"Everyone quiet!" Alfgar the Wild shouted, though no one seemed to hear. The Brothers of the Black continued to talk, and Alfgar shouted again but still could not be heard over the din. Suddenly Randy let out a screech which caused everyone to turn and look at Alfgar.
"Thank you, Randy," he said to the kecleon, who squawked in reply. "Now as you know, we are currently in possession of some valuable information regarding the Orbs. Someone named Captain Stafford has the Orbs aboard his ship."
The men began talking among themselves again. They were in their secret base, a large hollowed out area at the base of a cliff which was hidden by the dense foliage of the jungle on Route 119. The base was spacious and dark, lit only by a few battery-powered lamps. The furniture was sparse: a few couches, a bookshelf, and a bed for each man.
The Brotherhood of the Black had originally been a special forces group of twenty good men from Unova sent to Hoenn to retrieve the Red and Blue Orbs, but their mission had ended in disaster. Operation Iridescent was led by an old, grizzled veteran called Lock and a young, easily-excitable man named Lonny Jones. Upon entry into Hoenn, their two helicopters were both shot down and Lonny Jones and one other man were killed. A few others were also injured, but the survivors fled deep into the jungle of Route 119 and managed to evade the Hoenn authorities. The men set up a rudimentary shelter in the side of a cliff with the help of their pokemon, and this shelter eventually became the secret base. After a day of licking their wounds and hoping that they would not be found, the men had The Vision.
The Vision was a dream that all eighteen of the men shared the first night of their survival. In the dream, the group of men were standing in a plain white landscape when a deep, resonant voice spoke to them. The voice identified itself as Arceus, the pokemon that many believed to be a god. For reasons that the men did not understand, Arceus addressed Alfgar directly and told him that he must lead the legendaries in the upcoming war in order to prevent the complete destruction of the world. He told Alfgar the Wild to get as many legendaries on his side as he could so that he could be prepared for the fight. After this, the voice disappeared and all of the men awoke simultaneously and were shocked to find that each had the exact same dream. From then on, even though he was not the highest-ranking soldier in the group, Alfgar the Wild became the leader of the Brotherhood of the Black.
"With the capture of these Orbs, we will have finally completed what we were originally sent out to do," Alfgar continued, "though we're working for ourselves and the good of the world now, not the government." Cheers erupted after he said this.
"What's the next step? Do we go after this guy's ship?" Called out Johnny, the second-in-command and Alfgar's most trusted soldier. Johnny was a big bearded man born and raised in Australia, though he had moved to Unova when he was twelve and became a citizen through naturalization. His arcanine lazed on the ground beside him and yawned, showcasing its fearsome and powerful teeth.
"No," replied Alfgar. "I looked up Captain Stafford and he apparently captains a ship called Sunken Maiden. Problem is, Sunken Maiden is a cruise ship and is currently touring the Southern Isles, so there is no way Captain Stafford and the Orbs are on his ship. Captain Stafford operates out of Slateport Harbor, specifically Stern's Shipyard, so I went onto their website to see if he was known to captain any other ships. However, when I did this, I noticed something strange."
He paused for dramatic effect, but after someone yelled "Get on with it!" He frowned and continued.
"Apparently the Slateport docks are closed tomorrow. As far as I know, there's no holidays or anything tomorrow, so there can only be one reason why Hoenn's largest harbor would randomly close. The Orbs and Captain Stafford are leaving tomorrow."
The men began murmuring again, and Lock raised his gruff voice and said, "So we're attacking Slateport next? Easier said than done, considering the fact that we've never done something of this scale before."
"No, we are not doing anything," Alfgar said. "Johnny and I will go. We will be dressed as ordinary trainers and we will sneak into the docks and steal the Orbs with as little fanfare as possible. Stealth will be the key here."
"Don't you think they'll be a shit ton of security, mate?" Asked Johnny. "They are transporting two of Hoenn's most important artifacts, after all."
"Don't think so. Have you seen the news reports covering our attack on the weather station? They said we had no clear motive, even though there is only one reason why anyone would ever attack the place. The Hoennese government clearly does not want anyone knowing about these Orbs. Yes, there will probably be some security, but nothing the two of us can't handle."
Johnny shrugged. "If you say so. I'm ready when you are, then." His arcanine lifted its head off the ground and growled.
"We'll leave as soon as we can so we get there on time. Lock, you're in charge until we get back."
The old soldier nodded, and Alfgar and Johnny began their preparations.
The sky was gray and smothered by stratus clouds and the scent of the sea pervaded the air of Slateport City. Liviana moved her golden hair away from her green eyes, but the constant wind kept pushing it back onto her face.
