Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Chapter 106: Chapter 106. Hunting Down a Pokemon 2

Alex was meditating, feigning sleep with a slowed heart rate and dulled mental acuity, when he sensed a Pokémon suddenly appear nearby. It slipped in quietly, radiating the unmistakable energy of a Ghost type, but there was something off about its aura. The typing was strange.

Very slowly, Alex drew his guns and aimed through the fabric of the tent at the small silhouette just outside. One barrel was loaded with a Phantom Force round, the other with a Thunder Wave. He fired the Phantom Force first, followed immediately by the Thunder Wave. The shots struck true, severely injuring the Pokémon and leaving it paralyzed.

Then Alex felt it, the telltale surge of a Teleport activation. Without hesitation, he fired both rounds again, trying to force the Pokémon into unconsciousness. But it was tougher than expected. The Pokemon vanished in a flash of light, slipping away through Teleport despite its injuries.

Reacting instantly, Alex called Nyx for reinforcements. Less than a minute later, Arcanine arrived at the campsite with the full hunting team popping out of their Poke Balls.

”Arcanine, Raticate, track the scent and the energy trail. It shouldn’t have gone far. Search everywhere and knock it out when you find it.”

”Dusknoir, Ceruledge, follow the residual shadow energy. See if you can trace it through the shadow realm. Taunt it to prevent escape and knock it out.”

”Crobats, stick close to Arcanine and Raticate. Use Mean Look the moment you find it. Do not let it escape.”

”Metagross, coordinate the rest of the team and sweep the entire mountain. Our target is critically injured. It will need time or victims to recover. Track it down, take it out, and bring it back.”

Alex gave his orders in quick succession. After a month and a half of hunting this elusive predator, he had finally caught hold of its tail. He was not about to let go now.

His Pokémon scattered at Metagross’s command while Alex simply went back to sleep. There was little he could contribute to the upcoming search-and-destroy mission, so he left Metagross in charge of the follow-up.

Early the next morning, he was awakened by Raticate and found the previous night’s assailant lying unconscious before him, broken and bleeding, and on the verge of death from grievous injuries that would not heal on their own.

Alex took a closer look. Beneath the blood and gore, he recognized a Ralts.

There was no doubt his Pokémon had identified the attacker correctly. They were specifically trained for scent and energy tracking, and the evidence was undeniable. Both the scent and energy imprint of the intruder lingered around the campsite.

That meant this Ralts had somehow learned Shadow Sneak, refused to evolve, reached Expert Rank, and used Dream Eater on sleeping targets before slipping away the same way it arrived.

Through this method, it had managed to kill twenty trainers and their Pokémon, evading capture until Alex arrived. It sounded improbable, but a psychic evaluation would confirm it was, in fact, the bounty target.

”It’s kind of a waste to just hand it over now,” Alex muttered, sighing.

He didn’t exactly need a Ralts.

He already had Teleport covered with Arcanine, and could conduct psychic interrogations through Metagross once he earned that legal perk from the League, just like Sabrina.

And considering its behavior, it likely wouldn’t bond with him anyway. It was clearly psychopathic.

Also, he wasn’t interested in pokephilia so raising a Gardevoir to fuck had never crossed his mind. He had Nyx and Kaia to take care of his sexual needs.

In the end, he captured the Ralts and healed it, ultimately deciding to submit the bounty and collect the five million in rewards for his effort.

He gathered his Pokémon, packed up the camp, and had Arcanine teleport him to the psychic gym that served as the primary authority on psychic-type Pokémon.

Once he submitted the target along with the limited evidence he had, mostly recordings, he returned home to await his substantial reward.

A day later, the psychic gym sent him a debrief on the bounty mission.

After a psychic scan, the Ralts was confirmed as the culprit behind the attacks. Alex received five million Pokédollars and one million in League credits.

Apparently, a wealthy family had purchased the Ralts and handed her off to their spoiled son, who, following advice from internet trolls, forced an Everstone down her throat. Apparently, it was best to have Ralts learn all her moves before evolving, which was sound advice, except for the one troll who suggested he feed them to her.

