Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

It had been a month since Alex and the gang started their employment at the Fighting Dojo, and Alex had just completed the school year. His grades were above average due to his dedication to learning about Pokémon, coupled with his former adult education, which made Jenny feel like a proud mother.

More importantly, he now had two months of summer break with no classes, allowing him and the gang to focus on making more money at the Fighting Dojo. They had been averaging fifty fights a day with the few hours they had left after school. At 5,000 Pokédollars a day, they had just enough income to balance out their daily expenses on Growlithe.

With the extra time on their hands, they had started looking into ways to make the most of their days and rebuild their savings. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ever since they began battling at the Dojo, Raticate’s growth had significantly slowed, even with the help of growth-accelerating Pokéblocks. His move pool was still stuck at Basic, with only one Advanced move, but there had been some progress.

Specifically, Raticate’s execution of Swords Dance had been getting faster. It was only a matter of time before he could take it to Advanced proficiency.

His expertise in hit-and-run tactics, on the other hand, had improved significantly. His window of opportunity had widened, and he had become more efficient in his movements.

This greatly impressed the gym trainers to the point that they wanted Alex to stay at the gym permanently as a trainer, even though he didn’t have a Fighting-type Pokémon.

Growlithe, on the other hand, had made significant improvements. It wouldn’t be long before he reached Expert rank as well. Unfortunately, his move pool practice had suffered due to the lack of their morning training.

Name: Growlithe, Adept

Type: Fire, Male

Ability: Justified

Moves:

Novice: Covet(Egg Move), Ember, Leer, Howl, Bite, Thief, Roar, Attract, Endure, Retaliate, Take Down

Basic: Morning Sun(Egg Move), Double-Edge(Egg Move), Sunny Day, Dig, Facade, Protect, Sleep Talk, Rest, Substitute, Roar, Flame Wheel, Helping Hand, Agility, Fire Fang, Crunch, Snarl, Outrage, Thunder Fang, Charm, Close Combat, Fire Spin, Flame Charge, Will-o-Wisp, Temper Flare, Curse, Scary Face, Swift, Body Slam, Psychic Fangs, Heat Wave, Fire Blast, Overheat, Wild Charge, Tera Blast,

He should have already had all of his learned moves at Basic, but their new schedule lacked move practice. Fortunately, the unlearned moves weren’t too important, as Alex had completed Growlithe’s fire move training.

Alex had also discovered a peculiarity about Growlithe. He had a Relaxed nature, which increased his defense but lowered his speed. Alex had always wondered why his Growlithe was slightly slower compared to others, and now he had the answer.

However, Alex didn’t know much about Pokémon natures. In fact, he didn’t even know what nature Raticate had, as this aspect of Pokémon hadn’t been discovered by researchers yet.

Raticate hadn’t shown any particular stat that stood out as an advantage or disadvantage, so he might have one of those neutral natures—not that Alex knew what the natures were.

If Alex had to guess, Raticate was either focused, calm, serious, cold, or quiet. Not that he even knew how many natures existed or what their effects were. He really was just a casual gamer, after all.

He had simply noticed that Growlithe was always relaxed, even in battle, and that he was tougher yet slower than most Growlithes.

In order to take advantage of Growlithe’s Relaxed nature and Morning Sun, Alex adjusted his EV training, shifting the focus from Attack and Speed to Defense and Special Defense.

His new diet consisted of Metapod and Kakuna for Defense, Tentacool and Seel for Special Defense, along with Pomeg, Kelpsy, Hondew, and Tamato Berries.

Thanks to Growlithe’s bottomless stomach, it didn’t even take a month to reduce his previously maxed EVs and fully allocate them to Defense and Special Defense.

With his fighting style now solidified, Growlithe focused on tanking hits and countering opponents. He simply held his ground, waiting for an opening to exploit. While this strategy was ineffective against stronger opponents, it practically guaranteed victory against weaker ones.

Growlithe had even gained his own fans at the Fighting Dojo—he was the perfect punching bag for trainees looking to practice their hit-and-run tactics.

Plus, when he evolves into Arcanine, he can transition from a tank to a bruiser—a behemoth on the battlefield capable of trading blows with the best of them. That is, assuming he ever decides to evolve at all.

