Some things to be said from the last chapter, I will admit I didn't do the Toxapex fight to the best of my abilities. I think as an author it is important to admit to one's mistakes/shortcomings. I understand your criticism. Next fight I will try not to have many mistakes as the first one in them did.

  Thanks for all the support on my Patreo-n so far! 3 advanced chapters at /xlucqs.

  TEAM

  Lochness - Swampert

  Leviathan - Gyarados

  Juggernaut - Palafin

  Britney - Toxapex

  Also this is quite a long chapter so enjoy! I should note that they are some dark topics in this chapter, but it's a villain fic so you can't really avoid it.

  "You're done," said William, looking at the defeated Juan across from him.

  The Gym Leader, who once held an aura of confidence in his victory before the fight even began, now had a defeated look on his face as he clutched the Pokeball of Milotic.

  "You said 6v6, standard league rules, right? I beat you." He looked towards the Dewgong he stood on, looking defiant and ready to fight. "I still have four Pokemon to spare, as well as the entire might of my team. You stand no chance. Go, leave, and tell your Champion that Team Aqua took this ship."

  William had initially considered killing Juan. Removing a fellow Water-type specialist this early would benefit his plan in many ways but derail them in many others. Most notably, if he died, then the Gym Leader spot would be open, and he knew who would most likely fill that spot. He couldn't allow that. The league also didn't take kindly to killing one of their own. They had gained attention, yes, but killing him would—in the simplest of terms—bring his wanted level to a five star.

  With his only Pokemon left being the one he stood on and a few unused extras—his weaker Pokemon—, Juan could only grit his teeth and lick his wounds. He looked at William with a stare that promised vengeance and redemption. With nothing more to say, he turned, leaving with his Dewgong, his wounded pride and Pokemon, and his Pokeballs.

  With a Gym Leader defeated, Team Aqua had taken a massive leap in their standing in the world—just as William had promised when he became leader. He smiled under his mask and raised a fist into the sky.

  Team Aqua cheered.

  "Alright, boys, now that our little distraction has left, let's loot this ship! Take everything!"

  More cheers erupted as the crew got to work.

  William returned to the ship, leading the robbery. On the deck, the civilians had been gathered, their valuables stripped away. Nothing was off the table—packets of cigarettes, expensive clothing, jewelry—anything that could be sold on the black market where it wouldn't be traced.

  "Please, that's a family heirloom!" a voice cried out.

  "It looks expensive," one of the grunts said with a grin.

  William strode over. "Let them keep it."

  "But...boss…"

  He had watched too many movies—movies where something important was stolen, and the owner would stop at nothing to get it back, seeking revenge. He already had the government dealing with them; he didn't need to rack up a long list of individuals with personal grudges.

  Taking something of significant sentimental value would do just that.

  Just take the valuables and don't make anything personal. That way, it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass in the future. It was also that reason he never physically hurt anyone on the ship unless they tried to fight back.

  Although, his rash decision-making this time had almost done exactly that—bite him back in the ass.

  He hadn't expected this—a gym leader on the boat. If it had been a member of the elite four instead, things might have gone very differently. The elite four were a different calibre that he didn't want to mess with right now. That could have been the end of Team Aqua right then and there.

  William had been too rash. He needed to be more careful in the future.

  However, as his gaze settled on the Pokemon meant for Wallace—a rare gift from Kalos—he knew one thing for certain—his gamble had paid off.

  Looks like they would have to send him another Froakie, because he was taking this one. They really were handing him Pokemon at this rate weren't they? The Frog-like Pokemon had been placed in a cage, a spacious cage with a decent portion of Pokemon food and water, as well as a bed for him to sleep on. looks like they had caught the Pokemon in the wild without actually using a Pokeball, and were transferring it to Wallace so he could capture it.

  It was a more authentic experience than just handing him a Pokeball. Made it feel like it was actually Wallace's Pokemon. Well, now it was his Pokemon.

  In the cage, the Froakie stared at him with a mix of apprehension and uncertainty. The commotion must have woken it up and put it on high alert.

  William took off his black mask, flashing the Pokemon a smile. He grabbed a Pokeball from his waist belt and slid it through the metal bars.

  "You can either be free or stay here." That was all William said.

  When you put Pokemon in terrible positions and situations, most alternatives are seen as lifelines. People really took these creatures for granted as if they didn't have personal feelings and free will. Maybe if they had treated this Pokemon with some respect, it wouldn't have walked over to the Pokeball and touched the center button.

