https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14468689/2/Not-Enough-Water-OC-SI

  "Do you have any final words?" William asked.

  "Hahahaha! Get it over with, boy! The sea is calling me!" the voice replied.

  With a final laugh echoing over the quiet waves, the man was pushed from the edge. The ocean roared as it swallowed him whole, consuming him in its endless depths. William watched his body sink until it was no longer visible.

  He took a deep breath, breathing the salty sea air into his nostrils. It cleared his head. He had done it, he had finally done it, finally achieved what he set out to do. But this was only the start; there was still so much more to accomplish. So much more to do.

  William turned away from the plank where he had just pushed off Archie's body. It had pained him to do so. In another life or in another circumstance, Archie would have been a good second-in-command, but his headstrong personality and refusal to submit to another meant he had to do this.

  He had to kill him.

  And that was that. Above all else, Team Aqua valued strength. So how could you follow someone who turned down a battle of precisely that? You couldn't, which is why William had issued the challenge in the first place.

  A 6v6 Pokemon battle, Standard League rules, and whoever won would be the strongest, and whoever was the strongest was the leader. It was clear who had won. Archie had been swallowed by the ocean, while William now set his sights on ruling it.

  William turned to see Matt, the now singular admin of Team Aqua.

  "Boss!" he greeted with a respectful nod.

  The ship, save for the two of them, was empty, reserved only for the highest members. However, around their ship, in a shape that resembled an arch of sorts, were half a dozen more ships, each with members of Team Aqua on board, watching the execution. Some of their Pokemon were stationed below. The grunts were close enough to hear Archie's final words, so they would be close enough to hear his words, words which would usher in a new beginning for Team Aqua.

  He handed his coat over to Matt as he strode back to the plank. Sensing Matt's confused gaze from behind him, he spoke without looking back.

  "Now is the perfect time for a speech, no?" he said, focusing on the ships that lay ahead.

  Ships. His ships. Each with subordinates. His subordinates.

  After a light cough to clear his throat, he addressed them, "Archie died how he lived: at sea. I'm sure most of you looked up to him. He was strong, and he never backed down from a challenge. I respected that about him, and it was because of that respect that I allowed him to die at sea as he wished. But it was also those very traits, the ones we admired, that became his greatest weakness."

  "Now, I don't like to speak ill of the dead, especially the recently deceased. But it's important that I tell you this, because you need to understand why I made the choice to challenge Archie for leadership. Why, after all this time, despite all our growth, I decided that I couldn't let him lead us any longer."

  William paused for a moment, allowing the words to sink in, "The reason is simple, I believe we can be so much more. Right now, we're little more than pirates, stealing and robbing passing merchant ships. We lurk in the shadows, living on scraps. We are scared to go anywhere near a city or a town with a gym leader."

  "What does that say about us and our strength? I tried to open Archie's eyes, to show him the potential we have, to show him we can become something greater. We could be more than criminals skimming the surface of the water. we could venture as deep as the ocean floor. But he refused to listen, tunnel vision blinded him, as I'm sure many of you know first-hand based on your experiences with him." William joked, eliciting a chorus of chuckles across the ocean. "Archie wasn't a man who accepted change easily. He couldn't see what lay beyond the waves he loved so much. he looked towards the next day, whereas I am looking towards the future."

  "Understand this—our goal, our mission, can't be just about the next ship we raid or the next stash we loot. I want us to rise above that. I want us to no longer use the oceans as a means of hiding, but as a means of exerting power. Our future should be about control and power, about shaping the very tides of the world." He pointed in the direction of the sea, clenching his fists to emphasise his point. From his perched point, he could see the faces of greed and ambition. He had them hook, line and sinker, now he just needed to reel them in and catch them in his bait.

  "We can make the oceans ours in more than just the name of our organization. And that is what we are, we are not pirates, we are not criminals, we are not terrorists, we are an organization. and I will prove that." William said. "I want us to be feared and respected, to have the kind of influence that no one else on the seas can rival, a force that can shape the very regions we are now scared of. With the right leadership and vision, we could become a true empire upon the seas, not just a band of misfits clinging to a dream that no longer serves us."

