Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Chapter 429: Chapter 429. No Traces in Wyndon

Wyndon, the crowning jewel of the Galar region, is a sprawling metropolis that blends modern grandeur with historical prestige. Inspired by the energy and structure of a world-class capital, its skyline is dominated by gleaming skyscrapers, grand stadiums, and an intricate network of glowing streets that pulse with life day and night.

The city serves as the final proving ground for trainers challenging the Galar League, drawing crowds from across the region who gather to witness high-stakes battles in its massive arenas. Every corner of Wyndon reflects its cultural and competitive significance, from luxury districts filled with boutiques and restaurants to bustling plazas where fans and trainers alike share in the excitement.

At the heart of the city stands the Galar Battle Tower, formerly known as Rose Tower, now reestablished under Champion Leon’s leadership as a symbol of strength, growth, and fair competition. The tower rises high above the surrounding skyline, its sleek design and advanced battle facilities making it a central hub for elite trainers seeking to test their limits beyond the Gym Challenge. Under Leon’s guidance, the Battle Tower has shifted away from corporate ambition and toward a philosophy that celebrates the bond between trainers and Pokémon, attracting challengers who aim to refine their skills against some of the strongest opponents in the region.

Despite its scale and sophistication, Wyndon retains a sense of charm and identity rooted in its heritage. Red-brick architecture, iconic ferris wheels, and elegant promenades along the river offer a contrast to the towering steel and glass structures, giving the city a layered and lived-in feel. Visitors can explore historic districts, enjoy street performances, or simply take in the view of the illuminated skyline reflected across the water at night.

Alex exited the police station after teleporting in early in the morning and walked the city streets. He took note of the dense population milling about as they headed to work and was impressed with the level of technology. It reminded him somewhat of Mossdeep City in Hoenn, Opelucid City in Unova, and the International Police Headquarters, with people riding automated hover cars, gliding on hoverboards, or running at high speed with their Pokémon through the city. He could confirm that he lived in the future, way past the level of technology back on Earth.

Sure, he had visited plenty of technologically advanced cities before, but they always seemed to feel like a science fiction setting. This city, however, blended the traditions of old Galar, which looked like London, with advanced technology, making it feel as if he were back on Earth, but in the future. It was a jarring experience that made him feel nostalgic for Earth while simultaneously making him feel as if he were in London in the future.

He continued walking, taking in the sights as he made his way southeast of the city toward the Eastern Park, where the Pokémon Nursery was located. It was his final mission from Mustard, which had something to do with missing Pokémon. It shouldn’t be any more difficult than his previous missions, and would be easily solvable with the help of Arcanine.

”Alex Wattson, here about some missing Pokémon,” Alex said as he entered the Pokémon Nursery located just northwest of the Eastern Park.

The waiting room inside was quite empty; as a matter of fact, there were barely any signs of Pokémon on the property. It seemed the issue was so serious that people had stopped entrusting their Pokémon to the nursery.

”You’re late!” an older middle-aged woman said strictly.

She had the familiar look and temperament of an old-school strict teacher, whom Alex immediately pegged as a likely contributing factor to why the nursery was empty. Although, it could just be the ongoing incident.

”This wasn’t the only location that needed my services—” Alex attempted to explain before being interrupted.

”I will not hear any excuses, young man,” she said, her brows tightening into a furrow that seemed to crumple her entire face. ”Do you have any idea how many victims there have been since aid was requested? Seven! That is how many have died because of your tardiness.”

”Died?” Alex asked, zeroing in on the important details of her rant. ”The request noted that Pokémon were missing, not dead.”

”They would have only been missing if you had come faster! Now they are dead. Their bodies were discovered in the sewers beneath the park.”

As the manager continued to drone on about responsibility, punctuality, and Alex’s horrid character, Alex zoned out and started considering the possibilities.

His first suspect heading into this mission was Team Dominion. They had a fondness for kidnapping Pokémon and also maintained a prominent presence in the city. Now that the Pokémon had been killed, however, he shifted his suspicion to a zealous follower who went around killing innocent trained Pokémon, or a rogue Pokémon loose in the city and on the hunt.

”Are you listening to me?!” she shouted angrily.

