts dashes over to grab the crate, his back towards me. This probably the last stealth take down I’ll get.

My hand snakes around his mouth, the other puts him in a choke hold. The ass actually bites my hand but the bandana wrap saves my fingers. I make sure we’re out of sight but he’s still struggling when one of the other grunts shouts, “Jake? Where’d ya go man?”

Well shit. Jake is almost out when his buddy runs over and immediately sees me, “Who the fuck are you?!”

“Hi, I’m Kurt, this is my net gun.” The net fired from my hip whips forward and takes him clean off his feet.

Jake is finally out cold and I reach for my own pokeballs, “You’re up Shak.”

My six foot Golbat appears, basically a blue bear with wings for arms.

“Get in there and hit the last two with Super Sonic then take one down. Greninja you get the other.”

Tesla dutifully wraps up Jake while I plug my ears.

“SrEEEEeEeEeEeEeEeE!”

Jeezus I’ve heard more pleasant car alarms I'm sure.

I jog in and disarm the moaning guy in the net with blood coming out his ears. My Golbat flying tackles another and chomps down on his shoulder while Greninja throws his Ice shuriken at the last.

The room is a racket of barks, screeches, and sounds I can’t label as caged pokemon react to the assault. Across the room a hatch opens as another woman comes running in.

“Tess, Electroweb.” The gal barely registers what's going on when the web catches her not unlike my net gun. Except this one shocks her into a drooling mess. I’ll pretend I don’t see the other puddle on the floor.

My Golbat’s victim passes out, likely blood loss. Man these critters are brutal on humans. Greninja has the other one literally tongue tied. I point and my Joltik goes and secures that one with more web. It’s slower, I can tell she’s worn out.

“All right back to the balls you two, nice work.”

Fifteen minutes later, Greninja, Golduck and I have all the grunts tossed in larger pokemon crates. Which means I have five miniature zebra’s laying about the cargo bay. Alongside are four, larger adults with white antlers that spark occasionally.

I take inventory while I wait for the Cargo ship to circle around and come alongside. It’s risky to try and move them back again with the storm still going on. We’ll have to steer this boat into slateport’s ranger dock.

Dexa starts spouting off pokemon names, “Blitzle, Zebstrika, Pawniard, Venipede, Emolga, Solosis,” is that a slime? “Minccino, Lillipup, Mienfoo.”

There are only four of that last pokemon, little bipedal weasel things, cute for sure. The important part is that one is clearly a shiny varint with it’s lavender tinted fur while the other three are peach. A couple of the other pokemon might have uncommon colorations but this is the most blatant.

Reviewing the information I see what’s going on here. These are all pokemon from Unova that can’t be caught in the wild here. Mostly focused on cute pokemon it seems, which from a sales perspective makes sense. The adult electro zebras might be for starting a local herd.

Nothing much to do down here, I head back to the bridge to check on the cargo hauler. Just as I reach the radio I catch sight of something massive silhouetted against a distant lightning bolt, landing on the nearby ship.

“Kurt to Swanna, everything alright over there?”

A moment, “This is Isaac on the Swanna, all good here. The Pike has arrived on behalf of the rangers.”

The Pike? Whatever, “How long before we set for Slateport?”

Another pause, then a woman’s voice, “This is Lucy from the Hoenn League. If you can drive that boat, go ahead towards Slateport’s ranger dock. I’ll be joining you after I finish getting statements here.”

Works for me, “Got it, I’ll get this junker moving.”

If anything, this being a relatively older craft means the controls look more normal to me. The bridge on the Jolteon looks ready for spaceflight.

Thirty or so minutes after getting back underway a shadow passes over my windshield. A woman drops from above onto the prow, raises her hand and a flash of light indicates she returned a pokemon.

She walks up, I point back at the entrance. A moment later I’m joined by a lovely woman with dark hair and red highlights wearing a raincoat over a spandex gym outfit. Actually she looks a bit familiar but I can’t place it.

Shaking out her hair, “What a day for fighting pirates eh, do I have something on my face?”

And I’m caught staring at a cop, great, “No you just look weirdly familiar, how’d you get out here anyway?”

With a laugh, “I would think I look familiar, my niece is on your team. Rode out here on my Gyarados.”

It’s the red eyes, “Jane’s? Small world I suppose. Er, she’s been pretty shut up about family stuff.”

“Makes sense, I’m all she’s got, but we’ll catch up with her in port. I was actually on my way to meeting your team there when the call came in. I’m gonna poke my head below and check it out. Nice work by the way.” And off she jaunts down the hall...I’m not admiring her leggings, promise.

How would that be though? Just flying off wherever you need to go, wait, she said Gyarados.

My Dex app says they can make sort of long distance, high speed hops across water, cool.

Lucy eventually joins me back on the bridge, “Looks like you’ve got it handled, of course as you have the culprits I’m stuck here. I can’t wait to see my girl, her mom would have been so excited to hear she caught an Onix.”

Well, that answers that question, “Anything specific you were coming for?”

Her eyes give me that mamma bear glare, “Heard my little Jane has a team member almost my age. Looks like that was an exaggeration. Still, what gives?”

Really, surely she’s not that old, “Spit fire of a girl was looking to fight the world, couldn’t leave her by herself when all the teams were getting decided. Wattsons hired us and here we are. I’m not from around here, that Isaac fella on the other boat called you The Pike?”

Operation subject change succeeds, “I’m Lucy, the Pike Queen. One of Hoenn’s WPC leaders, I know you just met Vivica. My specialty is serpents, soon as I heard Jane was training a Magicarp and caught an Onix I had to come.”

Specializing sounds fun, “Are all the WPC leaders themed like that?”

She kicks back in the second chair, “In some way, we’re supposed to present a specific type of challenge. Most trainers that go full pro find their groove eventually. A part of it might be the international attention making us want to stand out. Been thinking about it yourself?”

If running a haunted house is an option I’m already set but, “Maybe, I’m definitely keen on doing a solid tour of the world before settling down for keeps. Well… who knows.”

I don’t think taking off with Rustboro’s favorite doctor will make me a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Two hours pass in simple conversation about fun themes some older trainers pick, a scare from a 14 foot black viper guarding the cages, and Slateport is within sight as the storm passes.