  "That was my vision, and it was a vision which could only be actualized by taking down Archie. It was because of this ignorance, this inability to evolve, that I felt the need to challenge him. His vision was narrow. I didn't do it out of spite or hatred or ambition. I did it because I believe he was leading us straight for destruction. I did it for this team. I did it for you. Archie's obsession with the seas blinded him. He saw the water as his domain, but he didn't understand its power. He never saw the potential of what we could accomplish."

  "Look around you!" William's voice rose, his arms stretching wide as he turned to face the crew. "Look at the ocean! It is vast and boundless and holds all the power to control the world! Under my leadership, I swear to you, we shall rule every inch of these seas! We will fear no gym leader, no elite four, no champion, no region! Everything that will happen in the seas will happen because we gave consent for it, because we let it happen! We won't just ride the waves on our ships—we will command them! We will expand beyond Hoenn, far beyond, until no coast remains that isn't under our reach. We will reshape the tides themselves, make the currents bend to our will, and make ourselves the true masters of these waters."

  He paused again, letting his words sink in, letting them feel the gravity of his ambition. "No longer will we be small-time thieves. We will become legends upon these seas. Our enemies will learn to tremble at the mention of our name, and those who stand in our way will be swept aside like driftwood caught in a storm. This is my promise to each of you: follow me, and we will create an empire that no one can touch. The oceans are our future. And together, we will be unstoppable."

  A surge of energy rippled through the crew, the murmur of voices growing stronger as his words ignited a fire among them and their partners, or should he say scalding water? William could see the spark in their eyes, the way they straightened, fists clenched in newfound resolve.

  Then, a howl of cheers spread through the air like a pack of wolves, sending a chill down William's spine. In that same moment, he didn't know why, but the thought came to him. It was a joke, born from the review of a certain game.

  Too much water? He thought with a smirk. There isn't enough of it.

  William sat in his office deep in thought, twirling his pen. The place had been quickly renovated, having removed all things related to Archie. A punching bag, pictures of models on the walls, a few Pokemon fighting magazines scattered around the desk, all of it had been moved out.

  Before William arrived, Team Aqua's finances were managed by, well, no one. The team funded itself mostly through stealing valuables—jewellery, gold, and other goods—from passing ships. But when William joined a little over a year ago, he quickly proved his worth and eventually took on the responsibility of managing the team's finances. His college-level mathematics classes had come in handy after all, though he never imagined it would be to handle the finances of what could best be described as a band of pirates.

  As for the finances themselves? They looked… okay. They were past the break-even point, and the bulk of their expenses went toward ship maintenance, food for both the grunts and their Pokemon, and the wages paid to the crew.

  Sure, being a "pirate" was a lifestyle, but they were in the modern day, so they needed to get with the times and pay them wages. Some of the members hadn't joined out of a desire to steal and rob for the fun of it, but to feed their families. You could build up loyalty, yes, but the promise of money and food when your children were starving would win out over that loyalty every time. That is why he needed to ensure his team was well off, so on the off chance any of them were captured or interrogated or found out, they wouldn't snitch.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  One of the first things he had done as the leader of Team Aqua was introduce a mandate: if anyone under the banner of Team Aqua was captured or incarcerated, then their Pokemon would be taken care of, and their family would be provided for. The series of events which set Team Aqua down the path of trying to flood the world with Kyogre had yet to happen yet, and under his leadership it wouldn't happen in the first place. Whereas the future Team Aqua saw the power of water and the oceans as a means to end the world, William saw it as a means to control it.

  Land, sea, and sky. If one had control over one of these domains, then they were practically unstoppable unless someone had power over two of them. One of the biggest examples of this was the Napoleonic Wars, in which France was the conqueror of continents, while England was The empress of the seas. Both dominated their respective domain, and neither could beat another. In this day and age it was practically impossible to gain control over large amounts of land mass or areas of the sky due to the many different regions and a relative of peace. The waters were a different story altogether.

  Right now, Team Aqua were nothing more than a bunch of jumped-up thugs, but William planned to change that. He recalled crime organizations such as the Mafia and the Yakuza. They had strict codes and rules, demanded loyalty, and had both legal and illegal operations for making money. That is what he planned to make Team Aqua under his leadership.

  He wished to create a well-oiled machine, constantly running and generating influence and cash.

