Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Alex, flying atop Mantine, pressed deep into the Wild Area, searching for any Dynamax Pokémon to fight. All the while, Mantine ignored the potshots thrown at it by wild Pokémon that took issue with it flying overhead. They were fairly weak, around Elite rank, so Mantine’s armor prevented any real damage.

The pair flew for an hour, watching from a significant distance as random Pokémon suddenly swelled into gigantic forms before shrinking back down anywhere from a minute to an hour later. Apparently, the more actively engaged in battle they were, the shorter the transformation lasted, though there had been records of some maintaining their Dynamax state for over 24 hours. Usually, however, it barely lasted a minute due to the surrounding wild Pokémon, which would quickly gang up on them.

It explained why the League preferred cordoning off the entire area rather than trying to conquer it. After all, why bother policing such a volatile place when you could simply let nature take its course?

Suddenly, an explosive surge of pressure erupted from directly below them as a Mudsdale ballooned from its normal 2.5 m (8′2″) to an imposing 62.5 m (204′2″), roughly 25 times its original size. Reportedly, a Dynamax Pokémon’s height can reach anywhere from 20 to 30 times its normal size.

"Jackpot!" Alex exclaimed, signaling Mantine with his foot. "Let’s get down there and get a taste of a Dynamax battle."

Mantine banked into a spiraling descent, giving Alex a clear view of their opponent. It was a rampaging Mudsdale that had bolted the moment it transformed, its rage too savage for even itself to control. Judging by the aura it emitted, it was at the Elite rank, which meant it had been an Expert ranked Pokémon before its transformation.

It was currently sprinting north toward the Motostoke gate, which was still quite a distance from their current location. Given its size, however, it should be able to reach it within an hour.

Occasionally, it would crash through nests during its rampage, prompting the inhabitants to attack for encroaching without warning. Mudsdale resisted their assaults with ease, some form of barrier or shield protecting it. They were no match, however, as a single attack was enough to wipe out the entire nest.

Mudsdale reared up on its hind legs before slamming its forelegs down. Instead of a thunderous quake, the ground beneath the attacking nest exploded, chunks of rock erupting upward as the earth trembled and destabilized the area. The attack covered such a vast radius that the entire nest, over a thousand Pokémon, was caught in it, leaving most of them fainted while the Elite ranked ones barely managed to endure.

Seeing their nest devastated, the surviving Elites fled, each Pokémon for itself. They knew they wouldn’t survive a second attack from that monster.

Once its enemies scattered, the Mudsdale resumed its rampage northward as Alex and Mantine steadily closed the distance. They had been quite high up when the transformation began, so it took them a while to catch up.

As the chase continued, Mudsdale suddenly veered sharply to the right. Alex followed its movement and spotted a lone trainer in the distance, trekking by herself. She noticed the Dynamaxed, rampaging Mudsdale and immediately sent out her own Pokémon.

It was an Expert ranked Hatterene squaring off against Mudsdale, while an Expert ranked Alcremie and Grimmsnarl flanked the young trainer. Mudsdale reached the young woman and unleashed the same Max Quake as before, threatening to obliterate them all. Hatterene managed to survive and countered with a devastating Psychic that appeared to deal significant damage. The trainer herself was protected thanks to Alcremie and Grimmsnarl alternating Protect, shielding her from harm.

Their battle raged on, blows exchanged with increasing intensity. The young woman’s Pokémon grew weaker with each attack, and it was becoming clear she couldn’t hold out for long. Then, she spotted Alex atop Mantine approaching, a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dire situation.

"Over here! Help!" she shouted, waving frantically at Alex.

Meanwhile, Alex finally reached his quarry and released all his Pokémon, all 50 of them, eager and ready for this new form of battle.

"All-out attack, don’t bother with formations," Alex commanded, correctly reading Mudsdale’s current state.

It had been running for a while, taking potshots from random Pokémon and crashing through occasional nests. Its energy was nearly spent, so Alex figured a full-on bombardment from his team would be more than enough to bring it down. Worst-case scenario, they could endure a Max Quake or two before finishing the job.

