Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

Seeing the women chained to the walls, floor, and ceiling of the shipping container, Alex stepped forward and began freeing them one after another while Lila stood frozen in abject horror at the entrance. Her hands covered her open mouth as the suffocating stench of sweat, filth, and bodily fluids rolled out of the container, enough to make her stomach twist. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to imagine how much pain they must have suffered trapped inside that metal coffin for who knew how long.

Once Alex freed the women, he carried them out of the shipping container one by one so they could breathe fresh air while Gardevoir, Gothitelle, and Espeon finished cleaning up. Meanwhile, Rotom contacted the authorities with their location and the details of the situation so they could deal with whoever had survived the assault.

“Why?” Lila whispered weakly. “Why were they in that room? What were they planning to do with them? Why would anyone do something like this?”

“These women are tourists,” Alex explained quietly. “Women unfamiliar with the geography, out on vacation looking to enjoy themselves, and who wouldn’t be noticed missing by any of the locals. They’re easily trusting of attractive young men or women with upbeat personalities, adventurous spirits, and honeyed words. They party, enjoy themselves, and, once they let their guard down, they’re drugged, robbed, and sold to traffickers.”

“They end up in places like this,” Alex continued. “To be shipped to wherever, or to whoever, would pay the highest price for them to do with as they pleased. Some get thrown into brothels, drugged until they stop resisting and used until their bodies give out. Others spend the rest of their lives chained to whatever monster bought them, forced to obey if they want to keep breathing. A few have their minds broken apart and rebuilt into obedient dolls designed to exploit their beauty.”

He glanced toward the unconscious women lying nearby.

“That last one is what happened to most of your mothers before I rescued them. Your aunt Lina and Mira still suffer some of the side effects of this treatment to this day, although they’ve recovered significantly since then.”

Lila maintained her silence as a powerful conviction began to build, but Alex quickly cut that train of thought off before it grew unreasonable.

“It’s very easy to say that the men or women who perpetrated this were simply evil or that all criminals deserve to die because they’re all the same. The truth is far more complex than that, Lila,” Alex said as he approached and gently stoked her hair, breaking her train of thought and drawing her attention to his words.

“Those involved might have been blackmailed into obeying. They might have had families who were starving or being held hostage. Some might have believed they had no choice but to do whatever it took to stay alive. It doesn’t excuse what they did, so they do deserve to be punished, but it isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario. Granted, some definitely deserve to die or never see the light of day again, but you’ll quickly discover in my line of work that that is rarely the case.”

“For example, your aunt Celise and Talia used to work for Team Dominion.”

Lila’s head jerked up, looking at Alex in absolute shock.

“Celise used to be a manager at the head branch of Team Dominion in Kanto, taking orders from a Champion ranked trainer who abused her. Talia used to be a nurse in the same base who would often heal her back up only to tend to her again a few weeks later. They joined because they were told it was a prime job opportunity, and after their training, they had their memories restricted and were sent out on assignment.”

“When they realized what they had gotten themselves into, not only could they not escape their predicament, they knew that if they did manage to escape, they would be hunted down and killed. Do you think they deserve the same punishment as those who actually wanted to commit crimes for their own sake?”

Lila shook her head and looked down, understanding the lesson Alex was trying to teach. It was important to always consider the full picture rather than judge with incomplete information. People were different shades of gray; they were rarely black or white.

“With that being said, there is a difference between judging others before and after they’ve been caught. If you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, I want you to prioritize your life and the lives of those you need to protect before considering whether to grant mercy to those who are posing a danger to you or others. Once the dust settles and the battle is over, then you may decide what to do with them. Do you understand?”

“Yeah…” she replied in a quiet voice, still confused by everything she had seen and heard.

“It’s a lot to take in, so take your time to decide whether you still want to be a bounty hunter. Your big sister Alvera was very excited to start beating bad guys around your age and to battle before she ultimately decided to take up photography. I don’t expect any of my children to pursue anything other than what they’re passionate about, so you don’t need to worry about disappointing me. You’ve already made me proud.”

