mrmime24
patreon
Chapter 150: Team Aqua
🕑 Added 2025-06-10 19:20:16 +0000 UTCGladion's command, "Go on," hung in the air as Ultron telepathically responded,
"Sir," Ultron began, "the prisoner's mental barriers were broken to some degree and I managed to infiltrate his brain to some information. This yielded critical information before his demise. Whoever put the barrier is a very strong Psychic. Someone beyond even you, Sir."
'I would not mind being less powerful to a psychic legendary pokemon.' Gladion smiled wryly
"The man once guarded a cargo shipment of Kanto Water-type Pokémon which were illegally caught—specifically Goldeen, Staryu, and horsea. They were being transferred to the Orange Archipelago. There, the cargo was delivered to operatives identifying as soldiers of Team Aqua."
Gladion's eyes widened, his psychic aura flaring with shock. "Team Aqua? Are you sure?"
"Quite certain, sir," Ultron replied, its claws clicking softly, a mechanical nod. "The prisoner's memories were vivid—uniformed operatives bearing Team Aqua's insignia, a stylized blue wave, received the shipment on a remote island dock."
Gladion's mind raced, his smirk fading into a grim line. 'Team Aqua.'
The name was a jolt, straight from his anime knowledge. In the Pokémon anime, Team Aqua was Hoenn's villainous counterpart to Team Rocket, a terrorist organization obsessed with awakening Kyogre, the Legendary Ocean Pokémon, to expand the seas. They think flooding the world will 'benefit' humans and Pokémon—deluded fanatics.
Their goal was apocalyptic, reshaping the planet's geography to favor Water-types, a vision that clashed with Team Rocket's greed-driven schemes.
"Rocket wants power and profit; Aqua wants a new world order. The two likely don't know about each other plans and goals.'
The revelation of their alliance sent a chill through him.
His shock wasn't just from what he knew from the animem His grandfather, Maren Vortex, a grizzled veteran of the Infinite Pokémon Wars, had told him tales of Team Aqua during Gladion's childhood.
Maren had described Team Aqua as a rogue faction born from Hoenn's marine soldiers, elite warriors disillusioned and angry by the war.
Unlike Rocket's ragtag grunts—petty thieves, orphans, drifters—Aqua's ranks were and would still be filled with trained soldiers.
Gladion recalled Maren's gravelly voice: "They were disciplined, tactical, their Pokémon bred for war. Feraligatr, Gyarados, Sharpedo—each a weapon."
Aqua's numbers were smaller than Rocket's, but their quality was unmatched. They have military tactics, naval expertise and military training.
Maren's stories painted a darker Aqua than the anime. After the war, Hoenn branded them pirates, outcasts who sailed the world's oceans, looting ships, sinking anything that came in contact with them.
'Grandpa said they formed because the war wrecked Pokémon habitats—forests burned, rivers poisoned.'
Aqua's ideology, Maren explained, was rooted in a twisted eco-zealotry: humanity's greed had scarred the natural world, and only by expanding the oceans could balance be restored.
'But Grandpa and others don't know how team Aqua is planning to do it, how they plan to expand the oceans,'
Gladion thought, his anime knowledge filling the gap. 'Kyogre's their endgame—awaken it, flood the continents, remake the world for Water-types.'
The alliance with Team Rocket was a puzzle, and Gladion's mind dissected it ruthlessly.
'Rocket's likely supplying Aqua with Kanto Water-types—Goldeen, Staryu, Magikarp. Aqua operates on seas and oceans; they need Water-types to bolster their forces. And they would likely want to have some regional Kanto Pokemon that are hard to find in the middle of ocean.'
His thoughts churned, weighing possibilities. 'In return, Rocket's either getting Hoenn Pokémon or—more likely—access to Hoenn without border checks.'
Giovanni's empire thrived on expansion, smuggling, and black-market trade. 'He doesn't need Hoenn Pokémon—he can poach those himself. But bypassing Hoenn's naval patrols? That's gold.'
Gladion's smirk returned, sly and predatory. 'Rocket's using Aqua's pirate network to infiltrate Hoenn, dodge tariffs, move contraband.'
The implications were massive. 'If I disrupt their deal, Rocket's Hoenn operations take a hit.'
'But what to do with Team Aqua?' Gladion hesitated, his smirk fading.
'They're not Rocket's rabble. Soldiers, not grunts. And they roam beyond Kanto, Johto, Hoenn—maybe even Sinnoh or Unova oceans.'
His anime knowledge was limited, but Maren's tales suggested Aqua's reach was global, they might have Pokemon from the other regions that have not joined the league yet.
'No I can't engage with another terrorist organisation. They're too big for me alone. One terrorist group—Rocket—is enough for now. Aqua's another League-level threat. I'd need support, and Lance as Champion would be better than Pryce. He would be more active in targeting these terrorists while Pryce is a coward.'
"Ultron, do we have the location of their deal site? And also the one who was heading this operation for Team Rocket?" Gladion asked, his voice low, eyes glinting.
"Yes, sir," Ultron replied, its Jarvis-tone unwavering. "An unmarked islet in the Orange Archipelago, coordinates embedded in the prisoner's memory. The person leading the team is Executive Petrel. However, I must report a complication. After extracting this intel, a failsafe within the psychic barrier activated, frying the man's brain. He is deceased."
Gladion's smirk widened, a dark gleam in his eyes. "Perfect. Rocket'll think we got nothing, leaving their operation exposed."
A plan was brewing in his mind, one to cripple both Rocket and Aqua. If this is done right, this could gut their alliance without any suspicions on me.
"Oh boy, Giovanni would be spitting blood to find out who was the one that made their alliance with Team Aqua end. If I am lucky they would start fighting against each other too. Huhuhu...." Gladion laughed evilly imagining Giovanni's angry expression.
