Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Color drained from Lucien’s face as his Pokémon continued to relay updates on the approaching enemies. It seemed they would arrive in a matter of seconds.

"Let go of me, you piece of shit!" Lucien screamed, struggling to free his foot from Alex’s grip.

Unfortunately for him, Alex was significantly stronger. Just because a trainer had Elite ranked Pokémon didn’t mean they automatically had the strength to match. Strength had to be earned through effort, training, and discipline.

Without constant training, an expensive diet, and hard work, being an Elite ranked trainer was no different from being a normal human. All it did was raise the ceiling of what a person could achieve with effort.

Lucien, a psychic who prided himself on never having to lift a finger, couldn’t pry himself free from Alex’s grip. His psychic energy failed to fling Alex away because he was still shrouded in a thin layer of Dark type energy, negating any psychic influence. Even his Pokémon could do little until that energy was removed.

"Kill him!" Lucien screamed at his Pokémon. "Kill him now!"

They gathered their energy, preparing to use Psychic, until Lucien shouted again.

"Don’t use Psychic, you idiots! Use anything else but Psychic!"

Catching the hint, his Pokémon, Alakazam, Metagross, Gardevoir, Reuniclus, Malamar, and Espeon, channeled attacks of other types. But before any of them could release their moves, time ran out.

The window shattered as a three-headed black dragon burst in, barreling through everyone in the room and knocking them aside. It landed beside Alex and hovered protectively over him as his Pokémon poured into the room, unleashing absolute chaos.

Arcanine burst in first with Extreme Speed, slamming into Alakazam and hurling it against the wall. Before it could recover, he sank his fangs in with Crunch, dropping it in two brutal hits.

Togekiss followed, darting forward in a streak of light. It crashed into Gardevoir with Extreme Speed, then rammed it with Double-Edge, driving it through a wall and into the next room. Sounds of their battle could still be heard from the other side, mostly screams from Gardevoir. Togekiss having Hustle proved more useful than Alex had initially thought.

Raticate charged Espeon, striking with Quick Attack before following up with a vicious Sucker Punch just as Espeon tried to counter. He took her down with just two moves as well, a benefit of being at the top of the Elite rank and having Quick Attack reach Expert rank.

Kommo-o barreled into Metagross, unleashing Close Combat. The two locked in a savage melee as Metagross countered with Meteor Mash. Their moves weren’t particularly effective against each other, so they traded blows for quite some time.

Reuniclus and Malamar tried to help, but Alex’s defensive squad burst from their Pokéballs on Hydreigon, swarming the pair with relentless attacks until both collapsed.

Gardevoir rushed to Alex, channeling Heal Pulse to keep him alive. His wounds began to close, but the internal injuries would still require surgery, and the bones that had healed improperly would need realignment.

"Thanks," Alex rasped. He forced himself upright, eyes locking on Lucien. "Clean the place up. I’ll handle this guy."

Gardevoir nodded, then directed Alex’s Pokémon to intercept the incoming reinforcements. There were quite a lot of Elite ranked trainers under Lucien’s employ, but they wouldn’t be able to match Alex’s well-fed and expertly trained team, even without his input.

On top of that, they needed an outlet after watching Alex get so brutally beaten. They hadn’t appreciated being forced to wait for his signal while he was tortured. Now they wanted to rampage, to tear down anyone who dared resist, and let their fury be felt.

Meanwhile, Alex reached out and seized Lucien by the neck. His other hand tightened around the ankle he had yet to release, crushing bone beneath his grip.

"Gah! No! Stop! What are you doing? I give up! I’ll cooperate!" Lucien begged, thrashing weakly.

"Nah," Alex replied.

He hovered over Lucien and slowly squeezed his neck, watching as his consciousness faded with wide eyes still searching for a way to escape.

A psychic message made its way into Alex’s mind. He allowed the intrusion just to hear Lucien beg further.

’I can pay you triple what Devon offered!’ Lucien gasped, but Alex’s grip only tightened.

Alex relished the opportunity for a bit of revenge. He did not appreciate being beaten into such a sorry state and nearly dying, even if he had enjoyed the thrill of it. Finally, Alex twisted Lucien’s neck, ending his life in an instant.

"Haaa... that feels better," he sighed.

