Alex stood at the west gate, facing the direction of Celadon City, his eyes scanning the forest flanking both sides of the trail with suspicion. He wore no disguise today, opting instead for his standard bounty hunter attire.
He knew the city's criminal elements were keeping tabs on him, but how eager they were to eliminate him remained uncertain.
He considered donning another disguise, but his wallet had been growing lighter by the day. In the end, he decided to roll the dice this time.
Alex was confident in his ability to handle an Elite-ranked trainer who underestimated him—but not a serious one commanding more than six Elite-ranked Pokémon.
Regardless, he mounted Hydreigon and took off toward Celadon City, pushing for as much speed as the dragon could manage.
He could vaguely sense the panic behind him as he disappeared into the distance.
He had no intention of making things easy for his enemies. Better they stumble, sending their forces one group at a time, rather than coordinating a full ambush.
With Rotom recording from its position on his chest, Alex vanished into the horizon.
An hour into his journey, Alex encountered his first enemy: an Elite-ranked Fearow, flying solo. These Pokémon typically avoided the trail, but reports had confirmed that the primary cause of individual incidents along these routes were lone Elite-ranked Flying or Ground-type Pokémon that either passed through or appeared suddenly.
This one, in particular, seemed to be in a sour mood and had decided to charge straight at Alex—despite the terrifying Hydreigon beneath him, whose own mood was rapidly souring thanks to their peaceful bonding time being interrupted by such a weak interloper.
Fearow dove in with a Drill Peck aimed directly at Hydreigon's head, only to be stopped cold by a shimmering Protect. Without hesitation, Alex summoned Altaria and Frosmoth. Altaria opened with a graceful Feather Dance while Frosmoth launched Infestation.
Realizing the threat, Fearow attempted to flee using U-turn, but the lingering Infestation slowed its retreat, allowing Alex and his team to close the distance.
An Ice Beam from both Altaria and Frosmoth, combined with a Tri Attack from Hydreigon, brought the Fearow crashing down, unconscious before it could escape. Alex tossed a Poké Ball to secure the capture, and Altaria swooped in to retrieve it, delivering the ball to him for safekeeping.
Tonight, they'd be dining on Elite-ranked meat.
Alex recalled Altaria and Frosmoth before continuing on his path toward Celadon City.
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Meanwhile, in a high-rise office building within Celadon City, a purple-haired man with a beard and a man bun—dressed in a sleek black suit with purple accents—sat behind a desk as a transmission came in from the scouting department.
"Sir, Alex Wattson is en route to Celadon City for a Gym Challenge with the Grass Gym. Should we intercept?"
"Send him a greeting gift—make it twice the dose—and include a letter. We don't want his type snooping around our business."
"Yes, Sir."
"What's Monica up to?"
"She's doubling her acquisitions to compensate for last year's supply chain disruption."
"Send Alex her way and pull out all our spies. I don't want to be on the ship when it crashes and burns."
"Yes, Sir."
The call ended. The man leaned back, pulling up Alex's file. He knew Alex's type: strong, disruptive, greedy—and, most importantly, a realist. The kind of person you could have in your pocket with the right incentive.
Alex had been flagged the moment he became a bounty hunter with an Elite-ranked Hydreigon. Those Pokémon were not for the faint of heart—and certainly not a threat to be ignored.
His position on the watchlist rose with every successful bounty, eventually landing him on the Top 100 Eyesore List after he scanned multiple criminal-run buildings in Saffron City, scattering lesser criminals to their territory and creating unwanted competition.
Monica Alfreds, one of those lesser criminals, had become an especially painful thorn in his side. She had a taste for human trafficking, sex clubs, and even a pokephilia ring. Her operations were shut down in the chaos that followed, and now she had come to his city, looking for a piece of his pie.
One he couldn't engage in directly, thanks to her backers: a group of lunatics ranting about human supremacy while running a human trafficking ring.
He needed her gone—and Alex, with his unique blend of subtlety and destructive capability, was the perfect solution. The sweet spot between harassment and all-out war.
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As Alex continued his journey, he occasionally spotted trainers battling out in the wilds. They had weaker Pokémon—Adept rank at best—struggling to fend off groups of hungry and territorial Pokemon looking for their next meal.
