Pokémon: From Pirate to Just

When Sieg heard that familiar name, and saw the man before him, whose appearance was seventy percent similar to the one in his memory, he was already certain.

"You're Paul's older brother?", Sieg thought to himself in surprise.

From what he remembered, Sieg knew that the man was from the Sinnoh region, but had traveled extensively across Kanto, Johto, and even Hoenn.

And in those regions, whether it was the League tournaments, Gym Challenges, or the Battle Frontier, he had achieved impressive results.

But everything had come crashing down during his match against Brandon.

A single battle shattered Reggie's path as a Trainer. In the end, he changed careers and became a breeder, opening up a daycare center.

Sieg looked at the cold-faced young man in front of him. The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly as he said, "Hello, I'm Sieg."

Before Sieg could explain what had happened with Eevee, Reggie interrupted him and said, "You're a lousy Trainer, letting your Pokémon run around alone like that."

It seemed Reggie was trying to cover up the fact that, even after tossing seven Poké Balls, he hadn't realized what was going on with little Eevee.

Sieg's expression turned cold in an instant. Whatever good impression he had been hoping to make was gone in a flash.

"Huh? I thought the Reggie in the anime was supposed to be gentle and refined?" Sieg did a quick once-over to the purple-haired, aloof young man in front of him, thinking silently to himself.

In truth, what Sieg didn't know was that, before getting harshly taught a lesson by Brandon, Reggie's personality was almost identical to his younger brother Paul's, perhaps even worse.

"Fucking Rookie!", Reggie exclaimed in annoyance.

At that moment, Reggie caught a strange gaze from Sieg and shivered a little.

Sieg's eyes darkened. Hearing the man's sneering tone, a flash of killing intent flickered across his heart for just a moment.

Ever since obtaining his first Pokémon, Sieg's journey had been more or less smooth. No one had ever dared to mock him like this. Not even Lucius.

Maybe it was Sieg's slightly cold face that startled Reggie. He hurried to speak, "I'm Reggie, from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region. I'm currently traveling through the Hoenn region. I've traveled through Kanto before and earned some decent achievements, like..."

Reggie kept rambling, half-intentionally bringing up his background, claiming he was a top investment target of the Joy family.

Sieg had absolutely no interest in listening to his self-praise, especially with an expression on his face that just begged to be punched.

If it weren't for the powerful-looking Drapion standing at Reggie's side, Sieg might've already thrown hands. After all, he'd already scouted the surroundings, there wasn't a single soul nearby. In a forest like this, no one would notice if a fight broke out.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions.

He reminded himself that he couldn't be so quick to act on killing intent anymore. After all, Sieg had only stepped on the mainland three months ago. Back when he was drifting on pirate ships at sea, it had always been a world of the strong preying on the weak.

Old habits die hard, but he''ll try his best to adjust his mentality.

Sensing Sieg's emotional shift, Reggie instinctively took a small step back and raised a hand in front of himself. Once he realized what he was doing, he felt embarrassed and immediately straightened up, lifting his chin high and flaring his nostrils toward Sieg in a show of pride.

Then he blew the whistle hanging from his neck.

From within the forest, a majestic and handsome eagle Pokémon soared out.

It was Staraptor, the final evolution of the regional bird from Sinnoh.

"Staraaaaaaa-!"

Staraptor circled above them, letting out a sharp, powerful cry.

Crawdaunt instantly tensed up. Its eyes narrowed menacingly as it stared up at the bird, clearly ready to throw up a defensive barrier at any moment.

Sieg chuckled lightly, narrowing his eyes at Reggie, his hostility now fully unmasked.

Once he finished soothing little Eevee, he picked her up in his arms and, without sparing Reggie another glance, left the forest.

"Hey, you-!"

Ignoring the voice behind him, Sieg walked off without a word.

After he left, Reggie subconsciously let out a breath of relief. He had once helped Officer Jenny clean up remnants of a destroyed black-market organization.

Just now, for a split second, he saw the same deadly aura on Sieg that he'd seen in those outlaws.

"Hah, no way... That kid looks even younger than me..." Reggie muttered, but his voice grew weaker and weaker, his confidence slowly draining.

Staraptor and Drapion looked at him silently, and Reggie quickly changed the subject, trying to cover up his awkwardness.

"Let's go. Verdanturf Town should be just up ahead. I heard they have a battle club there, kind of like the one in Rustboro. It'll be a good place to train you, Drapion."

He spoke confidently, then took a long stride to mount Staraptor and flew off toward Verdanturf Town.

...

"You little rascal! Sneaking off while I wasn't looking!" Sieg scolded, grabbing Eevee by her sides and holding her up in front of him.

Eevee flailed its tiny paws, trying to hug him, but it was too far away and just looked like a struggling furball.

All along the way, Sieg kept lecturing her.

It wasn't that he liked being harsh, but as a Trainer with an extreme strong desire to always be in control, he simply couldn't accept his Pokémon disobeying him like that.

He knew that he was a very selfish person. He wanted his Pokémon to obey him completely, to belong to him.

But at the same time, he didn't want them to lose their souls and become mere machines that followed orders.

After looking at the pitiful little Eevee for a moment, Sieg finally forgave her, but only after she promised again and again that she wouldn't do it again.

"Vee vee!"

Eevee hugged Sieg's arm with its fuzzy paws and rubbed its soft cheeks against his face.

"Alright, alright, enough with the cuddling. I'll make you a little treat from resin when we get back."

He set Eevee on his shoulder, packed up the tent, and returned to the Pokémon Center in Verdanturf Town.

For the next half month, Sieg went back and forth between the Pokémon Center and the outskirts of town.

His days followed the same routine; training in the morning, resting at the Center in the evening.

But his Pokémon had made pleasing progress. Eevee had successfully broken through level 20 and learned a new move that upped its entire battle profile.

It could now cure itself of paralysis, poison, and burn, a powerful support move.

Once it evolved into Umbreon, this skill could synergize perfectly with its Synchronize ability, turning it into a versatile defensive powerhouse.

Murkrow had also mastered its egg move Drill Peck and could use it perfectly.

The essence of the move lies in spinning itself rapidly and piercing deep into the opponent's body.

So lately, Sieg had focused heavily on Murkrow's balance. The weightless feeling after a spin often left it open during battle.

But Murkrow had finally overcome that flaw. The drill marks on countless trees outside town stood as testament to its harsh training. Its level had risen smoothly to 18.

Such rapid improvement wouldn't have been possible without the ample supply of high-quality Dark-type Pokéblocks Sieg provided.

In addition, it had begun to grasp the fundamentals of Sucker Punch, a core move for Dark-types.

Sharpedo's training hadn't changed. It focused on three main areas:

First, mastering Protect.

Second, increasing the proficiency of bite-type moves.

Third, improving control over its Speed Boost ability.

Sieg had already mapped out Sharpedo's future. It was to become a terror in in the deep, a high-speed assassin that darted through the sea like a torpedo.

With Speed Boost, it could even serve as Sieg's mount on the ocean.

After all, the ability was just that good. With a few stacks, it practically turned into a personal speedboat.

It didn't even have a tail, but the jets of air it blasted out behind it acted like thrusters, launching it across the waves like a cannonball.

"The hardest working one lately is definitely Crawdaunt. It's been training Dragon Dance and Rain Dance at the same time, while also trying to master Protect. I'll have to give it an extra meal tonight."

As he walked toward the Pokémon Center, Sieg stepped forward, ready to reward his partners' efforts.