Continuing to follow online ”wisdom,” he abused the Ralts in an effort to make her grow stronger faster, eventually beating her so severely that she escaped using Teleport. This was most likely a human supremacist troll sharing their wisdom online.

Years passed. Alone in the wild and filled with hatred for trainers, she grew stronger and eventually learned Dream Eater, which she used to begin her revenge by targeting trainers.

Her power continued to grow until she reached Expert Rank, right up until Alex captured her.

She has since been healed, had the Everstone removed from her stomach, and unfortunately was sold back to the same brat who had been sternly reprimanded for causing the incident.

Alex did not read further into it, but if his judgment of rich brats was accurate, the story was far from over.

As he turned his focus to scouring the League market for ways to spend his credits, Nyx entered his office wearing a bra, miniskirt, and a plugged tail gently swaying behind her.

That certainly got Alex’s attention.

”Nice outfit. What’s the occasion?” Alex asked while staring intensely.

”I’ve been a bad girl and I need to make it up to you,” she purred, her voice low and dripping with promise.

”I was never disappointed to begin with. I know how hard your work is, and you’ve been running the farm like a pro without Maris.”

She slid closer, her body pressing against his as she straddled his lap. ”Still, consider this my apology.”

His hands found her hips, fingers tracing slow circles. ”Now, tell me the real reason you’re here. You didn’t just wear that to tease me, did you?”

Nyx’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. ”Haha, you caught me. I think I found a keeper, but she’s from the Underworld side. Hiring her might come with a few... complications.”

”What’s she currently wanted for?” Alex asked.

”No official warrants, but the human supremacist group wants her back. They’ve posted wanted notices for her on the dark web.”

”How badly do they want her?”

”Ten million Pokédollars badly.”

”Who posted the bounty?”

”Argent Solutions. No reason given.”

”Hm. Any chance we can keep her off their radar?”

”We might. Your farm’s way off the grid, and our security is top tier. Two League-certified Rotoms and a Metagross have it locked down.”

”Reach out through official channels. Offer the job anonymously. Set up a meeting somewhere far from here once she accepts.”

”You got it, boss. Mind if I get a little reward?”

”Help yourself.”

She helped herself to a taste of Alex before retreating to her server room to seal the deal.

Alex, meanwhile, liked the idea of poaching talent from Argent Solutions. They were the company responsible for manufacturing his weapons before Devon Corp moved in on their territory, thanks to the Jennys.

Any talent they wanted back for 10 million Pokedollars was likely carrying company secrets he could make use of.

For example, he had been wanting a 50 caliber sniper rifle that could take out targets from a mile away.

Even if he was not a good shot, his enhanced senses more than made up for his lack of shooting skill. Besides, he wanted the option more than the actual ability.

Refocusing on his work, he scoured the market and searched for a Tsareena with Queenly Majesty, but found nothing.

His Alcremie’s Aroma Veil ensured his Pokémon could not be Taunted, while his Altaria’s Cloud Nine prevented weather effects. He needed similar abilities that could shift the battle toward his preferred conditions.

Queenly Majesty was one such ability he desired. It slowed down priority moves during fights, preventing melee ambushes.

He might have to raise a Bounsweet with Oblivion in order to get his Tsareena with Queenly Majesty. Unfortunately, it would take a significant amount of time to do so.

He sighed at the lack of providence, then took a walk to consider how best to handle his new potential engineer.

Making his way to the balcony, he leapt down and headed for the outskirts of the forest near the orchard. He liked walking between the contrast of the wilderness and the orderly rows of fruit trees.

Since she was wanted by the human supremacist group, she likely would not leave the farm.

With Nyx’s help, she could get anything she needed from the dark web or through Devon Corp. She should also know about their latest technology, which would likely arm the Jennys even further.

He could request stronger weapons for assassinations or even enhance the grenades he had found, replacing their current fire-and-forget area-of-effect loadout with weather, terrain, or room-based effects that required careful on-site manipulation.

He could even make a drone armed with such grenades to swarm heavily guarded bases.

Without warning, a blinding yellow beam tore through the forest, screaming toward Alex’s skull.

He never saw the attack coming.

-----

Support me on Patreon

patreon/babywrath