Chapter 133. Gardevoir Takes Command

While Alex window shopped around Selene's apartment for ideas to decorate his dream home, Gardevoir took command and began leading the operation.

Since becoming Alex's Pokémon, she had trained and studied relentlessly to earn the right to stand by his side and lead his loyal team. And it all began with her initiation.

The Pokémon at the farm called it the baptism, and it was brutal. She was loaded into a Technical Machine and forced to learn every move available to her species, roughly forty moves crammed into her mind all at once.

Fortunately, as a Psychic type gifted in mental endurance, she endured it without so much as a headache. The others called her the chosen one, and she was granted the respect of a commander. 

Still, she chose to earn their respect rather than depend on superstition or tradition. She threw herself into training her move proficiency, just like she had in the forest during her solitary years.

Under Alex's orders, she specialized in Psychic Terrain and Expanding Force, focusing on maximizing their range. She pictured a mob of humans rushing toward her only to explode as a wave of psychic energy passed through them. The very image sent shivers of ecstasy crawling down her spine. 

Her respect for Alex grew stronger because of his keen understanding. She resolved to follow his will and wisdom.

Her next challenge came in the form of gaming with Metagross. At first, she was hesitant. Metagross rarely spoke, which made the idea intimidating.

But once she discovered gaming, her world changed. The complexity, the strategic layers, the need to think five steps ahead was everything she never knew she craved.

Metagross was a genius who earned her deep respect and a place just below Alex in her internal ranking.

That changed the day she played with Rotom. Compared to Metagross, Rotom was a deity.

She considered demoting Alex from first place but quickly dismissed the thought. He commanded them both. That made him greater. 

Unknowingly, Alex had ascended to a level beyond deity in Gardevoir's eyes.

The next two years passed in a relentless cycle of training, studying, and waiting. Alex had promised her real combat experience, but it still had not come.

She felt the urge to complain, to strike out on her own, but lacked the courage and confidence to do so. After all, she still couldn't beat Rotom or Metagross.

So instead, she kept learning, kept preparing, waiting for the moment when she could finally prove herself.

Now, at last, her chance had come.

"Clean the place out. Leave nothing behind," Alex commanded.

Quelling her excitement, she fully analyzed her surroundings using her psychic abilities.

The building had 10 floors, the top 3 of which were residential. The 10th floor was reserved exclusively for Selene, which meant she had two floors to pay attention to.

The 9th floor housed a dozen people in deep sleep, while the 8th held three dozen.

Her psychic scans revealed weak Pokémon on high alert just one floor below. Unlike Alex, she couldn't rely on stealth. A direct breach was necessary.

She dispersed the Pokémon across the top 4 floors while positioning the flyers outside.

Kommo-o and Togekiss guarded the stairwell on the 9th floor. Forretress and Clawitzer held their positions on the 8th.

Altaria, Frosmoth, and the Crobat couple were stationed at the cardinal points of the building, watching for anyone attempting to escape by air.

Half of the remaining Pokemon were scattered on the 10th floor. The other half strategically occupied the 7th.

Meanwhile, Hydreigon stood by the elevator with Alex.

With careful instruction, Gardevoir adjusted each Pokémon's exact position, assigned their responsibilities, designated their opening moves, had them stack maximum stats, and, most importantly, corrected their aim.

At her signal, the Pokémon unleashed precise, single-target special attacks from all directions, piercing through walls, floors, and ceilings, and turning the eighth and ninth floors into a sieve. All while ensuring they avoided hitting the load-bearing pillars.

Depending on the Pokemon an appropriate attack was selected. Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Moonblast, Dark Pulse, Psychic, Dragon Pulse, Energy Ball, and even a Hyper Beam from Espeon. The walls, ceilings, and floors were reinforced to resist Elite-ranked damage, but they only resisted before ultimately giving way. As a result, Expert-ranked Pokémon had to exert extra effort to break through.

She herself fired a Psychic attack straight down, striking an unsuspecting trainer in the chest. His heart exploded under the force as the blast continued into the next floor, bisecting another sleeping target. She deeply wished she could have feasted on their dreams instead, but perhaps another time.

At Alex's instruction, only specific trainers were allowed to be killed, while the rest were graciously spared. Following his orders, she targeted the designated trainers in the first barrage ensuring those who remained were allowed to live.