Alex’s Pokémon received the orders from Gardevoir and blitzed forward, unleashing their strongest moves against the gigantic behemoth. Hydropumps, Dazzling Gleams, Ice Punches, Ice Fangs, Power Whips, and more crashed into Mudsdale.

It roared, reared, and slammed its forelegs down with Max Quake to devastate Alex’s Pokémon. As he had predicted, however, they all managed to survive, some taking barely any damage at all.

By the second bombardment, Mudsdale finally began shrinking, the effects of Dynamax energy fading. Within seconds, it returned to its original size, fainted, and was surrounded by shimmering dust of crystal fragments.

"Thank you so much for saving me, sir," the young woman said, her voice trembling. "I don’t think I would have survived without you."

She knelt, spraying her Pokémon with Potions to help them recover, while Alex’s team began healing themselves through Rest, Heal Pulse, Aqua Ring, or Life Dew. It had been a fairly short battle, barely taxing their energy, so a few healing moves were enough to restore them.

"What’s a lone Expert ranked trainer like you doing in such a dangerous place?" Alex asked. "There are Dynamaxed Pokémon running wild across the entire Wild Area."

"It’s just Max," she replied.

"Max?"

"Nobody really says ’Dynamaxed.’ It’s just Max Pokémon or Max Raid Battles. You must be new around here."

"Yeah," Alex confirmed.

"Well, it’s rare for a Max Battle to just start out of nowhere, so there are plenty of Adept or Expert ranked trainers wandering around. Not all the Pokémon here move in nests or are Maxed out. Most of them mind their own business, especially since I’m using Repel. It’s actually pretty safe most of the time."

"Except for now," Alex pointed out.

"Ahaha," she laughed awkwardly, placing a hand behind her head. "Yeah... except for now. Thank you for saving me."

"No problem. I’m Alex, a bounty hunter."

"Liora, a trainer."

"Oh? Are you running the Gym circuit?"

"Gosh, no. You’d have to know the right people to even get into that. My family are just simple farmers from Ballonlea, so they didn’t know anyone who could give me an invitation. I’m just an average trainer, making my way through my first journey."

"Well, apart from this, you’re doing very well."

"Thank you, sir."

Alex’s brow quirked at being called "sir" twice now. It was intriguing how his new clothes projected an aura of maturity. Then again, he was already 43, if he included his stint in Hisui. It made sense that she treated him as a more mature adult rather than someone her own age. She looked about the same age as Alvera, perhaps a few years older at most.

"So, um... aren’t you going to collect that?" she asked, pointing toward the fainted Mudsdale.

"I have no use for it. It’s only Expert rank, so its meat isn’t worth much to me."

"Don’t mind if I do," she said, tossing out a Poké Ball to capture the Mudsdale. "But I meant the Dynamax and Pokémon Candy."

"Candy?" Alex asked, glancing at the crystal dust that was left after the battle.

"Yeah. If you collect that dust, you can bring it to a processor who will exchange it for Dynamax or Pokémon Candy. Dynamax Candy increases the toughness of Max Pokémon, while Pokémon Candy boosts their stats. Combine it with certain berries that decrease stats, and you can actually optimize builds to make them even stronger."

"Interesting," Alex said. "No, you can have those. I’m not very interested in any of this."

He could always buy them anyway. Now that he thought about it, filling his Pokémon with Dynamax Candy for stronger Max forms might be worth the price.

"Then, what are you doing out here if you’re not collecting resources?" she asked, pulling out a filter to gather the crystal fragments.

"Just picking fights and having fun."

"Right... you’re a bounty hunter," she said thoughtfully. "You know, I know a place where people that probably have bounties hang out. I was attacked once but managed to escape. After that, I kept running into them in the same area, so they definitely have a hideout there."

"Oh? Tell me more," Alex asked.

He’d learned from this outing that Max Battles couldn’t be sought out; they had to be encountered. Chasing after them once they transformed was pointless, as they would either flee or be taken down immediately. It was far wiser to stumble across them by chance rather than hunt them, as he had been doing.

As for this detour, he didn’t mind doing Galar a favor by taking down bandits. It was part of his roots, after all, and with his current strength, it was nice to stretch his muscles every once in a while.

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