Soon, the sound of sirens blared as police officers arrived one after another, some in hover cars, others riding Pokémon, or running at top speed. They were understandably alert as they entered the premises, and shocked as they took in the devastation, with men lying dead or unconscious all over the place.

When they noticed Alex, a little girl, and unconscious naked women lying outside a shipping container, their alert level spiked.

“You! Hands behind your head and identify yourself!” an officer demanded.

Alex reached into his pocket when an officer fired a shot straight into his chest. Lila neither winced at the noise nor cared about the damage her father took, having grown up used to the firing range and seeing him in far worse conditions. Alex, meanwhile, calmly continued to retrieve his bounty hunter license and showed it to the gathering officers, whose expressions turned terrified when they recognized the badge.

“Alex Wattson, Champion ranked bounty hunter here to pursue a bounty. I trust you will give me appropriate credit for this operation,” Alex said, looking down at the hole in his Alolan floral shirt.

“I-I… I apologize,” the officer who fired stuttered.

As Alex was about to wave the issue away, he paused and took a good look at the officer, his eyes darkening with each passing second. With a short nod, half the officers who arrived fainted, collapsing to the ground unconscious and scaring the remaining officers, who immediately trained their guns on Alex, some even aiming at Lila.

“Take those guns out of my daughter’s face or I will not hesitate to kill you,” Alex threatened.

As the tension mounted, a new officer arrived at the scene with an Elite ranked Granbull by her side. She was a Jenny with a distinct short haircut, wearing a bulletproof vest.

“What’s happening here?” she shouted angrily, immediately taking command of the situation.

“Commander! This bounty hunter took half of our men down,” one of the officers shouted, his gun still trained on Alex.

“And you are?” she said, turning to Alex before recognizing the license and shouting at the officers. “What the hell are you all doing, aiming your guns at a Champion? Do you all want to die for no reason? Holster your weapons or you’re going to the traffic department.”

They complied without complaint but still kept their hands near their holsters, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

“And? What’s the story?” the Jenny said, directing her attention to Alex.

“Half your squad here works for my bounty. Their surface thoughts were focused on ways to get rid of evidence on his computer and phone before they were caught red-handed. It seems there are still a few more back at the police station, so I’d look into that if I were you.”

Gardevoir, Gothitelle, and Espeon came closer and took their place beside Alex, with computers, documents, and phones floating around them. It was all the key evidence of the operation they had running here, along with everything the police would need to track down any accomplices on Akala Island.

“I appreciate the work you’ve done, but I would have appreciated it more if you had given me a heads-up,” Jenny said.

“So that all the criminals would have a head start to escape?” Alex asked.

“I said it would have been appreciated, not ideal. Now get out of my face so I can clean up after the mess you’ve made.”

“Dad, why is grandma being so mean to you?” Lila asked.

“Grandma!?” Jenny exclaimed, sounding insulted.

“My adoptive mother is a Jenny from Kanto,” Alex explained before turning to Lila. “She isn’t your grandmother. She just looks like her.”

“Oh… okay…” she said, unconvinced.

As the pair were about to leave, a yacht came speeding toward the docks, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. It came to a stop and floated just off the pier. From the bow, a very drunk blonde woman sat up in a black bikini, smiling as if nothing had happened.

“Hey, Dad!” Alvera shouted from the ship, waving both hands in the air, as Malia and Nohea popped up behind her before immediately leaning over the side and vomiting.

Alex could already tell Alvera was likely heavily drugged, but because the dosage hadn’t been strong enough, she had only ended up drunk. Malia and Nohea, however, seemed to be faring worse, though still conscious. Clearly, they had met some boys, gone on a cruise aboard the yacht, and been drugged and kidnapped, except Alvera was strong enough to fight them off while Rotom steered the yacht toward Alex’s location.

“Big sis?” Lila said, recognizing the drunk woman.

“It would seem your sister became a victim similar to these women,” Alex said. “No matter what choices you make in life, always make sure you have strength. In the worst case, you could end up like your sister, who managed to survive a kidnapping because she was strong enough to resist it.”

Lila nodded, understanding the lesson. It was clear that power was necessary in any endeavor, if only to guarantee survival.

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R-18 chapter is available.