The next day, Alex bought another clay dummy for Ceruledge to practice precision cutting, so she wouldn't interrupt Aegislash's training. Unfortunately, there were no restraint suits for Ghost-types—they lacked muscles to build, and typical restraints couldn't hold them without expensive, specialized materials designed specifically for spectral Pokémon.
He also taught the new additions every move they could learn via TM—a grueling ordeal the Zubat pair dreaded, especially knowing it would only intensify once they evolved into Crobat.
As a reward for their efforts so far, Alex brought out his grooming kits and gave his Pokémon some well-deserved care.
Raticate received a bath using a new short-hair shampoo that added gloss and a light coating to protect from environmental wear. Afterward, he was brushed with a soft bristle brush, given a massage following techniques from popular grooming videos, had his nails trimmed, and his large teeth filed down for comfort and hygiene.
Arcanine underwent a deep brushing with a fireproof comb, had his teeth cleaned and filed, his nails trimmed, and his paw pads waxed. He enjoyed a massage as well.
Clawitzer and Forretress had their shells cleaned, brushed with soft steel brushes, then waxed to shield them from harsh sunlight. Forretress especially enjoyed being groomed alongside Clawitzer.
Rotom, being a Ghost-type, didn't require grooming. As usual, it spent the entire session playing games.
Altaria finally got the bath she needed. Leaves had tangled in her cotton during their forest travels. After a long soak, her fluff was brushed and detangled, and her nails were trimmed.
Alcremie helped bake cookies using her cream. She required very little maintenance aside from ensuring her happiness—something that could be taxing for Pokémon who disliked her matcha flavor. Luckily, Alex had grown used to it, and it didn't bother him much anymore.
Frosmoth was brushed carefully. Baths were out of the question due to her low core temperature—she'd freeze the water and end up encased in ice. She found the resulting frozen shell extremely annoying, so dry grooming it was.
Aegislash was sharpened with a whetstone, wiped down with a microfiber cloth, and finished with oil. He looked pristine… for all of five seconds before diving back into clay dummy training.
Metagross was washed, scrubbed, and waxed to prevent dust accumulation. He grumbled the whole time, jealous that Rotom got to relax and hone his gameplay skills while he was stuck in a bath.
Kommo-o had his own extensive session—bathed, claws and teeth filed, scales waxed. Easily the most tedious of them all to groom.
Hydreigon got the full treatment as well—and she loved every second of it. Alex found her adorable and couldn't understand why people said she was difficult.
Togekiss was equally pampered. With his silky feathers and round body, he was unbelievably smooth. Given his shape, size, and weight, his aerodynamic ability made no sense—but he was a Flying-type, so Alex didn't question it.
Dusknoir and Ceruledge continued their training during the spa day. Being Ghost-types, they could simply phase through dirt and grime. It was at this moment that Alex figured that Aegislash could do the same thing.
Unfortunately, they left a very dirty wall behind in the process. Thankfully, Clawitzer was there to power-wash it clean with a blast of water.
Finally, the Zubat couple enjoyed a mini spa day of their own. Their tiny fur was brushed, and their delicate wing membranes carefully oiled to maintain moisture and flexibility.
Alex hadn't realized just how tedious grooming Pokémon could be—but he didn't have a choice. After a week-long expedition through the forest, followed by three grueling weeks of training and yet another life-threatening mission, they more than deserved it.
It took Alex the entire day just to groom everyone to perfection, and by the end of it, he was completely wiped. He spent the rest of the night lounging around, too tired to do anything productive.
Raticate, however, had other ideas.
Curious to see what the Zubat pair could accomplish, he organized a small scouting mission. With Rotom's help, they pinpointed several buildings in the city that likely harbored illicit activity. The best time to check for potential bounties was, of course, at night.
He rigged the Zubats up with a microphone and camera, both linked wirelessly to Rotom. As the pair flitted silently through the city skies, Rotom streamed their nighttime adventure live to Alex's computer.
