The mighty Gyarados had completely overturned the enemy pirate ship, and with that, the pirates of the Great Shark sounded the horn for their counterattack.
With their morale shattered, the enemy ranks collapsed almost instantly.
Their strongest fighters were pinned down by Gyarados and Swampert, leaving no one capable of reinforcing the rest.
By the time the sun began to sink toward the horizon, crimson light had spread across the sea.
The deck of the Great Shark was stained with blood, a grim testament to the brutal battle between the two pirate crews.
When the last enemy pirate was finally cut down, the surviving pirates aboard the Great Shark erupted into cheers.
There was no question about it.
They were the victors of this bloody feast.
Countless corpses.
Fallen Pokémon.
Money, valuables, and treasure beyond counting.
Chaos was a ladder—and today, more than a few people had climbed it.
Some pirates dropped to their knees and wept, throwing both hands into the air as they shouted in celebration.
The fading sunlight washed over them, almost as though the setting sun itself were honoring their victory.
Only after Kuroba heard that the fighting outside had finally ended did he leave the cabin where he had been hiding.
Before stepping out, he deliberately smeared some blood across his face and clothes, then forced himself to look exhausted.
After all, he really had killed an enemy.
Making himself look as though he had barely survived a desperate struggle certainly couldn’t hurt.
The moment he reached the deck, however, he froze.
Madam Meta stood at the bow of the ship.
In each hand, she held a blood-soaked head.
They belonged to the Great Shark’s two first mates.
Everyone stared at the beautiful woman in stunned silence.
The battle itself had already shaken them badly, but what shocked them even more was Madam Meta.
The woman they had always regarded as graceful and gentle had just revealed a ruthless decisiveness none of them had expected.
“The two first mates harbored treacherous intentions and plotted against the captain for a long time,” Madam Meta declared coldly.
“Today, with the captain’s Gyarados at my side, I executed them and removed this threat from the Great Shark!”
Her voice was firm, and a trace of killing intent lingered in her eyes.
The pirates’ earlier excitement vanished.
No one dared answer.
Kuroba’s eyes flickered.
Then he immediately raised one arm and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Madam Meta’s strength is unquestionable! We support you as the new captain!”
He drew a deep breath.
“Kuroba greets the new captain!”
His young face flushed red as he shouted with almost fanatical enthusiasm.
The surrounding pirates quickly understood the situation.
A new ruler meant a new order.
One after another, they followed his example.
“Greetings, Madam Meta!”
“Greetings, Captain!”
Madam Meta stood above them, her cold gaze sweeping across the assembled crew.
Kuroba looked up.
Her silhouette overlapped with the setting sun behind her, the crimson glow outlining her figure and lending her an almost awe-inspiring presence.
Slowly, Madam Meta spread her arms and let the sea wind whip around her.
Determination filled her eyes.
“I formally accept your support!” she declared.
“From this day forward, I will make the flag of the Great Shark fly higher than ever over these seas!”
“Long live Captain Meta!” Kuroba immediately roared, perfectly fulfilling his role as her most enthusiastic supporter.
“Long live the captain!”
“Long live Captain Meta!”
The others joined in until the cries rolled across the sea.
Under the setting sun, the Great Shark’s sails snapped violently in the wind, as though cheering for the beginning of a new voyage.
…
Before darkness completely fell, the pirates hurried to salvage everything they could from the enemy vessel.
No one expected to sleep peacefully that night.
After all, every survivor was already thinking about tomorrow’s division of the spoils.
Kuroba collapsed onto the bed in his room, completely drained.
Spearow perched near the head of the bed, keeping watch.
It had developed the habit during the month or so since its birth.
Corphish and Carvanha rested in the large pool Kuroba had made by converting the bathroom.
Both Pokémon could function outside the water, but naturally, they were far more comfortable while submerged.
Night gradually settled over the Great Shark.
Only after the ship had become quiet did Kuroba sit up again.
When he was finally alone, the tension that had been gripping his mind slowly loosened.
He emptied his pockets and the pouches around his waist, piling the day’s loot onto his small table.
The first thing that caught his eye was a thick stack of paper League currency.
Pirates were outlaws whose identities could rarely withstand scrutiny, so very few trusted savings cards.
Most carried cash.
Kuroba gathered the bills together and counted them one by one with practiced fingers.
It took him a while.
“Three hundred thousand Poké Dollars…”
His eyebrows rose.
“So this is what they mean when they say murder and arson are the fastest roads to wealth.”
He had only killed one pirate inside the cabin and hurriedly searched the bodies of a few ordinary pirates afterward.