  The future of Team Aqua had already begun, and he would shape it exactly how he wished.

  It was at that moment that Matt knocked on the door.

  "Come in," William said.

  Matt walked in, his broad shoulders bumping against the door frame. How could a man have so much muscle? Must be those Blissey eggs.

  "Boss, I've gathered everything you asked for," he said, setting a stack of papers on the desk.

  "Though I have to ask…What's the point of all this?" Matt questioned, a look of confusion on his face.

  "To know where we stand. It's important to understand what resources we have and how best we can use them. Above all else, Pokemon are our greatest resource. Greater than money, greater than the number of members we have—greater than all of that."

  "Hmm, I suppose so…" Matt replied, though William guessed he had no idea what he was talking about. Matt was a muscle head through and through. He lived only for battle, and it was because of that hunger that he was strong—which is why he was an admin, despite having the IQ of a 10-year-old.

  When Matt left, William turned his attention to the stack of papers he'd brought. It was a list of all the Pokemon, along with their numbers, that Team Aqua possessed.

  Team Aqua scurvy

  Ships: 7 - 1 Large, 6 Medium

  Members: 32

  Pokemon: 129

  Average number of Pokemon per member: Sorry boss I do not know how to do this

  Pokemon list:

  Carvanha 42

  Poochyena 30

  Wailmer 18

  Spheal 15

  Golbat 8

  …

  Sharpedo 3

  Gyarados 3

  Crawdaunt 2

  …

  There were immediately a few problems that needed to be addressed. First, they needed to bring that average up—he couldn't have members of his team going around with fewer than six Pokemon. Second, he needed to implement a system to encourage these Pokemon to evolve.

  Most of the Pokemon on the list were in their first stage of evolution; only a few members who had been around for some time and took the profession seriously had evolved Pokemon. At the end of the day, they were just grunts, but the strength of an organization was determined by its weakest link, as that was what others would target when coming up against you.

  Third, and finally, he recognized the lack of diversity among the Pokemon. Most of them, save for a few, were native to Hoenn. It made sense, as many of these people had never ventured outside of their home region, and neither had Team Aqua.

  Hoenn had good relations with Kanto and Johto. It was because of these good relations that international waters were not closely monitored. This meant that Team Aqua could venture into unknown territory and possibly catch some Pokemon native to Kanto and Johto roaming on the outskirts of the border.

  It had been tried and tested before, so he was sure it would work. Tried and tested by who? By him, of course.

  Now, back to the issue of finances. They were hitting a plateau, a point where they were making just enough to avoid losses but not enough profit to see significant growth, even in the long run. Robbing ships could never be their primary source of revenue; more ships meant more attention, which meant a higher possibility of failure.

  They needed to establish a diverse set of revenue streams, both from legal and illegal sources. With all of this in mind, William grabbed a new sheet of paper and began to write his plan down:

  1. Strengthen Teams

  All members must have 6 Pokemon. incentivize evolution with rewards(promotions? higher wages?)

  Regular training to increase Pokemon strength.

  2. Increase Pokemon Diversity

  Expand the roster of Pokemon from Kanto and Johto via border scouting.

  Set up capture teams near international waters.

  3. Expand Revenue Streams

  Reduce ship raids(overtime) to avoid attention.

  Launch legal fronts and more illegal operations for steady income. Removal of one of these incomes shouldn't drastically affect overall income(don't rely too heavily on one income source).

  William couldn't help but lean back in his chair and scratch his head in frustration. Being a leader was much more stressful than he anticipated, especially as a leader which took things seriously. Part of him envied Archie for being the way he was, because he never had a worry about trivial stuff like this. That man must be rolling at the bottom of the sea.

  He was so stressed, and the best way he found to relieve that stress was to train with his Pokemon. It distracted him from overthinking, allowing him to focus fully on the present.

  "We've come a long way, haven't we, friend?" William smiled, holding the familiar red and white pokeball in his hand.

  His mind drifted to the past, to a time when he had little more than a few raggedy clothes to his name—until he found him. Until he found his Ace.

  FLASHBACK

  William crouched behind the dense shrubbery, watching as the young trainer paced back and forth, looking annoyed. His Mudkip sat on the ground nearby, its small blue body trembling as it tried to recover from a battle. Instead of offering any kind of support, the trainer scowled down at it.

