Chapter 132. Back to Work

"I happen to be in need of a bounty hunter," Misty started to explain. "A few years ago, an Elite trainer from the human supremacist faction began setting up support groups for victims of Pokémon attacks. They mostly round up people who developed an aversion to or hate for Pokémon in general."

"There aren't many of these people, but they do exist. My city is a thriving cultural hub, as you may have noticed, which means plenty of people from all walks of life pass through and decide to stay more often than not. It's a logistics nightmare ensuring people don't have a reason to be homeless."

"Now this bitch walks in and starts setting up orphanages, training centers, art galleries, and even shows that focus on the brutality of Pokémon. I had no problems with it at first, since I very much support free speech, but the city has been getting riled up lately."

"There have been protests trying to undermine the League's authority, spouting bullshit about getting rid of all Pokémon. They started out peaceful, until recently when a group opened fire on the police."

"Now it has escalated into full blown armed conflict. A few idiots with guns weren't much of a problem, but Rotom tells me they have over a hundred people now, all fully armed and ready to wreak havoc."

"I tried to confront the bitch in charge, but she threatened to drown the city if I tried to fight her off. Even if I manage to prevent that, I myself would end up drowning the city in the fight. I need you to come grab the bitch fast before I lose it and decide to give up half the city."

"What do you think?" she asked, a bit tense.

"You had me at 'bounty hunter.'" Alex replied.

"Great! I'll send the specifics to your Rotom. I don't care how you do it, just make sure to limit the damage to within a few city blocks and I'll consider it a job well done," Misty said before hanging up.

Misty was most likely impressed with how Alex managed to spearhead a flood and profit from it. That probably explained her increased trust in his bounty hunting abilities. She had likely waited until his farm finished its repairs before offering him a job.

Alex greatly appreciated the opportunity to be relied on by a Champion. It felt like he was finally moving up in the world, instead of just being hired help. As for why his services were needed instead of them handling it themselves, the answer was fairly straightforward.

Misty, as a Champion-ranked Water-type trainer, specializes in aquatic combat. The challenge with Water-types is their high potential for collateral damage on land. Just using a move like Hydro Pump indoors could flood an entire building. That's exactly why Alex never used anything more powerful than Water Pulse with Clawitzer.

Even if battles were fought in water, the resulting tidal waves could devastate coastlines if left unchecked. That put Misty in a precarious position when it came to using her full power. She had to be extremely cautious not to unleash moves with devastating aftereffects.

Alex sympathized with her situation. With most of his Pokémon now at Elite rank, he had to be just as mindful about which moves to use in combat.

Take Arcanine, for example, his primary focus was on Extreme Speed and Heat Wave. While Extreme Speed was still manageable, Heat Wave at Elite rank could easily burn down an entire forest. Just like the damage caused to the forest during the chase after Jonathan Vexler, the sniper assassin.

Alex soon received an information package from Misty via Rotom. It detailed his target along with the specifics of her operation.

Selene Marlowe—Elite-ranked trainer affiliated with the human supremacist faction. Her Pokémon team included: Swampert, Ludicolo, Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Wailord, and Milotic. Current bounty: 500,000 Pokedollars, wanted for destruction of private property.

"She's a bit cheap, isn't she? She doesn't even have a kill order, so I can't profit off her Pokémon or belongings," Alex realized.

Digging further, he discovered her parents had been convicted and executed as part of Team Aqua in Hoenn almost thirty years ago. Since then, she had lived quietly as a Water-type trainer, until she suddenly joined the human supremacist faction. She wasn't a hardcore member and only ended up with a bounty after accidentally destroying a seaside mansion and fleeing the scene.

Continuing through her file, Alex found she had over a dozen underlings with bounties exceeding a million each. They were remnants of Team Aqua she had encountered and gathered during her travels, all Expert-ranked trainers with kill orders.

"That's better. Still a bit cheap overall, but fortunately, they've got enough guns to arm a hundred people. With a hundred bullets each, that's enough to take down another flood," Alex calculated.

Her operation included orphanages that indoctrinated children, training centers for abusing Pokémon, art galleries showcasing images and paintings of Pokémon eating humans or destroying cities, and media productions focused on Pokémon brutality. All of it was funded by her backers.

"She's doing a pretty good job staying under the radar, all things considered. If it weren't for the armed conflict, she could've legally kept operating. Too bad she pissed off a Gym Leader."

Misty had the legal authority to order Selene's execution on the grounds of suspected involvement in a terrorist plot, which was realistically true but technically and legally false.

Most people assumed the League and its Gym Leaders were paragons of justice, but in reality, they weren't so different from those running the Underworld, the only real difference being their legal status.

If the League were ever replaced by the Underworld, the political climate wouldn't change much. Only the names at the top would be different. And if anyone went too far, another Underworld would rise to bring things back to square one.

For this operation, Alex had to take down an office building registered under Argent Solutions, where Selene and most of her underlings stayed to oversee their business. He also needed to raid three key locations that contained warehouses storing their weapons.

"I can't bust my way in like usual. If we get into a fight and Selene starts losing, she might flood Cerulean City with Hydro Pumps or Surfs. This will have to be an assassination," Alex muttered. "Seems like the perfect chance to give Gardevoir some real experience. And since it's an official hunt, I get to use Rotom as well."

With the plan in place, Alex waited until evening before assembling his entire away team. This time, he left Metagross to defend the farm and brought Gardevoir along as the commander.

Once night fell, Alex teleported to the southwest quadrant of the city, where the industrial sector was located.

He quickly slipped into the shadows and arrived at the designated office building.

Based on the floor plans Misty included in the information package, the residences were located at the very top.

"Rotom, official bounty hunter business. Disable their security system and erase all traces of our presence," Alex commanded.

Like lightning, Rotom shot out from the phone into a nearby outlet, disappearing into the building.

Releasing Hydreigon, Alex mounted her and flew up to the roof. Rather than bring it down as he normally would, he had Raticate cut a clean opening in the glass window just outside Selene's room.

Once inside, Alex scanned the room and quickly spotted her Poké Balls resting on a nearby desk. Water Pokémon needed a water source to remain outside their Poké Balls, so most trainers kept them stored while sleeping in case of a nighttime emergency.

He locked them away and slipped them into his pack before moving toward the bed.

Selene lay asleep on top of the covers, unaware of the intruder.

Alex pulled out a syringe filled with a fast-acting sedative, preparing to inject it. He had never used one before, normally, he just kicked down doors and tied up targets instead of making sure they stayed unconscious.

As he injected her, Selene jolted awake, eyes wide and mouth opening to scream. The sharp sting had thrown her into combat mode, but the sight of a shadowy mass looming over her terrified instead.

Before she could make a sound, Alex struck her with a sharp jab to the chin, knocking her out cold. At least the sedative would keep her that way now.

"That almost went sideways. Mental note: gag the target before injecting the sedative," Alex muttered.

With Selene secured, it was time to collect his pay.

He released Gardevoir and gave a simple command.

"Clean the place out. Leave nothing behind."

"Gardevoir. (With pleasure.)" she replied with a sadistic smile.

Alex released the rest of his Pokemon and left Gardevoir in charge of their sweep. He would usually play a more active role but he wanted to fully assess Gardevoir's capabilities.

While his Pokémon ravaged the building, Alex wandered through Selene's luxurious apartment. Aquariums filled every corner, glowing with blue and green light and housing exotic fish. The dark decor and glass walls gave it the feel of an evil lair, but Alex still found it impressive and well designed. 

"I should do something similar with my dream home," Alex muttered, just as explosions rocked the building, followed by screams and the sounds of battle echoing through the floors.

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