Back at sea again, Sieg looked at the pirate ship anchored beside a desolate island and was in a great mood.
"This time, not only did I resolve my identity issue, but I also got a flying-type Pokémon egg and a Pokémon encyclopedia. Quite the successful haul."
Two days quietly passed. The Megalodon set sail again, wandering the sea. Fortunately, this land expedition went relatively smoothly, restocking supplies, selling Pokémon, and personnel changes all went without a hitch.
"Haha, Sieg, I heard that Lady Metako has taken you in as her apprentice. Congratulations!"
As soon as he boarded the pirate ship, the group led by Furuta came forward, congratulating Sieg warmly.
Sieg didn't dare to be arrogant and replied humbly, "Not at all, it's just that Lady Metako was willing to guide me. I'm just a newcomer, I can't compare to you, experienced seniors."
Giving face to these veteran pirates, of course, made them very pleased.
Although Sieg's status had risen, strength still spoke the loudest. While they appeared polite on the surface, they still harbored a bit of disdain for the newcomer deep down.
Sieg was aware of this and thus trained even more diligently. Every night on the deck, one could see the silhouette of a person and a lobster training.
"Corphish, use Bubble Beam!"
Sieg commanded Corphish to fire toward the sea.
Countless bubbles struck the surface, stirring waves that were quickly swallowed by the dark, endless sea.
"Corphish, compared to normal bubbles, Bubble Beam has more volume and stronger power... this kind of training isn't effective."
"You should increase the power first, then gradually increase the number of bubbles…"
Sieg passed down what he had learned from Furuta to Corphish.
It had to be said, after some 'brainwashing', Corphish was extremely enthusiastic about training, waking even earlier than Sieg every morning to do extra practice.
In contrast, the Carvanha was much lazier. After all, it grew up in the wild among its kind and hadn't experienced the kind of hardship Corphish had.
Luckily, since Siege didn't have a better training method for the Carvanha yet, he mainly focused on helping it master the Speed Boost ability, a crucial factor for the future.
So every day, under Sieg's urging, Carvanha swam behind the Megalodon, against the current.
Swimming upstream!
…
"Mr. Furuta, I'm afraid I have to trouble your Crawdaunt to help teach my Corphish again."
Sieg brought a bottle of fruit wine he had bought and sincerely asked Furuta for guidance.
"Haha, little Sieg, what are you saying?"
Furuta, very generously, released his ace Pokémon, Crawdaunt, and waved to let it pass on its experience to Corphish.
Corphish looked excitedly at the much larger crustacean, its eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Its small legs kept twitching as it circled around Crawdaunt, observing it from all angles.
So this is what I'll evolve into one day?
Huge pincers, a rock-hard shell, and especially that handsome five-pointed star on its forehead.
Corphish secretly made up its mind: I must train hard and evolve into this form someday.
"Haha, little Sieg, your Corphish is quite lively," Furuta said, already eager to taste the fragrant fruit wine.
"You're too kind, Mr. Furuta. Let's have a drink!"
A large fox and a small fox exchanged glances.
They both knew full well, they each had their own needs.
As the wine blurred their senses, night fell.
Sieg brought Corphish back to their cabin.
It's worth noting that ever since Metako publicly accepted Sieg as her apprentice, his accommodation had improved.
He no longer had to squeeze into the damp, dark bottom cabin with the other rookies, he now had a private room.
The room wasn't large. With just a bed and a desk, there wasn't much space left. One person and one Pokémon inside made it feel a bit cramped.
Not to mention, he had even converted the bathroom into a large water tank to accommodate Carvanha.
"Corphish, from now on, train within your limits. Don't push your body too hard."
Sieg used a special massage technique to relax the muscles of the Corphish in his arms.
"Cor Cor~~"
Corphish let out a contented hum, clearly enjoying it.
This technique was something Sieg had learned from Metako, which helps relieve post-training fatigue.
