Pokemon: The Legendary Trainer

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Time passed quietly, and before long, evening had descended on Lilycove City's harbor. The clock now read 6:12 PM.

Sato had managed to catch the last ferry to Larousse City today, departing safely from the Seafloor Cavern with Elsa and her group of students around 5 PM.

Although Sato and Elsa had only known each other briefly, they had gone through life-and-death experiences together, forging a bond of friendship. 

Furthermore, as Sato had saved her life, Elsa and her students all came to see him off at the harbor when he departed.

"I hope that the next time we meet, you'll have rediscovered your smile. Life goes on, and you can't remain stuck in the past forever," Sato thought to himself as he stood on the ship's deck, looking back at the beautiful woman and the children waving him goodbye from the dock. 

While the children wore bright smiles, Elsa's smile remained stiff and unnatural, betraying her emotions.

As the ship pulled farther and farther away, the figures on the dock shrank to tiny dots before disappearing from view altogether.

Compared to the luxurious St. Louis that Sato had previously traveled on, the Sea Lion was a much smaller vessel. It was a compact ferry, capable of carrying just over fifty passengers.

The Sea Lion was clearly an old, weathered ship, with patches of wood evident in various places. Sato would not have boarded it had Elsa not reassured him that its captain, Henry, was an exceptionally skilled navigator.

However, the onboard service was atrocious. The crew members wore perpetually sour expressions, and their responses to passenger requests were curt and dismissive. 

All of this seemed to stem from their captain.

Since Sato had boarded, the highly acclaimed Captain Henry had done nothing but recline on a deck chair at the bow of the ship. He was a towering man, though age had caused his once-impressive muscles to wither slightly. 

Dressed like a "Turtle Hermit," he lounged in swim trunks, sipping iced rum while leisurely flipping through a risqué fashion magazine.

Surrounding him within a ten-meter radius stood four burly, intimidating sailors armed with gleaming axes. They kept their eyes fixed on anyone approaching the bow, effectively acting as the captain's bodyguards.

Faced with these unapproachable guards, the passengers wisely treated the bow as a no-go zone, obediently following other armed sailors to their assigned cabins.

Meanwhile, Captain Henry appeared to be a man who truly knew how to enjoy himself, lounging in the sea breeze with his drink and magazine.

"Oh no, did I board the wrong ship? This feels like I've ended up on a pirate vessel!"

This was the honest thought of every first-time passenger aboard the Sea Lion.

Despite the ship's shabby appearance, Sato was relieved to discover that it was surprisingly fast and steady for its size. At this pace, he estimated they could reach Larousse City by early tomorrow morning.

Having recently survived a shipwreck, Sato's first priority upon boarding was to assess the Sea Lion's crew and their capabilities.

The sailors aboard the Sea Lion were rough and uncouth, many proudly flaunting scars that they treated as badges of honor. 

Some even strutted about shirtless in only shorts, showing off their muscles and "trophies."

One standout among them was a bald sailor named Cabas, who took every opportunity to show off his scars after Sato tipped one of his friends for some stories about battles at sea. 

Cabas would frequently stroll over to Sato, proudly displaying his "honors."

Sato respected the sentiment that scars were a warrior's badge of honor. The ship's crew was undeniably strong, with each sailor owning at least one Pokémon at level 25 or higher.

Among them, a select few stood out as proper trainers. The four burly sailors guarding the captain, for example, each carried three Pokémon above level 35.

The Sea Lion's first mate, Harold, was officially regarded as the ship's strongest fighter. When Sato first saw Harold, he thought he must be mistaken—the first mate stood barely 1.3 meters tall, sported a long beard that dragged on the ground, and wielded an axe taller than himself. 

He resembled a dwarf straight out of a fantasy novel.

Harold's body was packed with knotty muscle, leading Sato to maliciously speculate whether the man's diminutive stature was due to overtraining in his youth.

As the first mate of a ship that resembled a pirate vessel, Harold—whom Sato privately nicknamed "Muscleman"—earned Sato's grudging respect. 

A single glance at the level 47 Sealeo on Harold was enough to make Sato feel wary.

Thanks to his upgraded system detection ability, Sato could now better assess Pokémon strength. 

When he scanned Harold's Sealeo, he discovered it had an astonishing individual value of 170, marking it as a Pokémon with a rare purple-tier rating.

While observing the crew, Sato also spotted two familiar faces from the St. Louis: the old captain and Rhodes.

The two were disguised as a father-and-son duo, with the "father" sitting in a wheelchair pushed by the "son." Although their appearances and demeanors had changed significantly, Sato's keen eyesight recognized them immediately.

At that moment, the pair were at the stern, enjoying the ocean view and occasionally chatting with other passengers, presenting a heartwarming image.

"Why are they here? This is bad news. I just hope this voyage doesn't take a turn for the worse."

Seeing the old captain and Rhodes aboard the Sea Lion made Sato uneasy. Reflecting on the events aboard the St. Louis, Sato realized the shipwreck had been orchestrated to target these two.

In his mind, they were nothing short of harbingers of disasters. The walking plagues!

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