If you were to tell the William of the past that a year from now he would be the leader of Team Aqua and also one of the most relevant companies in the region—practically controlling all maritime travel—then he would have a very hard time believing it.
He had always been ambitious, yes, with a clear and precise plan to climb to the top, but his quick and almost unbelievable rise was something that should be studied.
One of the most important factors that led to where he was now was preparation. He had spent his early years training his Pokemon and planning. William used rough knowledge from his past life about Pokemon to formulate a plan—one he would follow to achieve his dreams of controlling the seas.
And if he controlled the seas, he would be unstoppable.
He followed that plan, and although some obstacles had gotten in the way—so had some lifelines that benefited him greatly.
Now, Neptune Shipping had a large stake in Hoenn's economy. William was making lots of money. He also had access to tons of business deals with Hoenn's other core pillars—one such example being Devon Corp, with whom he managed to work out a deal in the last couple of weeks, despite Maxies meddling.
And now, Shelly had claimed her rightful place in Team Aqua.
William didn't know what sequence of events had originally led her to join Archie's Team Aqua, but for an aspiring young intelligent lady with a promising career ahead of her, it must have been bad for her to stoop so low and join Archie with his crazy dreams.
On the other hand, William's goals and values are more closely aligned with her. William knew he had to get Shelly on his side as soon as he could. She was a valuable and smart asset for Archie, and William intended to elevate her to be more than that.
There was some level of regret with what he did with her—with what he showed her, but it was a completely necessary thing to do. William had broken her, broken the protective layer surrounding her true self so it laid bare and barren to the world.
Her true self was vulnerable and wanted strength, and William came along with just the perfect offer. He had broken her down, and now he would assist in building her back up again.
Shelly had abruptly quit her job as a university teacher, stating she wanted to focus on her charity.
Her charity did have some uses, and now Shelly was an Admin of Team Aqua and directly under him, he now controlled most of the decisions the charity made.
AAA and Neptune Shipping would enter a partnership together, where they could both accomplish much more than they originally could.
Speaking of, Neptune Shipping now dominated the legal seas and kept the region safe. Although this was good for William, it was not good for Poseidon—the leader of Team Aqua.
Ships were being raided at a much lower frequency—because they were now lower in frequency—, leading to members becoming restless and agitated. There was more infighting and frustration going around, and people were starting to question his leadership.
What he needed to do was try to balance Neptune and Team Aqua as best he could. He needed to show that he was still the leader of Team Aqua for a reason. And he had just the perfect plan for that.
Instead of creating a tug-of-war with himself and moving to attack Neptune Shipping, he would instead broaden his horizons and go over to Hoenn's neighbours—Kanto and Johto.
It was there that Neptune Shipping had no jurisdiction, and ships were ripe for the taking—their valuables and assets vulnerable..
However, venturing into unknown territory was quite a dangerous move. As much as William knew about both regions from the games and the anime, it was only a rough translation and didn't accurately reflect what it was like in real life. Living there was different. He had already made the mistake of being too confident back when he raided that ship from Kalos—he wouldn't make that mistake again.
Before he ventured into the region with his team and his ships carrying the name Poseidon, he needed an in. Someone knowledgeable enough about the region, its politics, its travel routes, and its dangers, so the time he ventured into the region he would be fully prepared for anything coming his way.
And he happened to know just the perfect person for that.
Just recently, he had ventured back into the black market and used the services of someone who could connect him directly to the leader of Team Rocket. He was an informant of some kind and had access to all kinds of information. It cost him a pretty penny, but it would soon be worth it.
A direct line to the boss of Team Rocket.
William sat in his office, eyeing the piece of paper that held the number of the leader of Team Rocket—of Giovanni.
He called it.
The phone rang a couple of times, then connected. There was a moment of silence.
"Hello?" William asked. He was using a voice changer, and judging from Giovanni's following response, he was too.
"Good evening, Poseidon," Giovanni responded.
"Are you the leader of Team Rocket? The Don, as they call you?" William asked.
"That I am. And you are the leader of Team Aqua—Poseidon. It's nice to finally make your acquaintance. I've been following your exploits for quite a while."
"What do you know of my exploits?"
Giovanni chuckled. "I know you raid ships and take their jewellery and belongings. I also know that, as a team, you're much stronger than the news lets on. They say Neptune Shipping snuffed you out, but that doesn't align with my reports—specifically, that you beat Juan and raided the ship from Kalos. This must mean you no longer see Hoenn as valuable…and you're looking elsewhere to expand, which is why you called me."
How did he know I beat Juan? Is there a mole in my crew?
"How do you know about Juan?" William asked, his voice betraying none of his uncertainty.
"I have my ways. I'm guessing you called because you want a piece of…" there was a pause on the line— perhaps a drag of a cigarette. "Kanto and Johto."
Spot on.
"I do. I'd like your help—information about the region, its shipping routes, its most vulnerable spots, the different kinds of jewellery they wear, the most common Pokemon, everything."
"And what's in it for me?"
There was a pause on the line. William had considered this before.
"Twenty percent of all the money we make from raiding ships in Indigo."
"Twenty-five." Giovanni countered.
…
"Twenty-two. That's my final offer." William said.
"Hmmm," Giovanni considered. "Deal. In exchange for 22% of your revenue, I will give you all the information you need about Indigo. In fact, you called at just the right time. I have quite some useful information for you right now. Approximately two days from now, the ship will be passing through Fuchsia. It's a private cruise, full of rich people with valuables ripe for the taking. We would do it ourselves, but we have too much going on right now to focus all of our resources into raiding the ship."
"What ship?"
"You might know it. It's called the S.S. Anne. Are you up for it?"
William nodded. "More than up for it."
"Very well. I'll send you all the details soon. However, in light of our partnership, some of our members will join you on this raid. You will collect them nearby at Vermillion port. They'll help you out and collect the 22% in person—it'll be much easier that way."