I caught a Pokémon

Xia You knew who she was talking about.

It was that woman named Linda.

"Let's meet him," Xia You sighed softly. "We can't keep him locked up here forever; we have to find a solution."

A-Quan nodded: "After we found her, we kept her locked up, with your Gengar guarding her. During this time, she has become more obedient and seems to have realized her situation."

To be honest, if A-Quan hadn't mentioned Gengar, Xia You herself would have almost forgotten about Gengar.

No wonder I always felt like I was overlooking something.

"Take me to see it."

The three walked deeper into the ship's cabin, passing through several doors, and arrived at a converted cabin.

Upon reaching the door, A-Quan suddenly stopped, turned to look at Xia You, and asked in a low voice, "Do you need to disguise yourself? Or... find a way to prevent her from recognizing you?"

She considered everything very carefully.

After all, Linda is an ordinary person. Although she is now a prisoner, if she knows Xia You's identity, she may have a chance to escape in the future, which could cause trouble.

Xia You shook her head.

“No need,” he said, a confident smile playing on his lips. “She is a capable person as well. Now that she knows the secret of this ship, she has become someone of value. It’s worth it for me to face her with my true colors and see if I can bring her under my wing. After all, this ship is bound to be a bit too busy with just you guys.”

A-Quan looked at him thoughtfully.

"Moreover," Xia You added, "letting her see who I am will actually make her more willing to work for us."

Huoyan muttered to herself, "The boss is trying to use his charm to conquer women again..."

Xia You tapped her on the head.

"Open the door."

The cabin was small, containing only a bed, a sink, a toilet, a table, and a chair.

It seems that A-Quan and Huo-Yan had already dismantled everything that could be dismantled, turning it into a dedicated detention cell.

It could even be said that if Xia You hadn't come, or hadn't let her leave, this room would have remained Linda's eternal prison.

Linda's only freedom, besides moving around in this cramped room, was to look out at the sea through the porthole.

At this moment, a woman sitting on the edge of the bed looked up when she heard the door open.

It was the woman he had seen on the streets of Fanba City with that city hero.

Although she was still as beautiful as before, she looked somewhat haggard, and there was an unyielding gloom between her brows.

But why didn't I see Gengar?

Wasn't it said that it was watching this woman?

Seemingly noticing his confusion, A-Quan whispered, "You know, Gengar is very restless. It's hard for it to stay still in one place. So at this time, it's most likely wandering around the cabin or hiding in some room, preparing to scare people."

Firegoose was also somewhat helpless: "We were all scared by it, but everyone knows it's your Pokémon, so we didn't say anything."

Knowing that this was Gengar's nature, Xia You didn't pay any attention to it.

At that moment, Linda turned her head when she heard someone come in.

For her, the occasional appearance of A-Quan and Huo-Yan in her 'room' was already a common occurrence.

Even now, she initially thought it was a routine check-up for the two women, but upon hearing someone speak and seeing a man walk in first, she couldn't help but be surprised.

Her gaze first fell on Xia You's face, then glanced at A Quan and Huo Yan behind him. Seeing that the two had lost their usual imposing manner, she then focused her gaze on Xia You again.

Then, her eyes changed.

First came confusion, then reflection, and finally, sudden realization.

“You…” she began, her voice slightly hoarse, “I’ve seen you before.”

Xia You raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

“Fanba City.” Linda stared at him. “On the street, that day Charles and I walked through the market, and you were there with a few women. Charles even greeted you.”

How come your memory is so good?

However, now that she had been recognized, Xia You had no intention of hiding it any longer.

“It was indeed me.” He took two steps closer, sat down in the chair, and looked Linda in the eye. “To remember a face you only glanced at in that situation, you must have excellent observation and memory skills. No wonder you’re the one who often comes to the rescue of that city hero.”

Linda did not let her guard down because of the praise.

Instead, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes when she heard Xia You mention Charles.

"Who are you?" she asked in a low voice. "So these two women behind you are your subordinates? What do you want with me locked up here?"

Xia You could not detect any anger, resentment, or resentment in her voice, only deep weariness.

This is not difficult to understand.

After all, she had been locked up for a long time, and in that long, even the toughest edges would have been worn away.

Not to mention, she faces two wicked women, A-Quan and Fire Goose, every day, and is also watched over and teased by Gengar. How could she possibly have the energy to resist?

"My name is Xia You." He introduced himself simply and directly, without hiding anything. "If you know anything about Pokémon conferences in other parts of the world, you should have heard of my name."

"Xia You..."

Linda frowned and repeated it twice. Sure enough, her memory was very good, and it actually reminded her of something.

"You're the world's strongest trainer who caused a sensation before? Or the one with the rumors about Diantha?"

“That’s right.” Xia You nodded. “It’s me.”

Linda sneered, "I never imagined that someone so powerful and renowned would do something like this!"

