The metal staircase swayed slightly. As the crowd pushed down from the deck, their vision blurred for a moment. The young man and girl who had been halfway down the stairs suddenly disappeared.
When everyone blinked again, the two were already standing on the grey-white dock.
"Professor Shiro..."
The people from Devon Corporation quickly walked over. The well-built man leading them stretched out his hand and said, "It's been a long time, Professor Shiro. I'm Cairo from Devon Corporation. We've met before."
"I remember. I still have your business card," Shiro replied as he shook hands.
Beside him, Sapphire seemed a little shy. She quietly shifted half her body behind him while openly sneaking glances at the group of people dressed in black.
Cairo glanced at her with a smile before turning back and gesturing politely. "It's an honour that you still remember me, Professor Shiro. Please come with us. Devon Corporation can take you anywhere in Hoenn."
Not far from the harbour, a stretched luxury limousine was waiting. The badge on the front clearly belonged to the famous Rapidash brand.
Shiro naturally had no objections. He brought Sapphire along and followed Cairo and the others toward the car.
Behind them, the people who had been quietly watching could not hide their surprise. They had never seen Devon Corporation treat anyone with such respect. Even one of Hoenn's Elite Four could not make a senior executive of Devon Corporation behave so politely.
"Who is that young man? He looks a little familiar..."
"Maybe he's some famous trainer. We're not trainers ourselves, so of course we wouldn't know."
"Let's ask around."
The small businessmen whispered among themselves. Before long, they noticed another group coming down from the ship.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with a brown round hat and a moustache. He looked around anxiously before asking, "Did you see a young man and a girl who just got off the ship? The younger one is about this tall..."
One of the businessmen immediately pointed in the direction of the road. "They just left in a Devon Corporation car. Do you know them?"
The moustached man stamped his foot in regret. He adjusted his round hat and explained, "That's the newly appointed Pokémon Professor who's come to Hoenn to take up his post!"
"A newly appointed Pokémon Professor!"
Everyone was stunned.
A Pokémon Professor and their research institute were among the most important people and places in any region.
The more professors and research institutes a region had, the more prosperous and advanced it tended to be. Those regions stood at the forefront of the Pokémon world.
Hoenn's Professor Birch and the Birch Research Institute had earned a terrible reputation internationally. They barely fulfilled the duties expected of a research institute. Their relationship with the major local forces was poor, and the research work was difficult and exhausting.
Even when they occasionally produced a small research result, it was never enough to stop researchers from leaving.
Now the League had finally remembered Hoenn and sent another professor.
That was incredible news.
Still, someone voiced a doubt. "Isn't that professor a little too young? If you told me he was a rookie trainer who had only recently started travelling, I'd believe it. Calling him a professor is a bit hard to accept."
Someone farther back who knew Shiro's identity immediately argued back. "What do you know? Do you even know who he is? Even if you suddenly found out you were born from a Pokémon, Professor Shiro would still be a real professor. He's the greatest genius seen in decades!"
As soon as those words were spoken, the two started arguing.
The others could only sigh with emotion.
"What a pity. We still don't know where that professor's research institute is going to be..."
"I know! Do you all want to go?"
"Count me in!"
The crowd immediately became lively again as everyone pushed their way away from the dock.
* * *
Lilycove City, northeastern district.
This was a deserted stretch of land by the sea. According to Lilycove City's official plans, the area had long been abandoned. Nobody lived here, and only a handful of Pokémon could survive in the wasteland.
Anyone with a bit of influence, however, knew the truth. This was one of the most dangerous places in all of Lilycove City, and even across the entire Hoenn region.
Team Aqua's base.
Team Aqua's headquarters stood openly on the outskirts of Lilycove City. More than ten years ago, the land had even been officially approved by the League. Only after an exceptionally justice-driven trainer accidentally uncovered the truth was the area reclassified as abandoned land.
Over the years, Team Aqua had become much more careful. The closer they came to achieving their goal, the more cautious they became.
In the middle of the wasteland, the dark blue roof of the base barely rose above the muddy ground. It reflected almost no sunlight, and only a single entrance a little over three metres high was visible.
Most of the base lay buried deep underground, connected directly to the nearby Hoenn sea.
Second underground level, control room.
A Team Aqua executive wearing a blue-and-white striped bandana stood behind a row of operators with his arms folded across his chest. His expression was cold and serious.
"Report, Executive Amber. Squad 2 has entered Lilycove City."
"Report. Squad 3 has taken the submarine deep into Hoenn's waters."
"Squad 3 is approximately one kilometre behind Squad 2."
The reports came one after another in perfect order. The Team Aqua members worked quickly, yet none of them looked nervous. Everything felt so natural that it seemed they had practised this operation countless times.
"Very good. Squads 2 and 3 will proceed according to the original plan and seize Water-type Pokémon. Squad 3 will use the harvesting machines. Make sure you capture more than one hundred Water-type Pokémon."
Amber nodded in satisfaction before giving another stern warning.
"This operation was leaked to the League by Team Magma before we could act. I suspect there's a Team Magma spy among us. We'll begin a full internal investigation immediately after this mission."
"Yes, Executive!"
After receiving their response, Amber turned and left the control room.
As one of Team Aqua's highest-ranking executives, Amber held authority second only to their leader, Archie.
He walked to the end of the corridor and took the lift farther underground. After passing through another long hallway, he finally stopped outside a door and knocked.
The moment it opened, a cool and damp breeze rushed against his face. His surroundings immediately turned deep blue as all kinds of Water-type Pokémon drifted outside.
Five sides of the room were covered with transparent reinforced glass.
The room itself extended beyond Team Aqua's base and sat directly within Hoenn's ocean.
"Amber, how is the operation progressing?"
Only after hearing the familiar calm voice did Amber come back to his senses.
Every time he entered this room, the ocean completely captivated him.
"Rverything is ready, Boss. Aside from possible interference from the League, there are no problems."
"Good."
After speaking, the tall man standing with his hands behind his back slowly turned around. His dark face was covered by a thick beard, and the powerful muscles stretching his clothes made him look like a famous pirate from the open sea.
In truth, he had once been a pirate, and even now he had never fully left that life behind.
"Our god has finally revealed signs of Its presence," Archie said in a deep voice. "All we need are a few small sacrifices, and we'll be able to find where It is."
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