“If I’d managed to search every corpse…”
A dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes.
A cool sea breeze slipped through the crack in his window.
Kuroba blinked, came back to his senses, and immediately threw the absurd thought out of his head. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
He continued sorting his loot.
There were two Poké Balls.
One contained Tentacool.
The other contained another Corphish.
“Tch. Just as I expected. Neither is particularly high-level.”
Kuroba took out his League-issued Pokédex and scanned the two Poké Balls.
One Pokémon was level 16, while the other was level 17.
He lowered the Pokédex thoughtfully.
“Together, they should sell for a little over a hundred thousand. Once we’re back on land, I can probably unload them through a black market.”
Keeping them for himself never crossed his mind.
Using captured Pokémon temporarily in an emergency was one thing.
Investing time and resources into raising them was another.
Pokémon that had already bonded with Trainers were notoriously difficult to tame after changing hands.
For precisely that reason, few people were willing to raise such Pokémon as members of their main team.
Once Kuroba had sorted the miscellaneous items, only a small notebook remained on the table.
He opened it.
His eyebrows slowly rose.
“This is… a Corphish breeding manual?”
He turned the pages carefully.
The deeper he read, the more comprehensive it became.
Move training.
Diet and nutrition.
Battle tactics.
Individual characteristics.
Even methods of communicating with and building emotional bonds with Corphish.
It covered practically every aspect of raising the species.
Before long, Kuroba became completely absorbed.
By the time he finally came back to himself, he had reached the last page.
Six Chinese characters were printed there, carrying a simple meaning:
Produced by the Pokémon League.
Kuroba’s eyes widened.
“So this is an internal League breeding manual…”
The value of the notebook immediately skyrocketed in his mind.
“How did an ordinary pirate get his hands on something this valuable?”
Kuroba guessed that the pirate he had killed must have robbed a League-affiliated Trainer.
What he didn’t know was that the pirate himself had once been a Trainer directly affiliated with the League.
His parents had simply backed the wrong faction during an internal political struggle.
Both of them later died in so-called accidents.
Fearing that the purge would eventually reach him as well, the young man fled his home city.
After a series of accidents and unfortunate circumstances, he ultimately became an outlaw and joined a pirate crew.
The Corphish breeding manual had been something he purchased long ago using internal League merit points.
Kuroba carefully locked the manual inside his cabinet.
The knowledge inside would become one of the foundations for raising his Corphish.
He couldn’t afford to lose it.
Only after counting the rest of his money and putting away every piece of loot did he remove his pirate clothes and fall into bed.
Before long, he was asleep.
…
The next morning, the cries of Wingull drifted in through the window.
After several solid hours of sleep, Kuroba finally woke feeling refreshed.
He stretched lazily.
“Morning, Corphish.”
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he took a container of general-purpose Water-type Pokémon food from the cabinet.
Then he added one precious beginner Pokéblock.
With Corphish’s current appetite, a single Pokéblock was enough to fill most of its stomach.
“Making Pokéblocks really is ridiculously profitable.”
Kuroba watched his Pokémon eat.
“Berries worth only a few dozen Poké Dollars can be processed into several Pokéblocks, and each Pokéblock can sell for hundreds.”
His eyes sharpened.
“I definitely have to learn how to make them someday.”
Pokémon Breeders were unusual compared with most professions because their field covered an enormous range of knowledge.
They could learn massage techniques normally associated with Pokémon masseurs.
Emergency treatment, usually the domain of Pokémon medical specialists, was also part of a Breeder’s education.
But the two most important abilities were developing individualized training and development plans for Pokémon—and making Pokéblocks.
Watching his Pokémon eat so happily made Kuroba hungry as well.
He headed to the dining hall and ordered an ordinary plate of curry rice.
Even though he now possessed around three hundred thousand League Dollars, he had no desire to start spending recklessly.
At most, he paid for an extra serving of meat.
“Mmm…”
The spicy curry burst across his tongue, making him let out a satisfied sound.
Just as he began eating enthusiastically, another plate was placed on the seat opposite him.
The most eye-catching item on it was a small section of Slowpoke Tail.
It looked surprisingly plain, but the fragrance alone told Kuroba it had to be delicious.
Otherwise, why would so many wealthy people specifically hunt Slowpoke just for their tails?
Kuroba looked up.
A rugged man sat across from him wearing a friendly smile.
It was Furuta.
“Heh, Brother Kuroba. That’s all you’re eating? I happened to order too much. Help me finish it.”
