Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Chapter 121: Chapter 121. Improvements

Two years later, in a mansion somewhere in Johto, the heavy doors to Briar Thornhart’s room slammed open, echoing through the marble halls of the Thornhart estate. He emerged with fire in his eyes and a grin that was anything but friendly.

”Two fucking years of house arrest completed,” he announced with grim satisfaction. ”I had to suffer all this time because of some no-name bounty hunter who dared to arrest me. Me, a Thornhart.”

Suffering was a relative term, considering he had full access to everything he wanted, including prostitutes, within the luxury of his family’s mansion. The only real restriction was that he could not leave the premises of the estate, which was larger than most farms.

Two years ago, as a result of being complicit in his senior’s crimes, he had been removed from the Ranger program and sentenced to two years of house arrest.

His father had accepted the verdict without protest, largely because he lacked the authority of his father, the family’s patriarch and Briar’s grandfather. He cared little for a son who brought nothing but trouble to the family name, though he was not heartless enough to impose real consequences.

Now the brat was free, and already causing a stir among the servants.

Briar descended the grand staircase two steps at a time, a storm of vengeance bottled up inside a young man who believed the world owed him more than it gave.

At the bottom of the stairs, the family steward stood waiting, as stoic and silent as ever.

”Tell me,” Briar demanded. ”Where is he? That self-righteous dog of a bounty hunter. Alex, or whatever his name is. I want him gone.”

”Your father has restricted access to the family’s combat assets, given your incarceration.”

”Fine. Then use the Underworld dogs. Seth, I think, should be able to get rid of him.”

”Seth Fayvel was arrested and executed some time ago. By the same bounty hunter.”

Briar paused, a tinge of danger licking at the back of his neck as he silently weighed the significant threat, then dismissed it. He had been wronged, and he would not let it stand.

”Who else is there?”

”The Underworld has pulled back due to the human supremacist faction encroaching on their territory. A war is brewing because of their aggressive expansion. It would be wise for you to lay low as well, Young Master.”

”Are you ordering me around?” Briar shouted, spit flying from his mouth as he stepped toward the steward.

First, he was denied a chance at revenge, and now this lowlife dared to lecture him?

”Your father’s orders,” the steward replied, unfazed.

”Fuck. FUCK!” Briar raged, pacing in place before forcing himself to breathe. He calmed, but his eyes still burned with fury. ”Then get information on the bounty hunter. I want to know what would hurt him the most.”

”He is unmarried and uninvolved. His mother is a Jenny, which is strictly off limits. He has a distribution company under his name that is also off-limits due to their recent rise in capability. However, he owns a farm northeast of Saffron City.”

There was nothing to be done about the lack of a love life, and the mention of a Jenny sent a chill down Briar’s spine. The distribution company is likely backed by the local gym leader. But a farm? That was a weakness he could exploit.

”Have it destroyed.”

”It was reported to be protected at all times by no fewer than three Elite ranked Pokémon.”

Another slap to the face. Another request denied. Just as he was about to lose control, a spark of brilliance lit up his mind.

”Then a flood. Have it destroyed with a Pokémon flood,” he ordered.

”Your father would not allow—”

”I don’t care. Call it in, or I will.”

”I cannot fulfill your request, Young Master. Your father forbids it.”

”Fine.”

He stormed back into his room, slammed the door behind him, and threw himself into his chair. Opening his computer, he navigated to the darknet, reaching out to contacts inherited from Orin. He hated spending his own hard-earned allowance, but he had no choice. This insult could not be allowed to stand.

He submitted the request and transferred most of his savings, fifteen million Pokédollars. The moment the transaction was complete, he leaned back in his chair with a cold, triumphant smirk.

He would never accept a slight that cost him his future. His vengeance would be swift and painful.

-----

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Alex oversaw the progress of the Pokémon.

Two years had passed, dedicated entirely to improving move proficiency, coordination, and sparring, while feeding on meat from Expert ranked Pokémon. This intense regimen allowed all the Pokémon on the farm to reach the Expert rank, with all of them gaining at least one Advanced ranked move as well.

