Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

"Wait!" Rhea said. "What about the plan?"

"The plan is to take down Team Dominion’s bases in the region in conjunction with Argent Solutions," Alex answered. "Even if you manage to destroy all their locations, all you’d achieve is killing innocent employees, so it’s better to cut the problem at the roots that support them before cutting down the tree. That requires help from Team Umbraline, who has information on all their operations, plus their support in keeping Argent Solutions down once we’re done."

"So... like using pesticides to kill weeds?" Rhea asked.

"Exactly. We want to weaken them from the roots, then proceed to cut the weeds out, leaving the rest of the pesticides to finish the job."

"We still get to do explosions?"

"Yes."

"Okay, fine," she said, changing the hologram to Mantine wearing two sets of armor.

One was heavy and bulky, while the other was a thin metal covering. Both were plated in a way that looked like they would shift if Mantine flapped its wings. There were also lightning rods at the wing tips, pipes running along the interior of the armor, and a 180-degree rotating minigun on its underside.

"The initial problem I had with the Champion ranked titan armor was that it was too heavy," Rhea started. "To solve that problem, I designed two separate armors, one rated for Elite rank, which is lightweight and does a good enough job resisting ambushes while traveling, and the other is what I call combat mode, where added bulk is more important than speed and maneuverability."

"The first armor has lightning rods to catch Electric type moves, which are stored in move crystals before being routed into the 180-degree rotating gun on its underside. Since Mantine has Water Absorb, the interior of the armor also has piping that connects to a move crystal with Surf for perpetual healing."

"The second armor overlays the first with the press of a button when you’re ready for combat. It doesn’t have any additional features beyond the ability to resist Champion ranked attacks, with a focus on Rock type moves. This way, Mantine’s weakness to Electric and Rock is nullified."

"By the way," Rhea said as she brought out the image of the Mauler again, "my own armor uses the same principle. There’s an evasive mode for Elite rank and a Mauler mode for when I need to walk through walls. Hehehe."

Alex took another look at the Mauler and suddenly got an idea. Actually, he had two, maybe three.

"How many of these do you have?" Alex asked.

"I have my baby, and I made one for Alvera to keep her safe, but I’ve got a bunch more prototypes that only need a few upgrades to be viable."

"How much more defensive can you make these?"

Rhea thought for a moment before answering. "If I add a big ass handheld shield at the armor’s carrying capacity, they could probably stave off an army of Elites for days, or last a few minutes against Champions."

"Make one for me, and include the shield."

"Sure. It shouldn’t take long to mash together something workable."

"Also, Rhea, what do you think you would need to make one about 10 meters high, or even 100?"

Rhea’s eyes furrowed in thought before realization slowly dawned. She remembered Alex’s earlier ideas about giant robots and realized she was finally on the right track to making them.

All she would need was to upsize everything she had built so far, including the infinity engine, which used raw infinity energy to power the joints. She could also use the gigantic chunks of raw move crystals she had in storage from when Alex and the girls went digging in the Grand Underground of Sinnoh. That would easily allow her to make a 10 meter version without problems.

The 100 meter one, however, would require more work. The materials would need upgrades, since the ones she used for the titan armor were insufficient to support the weight.

"Oh my Arceus!" she shouted with excitement as she jumped in place. "You’re a genius!"

She rushed up to Alex and ravished his lips in a long, hard kiss, holding his head firmly with both hands. Then she pulled away with a final smack of their lips, darted for the door, and returned just long enough to answer his question in a rush.

"The 10 meter one is already possible, but it will take time to build and test to adjust for weight distribution. The 100 meter one is impossible for now. I think I need Master ranked materials to make that. Bye," she said in a single breath.

She ran out again, leaving everyone staring after her with smiles. Rhea was always excitable when she was inspired, and Alex had an easy way of making that happen.

Since Rhea, who had called the meeting, had already run out, the girls left the room as well. They had better things to do than worry about what other life-threatening stunts their man might pull given his occupation.

Nyx and Alex, meanwhile, stayed behind, as they still needed to contact Umbraline. In all honesty, reaching out to them was always a double-edged sword. On one hand, they would gain valuable information that would allow them to strike their targets with surgical precision. On the other hand, there was no avoiding the possibility that their information would be shared for the right price.

In this particular case, however, they needed to completely cleanse Unova of Team Dominion’s presence, so drawing attention to themselves was unavoidable if they wanted the job done perfectly, as Rhea requested. Hopefully, Umbraline would support them in taking down Team Dominion and absorb the resulting heat once Alex went on a rampage, just as they had done before in Johto.

The pair waited for an hour before a call finally came through.

"Mr. Wattson," said a hologram of Zack, dressed in the same ninja garb as before that hid his identity. "I have read your request and made an inquiry with our Unova branch. They would be more than happy to provide full support for your endeavors, free of charge, provided that certain locations remain off limits for our benefit."

"That’s fine with me. Unlike in Johto, I have no interest in their resources and simply want to bring them all down," Alex replied, his eyes sharpening. "So long as our identities for this raid remain permanently hidden."

"Of course, Mr. Wattson. Since this is a joint venture, you have our promise that you will be safe from scrutiny for this particular event."

"Send me all of your targets and the ones you would like us to avoid," Alex said with a nod.

"Also, there’s one other thing," Zack said. "You’ll need to meet with the regional head to coordinate your attacks. We wouldn’t want to get in your way once you begin."

"That’s fine. Set up the meeting and send me the details."

"It’s a pleasure doing business with you again, Mr. Wattson."

"Sure."

Once the call was cut, Alex received a map of Unova with over 100 marked locations, some in green but most in red. The red markers were mostly warehouses and businesses that Umbraline likely wanted for themselves, while the green markers were bases where Team Dominion’s armies were being trained.

Different from his usual list of targets, there were over 30 locations for them to attack. It seemed Team Dominion had concentrated most of their forces in this particular region compared to others.

Alex furrowed his brow as he studied the map. There were simply too many locations for him to hit alone. By the time he finished five, they would have enough time to fortify or abandon the remaining bases, increasing the difficulty and prolonging his assault. That also meant there was a real danger of him being identified.

"I’m going to need Lyra and Mika’s help with this," Alex said. "We’ll have to split up and take them three at a time before working together to bring them down one by one."

"Lyra and Mika are going to be ecstatic," Nyx said as she studied the map. "They’ve been dying to go out and start hunting again for months now. I think you may have infected them with your battle lust."

"Life can only be so safe before it gets boring," Alex said with a chuckle.

"How do you plan to split them?"

"I’ll take the strongest while they take the weakest, then we’ll meet in the middle. As for Rhea, she’ll be off on her own since her targets all belong to Argent Solutions."

"You’re planning on letting her go on her own?" Nyx asked, surprised.

"She can handle herself, but just in case, keep an eye on her and let Clarissa guide her. I don’t want them to have a falling out over this."

"You want Clarissa to act as her moral conscience? That’s kind of funny," Nyx said with a laugh. "Sure, I’ll take care of it. She might call me a snitch for the next few years, but it’s better than her having any regrets."

"Thanks," Alex said, leaning in for a kiss.

Nyx reciprocated, wrapping her arms around him and refusing to let go, so Alex obliged and made love to her right there in the command center. A bit of indulgence before a mission was always a good way to loosen up.

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