The effect was immediate. Panic spread as Pokémon ran amok, unable to determine the origin of the attack. They began lashing out blindly, attacking allies who were within their sight, just the kind of chaos Gardevoir envisioned.

A second wave of attacks followed, eliminating the rampaging Pokémon whose trainers had been taken out in the first barrage. The remaining trainers and Pokémon fell into full panic. Faced with an invisible enemy, they chose flight over fight.

They rushed toward the stairwell, only to be met by a rampaging Kommo-o, who tore through scores of Pokémon without pause. On the eighth floor stairwell, chaos turned deadly as the group in front realized too late that they were trapped, blocked by strategically placed hazards and a resolute Forretress that refused to move or fall.

Some trainers attempted to escape by flying out, but the moment any of them mounted or were lifted by their Pokémon, they were instantly targeted and shot down by those positioned outside.

Others, realizing the attacks were coming from multiple floors, tried to break through the ceilings or floors to counterattack. But waiting for them were Elite Pokemon in overwhelming numbers. From the very start, they had no chance.

At the elevator, Hydreigon unleashed a torrent of Flamethrower, turning the shaft into a blazing furnace and destroying the elevator cars entirely. No one dared attempt to escape through that inferno.

By the third barrage, the remaining trainers gave up. They recalled their Pokémon and laid flat on the floor, surrendering completely. There was no hope of retaliation, only survival until they were collected. 

In the end, only the designated trainers were killed, while the rest were taken down. As for their Pokémon, they either fainted, died, or were safely returned to their Poké Balls.

"Excellent work, Gardevoir. You can now officially take over command of the away team," Alex said, gently stroking her head.

"Gaaaar…" she cooed, eyes glowing with pride and affection as she leaned into his touch.

"Now for the clean up. Collect the corpses, prisoners, Pokemon, Poke Balls, guns, ammunition, and combat gear. Take anything we can make use of and make it quick. We still have a few places to visit before the night is over," Alex commanded.

"Gardevoir!" she accepted before directing the Pokemon for the clean up. 

They were quite used to it at this point so it didn't take long before everyone was rounded up.

Alex had Rotom send a heads-up to Misty before ordering Arcanine and Gardevoir to teleport the captives and the deceased to her Gym. He could have had Jenny arrest them, but Misty might have different plans than official arrests. She never did specify how to handle them so Alex left the matter in her hands.

Once the captives were taken away and the guns, bullets, and combat gear safely stowed in his bag, Alex recalled all his Pokémon and rode Hydreigon into the night toward their next destination, a studio where a stockpile of weapons was hidden.

Upon arriving, Alex was surprised to see a group of people trying to move the goods out. No doubt they had been alerted to the attack and were attempting to relocate the stockpile. 

Alex could not allow that, so he, Raticate, and Gardevoir split the team into three groups to intercept all three warehouse locations simultaneously.

Raticate, Arcanine, Clawitzer, Forretress, and Team Weezing were left in charge of the studio, with strict instructions to guard it until Alex returned to pick them up.

Gardevoir departed with Altaria, Frosmoth, Alcremie, Kommo-o, and Togekiss to the warehouse district, where another stockpile was hidden.

Finally, Alex took Hydreigon, Dusknoir, Ceruledge, the Crobats, Tsareena, and Espeon to the docks, where the last stockpile was stored.

Once Alex arrived at the docks, he was just in time to see the last of the guns being loaded onto a ship preparing to set sail.

"Nope, not on my watch. Hydreigon, Dragon Pulse the rudder," Alex commanded.

"Drei?" Hydreigon asked.

"The back of the ship," Alex clarified.

"Gon!" Hydreigon responded.

With a powerful pulse of Dragon-type energy, Hydreigon destroyed the rear of the ship, ensuring it could not depart.

"Good. Crobats, scan the ship and make sure the goods stay inside. Dusknoir, Ceruledge, take out anyone who resists," Alex ordered.

Escorted by Hydreigon, Tsareena, and Espeon, Alex boarded the ship and immediately noticed the guns carried by the crew. This ship most likely belonged exclusively to the human supremacist faction.

After a while, the Crobats returned and reported the contents of the ship from their scans.

"Jackpot!"

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