Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Chapter 8: Chapter 8. Aftermath

Five days later, Alex was visited by a League representative regarding his current case. He was awarded 10,000 Pokédollars as credit for discovering and presenting evidence of corruption, which was confirmed by League officials sent to investigate the allegations.

Next, the League compensated him for his injuries using funds from the director’s personal account. Apparently, emotional damage is not recognized, so there was no monetary compensation for the injustice Alex suffered.

Conversely, the director faced severe punishment. He woke up from his coma two days later, only to be interrogated and arrested for all crimes uncovered during the investigation. He is expected to lose all his assets and serve a 10-year prison sentence.

This punishment is notably harsher because the amount taken from the director was less than what the League had to compensate the orphans with.

Regarding the money stolen from the orphanage, the League has taken direct authority over the matter and opted to resolve it financially due to the involvement of the Mayor and the Chief of Police.

They decided to compensate all the orphans by providing them with their listed assets in full when they turn 16, in cash, without any deductions that the orphanage would have normally taken. This means they won’t have to spend a single Pokédollar until adulthood, as the League will cover all their expenses until then.

Everyone involved in the fraudulent paper trail was either arrested or sanctioned for illicit business practices. The Mayor and the Chief of Police received the same punishment as the orphanage director.

For now, the orphanage is being managed by a League representative until suitable replacements are found. Even if the future director were corrupt, they would be unable to take anything from the children, as the funds will be strictly provided by the League.

Alex doesn’t know how much money his parents had when they died, so he doesn’t plan on relying on it. Worse still, those assets might have been sold cheaply, making them truly unreliable.

Essentially, Alex is still back to square one. He can’t take advantage of his time as an orphan because he might not be granted access to any assets he acquires during this period. Those assets are not protected by the League.

On the bright side, there is a high possibility that Alex will receive a proper education, and as long as there are public computers at school, he will have access to information. In any case, his situation has undoubtedly improved.

The next day, Alex was finally discharged from the Pokécenter. During his stay, he was not allowed to exert any force, lest he risk reopening the stitches in his stomach and intestines. It had been a dull week, spent mostly planning—much like the previous two weeks.

The primary reason his previous recovery took longer than healing from surgery was malnutrition. Pokémon meat is highly nutritious, but it still takes time for its effects to manifest. Combined with the severity of his injuries, which had nearly taken his life, he needed two full weeks to recover.

This time, however, he only took a week to heal from surgery, as his body now had proper nutrition to support his recovery.

This world is truly more advanced than Earth in many ways. Healing from the incision made by the doctor required only a simple Heal Pulse from a Chansey, while healing from physical trauma took just a week.

In any case, he was finally out. Unfortunately, Jenny had not visited him during his recovery, and with that, his hopes of being adopted faded away.

He was picked up from the Pokécenter by a black-haired, straight-laced, bespectacled man who seemed not to care for much. They made their way back to the orphanage in silence, much like how Alex had done a week ago with the director.

Entering the three-story building, Alex was surprised to see Jenny again. She was sitting on a bench by the front office with her rather large Arcanine by her side.

”Hey there, little troublemaker. It’s good to see you out of the Pokécenter,” Jenny greeted with a big smile.

”Hey, Jenny. What are you doing here? I thought the case was already closed,” Alex asked.

”I had to file some paperwork. It should be done any minute now.”

Right on cue, a middle-aged woman walked out of the front office with paperwork in hand.

”Officer Jenny, your application has been approved. I apologize for the delay. Cases like these typically get resolved within a day or two, but current circumstances have significantly delayed response times, as I’m sure you can understand,” the woman said as she handed the papers to Jenny.

”Yes, I understand,” Jenny replied as she got up, took the paperwork, and reviewed it.

”Everything seems to be in order. I believe I can now proceed with the adoption?” Jenny continued.

”Yes, all you will require is your and the child’s signature, and you can be on your way. Why don’t you wait here while I go look for the child in question?”

”No need. This is the child in question,” Jenny said as she stepped closer and patted Alex’s shoulder.

”You’re adopting me?” Alex asked, staring at Jenny with a surprised look.

”Yes, Alex. I decided to adopt you. It took me all week to get this sorted out. That’s why I didn’t visit you at the Pokécenter—I wanted it to be a surprise,” she said with a bright smile.

Now it was Alex’s turn to be blinded by the holy aura and goodwill this woman was radiating.

No doubt he had simply planned on using her as protection for his assets. Jennys and Joys were trustworthy, as they were essentially angels on earth. At this moment, however, he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel his heart melting for this woman.

She was truly an angel—to randomly adopt some child off the streets whom she barely knew. She had plenty of options for ’better’ children in the orphanage, but she picked Alex simply because he asked.

What a wonderful woman.

Now it was Alex’s turn to reciprocate some feelings, something he hadn’t done since his high school days, which were at least a decade ago from his perspective.

He smiled the biggest smile he could possibly manage and immediately went for a big hug. He buried his head in her chest to quickly hide his face. He breathed deeply and suddenly looked up with the same big smile.

”Thank you, Jenny. Or should I call you Mom?” Alex asked with a smirk.

”Nope. No. Not Mom. I’m not ready for that. Just call me Jenny like usual.”

”Okay.”

”Well, isn’t that nice? Now, to finalize your adoption, I just need you both to sign here and here, and you are all set,” the woman said as she pointed out where our signatures should be.

Jenny and Alex immediately signed the paperwork.

”Congratulations on a successful adoption. I hope you have a wonderful life together,” the woman said as she took her copy of the paperwork and went back to her office.

She must be really busy if she can’t even walk them out of the building, which is just a few steps away. In any case, Alex was now officially adopted.

”So, what now?” Alex asked as he, Jenny, and Arcanine made their way out of the orphanage.

”I have the day off, so we should go get your things, go shopping, then head home,” Jenny replied, to which Alex just nodded along.

They made their way to the old house where Rattata was hiding with the money Alex had managed to acquire.

Upon entering the house, Alex immediately spotted Rattata secretly peeking out from a hole in the wall to see who was trespassing in his territory.

As soon as he noticed Alex’s arrival, he immediately made his way over. A relieved look crossed his face as Alex picked him up and placed him on his shoulder. It must have been a stressful week for the little guy.

”There you are. Come along. We have a home now,” Alex said as he picked Rattata up.

”Rattata!” he replied excitedly.

Alex was honestly impressed that Rattata had stuck around for three whole weeks despite not having a proper bond with him, and Jenny agreed.

”You must have a strong bond if he chose to stick around even when you weren’t here and he didn’t have a Pokéball,” Jenny commented.

”He was apparently abused and underfed by his previous owner. He decided I was a stronger trainer when I managed to take the man down and hoped I would be a better trainer as well,” Alex explained.

”That’s good. You should cherish each other well. Your first Pokémon will always be your most memorable partner. Here,” Jenny said as she handed Alex a Pokéball.

”I plan on doing exactly that,” Alex replied while storing Rattata in the Pokéball.

”Ratta,” Rattata agreed as he left the Pokeball on his own after the capture.

”I suppose you prefer to stay out of your Pokéball, then?” Alex asked Rattata.

”Ratta.” Rattata confirmed.

”That’s fine,” Alex said, then turned to Jenny and continued, ”I don’t have much other than the cash I took back from the man and the reward you gave Rattata. Let me go get it, then we can go shopping.”

”Alright.”

Alex grabbed the stolen money he had hidden, and together, they made their way to the mall.

As Alex was walking away, he turned back to get one last look at the house where he had first been transmigrated. Maybe someday, he would come back and build a real home here. But for now, he had some shopping to do.

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