Starting with the home team, the Elites, Absol, Morpeko, and Houndoom, had shown a marked improvement in teamwork. Where they once fought purely on instinct, they now displayed coordinated tactics and had each mastered three Advanced ranked moves.

Grimer had evolved into Muk. The pair of Goomy had matured into a powerful duo of Goodra, and the two Skiddo had grown into strong Gogoat.

On the girls’ side, Kaia’s Skiddo had evolved into a Gogoat as well, naturally taking the lead whenever the trio moved around the farm tending to the plants. The boost in power made farming far more efficient, giving Kaia more free time for herself. In hindsight, Alex realized he should have encouraged this evolution much sooner.

Mira’s Dolliv had evolved into an Arboliva, greatly enhancing the quality of the massage oil she produced. She even shared some with Lina, who used it as a nutrient-rich cooking oil, and with Vera, who incorporated it into her recipes. Again, Alex truly should have pushed for this much sooner.

The water team had reached the Expert rank across the board. Every member had mastered Surf at the Advanced rank with +50% Range. This made it possible for them to repel any sea threats while also ensuring a reliable method of retreat.

Even the Wishiwashi had progressed. Now that they were all above Novice rank, they could activate their Schooling ability and enter their powerful School Form, assuming there were other Wishiwashi around of course.

Moving on, the away team had made the most noticeable progress, with the majority of them reaching Elite rank. This was thanks to their exclusive diet of Elite ranked meat.

Raticate, Arcanine, Clawitzer, Rotom, Forretress, Altaria, Frosmoth, Alcremie, Aegislash, Metagross, Kommo-o, Togekiss, Hydreigon, Dusknoir, Ceruledge, the Crobat pair, and Gardevoir all achieved Elite status.

Bounsweet had evolved into Tsareena, the Tandemaus trio had evolved into the Maushold trio, and Koffing had evolved into Weezing. Espeon, who solely trained so she would always stay by Alex’s side, joined them in reaching Expert rank. All of them benefited from two full years of consuming Elite ranked meat while training hard every day, easily surpassing the home team’s progress.

This intense consumption completely depleted Alex’s stockpile of Elite ranked meat gathered from previous Elite bounty targets. As a result, his training phase was cut short by nearly half of the projected five years. He had not anticipated just how much more food his Pokémon would require once they themselves reached the Elite rank.

Alex was about to complain regarding the sustainability of raising Elite ranked Pokémon and question how anyone could reach Champion rank with the amount of meat required. That was, until he did the math and realized he had been feeding the equivalent of four full Elite teams with what was currently the second richest diet he knew of. The richest, of course, being Champion ranked Pokémon meat.

As for his original Elite ranked Pokémon, Hydreigon had passed the halfway mark within the Elite rank and was now considered a high Elite. Raticate and Arcanine, on the other hand, were only approaching the halfway point.

In gaming terms, Hydreigon would be above level 70, while Raticate, Arcanine, Absol, Morpeko, and Houndoom were all above level 65. The rest of the newly promoted Elites were somewhere between level 60 and 65.

The difference in stats was small on paper, but gaining five levels over two years was a significant achievement at the Elite rank. This was not a game world. Growth took time, resources, combat experience, and careful planning. Fortunately, Alex had invested well. The progress of his Pokémon was proof of that.

Unfortunately, he was broke again. Not in terms of money, he had plenty from his savings, the income from the farm, and from Maris, who was doing very well with her company.

He was broke in terms of Elite ranked Pokémon meat.

He could go out and buy it with money, but his current savings of thirty million would not last him a year given their current consumption. It was more of an emergency fund rather than a fund for increasing power.

Thus, Alex plans on going back to hunting for Elites soon.

As he watched the three Maushold running from Absol, Morpeko, and Houndoom while carrying Weezing in perfect sync, he received a report from Nyx about Elara.

”She’s getting married?”

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