  But it did.

  A red light enveloped the Froakie, and it disappeared into the Pokeball. William stuck his hand through the bars and grabbed it.

  "That makes double digits," William said, pocketing the Pokeball into his coat.

  He searched the room for any more valuables. Nothing noteworthy—bottles of water, kilograms of Pokemon food—nothing worth taking.

  Except…

  William pried open the last crate with his hands, expecting to find nothing useful as usual.

  Instead, he found jackpot.

  Evolution Stones. Technical Machines. Ultra Balls. Potions.

  And that was just on the surface, barely covering a portion of the crate's height. This was worth more than common jewelry and valuables. The trade of popping up on the government's radar to obtain a Froakie was quite even, but this tipped the scales completely in their favour. This could fund their team for years. Or better yet…

  Now they were no longer just a group of miscreants, no longer something minor like a small itch, now they were a massive gaping cut, and the government would be forced to deal with it. Or someone else...

  I'm ready. Your move Wallace.

  He sent out Lochness, smiling at him. The Swampert was a bit battered and worse for wear, but otherwise in good condition. Juan and his Pokemon hadn't even managed to get his ability to activate.

  "Looks like we hit the jackpot, buddy." William grabbed a pink bottle from the crate and checked its label.

  Hyper Potion.

  "Let's get you in better shape," he said, turning the bottle toward Lochness and spraying it a few times.

  A few cuts and bruises faded.

  "Fuck it."

  He unscrewed the lid and doused Lochness with the contents of the potion. The liquid slowly seeped into his skin, and as it did, each and every last wound disappeared. He spent the next few minutes doing the same for his other Pokemon who were injured.

  They returned to their ships an hour later, carrying crates, bags, and pockets full of valuables. It was their biggest haul yet.

  William took off his mask again, wiping the sweat from his forehead and slicking his blue hair back.

  As they sailed back to headquarters, the crew celebrated with drinks and hot food and party music, exchanging stories and showing off the valuables they had found.

  They would have to hand everything back to William before leaving the ship, but he was nice enough to let them enjoy the shiny things—temporarily.

  The first step he did was properly sort through everything they had gathered during the raid and figure out what to keep and what to sell.

  William sorted through the supplies.

  TM for Snore, Sell.

  Quick Ball, Sell. They weren't in any hurry.

  A necklace with an amethyst pearl in the centre, Sell.

  TM for Haze, Keep. That would have been useful for Britney before.

  Super Potion, Keep. Just a few would do.

  Ultra Ball, Keep.

  Fire Stone, Sell. They were a water type team.

  Hyper Potion, Keep.

  These resources would go a long way in helping Team Aqua.

  First, he would sell them on the black market—he was typically the one handling sales before he took over leadership. He was used to negotiating higher prices for the items they sold and lower prices for the ones they needed to buy.

  Selling items this valuable in such large quantities always attracted unwanted attention. The black market could be a dangerous place, and someone strong needed to protect these goods.

  And he was strong.

  He had just defeated a Gym Leader without barely breaking a sweat.

  A weak and complacent Gym Leader? Yes. But a Gym Leader nonetheless.

  Juan had won the Conference League years ago, spending the next few years riding off that fame to build influence and make connections. One of those connections had obviously been Wallace, which had ultimately landed him the job.

  The point was, he was rusty. This eye-opening loss would probably set him back on track, though. Again, he would have loved to kill him and steal his Pokemon, remove a permanent thorn in his side, but the consequences would be bad. He was not above killing, but only when it was absolutely necessary. He understood the value in life but also the value in ending one.

  Now, with the money and resources he got from the raid, he could proceed to the next step of his plan, much faster than he initially anticipated…

  Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 begins.

  Where governments thrived and flourished through open trade and honest work, beneath the surface, criminals were forced to operate in the shadows, dealing in illegal and illicit operations.

  In almost every region, there was an underworld—an agreed-upon place where criminals could communicate, trade, and cooperate just as the government did.

  In Hoenn, that place was Mauville City.

  As one of the largest cities in the region, Mauville was a major hub for tourism and home to the biggest marketplace in Hoenn. However, mirroring this overground market was an underground one—a network of tunnels and secret passages leading to a massive hidden marketplace.

  Here criminals traded secrets, Pokemon, and valuables, conducting business beneath the city's very streets, unseen by the law.

  Hoenn was a region surrounded by vast amounts of water. And much like the joke that had caught on in his previous world, it had also somehow managed to be translated to the Pokeweb, as those from Kanto and Johto liked to joke around.