Rotom didn't mind the extra load—it could still play its games uninterrupted, even without a screen. Everything was running in the background anyway. That was the real reason it was so good at games: it had always been multitasking in Alex's phone while Metagross sat in a Pokéball during travel.
The Zubat pair were only required to scan each building using their ultrasonic sound waves to form a mental blueprint, which Metagross could then interpret and reconstruct digitally with the computer.
This process would reveal which buildings were hiding secrets, allowing them to poke around more thoroughly in the morning.
Rotom had selected buildings primarily around the slums—areas it had easy access to through local networks. These were also the most promising candidates through a simple process of elimination.
As the Zubats made their rounds, panic quickly spread among the more paranoid criminals. They weren't stupid; their hideouts were guarded by all kinds of security—scouts, surveillance, even Pokémon specifically trained to detect intrusions.
Some buildings were even guarded by Elite-level trainers. But luckily for the Zubats, they were fast. They swooped in silently, scanned the interior in mere moments, then vanished with a Quick Attack, blueprint memorized and pursuers left in the dust of the city's twisting alleyways.
By the end of the night, criminal operations all across the slums were thrown into disarray. Organizations scrambled to move cargo, hide illicit goods, and shut down their operations temporarily to avoid exposure. Spies were sent scrambling to figure out which team, gym, or agency was conducting reconnaissance.
Vaults were emptied and money laundered at record speed. No one wanted to take chances, not even with an illegal scan. As far as they were concerned, the League or police were already on their way.
By morning, even government officials were pissed. Their "arrangements" with gyms, leagues, or police should have kept their operations out of the spotlight. Yet here they were—exposed and scrambling. They rushed to sell or transfer building ownership to cover their tracks, causing an unusual spike in property transactions overnight.
City offices under League supervision flagged the surge immediately. They weren't about to risk a repeat of what happened four years ago. Every building that changed hands was put under investigation.
In the end, the investigators found nothing—thanks to the criminals' panic and quick cover-up—but the fear lingered. The right questions were being asked, and that alone was enough to keep the pressure on.
When Alex woke up in the morning, he was greeted by a proud pair of Zubats and a smug Raticate, who pointed triumphantly to his laptop.
Alex indulged them and checked the screen. What he saw was a list of blueprints for the exteriors of buildings. The Zubats had scanned them quickly, with only the rooms that had windows visible—anything without a window was left blank.
He was both amazed and disappointed. Amazed at the fact that Zubat, in combination with Metagross, could pull off such an impressive feat, but disappointed because the criminals would likely have already hidden by now. The buildings were effectively "clean" now; any criminal hiding in them would have been alerted.
Still, the result was impressive. Not only had they captured digital blueprints, but they also managed to escape unscathed.
As Alex dug deeper into the files, his scalp prickled with unease. There, next to the blueprints, was a list of bounties—20 high-profile individuals with rough facial profiles. These people were hiding in the buildings the Zubats had scanned.
They should have already fled, but the fact that these criminals had been caught on a scan from Novice-ranked Zubats was both amazing and terrifying. Alex knew he had to be more cautious from here on out.
He considered whether to reveal this information, but the thought of facing such dangerous Elite trainers made him hesitant. The risk to him and the public was too great.
'If a fight broke out with these people together, the whole city could explode,' Alex thought grimly. 'But, not my problem. They have bounties on their heads, and if they get caught, I'll get paid.'
He decided to file a report, attaching all the details to the bounty hunter's website. It was their problem now, not his. Besides, the information was unlikely to be useful after everything had been moved and everyone had left.
After Alex submitted everything online, he pushed the entire matter to the back of his mind. He didn't care about the outcome of the information he'd provided—it cost him nothing.
Besides, it wasn't technically illegal. As a bounty hunter, he had certain rights granted to him, especially given his strength and ability to handle Elite-ranked trainers. Laws bent to people like him, just as they did for Gym Leaders.
Alex was more focused on training his Pokémon. With just over 10 months left before the gym challenge, he had a lot to prepare for. Not only did he need to sharpen his own skills, but he also had to help the new recruits develop their teamwork.
The clock was ticking, and there was no time to waste.
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