He never had the privilege of such low-level fights, thanks to his financial stability. Money, efficient training, and extensive knowledge were the keys to raising powerful Pokémon.
You simply couldn't get by without those things. Otherwise, you'd be wasting your time—time better spent digesting high-ranked meat after a session of strenuous, targeted exercise.
As he flew past a rocky stretch of wilderness, he suddenly felt a Mean Look lock onto Hydreigon. Judging by the fact that Hydreigon hadn't shaken it off yet, it was from an Elite-ranked Pokémon.
Alex landed immediately and released all of his Pokémon as a precaution—just in time, as both sides of the path erupted with enemies. Six Elite-ranked Pokémon appeared from both sides. From the left came Ambipom, Mightyena, and Cacturne. From the right came Venomoth, Liepard, and Ariados.
It was… unimpressive.
Alex fired off a Beat Up bullet at Arcanine for the left side and a Fire Blast bullet at Ceruledge for the right. He didn't bother organizing further; they were split into two easy-to-handle groups, and he had the numbers.
Seventeen Pokémon in total—all at least Expert-ranked.
At Metagross's command, his team split into two groups of six, intercepting the attackers in pairs:
Arcanine and Raticate against Cacturne
Kommo-o and Togekiss against Mightyena
Dusknoir and Altaria against Ambipom
Clawitzer and Forretress against Venomoth
Frosmoth and Alcremie against Liepard
Ceruledge and Hydreigon against Ariados
The fight was completely one-sided—a fact his assailants quickly realized. They'd been warned that the trainer had a lot of Pokémon, but were told they'd be weak. No one said they'd be facing a 6v12 with a very angry Hydreigon in the mix.
They weren't confident they could handle a raging Hydreigon alone, let alone the rest of the team.
Arcanine finished a Taunted Cacturne with a single Flare Blitz. Kommo-o landed a decisive Close Combat on Mightyena. Dusknoir and Altaria traded a few blows with Ambipom, but Dusknoir did well keeping it away from Altaria.
Clawitzer was poisoned, but Venomoth couldn't escape Clawitzer's relentless Water Pulses while Clawitzer never fell below half health with Pain Splits from Forretress. Liepard fell after being hit with back-to-back Dazzling Gleams. Ariados stood no chance against Fire Blast from Hydreigon and Flare Blitz from Ceruledge.
Before the attackers could escape on their emergency flying types, they were locked down with Mean Look and knocked out with Hypnosis—a move far more effective on humans than Pokémon. The Crobat pair guaranteed no escape.
A perfect, clean victory.
Metagross gathered the Poké Balls and incapacitated humans for Alex to inspect.
Inside their wallets were membership cards for a sex club and a poképhilia club in the city, along with explicit instructions on how to access the black market and use their services.
Alex wasn't an idiot. This was both an invitation and a bribe—a ploy to remove competition. The fight had been too easy and the rewards far too generous.
So generous, his Pokémon could feast on Elite-ranked meat for the next ten days.
He had no choice but to happily accept such offers. A pair of bounties, plus high-quality food for the next ten days? Two entire businesses to feast on during his short stay in Celadon City? Where could he sign up—and could he book the next visit in advance?
As for being targeted by a criminal organization beyond his means? Alex didn't care. Lines were drawn in the sand against the League, but those same lines applied to criminal organizations as well.
The worst they could do was send more Elite-ranked trainers after him one at a time. Anything more, and they'd cross the boundary—triggering a full-scale response and getting hunted down for good in an all-out war.
Alex continued on his way atop Hydreigon, gliding along the trails of Route 7 while carrying his bounties. As he passed the central point of the route, he spotted a traveler's camp—built specifically around an underground tunnel that bypassed Saffron City and led straight through to Lavender City via Route 8.
Typically, it would take trainers about a week on foot to reach this point, making the camp a much-needed resting spot before they resumed their journey.
The group that had recently ambushed him had come from this very camp. It served as a convenient base for those waiting on standby to intercept targets moving between the two cities.
Monica Alfreds had also dispatched her own Elite-ranked trainers after Alex, blaming him for the delays in her operations. Those delays had forced her to lay low in Celadon City instead of continuing her decade-long reign in Saffron City.
Now she wanted revenge—and she was sending her best. A fellow Elite, just as bitter, who had lost all his top dragons in a raid because of Alex.
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