Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Alex, having found a heavy metal paperweight, started banging the top of the safe where the bolt should be with all his strength. After a few good hits, the safe door swung open.

Rummaging inside, he found some money and quite a few bank transfer paper trails that looped back into the Director’s personal account. Essentially, the money was being laundered to a shell company that most likely belonged to the Director’s friends.

The total amount that was justified as expended for the sake of the orphans was split evenly between the shell company, the Director, the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and, finally, some scraps for the caretakers. This was a much more dangerous operation than Alex had initially thought.

With all parties involved, only the League had the right to pass judgment, but even then, there was a possibility that some of the higher-ups were in on it. Then again, when people were that high up, this petty change would not be worth the fallout.

’Oh well. It’s not like I have a choice. I will not subject myself to three-plus years of torture only to get shafted after I become an adult. My time is too precious for that.’

Sure enough, the only course of action was to expose the evidence. So, Alex made copies with the photocopier in the office and decided to send them to as many authorities as possible. It took a while, but he finally ended up with five copies of the documents.

With the copies in hand, he opened the window and jumped out of the second-story window. He safely landed with a tuck-and-roll and made his way to the various authorities in the city. These included the Psychic Gym under Sabrina, the Pokécenter, the local news station, the police station, and, finally, the city hall.

It was a good thing there were a lot of documents; otherwise, he would have been arrested had the contents been obvious at a glance. All he did was walk into an establishment, toss the folder on the reception’s desk, say "evidence," then leave. By the time the receptionists found out what the evidence was for, Alex had already left for the next location.

The original copy of the document he kept for himself. He needed to ensure that those who cared about the orphanage the most got the originals.

Having finished his delivery, he made his way to the old abandoned house he was squatting in and left a copy of the documents there, along with the money from the safe and the money that belonged to the man who had killed him.

Unsurprisingly, he also ran into his little friend. The small purple rat looked skittish while hiding in the house but suddenly became spirited when it saw Alex.

"Rattata."

"Hey there, little rat. Good job coming back, but I still need some time to sort this shit out. Why don’t I get you something to eat while I’m away, and I’ll meet you back here. Sound good?"

"Ratta." Rattata nodded.

"Great."

Before being given to Officer Jenny, Rattata and Alex had a heart-to-heart talk. Due to the abuse it had suffered under its previous owners, Rattata wanted to set some boundaries with Alex, who agreed.

Food and strength in exchange for loyalty. It was a simple agreement that both parties adhered to, which was the start of their bond.

Before handing Rattata over, Alex gave him some scenarios to follow depending on the situation. The current situation was the possibility that Rattata would be freed. In that case, he would make his way back to this old house where they first met. This ensured that their cooperation would continue even without a Pokéball.

Using the reward money they earned from the bounty that had been tied to Rattata’s back, Alex bought enough kibble for Rattata for two weeks. The kibble was cheap and made with a combination of Pokémon meat and berries. It was a far cry from Pokéblocks, which had specialized recipes for the sake of growth, but it would have to do for now.

Along with the meal, Alex also made some promises to ensure his little friend would stay a friend. Their bond wasn’t strong, but they recognized each other as partners in crime, which, in some way, managed to keep Rattata from running off to freedom.

After the meal, Alex headed for the Pokécenter to get himself checked out. The slap was fine, but the beating he had received to his stomach might have ruptured something, considering the intense pain he was feeling now.

Nurse Joy who was on duty, recognizing Alex, was confused to see him again at first but was eventually shocked to see new wounds on him. This time, after an examination, it was determined that the wounds would have been fatal if left untreated.

"What the hell happened to you? You left like two hours ago, and you’re back with even worse injuries," the Nurse Joy said in shock.

"What can I say? The world hates me," Alex said jokingly.

"The world doesn’t hate you. If it did, I wouldn’t be treating you right now," she scolded.

"At the very least, the Director of the orphanage hates my guts."

That got Nurse Joy quiet. She realized that Alex had just left with the Director, and not even two hours later, he came back with worse injuries.

"Well, this will need surgery to fix. The doctor will be in to see you soon," she said in a professional tone.

Alex assumed this meant she would be making some calls to the police, which would be a problem if the perpetrator was named. He needed to buy as much time as possible for the "good guys" to get the evidence. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"The police you are planning to inform are being paid by the Director with the money embezzled from the orphanage. The same applies to the Mayor. I would appreciate it if you wait for higher authorities to come; otherwise, we can just skip the surgery, as I would end up dead anyway," Alex said in the same lighthearted manner. He was trying—and succeeding—in projecting a boy who had given up on the world.

This reminded Nurse Joy of the gossip spreading a few minutes ago. To have both the Mayor and the police implicated in this was a serious case that would have to be brought to the Pokémon League.

"I understand," she said with determination.

"Thank you," Alex replied with a smile.

"Now you need to lie down and wait for the doctor."

And so, Alex waited. Half an hour of agonizing pain later, the doctor came and immediately prepared him for surgery. His intestines were apparently ruptured, which would need to be cleaned and stitched inside, so surgery was unavoidable at this point. Not even a Heal Pulse will help with the rotting internal organs.

A small, inaudible whisper from Nurse Joy to the doctor later, and Alex was sent to the operating room. As Alex was losing consciousness from the anesthesia, he could vaguely hear a commotion outside. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness completely was a loud crash and a faint rumbling of the room.

As Alex was undergoing surgery, chaos was reigning outside the operating room.

It had been a bit more than an hour since Alex dropped off the evidence at all five offices, which was more than enough time for the respective clerks to pass on the evidence to their bosses.

The Chief of Police and the Mayor were livid when their identities were exposed by the paper trail, prompting the Chief of Police to start a manhunt for whoever left the evidence. It didn’t take them long to track the scent of the perpetrator all the way to the slums and back to the heart of the city, where the Pokécenter was.

At the same time, the Pokécenter contacted the League, who sent investigators to verify the evidence, while Sabrina personally started a manhunt of her own for both the Mayor and the Chief of Police. She did not want to be associated with those who were caught, so getting the jump on them was the prudent choice.

Finally, the news station started an emergency broadcast to spread the news.

"The Mayor and the Chief of Police are stealing from orphans."

It was quite the spicy bit of gossip that would boost their ratings for the next few months. If it were true, they would be well paid for those few months; if it were false, they would be well paid for the next month. Either way, it was sensational news.

The news spread like wildfire on TV and the internet. It made trainers upset that their own children could be subjected to such injustice if they died due to Pokémon attacks. This was the type of news that started riots, and the League was taking it very seriously.

Of course, nobody had a chance to start a riot when Sabrina started flying around the city looking for the perpetrators. If anything, trainers were waiting for the fallout, as it would likely mean an abrupt change in leadership.

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