Alex struggled to stand, but Hydreigon lowered her head, letting him use it for support.

"Thanks, girl," Alex said, patting her scales.

He looked down at the arena and saw the crowd beginning to evacuate. The Lucario that had beaten him into the ground was nowhere to be found, likely retrieved by its trainer. Whether that trainer was part of Lucien’s personal retinue or someone he had paid, Alex couldn’t tell.

It wasn’t like he wanted revenge on Lucario anyway. To him, it had been a fair fight, and whatever happened in the octagon stayed in the octagon.

Alex looked around, taking in the extravagance of the place before remembering just how loaded Lucien had been. Chances were, there was some hidden loot lying around.

He pulled out his phone and gave the order.

"Rotom. Hack everything and find me anything worth taking."

Rotom zipped out of the device, slipping into the nearest outlet as it began its search for anything useful.

Alex sank into a chair and let himself rest. He had internal injuries to survive, so he couldn’t be too active. He needed to get to a hospital as soon as possible.

First things first, though. Whatever Lucien had stashed away needed to be retrieved before the cops showed up. He wasn’t about to be satisfied with merely the reward from Devon Corp. He wanted more.

Alex closed his eyes for a second, and the next thing he knew, Officer Jenny’s shouting jolted him awake.

"Hey! You over there! You alive?"

He blinked, disoriented, and saw Hydreigon standing guard. The dragon hissed at Officer Jenny, keeping her from getting too close.

"Yes, I’m alive," Alex said, his voice hoarse. "What seems to be the problem, officer?"

"Only that your Pokémon destroyed half the building and killed quite a lot of people."

"I was sent by Devon Corp to take this guy out," Alex said, pointing at Lucien’s corpse.

"Your Pokémon also destroyed a lot of vehicles and caused traffic to back up on the streets."

"Oh, my bad. I was dying, so a bit of collateral damage was inevitable. I’ll pay for the damages. Just charge it to Alex Wattson."

"Alex? You’re Alex?" she asked, looking him up and down. "I remember you being cuter."

"I remember being cuter as well."

They shared a chuckle before Jenny’s expression turned serious.

"Would you mind letting the police handle the rest of the cleanup?"

"Are you sure?" Alex asked. "There might still be Elites running around."

"There haven’t been any signs of combat for a few hours now. If there are any trainers left, they would have already escaped. Your Pokémon have been guarding the lobby for two hours. I was only allowed up because your Gardevoir said she recognized me."

"It’s been that long?" Alex muttered. "Guess I’d better leave the rest to you then. Sorry for the trouble."

"Just make sure to let me know next time."

"I’ll try."

Alex focused and called out to Gardevoir, waiting for her reply. Once she confirmed the sweep was complete, he ordered the team to retreat and take him to his hotel room.

Gardevoir recalled Alex’s Pokémon and gathered the loot before teleporting over. She took hold of Alex and then teleported them both to the luxury suite he had rented earlier.

Once they arrived, Alex called for a manager. A sharp knock came at the door, and the man stepped in promptly.

"What can I do for you Mr. Wattson?"

"I need medical treatment. The best kind you have."

"You’re in luck. We have a specialist in the city who can do more than just repair internal injuries. They can orient your body into its peak fighting condition."

"How much?" Alex asked, skeptical of the offer.

"For you, Mr. Wattson? Free of charge. Your recent fight with Lucien was very much appreciated."

"And?"

"And we apologize for being rough with you. But you needed to be convincing to get you into that fight."

"Fine. Bring them in, but my Pokémon will stand guard and watch."

"Of course, Mr. Wattson. That can be arranged."

"And a full spa treatment for me and my team before I forgive you."

"Wonderful. Let’s call it even."

"Good."

Alex wasn’t particularly pissed. He’d suspected as much when he woke from his stupor in the arena, but the truth was he just wanted some free stuff. Nothing beat free stuff, even when, for all intents and purposes, he had infinite money.

He waited less than an hour before Umbraline’s specialized doctor arrived and examined him.

"You look like shit," the doctor said.

"I feel like shit too."

"Well, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure your body is as powerful as it can ever be," the doctor said while administering anesthesia to begin the operation.

"I’ll leave it to you," Alex said to Gardevoir as sleep took him.

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