As Red Devil's voice fell, the giant Octillery behind him writhed and lashed out a tentacle, binding Walt's right leg.
Amid his screams, a corrosive slime seeped from the suction cups and severed the leg from his body. The tentacle then coiled around the thigh and stuffed it into the Octillery's gaping mouth.
Pain twisted Walt's face, but the Octillery restraining him left him unable to move. He could not even curl up. Tears and mucus quickly mixed on his face as his mouth trembled in broken sobs.
"Y, you... how could you..."
Seeing this, Red Devil's mood lifted. His grin even stretched the scar on his face into something cheerful.
"I forgot to say this. For every passenger you confess, Octillery will also eat one of your legs."
Beast.
Numbness spread through Walt's body. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned in agony.
Red Devil turned away and barked an order. "Arne, bring that Pokémon researcher here in one piece. I want to ask him about Pokémon breeding."
"Yes!"
Arne replied and sprinted into the cabin.
* * *
On the top deck of the cabin, Shiro was still sleeping soundly in his room.
Mesprit lay beside him on its side, hugging its knees. Unown A rested at the foot of the bed and snapped its single eye open.
Someone had passed through the psychic barrier it had set on this floor. And it was not a crew member of the S.S. Anne.
'Shiro! Wake up!' Unown A leapt onto him and grabbed his arms with its slanted limbs.
The moment it touched him, he sat up and looked at Unown A. He could already guess what had happened.
"Someone's here? Pirates?"
'Mhm!' Unown A nodded hard.
* * *
Outside the door, a pirate who arrived first spotted this room at once.
First class cabins had red and green indicator lights outside. One glance was enough to know if someone was inside.
"Hey! Someone's in here!"
He was visibly excited and pounded on the door with all his strength.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
* * *
The sound reached Shiro clearly.
"Annoying..."
He let out a soft sigh. He had already dressed and thrown on his all purpose black cloak.
He had not expected the pirates to arrive this fast, and in the middle of the night no less, ruining his sleep.
These pirates had no sense of professionalism at all. Could they not just rob people openly?
He complained inwardly, but his eyes lit up. His psychic power passed through the door, clearly seeing the pirate outside and the Octillery beside him.
The Octillery was only at Intermediate-level. Its strength was very ordinary.
He spoke softly, "Haunter."
"Haun!"
A thrilled response came from the shadows. Haunter shot out and passed straight through the door.
* * *
Bang…
The pirate outside was about to keep pounding when a sudden chill ran through him. His body froze in place, as if possessed by a ghost.
The Octillery waiting nearby lifted its head in confusion and stretched out a red tentacle to tug at the pirate's clothes.
At that moment, the other pirates who heard the noise swarmed up. They shoved him aside as they rushed forward.
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Hurry up and get in!"
"I'll do it!"
Amidst the cacophony of voices, the stiff pirate was pushed aside. Only the Octillery wriggled over to check on him.
"Octi—"
Before it could finish, the ceiling above burst into dazzling rainbow light. Haunter flickered in and out of view at the center.
The pirates froze at once. As they were about to look up, their vision shifted. The dark corridor turned into an endless sea.
They were riding in small boats, rowing without direction. A Sharpedo suddenly burst from the water and lunged at them.
"Sharpedo! There's a Sharpedo!"
"No, no. Where did we come from? Where did we come from?"
"I'm jumping in! Don't you dare stop me!"
* * *
Piercing screams echoed through the corridor. The pirates flailed wildly along with their Octillery, smashing into walls until their heads rang. Then they began fighting each other and grappling with the Pokémon.
Arne arrived just in time to see the scene.
Was this a haunting?
Chills ran down his spine. He backed out into the corridor and took out a Poké Ball.
Then the noises inside vanished fast. It was as if the pirates were already dead. Even the Octillery stopped moving.
Buzz!
The door to Room 102 opened.
Shiro stepped out slowly in his black cloak and walked straight down the center of the corridor.
Arne instinctively held his breath. Only then did he notice that after the pirates went still, their bodies had parted on their own, forming a path.
"You, you are..."
Arne clenched the Poké Ball tightly and swallowed. He could not finish his sentence.
The man was here. The trainer was here. Everything that happened had to be the work of Pokémon.
The key was that after watching for so long, he still had not found the ghost Pokémon behind it all.
A Pokémon researcher?
He would believe it even if someone said this was a Ghost-type Elite Four member.
This was insane.
Arne stayed on high alert, ready to release the Gym-level Sharpedo he had taken from Walt.
Not far away, Shiro remained calm. Psychic light covered his eyes, making everything crystal clear. That included the Poké Ball in Arne's hand and the Pokémon inside.
A Gym-level Sharpedo. And its attitude toward its so-called trainer did not look friendly at all.
Shiro studied the pirate who seemed to have some experience.
Tanned skin. Lean build. The look of someone who had lived by the sea for years. His clothes were torn and plain. Just a dark blue jacket and shorts.
"What's your name?" He stopped and spoke first.
Arne finally relaxed a little. He began breathing hard and answered quickly, "Arne, my name is Arne!"
Aside from his name, he dared not say anything else.
Shiro walked to the railing and looked down over the deck, quickly grasping the situation.
The night raid had gone badly for the ship crew. Walt had been unlucky enough to be captured right away and had somehow lost a leg.
At the center of the deck stood a one eyed man. He was likely the leader of these pirates. The rare giant Octillery behind him was not impressive. It was only at Gym-level.
"Take me down to meet your leader," Shiro turned back and ordered.
"Yes!"
Arne hurried down the stairs. After reaching the platform corner, he pressed himself against the wall and waited.
Soon, they arrived on the deck.
**
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