Chapter 23: Let's be a hero!
While thinking about how to break into the house, Lukas came across an axe placed next to a tree stump.
"Perfect, a weapon to bully others with," he said as he picked up the axe and put it in his inventory.
Totodile was surprised when the axe suddenly disappeared.
Gah Gah??? (What the heck, how did you do that???)
Seeing Totodile's expression, Lukas smirked and struck a pose.
"I'm all-powerful, you know? I'm just pretending to be a fool!"
Totodile clapped in admiration.
It was the first time he'd seen someone pretend to be an idiot and let others beat them up for so long! Truly impressive!
Although Lukas didn't know what Totodile was thinking, he knew it was praising him! (No)
So they continued scouting the house until Lukas lost his patience.
"Forget it, I'm not a skilled thief, I'm too lazy to plan a proper break-in."
He picked up Totodile.
"Totodile! Scratch the lock!"
Gah!
With just one scratch, the door easily opened.
"Hehe, quiet and convenient, I think you have the potential to become the number one thief!"
Gah! (I was born to fight, not to steal!)
He entered the house and oh my gosh!
The place was filthy and dusty!
"This probably isn't where One Piece is... no! I have to keep hoping!"
So the two began exploring, starting with the upstairs, checking the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, and then going to sleep...
Gah Gah??? (Why are we sleeping already???)
"Ah, sorry, this bed is just too comfortable."
Then they continued exploring the toilet.
"Yuck, this toilet looks exactly like that video the neighbor's kid was watching! Hopefully nothing pops out of it."
After checking the entire room, they were disappointed.
The house had nothing! His instincts had tricked him!
"Should've known better than to follow this crocodile."
Gah!! (You jerk!!)
"HEY! DON'T BITE ME, YOU DISRESPECTFUL CROCODILE!"
While Totodile was biting his leg, they suddenly heard a noise.
So he and Totodile hid in the toilet.
Don't ask why it was the toilet...
"Huh? The door is broken?"
"That scientist never cares about this house."
At that moment, a man entered the house.
He walked into the library, pushed a book, and the bookshelf suddenly moved aside, revealing a basement below.
Lukas curiously peeked into the library.
"Wow, isn't this a bit too fancy?"
He approached the library, looking down into the basement.
Then, he heard footsteps coming up from the basement.
So he quickly hid behind a plant.
The man came up, holding a wad of money and happily counting it.
That scientist was so generous! 100,000 Pokedollars was fantastic.
He pressed the book again, making the bookshelf return to its original place.
"Catching Pokémon means never worrying about going hungry."
He chuckled, then turned forward.
And saw a fist heading straight for his face.
"UAGH!"
"I thought there was no treasure, but who knew it was right here!"
Lukas greedily eyed the money the man was holding.
"You?! That money is mine, you fuck!"
"Illegal dealings and you want to argue?!" Lukas kicked him in the nuts.
"Ughhh!!"
The man clutched himself, staggering.
Damn it! Attacking man weakest point, what a asshole!
He should've brought his Pokémon with him!
"Your money is mine, and my money is also mine. That's my rule of life."
"You thieving scum!!"
A kick landed on his jaw, sending teeth flying, knocked out.
"100,000 Pokedollars, we're rich, Totodile!!" Lukas hugged Totodile, who felt sorry for the Pokémon thief for crossing paths with its trainer.
Poor guy.
"But things aren't over yet, there's still the One Piece treasure down in the basement!"
Excited, Lukas pressed the book, waited for the bookshelf to move, and then headed down to the basement.
The basement was entirely different—it was clean and organized, almost like a laboratory!
Maybe the old, filthy house was just a cover.
"OH MY GOD! So many strange items!"
There were differently colored stones and several odd-looking accessories.
Lukas stole everything, leaving nothing behind.
"Indeed, this is the One Piece treasure!"
Only one room remained.
It was separate and quite far from the other rooms, and it seemed like someone was inside.
So he and Totodile approached, trying to listen in, but failed.
"Soundproof room? In that case, opening the door a bit shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Without hesitation, he carefully opened the door, only to be met with a loud voice that nearly deafened him.
"AMAZING!! I FINALLY HAVE YOU!!"
It was a man with disheveled hair and sleep-deprived eyes, staring at a metal box holding many Pokémon inside.
He looked like a mad scientist.
Inside the metal cage were male and female Nidoran, Oddish, and a few Pokémon Lukas had never seen before.
But the man only had eyes for one Pokémon.
How to describe it... Lukas couldn't quite find the words.
Oh right, it looked like a hammerhead shark!
But much smaller.
"A Sinnoh Pokémon. I never thought those thieves could catch a Gible here, fantastic! Boss Archer will definitely reward me!!"
Sinnoh? A different region?
And this guy seems really obsessed with that Pokémon called Gible—kind of creepy.
Totodile looked furious at the man.
That's my Pokémon!
But to bad, Lukas wasn't kind-hearted enough to care; he had no interest in being the hero he always claimed to be.
He can't even take care of himself then how he can save other Pokémon?
As Lukas was about to leave, something caught his eye.
Gible was crying, looking right at him.
He had noticed Lukas when he opened the door.
Although it didn't know why, he could tell that Lukas wasn't one of the bad guys.
Gible had just been born recently, eating with his mother when these people attacked and kidnapped it.
He wanted to escape, to see his mother again.
He missed his mother...
For some reason, those pleading eyes had a powerful impact on Lukas.
It reminded him of when he was a child.
He always begged for help, but no one understood.
To them, studying was the future, if you didn't study, you'd get a punch!
And now, he was acting just like those people.
How ironic...
Lukas sighed and looked at Totodile.
"Hey, want to play hero?"
Totodile looked at Lukas, confused.
Lukas smiled.
"It's time to kick some criminal butt."