  Despite the jokes, Hoenn didn't take any form of offence. Instead, they seemed to pride themselves on their vast waters. They boasted the most water-type trainers per capita out of every region, and at the Grand University there was even a specialized course for water-type specialists.

  Because of these vast waters was a constant flow of ships and ferries and cruises carrying sailors, workers, tourists, and anyone else who had some spare money and a day off. The influx of ships was also one of the reasons Team Aqua could even function just through stealing.

  Late into the next day after he had battled Juan, William caught one of the ferries leaving Lilycove City, passing by Sootopolis City—where Juan was most likely trying to piece back together his pride—and through Pacifilog Town then Slateport City until they ended up in Mauville City.

  Evening had passed by, and warm street lamps and lights from shops and houses kept the city bright. Restaurants and bars were packed, Pokecenters were full, and the market was as lively as ever.

  Throughout all this, William tried to remain inconspicuous, not wearing his usual mask, as it would be inappropriate in public, but instead a hoodie and a black hat, and a face mask of the same colour. In his bag was his Poseidon mask and relevant clothing.

  He shuffled through the main market, keeping his head down. Occasionally, he looked behind him to see if anyone was following him, but he was sure he was just being paranoid. It had that kind of effect when you're on the front of the papers this morning.

  "Ship from Kalos attacked by pirates!" the front headline had read, though it made no mention of any goods or Pokemon stolen or Juan getting his ass-handed to him. Wallace must have wanted the story to go public, but also to avoid the truly embarrassing facts.

  William made his way through the large shopping centre, head held down and posture low and unintimidating. He passed through pokecentres and pokemarts and cafes—some Pokemon friendly—before arriving at a small and inconspicuous shop.

  Walking up to the desk, he said, "I would like something new. Maybe we could check out back?"

  The person at the desk, who had been all smiles, suddenly turned serious. This was a cafe, no one in their right mind would ask that—unless it was code for something.

  "All right. Let's go check."

  Door one. Unlocked through a key.

  Door two. Unlocked through his facial recognition.

  Door three. Unlocked through an eight digit code. William had to confirm it.

  The third and final door shut, and William found himself in a dull concrete room. The room was completely empty—with the occasional splash of blood on the floor— except for the corner of the room in which a decrepit, mossy old well was placed, or, rather built.

  William took the ladder down the well.

  As he climbed down, an intoxicating scent filled his nostrils through the balaclava. If you were to combine the smell of urine, blood, death, and an overall lack of hygiene then it would be pretty close to the smell his poor nostrils were inhaling.

  After reaching the bottom of the well, he made his way through an intricate set of tunnels.

  It was like the catacombs of Paris. You could very easily get lost down here if you didn't know your way into one of the entrances of the black market. It was a place for criminals to congregate like bees to a hive, so many steps have been taken to make it difficult for someone who shouldn't be here to get in.

  Luckily Archie had access to the black market by the time William joined, and when he took over the personal responsibility of selling items, all the correct steps were given to him.

  Left. Upper Left. Right. One would usually make the mistake of going forward here, but you were supposed to go backwards. Right. Upper Right. Another right. Forwards. Left. William had been here so many times he had memorized the entire sequence by memory.

  "Password?" a deep voice called through the thick iron door guarding the entrance to the black market.

  "Black tidings," William responded, discarding his public disguise, going through his backpack and putting on his mask and outfit.

  The black market was revealed to him a moment later. Light assaulted his eyes, and he had to cover his face for a moment and allow them to adjust from the pitch black tunnels.

  This place practically had it all. From shady deals and trades all the way to foreign items and Pokemon. It was a place with a wealth of hidden knowledge and secrets. If you ever wanted something, the black market could get it for you.

  Sometimes it still amazed William that an entire community of people practically made this place and thrived here.

  William made his way through the streets— yes, they were streets, and houses too. Some people nodded at him as he walked past, a mixture of fear and appreciation in their eyes. They didn't even know the whole story, but the fact that he had became the leader of Team Aqua, and then raided a government ship had increased his reputation already.

  Guess news travels fast. Even Underground.

  He found himself in front of a large building with the sign black market trading centre, proudly worn near the top of the building. If you wanted to trade any form of goods, this is where you wanted to go.

  They made their money through funnelling illegal items—which they bought for less than market price since they were most likely illegally obtained—back to companies across the world, who would then sell the items as legal.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  A PC system sat near the corner of the room. It was a hacked version of the public PC, allowing for complete autonomy when storing items and/or Pokemon.