"Corphish's shell is really hard…"
Just as Sieg's hands were getting sore from the massage, the incubator by the bedside suddenly burst with intense white light.
"Cor Cor!"
Startled, Corphish leapt out of his arms and stumbled onto the floor.
Sieg's attention shifted as he opened the incubator's lid. As time quietly passed, cracks slowly formed in the eggshell.
With a glint of anticipation in his eyes, Sieg watched the hatching of a Pokémon for the first time, It was truly fascinating.
The white light gradually faded.
"Riiieet~"
A tender chirp sounded.
A small bird appeared in front of Sieg, with crimson wings and a tuft of brownish feathers puffed up on its head.
"Spearow, hello. Welcome to this world," Sieg greeted the newborn little fellow with a smile.
"Riiieet~~"
Spearow squinted its sharp eyes happily and chirped excitedly.
Though known for their irritable temperament, this little Spearow seemed extremely docile at the moment.
It wasn't just because it was just born, most newborn Pokémon tend to regard the first creature they see as their parent.
Sieg carefully reached out and held the Spearow in his hands, gently smoothing its damp and messy feathers.
Newly born Pokémon are extremely fragile, so he handled it with great care. Before long, Spearow fell back asleep.
"Just as expected, newborn Pokémon are extremely sleepy."
As an apprentice breeder, Sieg now possessed considerable knowledge of Pokémon.
"Usually, the first meal of a newborn Pokémon is its own eggshell, which is rich in nutrients."
Thinking of this, Sieg gathered all the fragments from the incubator to feed Spearow when it awoke.
…
"Spearow, keep flying against the sea wind!"
On the deck, Sieg was watching Spearow struggle in the sky, flapping its wings to maintain balance against the sea breeze.
Unable to hold on any longer, it finally slowed down and gently descended, landing back on the pirate ship.
Diving downward, it saw Sieg's shoulder, and Spearow joyfully landed. Thanks to Sieg's careful nurturing, Spearow didn't explode with its usual aggressive temper.
Or rather, the irritable nature in this Pokémon's body had gradually calmed under Sieg's soothing influence.
"Drink slowly, no one's fighting you for it."
Sieg took out a baby bottle containing Moomoo Milk, but this wasn't the cheap kind you find on the market.
A small amount of vitality powder had been added to it, making it suitable for young Pokémon to consume.
Spearow had already passed its infancy, so its stats had begun to stabilize. Sieg took out his beloved Pokédex from his pocket.
"Beep beep beep~~"
"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Normal/Flying type. Level 6. Ability: Keen Eye. Height: 0.3 meters. Weight: 2 kg. Development: Normal. No abnormal symptoms...
Moves known: Growl, Peck, Leer."
Looking at the information on the Pokédex, Sieg felt slightly disappointed: "As expected, no inherited moves, and all aspects are just average."
But he quickly adjusted his mood. After all, it was just a randomly chosen "gamble egg" and he never planned to train it as a core member, just a tool Pokémon, meant for flying.
Life on the ship remained monotonous. Every afternoon, Sieg studied Pokémon breeding under Metako and occasionally asked the ship's veterans to share their experience.
Corphish continued to train under Furuta's Crawdaunt.
Spearow's daily tasks were to adapt to the sea air and the flow of the wind; the sea and the land were quite different after all.
The harsh storms here often made it difficult for land-based Pokémon to adapt.
Until one day, an unexpected event broke the ship's calm!
"Not good, a pirate ship 5 kilometers ahead," reported the lookout calmly over the intercom.
This message instantly threw the previously calm Megalodon into chaos.
People quickly and orderly gathered on deck with binoculars in hand, observing the oncoming ship.
Sieg was no exception. He held a monocular and looked solemnly at the enemy ship, and in his view, the other side was also watching them.
Everyone's eyes turned to Metako. At this point, the captain's disappearance was no longer a secret on this ship.
Thus, Metako had become the highest-ranking commander.
Just as she was about to speak, Nagata Shin and the other first mate exchanged glances, a hint of delight in their eyes.
