Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

The next morning at breakfast, Rhea came downstairs clinging to Alex like a koala. She radiated peace and tranquility, her beaming smile hard to ignore.

"Someone had fun last night," Kaia remarked.

"It was amazing! We did this, then that, then some of the other things, it was amazing," Rhea replied, her usual energy on full display.

"Hah... we’re back up to four," Nyx commented with a sigh.

Rhea spotted Nyx, immediately dropped down from Alex, and bounded over to give her a big hug, much to Nyx’s surprise.

"You have things to teach me. Butt things. I want to try them. Tell me what you know!" Rhea exclaimed.

"Oh?" Nyx arched an intrigued brow.

"Give me your wisdom. Your secret sauce. Your family recipe. I want knowledge. You must share!" Rhea insisted, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Alright, alright. We’ll talk about it."

"Yay!"

Alex, having grabbed a plate from Lina, sat down next to Vera. "Vera, how are the Pokémon doing?" he asked suddenly.

"They’re fine. Why do you ask?" she replied.

"I’m planning to stop my hunting activities for a while, given the amount of money I’ve saved up. I can also easily last five years with the resources I’ve stockpiled, so I wanted an update on the Pokémon from your professional perspective."

"Well, all of them are doing fine based on my observations," Vera began. "They train regularly or stay active, so none of them are stagnating. I’ve ensured their diets are balanced between Expert ranked meat and Pokeblocks for proper nutrition. In terms of health, they’re doing well. Emotionally, none of them seem depressed, though I am slightly concerned about Frosmoth. Otherwise, there have been no issues."

"As for specifics, Raticate usually hangs out with Morpeko and Tinkaton because of their similar size and strength. They train regularly and eat together most of the time."

"Arcanine is being followed around by Absol and Houndoom. I don’t think it will be long before they start trying for eggs."

"Clawitzer is still being idolized by Forretress, while Frosmoth watches from the sidelines. I’ve noticed Frosmoth gaining confidence rather than showing signs of depression, so I keep a close eye on them the most."

"Metagross and the two Rotoms are always in the server rooms but they do regularly come to the training grounds to train their move proficiency like you asked."

"Hydreigon has taken the lead among the dragons. She prides herself in controlling and guiding Altaria, Kommo-o, and the two Goomys."

"Alcremie and Lina’s Miltank practically live in Lina’s kitchen. They rarely leave, if at all."

"Aegislash barely leaves your side, but when he does, he usually spends time with Dusknoir and Ceruledge, who almost always train without stopping. Is that a ghost thing?"

"I don’t think so. Aren’t Gengars more the mischievous type?" Alex replied.

"That’s true. Anyway, Togekiss mostly stays with the Cinccinos and my Audino. The four of them regularly clean up or help the others get comfortable. Togekiss in particular has been taking care of Lina and Mira."

"The Crobat couple have been trying for an egg recently, but haven’t had much luck. I’ve been experimenting with a new Pokeblock to help with conception."

"The Araquanid pair likes hanging out with Grimer, who pops up from the septic tank to say hi every once in a while. I think they want to be trained but are having trouble expressing it."

"The three Skiddo never leave Kaia’s side and always escort her wherever she goes. It’s hard to tell which ones belong to Kaia and which ones belong to you."

"She can have them at this point. Once she leaves, I’ll just have to sell the farm since no one else can take care of it," Alex joked.

"Vespiquen and the Combee pair mostly keep to themselves and prefer harvesting the forest for honey. Absol keeps an eye on them and always makes sure to leave her scent with them whenever they go into the forest."

"Smoliv evolved into Dolliv not too long ago."

"Oh? That’s great to hear," Alex said.

"Yeah, I told the girls what you said about strong trainers keeping their looks longer, and they’ve started training on the side. I don’t think there’s any Pokémon who isn’t adept on the farm."

"Well, there’s the half a dozen Wishiwashi," Alex said. "I made sure to keep them weak so I can get Beat Up bullets from them."

Vera’s eyes widened at that, a reaction that did not escape Alex’s notice.

"You’ve been feeding them Pokeblocks and Expert ranked Pokémon meat, haven’t you?" Alex accused.

"No... well, yes, but I didn’t know," Vera stammered.

"It’s fine. I should have mentioned it earlier, and it has been a while since I last asked them to make Beat Up bullets. I still have over a hundred in storage anyway. Besides, if I run out, I can always ask Mom for more," Alex said, reassuring her.

