Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Chapter 6: Chapter 6. Mother?

Outside Alex’s operation room, a group of the Chief of Police’s finest men stood against the nurses in a standoff. Pokémon of all kinds were out and ready for a fight.

On the side of the police, there were primarily canine-type Pokémon—Growlithes, Houndours, Mightyenas, and Eeveelutions.

On the side of the nurses, there were primarily healing or calming-type Pokémon—Chanseys, Clefairies, Jigglypuffs, Butterfrees, Odishes, and Bellsprouts.

Just from the types of Pokémon available, onlookers could guess that the nurses were at a disadvantage. Yet one particular Chansey stood above the rest. It was livid when it found out that the corrupt police in front of them wanted to take a child into custody—one who was currently undergoing surgery.

”For the last time, step aside, or you will be arrested, ma’am.”

”Don’t ’ma’am’ me, you corrupt cop. Just try it and see what happens. Do you think we nurses haven’t been out on the field for battle before?”

And it was true. Nurses with Pokémon were far more dangerous than the police who had graduated from the academy. Nurses with Pokémon were trainers who chose the profession after the gym circuit, while most police officers started duty after the police academy with minimal combat training.

Of course, there were nurses without Pokémon as well, but those who did have them had typically seen real combat outside the city walls. In contrast, the police here only patrolled and were not responsible for defense, as that duty fell to the gyms and Pokémon trainers.

Local police were only good for maintaining order and keeping the peace. They were not professional battlers—mere guards. The true professional battlers were the rangers stationed in the city, over whom the Chief of Police had no jurisdiction.

It could be understood as the difference between the police and S.W.A.T. in America. The police had minimal training and standards. They were typically out of shape and relied on their authority rather than their strength. Special Weapons and Tactics, or S.W.A.T., on the other hand, were responsible for handling real criminals and tactical warfare. They were the ones people called for real combat.

With the mounting tension, one of the policemen finally snapped.

”That’s it! You’re all under arrest. Get them, Growlithe—Flamethrower!”

And with that, all hell broke loose. Orders were shouted, magical lights flashed, and a myriad of abilities were unleashed.

The Pokémon grouped up to combine their defensive and offensive moves. This was a tactical approach that ensured smaller, weaker Pokémon wouldn’t be taken out immediately. But one Pokémon in particular stood out, immediately charging the other side with pure strength.

”Chansey!” Chansey shouted like a war cry.

Rather than using a move, Chansey relied on its sheer physical strength, charging through the police’s abilities and punching a Protect shield with all its might. The resulting crash was devastating.

The police and their Pokémon were ragdolled through a window, tossing them outside the Pokécenter. Sure, they didn’t sustain any damage from the attack due to a lack of Normal-type energy and the Protect shield, but at least the fight was pushed away from within the Pokécenter’s bounds.

From their higher vantage point, the nurses rained down ranged abilities on the disorganized police force one floor below. Even Chansey took the opportunity to toss out its Egg Bombs.

Suddenly, a psychic force bore down on all combatants and their Pokémon. Someone had cast a Gravity so powerful that it floored everyone—except for one Chansey and Nurse Joy, of course.

”Well, well, well, what do we have here? Don’t answer that. I’ll find out on my own.”

A beautiful black-haired woman in her mid-twenties floated down from the sky, an Alakazam hovering behind her. She grabbed a random police officer and started reading his memories.

This would typically constitute a crime due to the invasive nature of forcefully reading someone’s memories, but as a gym leader overseeing a crime scene, certain liberties were allowed.

From the officer’s memories, she not only got an accurate read on the situation but so much more—evidence of corruption within the police force, implicating everyone involved, including the Mayor and the Chief of Police.

Sabrina, the gym leader of Saffron City and the lead authority, had every right to read the memories of criminals. And judging from the fact that the police were openly fighting nurses in a Pokécenter, they were clearly the guiltier party.

Having caught up on the events, Sabrina felt a headache coming on. As the lead authority of Saffron City, she had, of course, known about the corruption spreading within its walls. She had simply never cared because they had managed to keep it all in the shadows where it belonged.

Now, however, certain lines had been crossed, and she could no longer extricate herself from the matter—otherwise, the League would reprimand her.

The sheer level of corruption she would have to personally handle was overwhelming. Some of the individuals implicated were even strong enough to put up a resistance against her.

Luckily for her, League investigators had been sent, so much of the burden of catching the small fry could be left to them.

”Haaa... This is going to be annoying,” Sabrina said with resignation.

”Gym Leader Sabrina, please help us apprehend these corrupt cops,” Nurse Joy said with a chilling smile. She did not appreciate being attacked in her own Pokécenter.

”Yeah, yeah. I’ll take care of it,” Sabrina said in an annoyed tone.

A few hours later, Alex woke up from his successful surgery. Though feeling groggy and weak, he had ultimately survived the ordeal.

”I thought I told you to stay out of trouble?” said Officer Jenny with a relaxed tone.

It was clear that whatever news she had was good, considering her mood.

”Tried. Failed. It’s not like I have any control over what others decide to do. Rupturing my intestines was apparently the prime choice among the Director’s possible actions in retaliation for his humiliation,” Alex replied.

”Well, you’ll be happy to know that you got what you wanted. The Director of the orphanage, the caretakers, the Chief of Police, the Mayor, and all their collaborators were arrested this afternoon.”

”Officer—”

”Just call me Jenny,” Jenny interrupted.

”Jenny, what about the orphanage?”

”I don’t know. The League investigators haven’t deliberated yet. Most likely, they’ll find replacements for the positions that have been emptied out. Right now, the city is practically hollow, so a mountain of paperwork will have to be processed before those positions are filled again.

The orphanage will most likely be taken over by a school or whoever is in charge of the investigation temporarily. For now, a nurse from the Pokécenter has volunteered to look after the children while the League decides what to do with them.”

”I hope we get someone who goes by the book and doesn’t really care. I’d rather not jump out of the frying pan just to land in the fire again.” Alex replied.

Jenny sat quietly at that comment. She couldn’t deny that Alex had already been through too much as a child. Even fresh trainers didn’t go through this much trouble and injury during their first year out on the field.

”Jenny, is there any way for me to apply for adulthood early? I don’t want to be taken advantage of again. I have enough money to start a Pokémon journey, though I am a bit on the younger side.”

Trainers typically started their journeys at the age of 16, when they were considered adults. Given the brutality of Pokémon, even 16 was relatively young. The League, however, had its hands tied due to the losses from Pokemon attacks, so they had no choice but to encourage children to amass power early.

They even encouraged wealthy families to start Pokémon training at the age of 8, giving them ample time to build up power and experience by the time they reached adulthood at 16.

This world was far less forgiving than the anime. If anything, it was closer to the games, where travellers were constantly attacked by wild Pokémon whenever they walked through any form of nature.

”Only your guardian has the right to sign off on early adulthood. Even then, you wouldn’t be allowed to leave the city on your own until you turn 16. At most, you could apply for a school of your choice on your own.”

”School sounds like a much better idea than staying in the orphanage without any access to information. Although... I don’t have the money for it,” Alex said rather dejectedly.

He had enough money to start on his journey and make more as he completed requests or sold resources outside but it was not enough for a stable life and education for three years.

He truly was in a bind. He couldn’t even buy a phone without a guardian’s consent, meaning orphans were locked out of education at the discretion of their guardians.

Struck with a sudden idea, Alex perked up and turned to Jenny with his full attention.

”Why don’t you become my guardian, then?” he asked, mustering as much enthusiasm as he could from the depths of his hardened heart.

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