Pokémon: From Pirate to Just

Sieg started to carefully venture into the dim cave.

Sieg slowly walked over to a reef and looked at the markings left above. In his heart, he muttered, "This is the place I explored earlier."

Last time, it had taken him half an hour to reach this spot, and he'd left a square-shaped marker here.

Sieg glanced into the dark tunnel. The Pokémon by his side were all staying alert and watching the surroundings carefully.

In this pitch-black environment, Murkrow had the most natural advantage, so Sieg had sent it ahead to scout. Meanwhile, Castform was being eyed with suspicion by Eevee.

Within the silent cave, Sieg could almost hear his own breathing. He had no idea how long he'd been walking, but suddenly, the soft rustling of flowing water reached his ears.

"That sound... it's flowing water!"

"Could this be an underground river?"

Having spent his time at sea and once living as a pirate, Sieg was extremely sensitive to the sound of moving water.

This kind of current noise was already etched itself into his memory. Sharpening his focus, he forced himself to stay alert and pressed forward.

The deeper he went, the louder the roaring water became. Sieg was more and more certain now, this had to be an underground river.

But before he could investigate further, a Pokémon suddenly leaped out from the shadows.

It had a body covered in green, a wide-open mouth, and a massive lily pad atop its head. Its walking posture was strange, almost as if it were dancing.

Ludicolo, the carefree Pokémon!

Sieg's eyes lit up, a hint of surprise crossing his face.

It wasn't that this Ludicolo was particularly impressive. In fact, judging by its size, slightly smaller than the average listed in the Pokédex, it was clear it had evolved prematurely without fully developing its potential.

So Sieg had no real interest in capturing and raising it.

What surprised him was the implication: for Lotad to evolve into Ludicolo and then into Ludicolo, it needed a Water Stone.

He hadn't encountered any other Pokémon along the way, so he guessed this Ludicolo probably lived near the underground river ahead.

Which meant, somewhere near that underground river had to be a Water Stone deposit!

This Ludicolo likely evolved after accidentally coming into contact with one.

To Sieg, the Ludicolo was nothing special, maybe even weak.

But to most ordinary trainers, Ludicolo was a quality Pokémon. With standard abilities like "Swift Swim" and "Rain Dish," it was considered excellent.

Even its hidden ability, "Own Tempo," although slightly inferior, could be combined with Teeter Dance for solid support potential.

Its Grass/Water typing meant that only Murkrow's Flying-type attacks in Sieg's team had a type advantage.

Sure enough, as soon as Ludicolo appeared, it launched a high-speed Water Gun straight at Sieg!

Crawdaunt reacted instantly, swinging its claws and slapping the Water Gun away.

"Looking for trouble?"

"Murkrow, Tailwind and use Drill Peck."

Facing this kind of sudden wild Pokémon ambush, Sieg didn't panic at all. He knew that the Pokémon by his side were his strongest shield.

They didn't even need his command to act defensively.

"Kraa!"

Murkrow let out a raspy screech, furious that a wild Pokémon would dare attack its trainer.

With a powerful flap of its black wings, it kicked up a whirlwind and shot toward Ludicolo like lightning.

With the aid of Tailwind, its speed surged. Its sharp beak, filled with deadly momentum, pierced toward Ludicolo.

Murkrow's recent growth had been tremendous. After earning ten consecutive wins at the Battle Club, both its combat experience and move mastery had improved dramatically.

Not to mention the daily nutrients and custom-made Pokéblocks Sieg provided. Murkrow's strength and speed had both skyrocketed to levels that would astonish even elite Pokémon.

Sure enough, before Ludicolo could even react, it was struck hard by Murkrow's beak and flung into a reef nearby.

Boom-!

The collision caused a secondary wave of damage, making Ludicolo cry out again in pain.

A visible chip had been pecked out of the lily pad on its head, with trickles of water oozing out.

"Keep going, use Astonish!"

"Eevee, Shadow Ball!"

Sieg had no intention of holding back or playing fair. He didn't care about honor or chivalry, he immediately sent Eevee to join in and gang up on it.

In a panic, Ludicolo tried to fight back with Mega Drain.

But it clearly lacked battle experience. The green energy tendrils it released didn't even hit a single target.

From a distance, Sieg watched as his two Pokémon relentlessly beat Ludicolo into unconsciousness. Only then did he slowly approach and toss out a Poké Ball to capture it.

Beep-beep-beep!

"Ludicolo, the Carefree Pokémon. The evolved form of Lombre. It starts dancing when it hears cheerful music. It's said to appear when it hears children singing on picnics."

"Level: 19. Type: Water, Grass. Gender: Male. Height: 1.3 meters. Weight: 50 kilograms. Undernourished and poorly developed. Ability: Own Tempo."

"Known moves: Bubble Beam, Water Gun, Growl, Nature Power, Astonish, Absorb, Mega Drain, Teeter Dance, Fake Out."

"Egg move: Sweet Scent."

Sieg raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

He hadn't expected that, despite its poor development and wasted potential from early evolution, this Ludicolo had a hidden ability, Own Tempo. While not as good as Swift Swim or Rain Dish, it still paired well with Teeter Dance, offering a stable crowd control setup.

"And it even inherited Sweet Scent. Not many Pokémon can learn that move."

Sweet Scent could be used to release a charming fragrance that attracted wild Pokémon nearby.

This Ludicolo wasn't half bad. Sieg didn't plan to keep it, but he figured selling it would fetch a decent price, perhaps 100,000 Pokédollars or more.

If he ran into someone who specifically needed Sweet Scent, its value might shoot up even higher. He could probably sell it for 200,000 Pokédollars to the right buyer.

Like those Pokémon hunters who capture and sell wild Pokémon.

"Although Pokémon hunters don't seem very active in the Hoenn region... most of them operate in Sinnoh."

Sieg released the unconscious Ludicolo again, quickly treated its wounds, then returned it to its Poké Ball.

Throughout the entire encounter, Ludicolo never regained consciousness.

Even so, Crawdaunt remained fully alert, like a loyal bodyguard, standing protectively by Sieg's side.