He had just lost his primary supplier of Beat Up bullets, but he still had another option through the Jennys, who likely had their own farms of weak Wishiwashi for that exact purpose. Worst case scenario, he would use the slightly stronger Beat Up bullets. He can always ask them to turn off the ability after all.

"Well, together with Gyarados, Milotic, and the six Wishiwashi at the pond, all the Pokémon on the farm are mid to high Adept," Vera concluded.

"That’s pretty good, I suppose. Any problems I can help with?"

"The water Pokémon want, well... more water."

"I’ll have a canal dug that connects to the training ground. I’ll include the Araquanids and Grimer in the training. We have nurseries in the mansion, right?"

"Yes. Lina, Mira, and I have already cleaned out a spot in case any of them make eggs."

"Good."

Overall, the Pokémon were doing well even without Alex needing to supervise them directly.

All he needed to focus on now was upgrading the Away Team and training all of his Pokemon more seriously. They would follow the training methods of the police academy to promote coordination and team play.

The Home Team included Morpeko, Absol, Houndoom, the Goomys, Araquanids, Grimer, Cinccinos, Skiddos, Vespiquen, and the Combees. They would receive coordinated defensive training to help them operate as a unit even when Alex was not around.

The Water Team consisted of Gyarados, Milotic, and the Wishiwashi. They would go through escort training to protect Alex whenever he was in a water-based environment.

The Away Team would gain new members, who would be introduced to the current team system. This system relied heavily on Metagross, who usually gave out commands using Alex’s authority.

After breakfast, Alex returned to his study and resumed his research on the League market, beginning with the list of Pokémon training services.

The market offered hundreds of options. Some specialized in move coordination, others in combining moves, enhancing aesthetics, or upgrading individual techniques. Many of these services also featured flexible pricing.

Alex felt tempted for a moment but quickly dismissed the idea. It was better for him to learn how to train his own Pokémon rather than leave them in the hands of others. Training them himself would give him greater control and ensure consistency across the team. Besides, with the number of Pokémon he had, outsourcing wasn’t a realistic long-term solution.

The most practical option would be to find lessons that taught him how to train effectively, ideally following a structure similar to the police academy training he had already completed.

While browsing the market, Alex also thought about which Pokémon to add to his roster. He wanted ones with preventative abilities like Altaria’s Cloud Nine, Alcremie’s Aroma Veil, and Tsareena’s Queenly Majesty.

He came across a few potentially useful abilities. Sweet Veil prevented sleep for both the user and its allies. Pastel Veil blocked poison under the same conditions. Healer offered a thirty percent chance to cure an ally’s status condition after each attack. But in the end, none of them stood out. Alcremie could already cover all those effects with Misty Terrain at the start of battle.

He also found Storm Drain and Lightning Rod. These intercepted Water and Electric type energy and nullified them. Alex thought about using them but quickly dismissed the idea. While helpful for defense, they also blocked his own team from using those move types.

These Abilities also came with limitations. Most could only block one attack from a higher-ranked Pokémon before fainting from energy overload. That made them effective only in official battles where opponents were limited and often equal in power.

Besides, Follow Me was a better and more versatile option, and Alex already had Togekiss to fill that role.

He then turned his attention to Friend Guard and Neutralizing Gas.

Friend Guard reduced the damage allies took by 25%. This offered a huge advantage when multiple allies were present, especially since the effect stacked multiplicatively. With five sources, Alex could reduce incoming damage by approximately 76%.

"Seems a bit much," Alex thought.

After some consideration, Alex decided that having 2 at 43% would be optimal. Any more would clutter the space and make them prime targets that were difficult to defend.

Neutralizing Gas stopped all abilities from activating. This ensured the playing field was even so that Alex’s number advantage and team play would shine the best.

’This would be perfect for canceling out redirecting effects or preventing Intimidate from crippling my team,’ Alex thought.

He remembered a time when they had faced an army of Gyarados with Intimidate. Their Attack stats were dropped to the lowest stack instantly. There had been no chance for a counterattack.

Neutralizing Gas would have saved them in that situation. It could stop Intimidate and prevent their opponent’s abilities from activating. It was another essential ability for his strategy.

Alex read about the Ability Shield next. It was an item that prevented a Pokémon’s ability from being suppressed or altered. Giving it to key members like Altaria and Alcremie would allow them to continue supporting the team without being affected by Neutralizing Gas or similar abilities. Of course, he would still need to stay alert for item theft or manipulation.

Satisfied with his research, Alex turned his attention to actually buying the Pokémon.

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