Alex, not one to waste time, released Gardevoir, flared his aura to interrupt her rant, and began firing questions one after another.

”What do you know about the case? What time were they discovered missing? What patterns do you recognize? Are you responsible?”

”WHAT?! How dare you—”

”I have everything I need,” Alex interrupted as he made his way out with Gardevoir in tow.

”Come back here!” she shouted after him as Alex slammed the door in her face and walked off.

”She may be a bitch, but I have to admit she’s a tough nut to crack,” Alex muttered with respect.

Despite seeming like an old lady who was Expert rank at best, the manager was able to resist Alex’s shocking, domineering aura. Gardevoir had to dig deeper into her surface thoughts, wading through her anger and principles before finally reaching the answers to Alex’s questions.

In the end, Gardevoir found that she was just scared and clueless. Pokémon had started disappearing from the nursery under the guardian’s watch, a Champion ranked Galarian Mr. Mime. One after another, they vanished without a trace and only recently turned up dead in the sewers. It was a serious case that the police had already tried and failed to investigate.

”Unfortunately, if even the police can’t track the culprit, neither can I. I’m a fighter, not a detective,” Alex muttered. ”Oh well, let’s try to hunt for any unconventional leads anyway and see if the police missed anything because they were too weak.”

”Rotom,” Alex commanded loudly. ”Search for any related information regarding this case on the internet. Focus on any dumbass boasting or any suspicious activities that could be linked to the dead Pokémon.”

”243,958 results found across online forums, social media, and public discussion boards,” Rotom replied in its artificial voice.

”Narrow results to the Eastern Park and look for any connection to the Pokemon Nursery.”

”No results found.”

”Is it too specific?” Alex asked.

”Negative. Prior results consisted of online or personal threats with no verifiable outcomes. Cross-referencing with the deceased Pokémon yielded no common relation.”

”So... at least online, there isn’t anyone who sticks out as the obvious perpetrator?”

”Correct.”

”I guess I’d better go offline then,” Alex said as he checked for Team Dominion’s base in the city.

He figured that if he couldn’t find anything online, perhaps Team Dominion’s private communications might shed some light on the situation. In truth, he was just trying to find any justification to pick a fight, and it didn’t take much to find one.

His search led him to an office building in the business district at the heart of the city. On paper, it was just another property that leased out office space, but in practice it housed several of Team Dominion’s front operations under one roof. There were fitness centers, an engineering firm, media studios used to produce their propaganda, and even influencers who monitored and steered online discourse. Beneath it all, hidden from public view, was a secured bunker that doubled as a training facility for their soldiers.

Alex knew he would get in trouble if he lazily brought everything down like he had in Unova, so, having learned his lesson, he planned to poke at it instead and kill all the soldiers inside. They were considered Underworld forces, making them fair game as far as even the Galarian League was concerned, so he shouldn’t get any flak for attacking them as long as the building stayed intact.

He made his way over, waltzed through security at the front entrance, and, amid screams, threats, and gunfire, destroyed the building’s main elevator before jumping down the shaft. He dropped a long way before finally reaching the bottom, where he released Rotom to begin the infiltration and then kicked the door open with a violent front kick. Once inside, he found the place completely empty. There were facilities, offices, a training field, and a shooting range, but not a single person in sight.

”Well, this is a first,” Alex said before calling out to Rotom. ”What’s the deal?”

”The facility has been vacated in its entirety,” Rotom replied over the intercom.

”Did you at least find their database?”

”Affirmative. Initiating cross-reference of related anomalous activity logs.”

After a while, Rotom returned with its findings.

”The internal database has been recently purged. No records of illegal activity remain present. Private message boards remain intact; however, no mentions of the attack on the Pokémon Nursery have been found. Conclusion: Team Dominion is not responsible for the Pokémon Nursery incident.”

Alex shook his head in disappointment. It seemed Team Dominion wasn’t responsible for the dead Pokémon, not that he was convinced they were the cause. It just meant all of his convenient options were a dead end. He would have to actually act like a detective to solve this case.

”I guess I’d better take this more seriously,” Alex sighed as he retrieved Rotom and teleported back to the nursery.

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