"I thought Slateport City was supposed to be beautiful and warm," complained Aurelia, a woman with fiery red hair and eyes the color of sapphires. "Both days we've been here it's been cold and gray."
Liviana and Aurelia were agents sent by the Unovan government. Their mission was to learn as much as possible about Hoenn's military preparations and, more importantly, to do what the infamous Operation Iridescent had failed to do: collect the Orbs and as many other Hoenn legendaries as possible. Tensions were higher than ever now, and any little thing could cause war to break out between Unova, Hoenn, and their allies. Whoever controlled the most legendaries would control the tide of the war.
Liviana was an exceptionally beautiful woman born in the sun-kissed town of Undella, and she had flowing blonde hair and piercing green eyes. She had tan skin and a relatively muscular body, hardened through years of training. She wore a tight black long sleeve under a military-grade black vest and tight black pants with military-style boots. On her belt hung six gleaming pokeballs.
Aurelia had flaming red hair and blue eyes, and numerous freckles dotted her face. She was muscular like her partner and just as alluring, and she wore clothing almost identical to that of Liviana's, though the carbon black shirt struggled to contain her large bust. She was equipped with six pokeballs as well, along with a few other weapons which were hidden from sight.
"Now where does this 'Dragonslayer' live again?" Liviana asked, squinting her eyes in the face of the sea salt-filled wind.
"Past the markets, I think," replied Aurelia, lifting a hand to block the gust which was only getting stronger. The wind pushed her hair back, long streams of fire flying in the breeze.
"That doesn't do us any good. What are we going to do, go from house to house until we find him?"
"We could probably - "
"What? What is it?" Liviana turned her head to follow her partner's gaze and saw two men, a large hairy man and a tan, dark-haired one. It was the latter who caught her attention.
"What do we do?" Aurelia asked. "You saw the news report. He might have the Orbs with him."
"Forget the Dragonslayer, he can wait. We're going after Alfgar, but we keep our distance for now, follow him for a while. Then we strike."
Alfgar the Wild and Johnny stood in front of a large building marked "Stern's Shipyard." Both of them wore standard trainer clothes: t-shirt, jacket, black combat pants, and backpacks.
"This is the place. They won't do it out in the open," Alfgar said as he stepped into the building.
The shipyard was large and full of crates and cargo. In the middle of the yard was a huge pool of water which contained numerous ships, most of them of a small size. The pool of water connected to the sea outside the shipyard. As Alfgar suspected, the place was mostly empty save for two sailors who stood in front of a small ship. Alfgar guessed that this was the ship that contained Captain Stafford and the Orbs. Johnny let out his arcanine and the beast growled as it emerged from the ball. One of the sailors turned around.
"Hey you can't - " the sailor's protest was cut off as the arcanine leapt and tore his throat out. The other sailor pulled out a pokeball but received a slash to the face before he could release the pokemon inside. Alfgar and Johnny walked up the steps connecting the dock to the ship and Alfgar released Randy, his kecleon. As the kecleon emerged from his ball, he looked behind his trainer and squawked in alarm. Alfgar turned around and saw two women run up the steps and onto the ship. He swore under his breath.
"Liviana, Aurelia, nice to see you again," Alfgar said sarcastically as he reached for his gun.
"Alfgar the Wild," Liviana started. "I'm going to enjoy killing you. After I make you tell us where the Orbs are, of course." With that, she and Aurelia released their pokemon. Liviana sent out a seviper which hissed dangerously upon release and Aurelia sent out a noivern and something else which was released directly into the water.
The seviper leaped at Alfgar but Randy beat it back with a swipe of his tongue. He heard arcanine throw a burst of flame at the noivern and felt the heat from its flames.
"Thunderbolt!" Alfgar called out, and Randy released a torrent of electricity which coursed through the seviper. Liviana called out a command and the seviper leaped forward again, forcing Randy and Alfgar to retreat back a few steps. The seviper then released a burst of acid with Randy barely managing to dodge it, but the kecleon smacked the snake in the side of the head with his tongue while in mid-air.
Suddenly the seviper changed targets and struck arcanine with its muscular body while the noivern simultaneously rammed into it. Arcanine fell into the water with a yelp, and Johnny managed a "Fuck!" before the noivern swiped him into the water as well. Randy took this opportunity to launch a psybeam at the seviper, causing it to screech in pain. Alfgar took a quick look over the boat and into the water to see if Johnny was alright, but instead he saw water splashing and a deep red color tainting the area where Johnny had fallen in. A sharpedo fin was visible as the creature circled underwater.