"Oh?" Xia You asked knowingly, "What did I do?"

"Of course they stole the ship and kidnapped people—"

Linda suddenly stopped talking halfway through her sentence.

She probably understood that the two women behind Xia You had stolen the ship from an evil organization like Team Plasma, and that she had been kidnapped because she had secretly boarded the ship. To prevent her from leaking information, they had locked her up here.

All of this is of his own making.

If she hadn't agreed to let Charles go with her that night...

If only I hadn't boarded that ship that night.

Everything will be completely different.

I still live in Fanba City.

but now……

Everything is irreversible now.

Seeing her expression, Xia You knew she had realized this, and couldn't help but shake her head slightly.

"It seems you understand your current situation."

Despite knowing the truth, Linda was unwilling to give up and said urgently, "Let me go! I promise I won't reveal a single word about you or this ship!"

Xia You shook her head: "We're all adults, and you should understand that no matter how nice the words sound, such a guarantee is worthless."

The light in Linda's eyes quickly faded, and she became dejected again.

"So... am I going to have to stay here for the rest of my life?"

Seeing her like this, Xia You finally revealed her purpose this time.

"However... although I can't let you go, you don't have to stay in this room forever, as long as you're willing to work for me."

Linda looked up at him, then at the two women behind him.

“To…work for you?” she repeated, her tone complex. “Like them? If I’m not mistaken, they’re not just your subordinates, are they?”

Xia You shrugged: "Your observation skills are indeed outstanding."

“This has nothing to do with me,” Linda said curtly. “They didn’t hide anything from me at all. Every time they mentioned you, it was like they were in heat.”

Xia You: ...

He glanced back at A-Quan and Huo-Yan, but the two women didn't react at all to Linda's words.

They seem quite proud of it.

Xia You glanced at them helplessly, then turned to look at Linda again.

But before he could speak this time, Linda sneered again: "So, you want me to become like them?"

Okay, it seems Linda misunderstood.

She thought Xia You wanted her to become his woman, just like Huo Yan and A Quan.

Chapter 1396 Linda: Don't come to me with that kind of thing!

Xia You almost choked on her own saliva.

He looked at Linda with surprise and asked, puzzled, "Why do you have such thoughts?"

“Isn’t that right?” Linda retorted. “Aren’t they your women? And they’re all very beautiful and capable. Isn’t this how you control them? Otherwise, I can’t think of anything that would make them risk their lives for you.”

Xia You was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"What do you take me for? A villain who wins people over with those kinds of methods? A bad guy like Team Plasma?"

Linda didn't speak, but her eyes clearly said: What else? Isn't that right?

It seems that in her eyes, beneath Xia You's dazzling exterior and high profile, she must be an ambitious person at heart.

Of course, the opposing Plasma Team might also be like idiot Charles, someone who wants to be a hero.

But after all, he stole someone else's ship, and even if it was a bad guy, he's certainly not some kind of hero with a moral compass.

Xia You shook her head and looked at her seriously: "First of all, they followed me of their own free will, not because of any control, and certainly not because I used any methods on them. Otherwise, they could have simply left. As for you—"

At this point, Xia You held up two fingers: "I'm giving you two choices now. First, stay in this room. I guarantee no one will hurt you, and someone will bring you food every day. You can move around freely in the room. After two years, I will let you leave, and I can even give you a large sum of money as compensation."

“The second one,” Xia You continued, “is to become my subordinate and work for me. In return, you can choose to leave after two years.”

"Two years?" Linda frowned. "Why two years?"

“Because two years is enough to change a lot of things.” Xia You shook her head. “Your opinions, your choices, even—”

He pointed to the deck beneath his feet: "The ownership of this ship may not even be an issue by then."

Linda understood the meaning behind his words.

Two years later, the plasma team's problem should have been solved long ago.

The ship is no longer considered "stolen goods," but rather legitimate property.

Letting her go at that time would indeed eliminate any further risks.

As for myself...

Who does he mean, and will my opinion of him change drastically in the next two years?

Is he serious?

"I don't understand, how can you be so sure that everything will change in two years? And... you could have kept me locked up indefinitely, why take this risk?"

"As I just said, I'm not a bad person. Since there's no irreconcilable conflict between us, we can naturally choose to be friends."

"To become friends?"

Linda sneered inwardly.

I've been locked up for over twenty days now!

How are you going to compensate me for this?!

However, she absolutely could not say those words aloud. After all, she was now at the mercy of others and could only be slaughtered at their mercy. If she spoke out and they wouldn't let her leave, then it would be a loss for her.

However, some probing is still necessary.

Xia You shook her head and smiled, "You were never supposed to be my enemy. You just happened to be on this ship. They only detained you here temporarily to prevent the news from leaking out. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, why can't we be friends? At least we shouldn't become enemies, am I right?"

Linda was stunned.

She never expected the reason to be so... simple.