Kuroba smiled knowingly.
“Brother Furuta, looks like you made quite a fortune this time. Slowpoke Tail isn’t exactly cheap, is it?”
He didn’t stand on ceremony.
Kuroba picked up a small piece and placed it in his mouth.
A gentle sweetness spread across his tongue.
The meat was soft and delicate, practically melting before he could properly savor it.
“Well, it’s all thanks to the captain turning the situation around,” Furuta said casually.
“Otherwise, how could we be sitting here eating comfortably now?”
His tone sounded careless.
Kuroba immediately understood what he was really trying to say.
With both former first mates dead, Captain Meta needed new officers if she wanted to stabilize her authority and keep the Great Shark functioning.
Naturally, every experienced and powerful veteran aboard the ship had his eyes on those vacant positions.
“Brother Furuta, to tell you the truth, I’ve been having quite a bit of trouble lately when it comes to raising my Pokémon.”
Kuroba deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
Furuta understood immediately.
Without hesitation, he pulled a small notebook from his pocket and slid it across the table.
“Brother, I don’t have much else I can do for you. These are my personal notes from raising Crawdaunt. If there’s anything your Corphish doesn’t understand, you can always bring it to my Crawdaunt for guidance.”
Furuta slapped his chest confidently.
Kuroba smoothly tucked the notebook into his clothes.
Then he smiled.
“Brother Furuta has worked hard for the development of the Great Shark. I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you with my teacher.”
Technically, Kuroba was still only Madam Meta’s apprentice and had not formally become her student.
But that didn’t stop him from shamelessly calling her his teacher when it benefited him.
Speak one way to one person and another way to someone else.
Kuroba had already tasted how useful borrowed authority could be.
Why wouldn’t he take advantage of such a powerful backing?
Of course, he knew where the line was.
He would never casually call Madam Meta his teacher to her face without permission, nor would he overstep his place around her.
“Brother, thank you.”
Satisfied with Kuroba’s answer, Furuta ordered several more expensive dishes for the table before finally leaving.
…
After finishing the meal, Kuroba wandered around the deck.
Unlike most pirates, who had daily duties to perform, he currently had a great deal of freedom.
“Man… we really lost a lot of people.”
He wandered through the Great Shark and saw empty positions everywhere.
“Only two of the recruits who joined with me are still alive.”
Almost all the newcomers from his batch had died in yesterday’s brutal battle.
“Being a pirate is way too dangerous. Sooner or later, I need to return to land and clean up my identity.”
The only reasons Kuroba remained committed to the Great Shark were his legal identity and the opportunity to learn the craft of a Pokémon Breeder.
When he reached the deck, he noticed more than a dozen pirates gathered together.
Curious, he approached.
They were trading spoils.
When two pirate crews fought, anything taken directly from an enemy a pirate personally killed belonged to that pirate.
It counted as individual loot, and even the captain couldn’t simply confiscate it.
Supplies and valuables taken from the enemy ship itself, however, were pooled together and divided according to contribution.
Naturally, that meant pirates often ended up with personal loot they couldn’t use.
Small post-battle trading gatherings were therefore common.
“I’ve got a Taillow that’s close to evolving,” a fairly young pirate announced.
“With a little taming and training, it’ll become a Swellow.”
He paused before adding proudly, “And this Taillow already knows Aerial Ace!”
The surrounding pirates immediately became interested and began calling out offers.
Kuroba watched quietly.
“Maybe it’s because we just went through such a huge battle. A lot of people lost Pokémon and urgently need replacements.”
He joined the group.
Several pirates immediately made room for him.
Kuroba smiled politely and settled into a comfortable seat.
It was obvious that no one wanted to offend someone viewed as a close follower of the new captain.
In the end, the level-20 Taillow was sold for 140,000 Poké Dollars.
The price was somewhat low.
After all, it only needed to reach level 22 before evolving into Swellow.
But the price also made sense.
Before the buyer could properly raise it, they first had to tame a Pokémon that had belonged to someone else.
That was never easy.
If the attempt failed, the buyer might simply have thrown away all 140,000 Poké Dollars.
That risk was exactly why the price remained relatively low.
…
Author’s Note: In response to some questions, the Carvanha and Sharpedo evolutionary line can fight on land.
For an animated example, see Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, where Sharpedo are shown fighting on land and even Mega Evolving there.
You can join my P.
@.
T.
R.
3.
0.
N to get access to 50 additional chapters!
/Meegoatbaa Whether you join as a free or paid member, you’ll also get access to 2 extra chapters.