Codename: Looker

After paying, Xia You returned Magikarp to its Poké Ball, officially making it his seventh Pokémon.

As he walked through the corridors, the tourists grew fewer and fewer. By the time he reached the cruise ship's cabin area, even crew members were scarce.

It seemed most people were still gathered in the main hall and out on deck. After all, they had only just boarded, and few would think of coming inside to rest so soon.

He made a circuit without finding any sign of Team Rocket. With cameras everywhere, Xia You did not dare keep wandering aimlessly. He pretended to visit the restroom and was about to return to the main hall when he spotted a furtive figure slipping around a corner up ahead.

Was that someone from Team Rocket?

Glancing at Kirlia, Xia You decided to follow quietly.

When he reached the corner and cautiously peeked around it, he caught sight of the figure crouching outside a cabin, trying to open its door with a lock pick.

The man was middle-aged, wearing a brown trench coat over a suit and tie. He was of average build, neither fat nor thin. Though his expression was stern, it could not hide his haggard appearance, which clearly came from frequently staying up late.

Xia You glanced at the security camera overhead and realized that a jamming device had temporarily disabled it. No wonder the man dared to be so brazen.

The man was wholly focused on his task, deftly turning the lock pick in his hand. With a faint click, the lock opened. But before he could congratulate himself, a shadow slowly appeared on the door in front of him, cast by the corridor lights!

The sight instantly sent him into a cold sweat.

His hand went to his waist as he hurriedly turned around. At some point, a handsome young man of about twenty had appeared behind him and was watching him with interest.

"Y-you... who are you?"

His extreme nervousness even altered his accent, revealing what sounded like a foreign inflection.

"You're with the International Police, aren't you, mister?"

"Huh?" The man's expression changed dramatically, his heart nearly leaping into his throat. He hurriedly denied it. "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not with the International Police."

"Oh? Is that so?" Xia You brought a wallet out from behind his back and waved it in front of the man. "But I just found your wallet, and there's definitely a photo ID of you inside."

The middle-aged man hastily felt his back pocket. Sure enough, his wallet was gone.

"Haha, so that's what happened..." He snatched the wallet back, wearing an awkward but polite smile. "To tell you the truth, I am an officer with the International Police. I'm currently investigating a large criminal organization, so please be sure to keep this a secret!"

"A criminal organization?" Xia You asked. "You mean Team Rocket?"

At that, the man could no longer keep his composure. He grabbed Xia You's arm and pulled him into a nearby stairwell.

"How do you know about Team Rocket?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"That's hardly anything to be surprised about," Xia You said matter-of-factly. "They're notorious around here and have appeared on wanted notices more than once. It would be stranger to find a Pokémon Trainer who hadn't heard of them."

"Fair point." The man smiled, glanced at Kirlia, and asked, "Are you a Pokémon Trainer?"

Xia You took out his Pokédex and showed him his identification. "Not just a Pokémon Trainer. I'm also a Special Research Investigator for a research lab."

"I see." The man straightened his collar and said solemnly, "Then please excuse my manners. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Looker. I'm currently investigating Team Rocket in the Kanto region to put a stop to their various nefarious activities."

"Your name is Looker?" This time, it was Xia You's turn to be surprised. He looked the man up and down skeptically. "Isn't that a bit conceited? You don't exactly look like much of a looker."

Perhaps he had choked on his own saliva. Looker's face reddened, and after coughing a few times, he said, "Why would we use our real names? Looker is just my codename. My codename!"

"Even so..." Xia You kept staring at him. "Calling yourself Looker is still pretty conceited, isn't it?"

Looker was beginning to feel exhausted. Rather than explain further, he waved a hand and said, "Never mind. I still have work to do, so let's part ways here."

"Work? You mean going into that room?"

Looker had not wanted to involve an innocent bystander, but remembering that Xia You had already seen what he was doing, he hesitated before answering. "That's right. While tailing a senior Team Rocket executive, I saw him board the S.S. Anne. I suspected they might have something planned for this ship, so I followed him here. I wanted to search his room for information while he was out."

"What a coincidence." Xia You decided to offer him a clue, though he could not be too explicit. "Before I boarded, I saw a group of people sneaking onto the ship in disguise. If Team Rocket really is here, it's probably them!"

"What? A whole group of them?"

When Xia You nodded, Looker frowned deeply. "This is bad. They must be planning something big, or they wouldn't have so many people moving at once. It looks like I need to request backup from headquarters immediately."

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a tremendous blast of the ship's horn sounded. The ship suddenly shuddered, then rocked briefly.

He hurried to a window and looked outside, only to discover that the ship had already left the dock and was sailing out of the harbor.

"This is bad. If I don't contact headquarters now, it really will be too late!"

With that, Looker took out his phone and was about to make a call when he discovered that its signal had been jammed as well.

"Damn it!" Apparently unwilling to accept it, he walked a few steps and tried another angle, but there was still no signal.

Xia You also took out his phone and found that the signal here had indeed been completely blocked.

With a sigh, Looker turned to Xia You, a complicated expression on his face. "You should hurry and get out of here. I need to check the captain's quarters next. Whatever happens from here on has nothing to do with ordinary civilians like you."

When Xia You returned to the main hall, he found Misty and Brock sitting at a dining table, wolfing down food. Ash sat beside them, unusually quiet, like a demure girl, with a forlorn expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Ash? Did you lose that battle just now?"

Looking at Xia You, Ash replied dejectedly, "No, I won."

"Oh?" Xia You asked in puzzlement. "Then why do you look so miserable? Did something happen?"