  William withdrew the items from his PC storage system. They numbered about 12 boxes in total, each of them storing a different category of items.

  "Got something to sell for me, Poseidon boy? Or should I say boss now?" an old voice called out. The woman at the counter took a long drag of her cigarette and exhaled, filling the room with smoke.

  "It's more than just something." William said, bringing each box up to the desk.

  Sally put out her cigarette against the wooden desk—it was full of burn marks—and surveyed the contents of the boxes. Her eyes lit up.

  "More than something indeed. These are…" she grabbed a Pokeball from one of the boxes, inspecting it. Old woman she may be, her eyes were young and sharp—that's why they kept her around.

  "This is more than just knock off stuff, this is the real deal, in top condition, unused, undamaged, pristine…" She looked like she was about to salivate at the mouth before re-composing herself.

  She gave William a look, "It seems the story about team aqua attacking a government ship wasn't all true, was it? They said you came away with nothing, but this…this is more than nothing. These are top grade government items."

  William smiled, but didn't say anything.

  "Well, I know well enough by now you know your stuff about prices, so I won't try and low ball you." She spent a few minutes looking through all of the items, appraising their condition. "How about…450?"

  William chuckled, "I thought you said you wouldn't lowball me? 500."

  "480?" she countered, eyes staring at him.

  William met her gaze through the mask, "500. It's a fair price."

  She continued to stare at him in silence, before she finally broke his gaze. "Deal."

  "I'll need the money now." William said. It would save another trip down here.

  "Who do you think we are? The bank?" she laughed. She brought out a pokeball and released her Machamp who began to carry the boxes out back.

  "500 then. I'll be back in a minute." She got up off her chair and stretched her back, limping behind the shop.

  A moment later, the money came through.

  500,000 Pokedollars.

  He checked his balance.

  820,000 Pokedollars.

  William waved goodbye to the old lady. He still didn't know her name. Now with all this money, things could be sped up. His last and final stop was Dave's.

  Dave dealt with anything with ships. It seemed like a very niche thing to specialize in, but given they were in Hoenn it was more than enough to make due. People wanted ships all the time for many different reasons, and if you wanted to do it illegally, Dave was the person to go to. He was an expert with anything with ships and also had his own crew of ship workers doing things ranging from repairs to upgrades to complete makeovers.

  And that was exactly what he had hired Dave for. Months ago he had single-handedly sieged and stolen a large cargo ship. It was in the middle of the night, no noise, no attention. He brought the ship to Dave's shipyard, where he had requested a complete rehaul of the ship to suit his needs.

  "Poseidon! Back from trying to steal ships to get your own!" Dave asked in a gruff voice. He was a middle aged man with brown hair— slowly graying— and a deep voice. He had a bit of a belly, but under all that fat was the hard work of a man who spent years laboring away on ships. His hands were rough and scarred from all of those years.

  "You said it was ready?" William asked.

  "It is!" Dave said. He rustled through a stack of paper before bringing out a specific sheet and handing it over to him.

  SHIP REPAIRS

  Passenger space: 80,000

  Reinforced Hull: 100,000

  Aesthetic repairs(including logo): 50,000

  Security: 80,000

  Hidden compartments: 40,000

  Ship Redesign: 80,000

  Other/Misc: 50,000

  TOTAL: 490,000

  "I'm curious to know what the extra 50,000 in other constitutes for, as well as the extra 10,000 in the total cost." William said.

  "Ahaha!" Dave said. "Math was never my strong suit. The total is correct though, so I must have accidentally put one of the categories for 10,000 less."

  "Uh huh. I'm sure you're not lying." William said dryly.

  "So, just like we discussed? Eight payments over eight months, no interest?"

  William shook his head, "Change of plans. I'll hand you all the money right here. I'll be needing your services again in the future, and that total better be correct each and every time.."

  "Again?"

  William nodded, "For the other ships as well. I need more of these."

  "Ok…Sounds good to me. On second thought, what are you actually planning to do with these ships?" Dave asked.

  "Team Aqua created the problem of ships being attacked in broad daylight. People are seeing these ships as unsafe and unreliable. They are hesitant to use them. I'm simply just making a solution for that problem." William smirked. "Supply and demand my friend. People demand safe ships and safe passage, but no one can supply them. Well no one until now, one until Neptune Shipping."