Shit, Alfgar thought. He figured the sharpedo was the second pokemon Aurelia released, and that he would be finished as well if he fell in. He wished he had thought to bring Spencer and his gyarados along with him. Randy screeched as he was hit by a swipe of the noivern's wing, but he managed to keep his footing. Alfgar's expression was grim. He was clearly outmatched, and he would have to release another pokemon or two to even the scales. Unfortunately for him, his remaining pokemon were hard to control and unsuited to fighting on such a small boat. Just as he was about to release another one anyway, a burst of water smashed into the noivern and sent it into the water with a splash. The seviper was also hit by a rapid stream of bubbles, causing it to careen backwards. Alfgar turned and saw an old man with snow white hair and a clean white ship captain's uniform emerge. An annoyed crawdaunt and a jubilant pelipper accompanied him. Alfgar smiled. Captain Stafford had given him the perfect distraction. Whipping out his pistol, Alfgar fired two quick shots off at Liviana, both of which were blocked by her seviper's tough scales. Nevertheless, this gave Alfgar the time he needed to run off to the other side of the ship with Randy following close behind.
Alfgar pulled out a lighter and pressed the flame lightly to Randy's scales. He needed to act quickly before someone went after him. As the flame touched the kecleon, his scales took on a red tint as he changed into a fire type. A high-leveled and experienced fire type could faintly sense the presence of the Red Orb, which is why he needed Randy to change types. He had his charizard, Apollo, but Apollo was hard to control and could possibly burn down most of the shipyard, something that would definitely attract the authorities and other meddling trainers. Randy bounded off and Alfgar followed closely behind, and the kecleon led him to a small, poorly-lit room full of boxes and other items. In the midst of all the garbage Alfgar could make out a faint glow of red and blue. The Orbs.
Alfgar cautiously made his way towards the Orbs. He lifted the Red Orb and felt the heat emanating from the Orb and traveling up and down his body. As he slid the Red Orb into his pack, he was suddenly hit by a powerful force and was smashed onto the wall of the small room. As he sat up, his vision swimming and his head pounding, he saw a machoke approach him, its muscles flexing and its teeth and eyes gleaming in the darkness. Alfgar desperately groped for his gun but let out a sigh of relief when he saw Randy's tongue encircle the machoke's neck. As the machoke struggled to remove Randy's tongue and breathe, Alfgar gingerly got to his feet and picked his pack up. He made his way to the Blue Orb but was stopped when he saw the shape of a woman in his peripheral vision.
He turned around and saw Liviana, her green eyes blazing and her pretty face contorted into a snarl. Before he could react, she leapt at him and he dropped the pack once again as she jumped on top of him. She was strong, but he was stronger. He pushed her off of him and now he was on top of her. He brought his arm back and punched her hard in the jaw. As he moved to punch her again, he felt a sharp pain in his left thigh. Liviana had stuck a knife into him, and he hit her again. Suddenly he felt the ship rock with an explosion, and the Blue Orb fell off its pedestal and rolled away into the darkness.
"Police!" Alfgar heard, the sound coming from the docks outside the ship. "Return your pokemon immediately!" Alfgar cursed again. He couldn't hope to fend off Liviana, Aurelia, Captain Stafford, and the authorities at the same time. He got off Liviana, kicked her sharply in the side, picked up his pack, and ran (as best as he could with a knife in his leg) out of the room with his kecleon. He knew that searching for the Blue Orb would only result in either his death or his arrest, so he decided to cut his losses and just leave with the Red Orb.
He released Apollo and the charizard let out a roar. Stealth had gone out the window the moment the police arrived, so he decided to just release his charizard and make a hasty escape. He returned Randy and ordered a smokescreen from Apollo to cover his escape, even though he was on the other side of the boat and the police couldn't see him anyway. He leapt on top of Apollo and, with a flap of the charizard's wings, they were off.
Dex entry #319: sharpedo
"Aye, the 'bullies o' the sea...' Rather take me chance with pirates than abandon ship and jump into waters infested with these things..." - excerpt from an interview with Captain Stern, owner of Stern's Shipyard
Sharpedo are a brutal breed of water pokemon which can be found in seas and oceans all over the world. Because of their dark type attributes, sharpedo are known as the "bullies of the sea" and certainly live up to that name. Sharpedo are known to chase down small fishing boats and capsize them and then tear apart the sailors. They are also fond of tearing open fishing nets and devouring the fisherman's catch, and they do this not out of hunger, but out of hatred towards the humans who invade their territory. If one falls into waters rife with sharpedo, it is advised that he or she remains calm and pretends as if he or she is dead. Even so, this rarely works and more often than not those who tangle with sharpedo are reduced to scraps of flesh and pieces of bone. Sharpedo are considered a level three threat on the Pokemon Threat Scale.