Then, the two first mates shouted in unison: "All crew, return to your posts immediately! Those whose names I call, prepare to board the enemy ship and fight!"
While the crowd was still in shock, Metako suddenly revealed an expression of fury, and the atmosphere turned tense.
Yet ultimately, Metako said nothing in rebuttal. She simply let out a cold snort and stormed off in anger.
The two first mates immediately smiled smugly.
"If we can seize that ship, our reputation will skyrocket, and taking full control of the Megalodon will be within reach!"
The thought of becoming captain made Nagata Shin tremble with excitement, ambition gleaming in his eyes.
While the crew prepared for the coming battle, Sieg quickly chased after the storming Metako.
"Damn those guys! They must have found something out, that's why they dare act so boldly!" Metako's furious voice came from her room.
Even before he entered, Sieg heard the sound of a glass cup shattering inside.
He knocked, then entered to find a broken teacup and a puddle of water on the floor.
Seeing her student, Metako's anger eased a little, but her face still showed deep fury.
Her husband had just died under pressure from Team Aqua. Though she had used "seclusion for a breakthrough" as an excuse, it was obvious that these two ambitious first mates had learned a bit of the truth.
Now, their move to bypass her and directly command the crew was nothing less than an attempt at a coup!
Sieg stood silently for a moment before speaking firmly: "Lady Metako, maybe this is an opportunity for us."
Hearing that, a glimmer of light passed through her eyes. In a low voice, she said, "You mean… use this chance to eliminate them?"
Sieg nodded, a cold glint in his eyes.
Metako shook her head and replied seriously, "Setting aside that our strengths are evenly matched, and that I may not win against both of them alone. If they both die, our ship's strength would plummet. That would be cutting off our arms with enemies right in front of us. How could we turn on each other now?"
"To train two equally strong and experienced first mates would take many, many years."
In just a few sentences, Metako rejected Sieg's proposal. However, she was still pleased that her apprentice was decisive and unconditionally stood by her side.
"Since you don't wish to do that, then we should join them in battle now," Sieg said, thinking aloud and strategizing again.
After all, if they fought together, they could earn a good reputation among the common crew.
But if they just sat back and let those two gain support, it wouldn't be long before they were fully usurped.
Metako clearly understood this reasoning. Her earlier outburst was merely driven by anger.
Now that she had calmed down, she realized that her actions had lost her public favor.
With swift determination, Metako stood up, grabbed a coat, and hurried to the deck.
At that moment, all the crew members stood ready. Some were nervous, others excited; chaos is the ladder to ascension.
Invasion had always been the best way to accumulate capital. In this naval battle, some would surely die, but others would certainly rise.
Sieg stepped onto the deck too, only to find that some around him were giving him strange looks, subtly distancing themselves.
"Just a while ago, they were all so friendly, and now that the wind's blowing the other way, they start pulling away," Sieg thought, lamenting the fickle nature of people.
But there was no time to dwell on it, because the two ships were about to collide.
The enemy showed no signs of slowing down!
"Boom boom!!!!"
With two deafening crashes, the ships collided violently.
"Attack!!!!"
"Brothers, charge!!"
Shouts of war filled the air. Pokémon from both sides were already clashing at close range!
Kingler, Corsola, and Corphish.
These tough Pokémon stood at the front lines, engaging in melee with their sturdy bodies.
Water Guns, Water Pulses, and Bubble Beams crisscrossed the sky. The crews stayed on the upper decks to command.
At the very front were a Swampert, a Blastoise, and an Octillery.
Swampert belonged to Metako, while Blastoise and Octillery were the trump cards of the two first mates.
"Lady Metako, it seems your Swampert has grown even stronger," said Nagata Shin, watching Swampert block the opposing Crawdaunts with great might, casting a wary glance at the elegant woman beside him.
Metako calmly assessed the battle and retorted, "Worry about your own Pokémon first. Being beaten back by two mere Seadras, it looks like your Pokémon need some serious work."