  William paused, looking at Dave. "You have the opportunity to make a lot of money here. I do hope for both of our sakes you don't end up spilling any of our secrets. You can either be team aqua's ally and have our protection, or you can be our enemy, and you wouldn't like to know how that would end. Just think carefully Dave, the choice is completely up to you. I'll be back down here soon for another commission if all goes well. I'll be seeing you." he waved Dave goodbye.

  That had been Williams' plan this whole time. Now with the extra money he could get another ship faster than originally in his plans.

  Neptune Shipping.

  It would be advertised as a safe and reliable service for passenger and cargo transport. They would offer a full money back guarantee on their costs and items if they were ever lost or stolen. It was a pretty big guarantee, but since the ship wouldn't be attacked by his team, there would never be a scenario in which they would have to give money back.

  It was a perfect solution to a problem they created. If all went according to His plans Neptune Shipping would be the biggest shipping company in Hoenn, and after that he would make it the biggest shipping company in the world. He would quite literally control the seas under a legal company.

  Team Aqua would take care of any competition, and Neptune would become a global brand.

  It would seem quite strange if Team Aqua never attacked Neptunes ships, which is why he planned to have strong trainers on board which would be the assumed reason why they were never attacked.

  William smiled, his grin reaching an almost devilish look. His pokeballs vibrated in excitement and anticipation. However, his almost euphoric mood was soon dampened out as he spotted a familiar outfit of red and black.

  Team Magma.

  Fuck, so it's already reached that point? William hadn't heard any news of a Team Magma— he initially believed if he was fast enough he could grow to a point where they would never be a problem, but right now, just as they were in metamorphosis, they just had to show up didn't they?

  Team Magma was their competition. A team which poor and unfortunate people could join— just like them. But the worst part of it was they had completely opposing goals—even with Williams leadership and movement away from the original goal Archie had of flooding the world in the games.

  How could William control the seas if they were none?

  How could he control the seas if the entire world was landmass?

  He shook his head, there was no use in thinking about it now. He could formulate a plan when he got back to his office and had space and quiet to think.

  But before he left he had one more order of business to take care of.

  FLASHBACK

  William silently stepped through the black market, trying not to make his presence known. Archie—among other responsibilities—now had given him the task of selling items gotten from ship raids. In the past few months he had learned lots about Team Aqua, and it seemed different from what he had initially imagined when he joined the team.

  He believed it would just be a group of evil criminals who were stupid and wanted to cause as many problems in the world as possible. how else had their team come to the conclusion of flooding the world?

  Well, at this point they hadnt, right now they were just raiding wealthy ships and stealing from them, nothing like the lofty—and borderline stupid—ambitions that defined the original Team Aqua in his past life.

  In the short few months he had been he had managed to gain Archie's trust. Not just because of his intelligence, but also his strength. His Pokemon were in a completely different league compared to most of the other grunts. In fact he was pretty sure he was the strongest trainer on the team. He would be testing that out soon regardless.

  In the meantime he just needed to keep his Pokemon fresh and battle ready. In less than a few months time he would be an admin, and after that he would be the leader. Everything he had planned was already going ahead of schedule.

  He cautiously walked through the black market—hands on Lochness' Pokeball in case anyone tried to test him. His eyes darted from place to place: a move learner, a woman with a special powder to forcibly evolve trade Pokemon, a man selling all kinds of things—hacked pokedexes, banned items, illegal Conference League streaming services—he had it all.

  Although curious, he never glanced at one person or thing for too long, and kept his head down. He was here to trade the raided items in, not to cause trouble, so it's better to be inconspicuous and unnoticed.

  So he would just keep his head down and not cause any proble—

  There was a loud commotion up ahead. A group of criminals—some masked—were organised in a square shape, cheering at something below.

  William inched down, in closer. He looked.

  A small square with no escape. Two Pokemon were trapped.

  A Staryu and a Mightyena stood across from each other, both bloodied from fighting. The Mightyena looked like a bloodthirsty hound, mouth frothing with saliva, scars across his body, and eyes full of red rage.

  The Staryu, on the other hand, looked weak. It looked desperate and had a look in its eye as if it knew it was the end, but was determined to keep fighting.

  Both of them were injured, but it was clear at the rate the Staryu was going to fall, it was going to go first.

  "Fight back! I didn't put you in here just to die!" a voice shouted. William walked through the sea of bodies over to the man.

  "You. Is that your Staryu in there?"

  "What?" The man tensed. "Hey, look man, if you bet on the Staryu, I'm sorr—"

  "I don't give a shit about bets. Is. It. Yours?" William said, growing increasingly agitated.

  The man mutely nodded.

  "How much?" William asked.

  "What?"

  "How much for the Staryu?"

  "That piece of crap? Why would you even want it? It's about to be turned into fish meat by—"

  William grabbed his collar. "If the next words out of your shit mouth aren't the price of the Staryu, I'm going to fucking kill you where you stand."

  "You can have it! You can have it for free! It's dead to me! It's also about to be dead, so you can have it. Here's his Pokeball, just leave me alone!"

  William took the Pokeball and strode towards the front of the audience, barging past dozens of men watching the fight.

  By now, the Staryu was on its last legs, and the screams around intensified as the prospect of death got closer and closer. The crowd was out for blood and death. some people were forced into villainy—these people just reveled in it, it was disgusting.

  He brought a hand to one of his Pokeballs. "End it quickly. Save the Staryu, and quickly kill the Mightyena. Let it rest and put the poor Pokemon out of its misery." in his eyes he was saving both of the Pokemon, just in two different ways. One was too far gone, while the other had just been brought in.

  Swampert was released from his Pokeball, immediately jumping down into the pits below.

  Mightyena, bloodlusted, hadn't even noticed its presence as it bared its bloodied teeth to kill the Staryu.

  It lunged with hunger, and the attack would have ended it all right there, but before it could happen, Swampert—Lochness—grabbed the Pokemon by its neck and twisted it in one clean motion.

  Quick. Painless. It was dead before it knew what happened.

  Shouts of anger, accusations, and confusion were thrown at William, but he remained unshaken.

  "That Staryu is my Pokemon!" William shouted, holding up the Pokeball. "The transaction happened during the fight, meaning it was never signed off to be brought into the pits by myself. I never signed any contract or obligation or agreement. I am simply protecting my Pokemon!"

  "And if any of you care that much, I can ease your worries by sending you to the same place I just sent that Mightyena."

  No one said a thing.

  "Good," and William simply withdrew the Staryu— now his Pokemon, his companion—,with Lochness trailing behind him, and left.

  FLASHBACK END

  William still didn't know why that day he decided to save the little Staryu. Something was ignited in him when he saw it standing there so pathetically and weak— but still ready to fight until the last breath. It reminded him of someone. It reminded him of himself.

  William always had a habit for picking up unwanted and mistreated Pokemon. He bet on losing Pokemon. It was a terrible way to gamble, but he had never lost. All his Pokemon had turned out strong and loyal—they were connected by something, through circumstance or goals or meaning.

  Lochness wanted to be loved and appreciated.

  Leviathan wanted to be strong.

  Juggernaut wanted to escape.

  Britney wanted to be included.

  Staryu—now Vortex—wanted to keep fighting despite the overwhelming odds.

  In a way, William wanted all those things for himself. He had granted them all their wishes, and now they would help him grant his.

  He recalled his father—with his bright blue hair—abandoning him and his mother. He hadn't heard from him since that day. His mother took care of him, but she showed him no love. His dark blue hair reminded her of him. She never saw the shades—the difference in bright and dark—just blue.

  She had so much hate it had won out over her maternal instincts.

  It was more out of obligation than love that she kept a roof over his head and fed him. Sickness soon took her in the following years—maybe it was for the best—and before he knew it there was no one left to take care of him but himself. He believed in his second life he could finally have a chance at a family, but the moment his father left it began the catalyst of events which brought him here.

  William felt a tear drip down the edge of his cheek before he gave himself a sharp slap, and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

  He was a completely different person to all those months ago. Before, he was just an ordinary member of Team Aqua— albeit with slightly increased responsibilities. He then became an admin, and then the leader after defeating Archie.

  Now that he was leader, even in this lawless place, he could enact whatever justice and order he pleased because he had the strength to do so, and what would please him the most would be to punish the sick bastards who ran and participated in these fighting pits, and to send a message to anyone participating in the debauchery.

  The door opened with a loud slam, the hinges blown off completely. The owner of the fighting pits sat there, filling out paperwork. He leaped out of his seat, shouting obscenities at William. William's previous grief was now replaced by a cold, calculated rage. He didn't hear what the man said—it was just white noise to him at this point.

  William threw out Starmie, "Get him, Vortex."

  Vortex spun in excitement. With this, the message was clear. And just in case it wasn't, he would also make the trip to the very same guy who sold him Vortex, and do the same to him.