Regarding Alex’s training, he had improved significantly since his days as a starving, frail orphan. Not that it had lasted longer than a month, but the experience had motivated him to personally build up his body.

As a thirteen-year-old, Alex couldn’t focus on heavy lifting, so he prioritized building stamina and speed instead. With the help of Pokémon meat, he had started exhibiting superhuman traits even at his age.

He was rarely winded, even after jogging for over an hour, and his sprinting speed had already surpassed the world record on Earth. At 30 mph (48.28 km/h) full sprint, he was as fast as a novice-ranked Pokémon—and he was confident he could defeat one in a fight.

This realization gave him insight into why humans in the Pokémon world had once been able to capture and train Pokémon by hand in ancient times. With the right diet and exercise, humans here were naturally more powerful than their Earth counterparts.

This was also the reason Alex stopped taking the bus. Now, he and his Pokémon ran everywhere—whether it was the Academy over 10 miles away or the dojo 16 miles from home.

The best part? He didn’t even break a sweat.

No wonder Pokémon trainers were so comfortable running across entire regions on their journeys. With this level of strength and endurance, mountain trekking and cross-country travel would feel effortless.

’How much more powerful are adults in this world? And how much stronger are Champion-ranked trainers with their bonded Champion-ranked Pokémon?’ Alex thought in excitement as he arrived at the dojo early in the morning.

Alex entered the dojo and was greeted by the pretty receptionist with a long ponytail.

"Hey, Alex! You’re way too early today. Did you change up your schedule?" she asked with a smile.

"No, it’s summer break, so for the next two months, we’ll be hanging around."

"That’s great! We’ve had some complaints about your short schedule, and the gym trainers have been begging to employ you permanently. They love the challenge your Raticate gives them. They said your Raticate’s hit-and-run tactics are the best they’ve seen—even better than our regulars. They just wish he was at the Elite level so their main Pokemon could get in on the training, too."

"I’m still in school, so it can’t be helped. But I’m here now."

"Alright, I’ve let them know upstairs that you’re coming."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, am I free to spar with anyone on the first floor? I’ve been missing out on our sparring matches for over a month, and I’m getting rusty."

"You spar with Pokémon? That’s great! As a regular working with us, you’re free to hang around for spars on the first floor, practice strategies on the second floor, and even challenge gym trainers on the third."

"What’s on the fourth and fifth floors?"

"The fourth floor is where we train wild Pokémon. The fifth floor is the dormitories, so both are inaccessible to the general public."

"How do you train wild Pokémon?"

"We get them in bulk from the League—usually Fighting-types. We start by roughing them up a bit, then feeding them until they begin to learn the rules. After that, we do some targeted training to make sure they don’t go wild on children or the public. Finally, we send them back to the League—or keep the ones with greater potential. It’s one of the perks of working here. That’s actually how I got my Hitmonlee."

"Do I have access to that?"

"Sure, you do. You just have to pay for it. It’s about 50,000 Pokédollars for you to take your pick after training."

Fighting-types are usually quite affordable, ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 Pokédollars depending on the species. In comparison, Normal-types cost between 10,000 to 100,000. For instance, Alex’s Rattata would have been priced at 10,000 after undergoing the League’s training.

"Isn’t that too cheap?"

"Of Course it is. That’s the benefit of working here."

"Won’t the League lose out?"

"They don’t care so long as they have enough to give to new trainers. Potential in Pokemon isn’t too big of a deal at the end of the day because of training and Pokeblocks."

Alex saw things differently. He knew about the existence of Individual Values (IVs), which remained fixed throughout a Pokémon’s entire life, even at the Master rank.

Based on his research, he was certain that Raticate’s IVs were only average, while Growlithe’s were excellent—clear evidence of Jenny’s Arcanine lineage being top-tier. However, for his future Pokémon, only the best IVs would suffice. His options were limited: buying from a breeder, catching one in the wild, or—perhaps—taking advantage of this new opportunity.

Unfortunately, even when a Pokémon was declared to have high potential, that didn’t necessarily mean it had superior IVs. Often, a Pokémon declared to have high potential was simply stronger than its peers due to unaccounted-for prior training. There was no scientific method to measure IVs in this world. The only way to gauge a Pokémon’s true potential was through keen observation—comparing it to the average and judging how it stacked up.

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