  "You call that a Water Gun?" he sneered, crossing his arms. "Pathetic. My grandma could spit harder than that!"

  "I don't know why I even bothered picking you," he muttered, voice dripping with disdain. "Everyone on the PokeWeb said Mudkip was the best choice, they told me I could cruise through the region and the gym leaders due to your evolution lines typing, but I should've gone with Treecko. How can I even hope to make it to the conference league with you!? I should have taken my parents' advice and bought some fully evolved Pokemon, then I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. But nooooo, here's me thinking it would be better to start from scratch, what a load of bullshit."

  The small Mudkip flinched at the words.

  "You're useless, you know that? Completely useless." The trainer kicked a small rock in Mudkip's direction, making it flinch. "If you can't even win a battle against some random wild Zigzagoon, what good are you? At this rate, I'll be stuck in this forest forever, never mind the conference league!"

  William observed quietly, his eyes shifting from the trainer to Mudkip, taking in the scene without a word. After a moment, he glanced down at the blunted weapon, a rock, in his hand. The decision had been made.

  William watched as the trainer continued to berate the small Mudkip. The Mudkip's once-bright orange fins now drooped, its head hanging low in shame. When the trainer turned his back, muttering about how he could have done better, William took a quiet step forward, keeping his gaze steady and calm.

  His fingers dug into the rock, almost as if to reassure himself he was still holding it. His movements were silent and precise. In a single, practiced motion, he crossed the distance between himself and the trainer, gripping the rock tightly. Before the trainer could even register his presence, William thrust the rock diagonally upwards, striking him at the side of his skull. The trainer staggered and fell to the floor, a surprised gasp escaping his lips he fell to the ground.

  William held the rock above his head, slightly surprised. "Huh. I thought that would work. They usually get knocked out in the movies."

  "Mudkip, attack him! Defend your trainer!" the trainer called out, clutching the side of his bloody face.

  Ever loyal, Mudkip nodded, gathering what little water energy it had left in its mouth. It released a stream of water at William, but its power was so weak that it felt more like a gentle shower than a proper attack.

  "You useless fuck!" the trainer screamed, letting out another groan of pain. The muscles and veins on the side of his face pulsated in anger.

  William ran his hands through his wet, blue hair, slicking it back with a smile. "You're doing it wrong. You're opening your mouth too wide. You need to close it just a bit more—that'll give the water more pressure and power."

  Mudkip blinked, looking up at William with surprise.

  "You see?" William continued, his voice calm and steady. "That's the difference between him and me. I can see your potential, and I can help bring it out of you, and I won't do it by kicking rocks or shouting at you. So what do you say? Do you want to continue being mistreated by this... sorry excuse for a trainer? Or do you want to see just how far you can really go? The choice is yours." He let the question hang in the air.

  The trainer spat angrily, "Mudkip, use Water Gun!"

  Mudkip took a deep breath and unleashed a thin yet powerful stream of water—not at William, but directly at the trainer, hitting him square in the face. The force of the blast knocked him back, sending him sprawling, unconscious.

  William's lips curved into a small, approving smile as he looked down at Mudkip. "Good choice," he said, kneeling down to meet the Pokemon at eye level. "From now on, let's see just how strong you can really become." he knelts down to the trainer's side, snatching the pokeball off an expensive looking belt the trainer was wearing.

  But he didn't stop there. He continued to take the trainers' belongings: belt, clothes, wallet, all until he was left in nothing but a pair of Pikachu boxers. He began to replace his worn and torn ragged clothing with the upgrade, feeling all the more comfortable at the end of it.

  He turned his attention back to the Mudkip, who had been watching him curiously during the one-sided exchange of clothes and equipment. "Did your trainer even bother to name you? No? Every Pokemon needs a strong name, especially their Ace. They need a name that will put fear in their enemies, and a name which reflects the trainer they fight for."

  "Ah…I've got it. How about…Lochness."

  AN: Updates will be slow, life is real busy right now. Quality over quantity anyway. Let me know what you guys think about the story. Also would you prefer me used the word Pokemon as: Pokemon or Pokémon? Feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading.

  proof at bottom of here: