Alex's Pokémon rushed out, trampling the guards as they burst through the base's main entrance. The pair attempted to block the way with their own Pokémon, but they were only Expert ranked and were completely overwhelmed, bulldozed aside and crushed underfoot. The Rhyperior duo stayed to finish them off, securing the entrance for their escape while reinforcing the cavern for the coming battle.
Once inside, the rest of the Pokémon split off and ran amok.
Gardevoir felt around with her psychic energy and detected emotions of despair, quickly locating the cages that held the kidnapped people. Lucario's team was immediately ordered to secure them and prevent a hostage situation. They fought off another pair of guards before securing the hostages. The prison was in a separate cave from the living space, so they likely wouldn't receive any reinforcements, guaranteeing the prisoners' safety.
The water and defense teams moved to the center of the cavern and took up the makeshift town square, surrounded by caves that served as the bandits' living quarters, amenities, and data center. They then bombarded any tunnel that showed signs of approaching enemies, holding the center to prevent the bandits from forming ranks.
Rotom, meanwhile, shut down the lights and alarms while cutting all power to the facility, sowing more chaos. The only indication of the attack was the sound of battle, which terrified the bandits into preemptively escaping.
Kommo-o and Grim's team, on the other hand, blitzed into each cave and started neutralizing enemies. They took down any Pokémon, killed or knocked out any humans, and destroyed any walls or doors that stood in their way.
Raticate's team, meanwhile, had their work cut out for them. The bandits whose Pokémon knew Dig split up, immediately attempting to dig their own escape routes rather than charge headfirst into the noisy main cavern. Fortunately, only three attempted this, allowing Raticate's team to catch them, knock them out, and bring them back. They were only Expert ranked at best, after all.
As for the leader of the bandits, a man with nearly a dozen Elite ranked Pokémon, he was taken care of by the water and defense teams. They drowned his Pokémon in a deadly volley of Surf and Dazzling Gleam, knocking them out before they could even reach the main cavern to take control of the situation.
The battle started and ended in a mere 5 minutes as Alex leisurely strode around, enjoying the ambiance of combat around him.
Without missing a beat, his Pokémon immediately began cleaning up without being told, collecting everything of interest in the hideout. There were guns, ammunition, armor, prisoners, and Pokémon of all kinds, as well as the bandits who had managed to survive the battle.
With Rotom's help, Alex was able to identify them and confirmed that they did in fact have bounties on their heads, charged with kidnapping, murder, and banditry, as recorded by their victims who had managed to escape, like Liora.
"Pokédollar bounties, huh. I guess they haven't been taken seriously yet," Alex said before nodding to Gardevoir, who began reading everyone's memories.
From the psychic interrogation, Alex was able to piece together their operation. They kidnapped people for ransom or sold them to Team Dominion in Hulbury. The Pokémon were sold on the black market for extra cash, while any goods and money they found were kept. It was a clean operation with multiple safeguards to prevent tracking, its only weakness being someone like Alex, who had a powerful team, keen intuition, and Arcanine.
Next came deciding what to do with the victims. They were quite far from any cities, with Hulbury as their closest option, so Alex would have to personally escort them.
As for the Pokémon, some belonged to the victims and were promptly returned, while those taken from the Nursery had to be brought back. There were also quite a lot that belonged to the bandits or were captured during their journey.
For those, Alex planned to deal with them based on ownership and threat level. The Elite ranked Pokémon would be put down alongside their trainer, the leader. Any Pokémon that belonged to the surviving bandits would be handed over to the League, while the rest would be sold through the League market.
With their plan set, Alex teleported back to the Nursery and handed over the stolen Pokémon to Janet.
"You work fast," Janet said with an appreciative smile. "It hasn't even been a day, and you've already managed to find and return them. Thank you so much for your help."
"No problem," Alex said. "Your information was instrumental in finding them. As a matter of fact, you deserve 10% percent of their bounties as a fee for the information."
"Oh, gosh, you don't have to," she said, acting coy, until Alex showed her that it amounted to over 4 million Pokédollars. "Oh my. Well, if you insist."
The transfer was made quickly using Alex's own money, protecting her information from being exposed and sparing her from having to wait for the League to pay out, much to her surprise at the sudden windfall.
As Alex was about to leave, the shop phone rang, prompting Janet to answer.
"It's the boss," she said, handing Alex the phone. "He wants to talk with you."
Alex accepted the call, unbothered by the usual pleasantries, only to be taken aback when he recognized the person on the other end of the line.
"Why, hello there, young lad! It's little old me, Mustard, the proud owner of the Pokémon Nursery all across Galar! Hee hee hee! Oh, I must say, you've really lifted a huge weight off this old man's shoulders by returning our client's Pokémon! Truly, I'm as pleased as punch!"
Alex's eyes widened, finding his little escapade surprisingly in line with his own goal for the region. He definitely wanted to get on Mustard's good graces and receive combat training to enhance his own but he didn't want to come off too strong. Hopefully, this conversation would allow him to earn some favors.
"No problem, sir," Alex replied. "If anything, Janet's information made the process much smoother. It would have taken me a week otherwise."
"Well, aren't you just humble as can be! Hee hee hee! Such a fine quality in a young lad, I must say! Now, you don't mind listening to this little old man and all his wee woes, do you? I promise, I'll make it worth your while, I surely will!"
"Not at all, sir. I don't have much of a plan, aside from running around the region and attracting all the wrong attention."
"Hee hee hee! Good, good, I like the enthusiasm! Now, here's the pickle, my young friend. I've been hearing all sorts of troubling complaints all across Galar, people going missing, Pokémon disappearing, bandits runnin' amok, rogue Pokémon causing a ruckus, and even some less-than-pleasant organizations poking their noses where they shouldn't!"
"It would do this old man a mighty, mighty favor if you could help get these sorted out, if you've got the time, of course! I'd ask my brilliant student Leon for help, but investigation isn't exactly his strong suit, hee hee! But you, oh, you're clever enough to handle helping out the Nursery in the Wild Area, so I just know you're more than capable of tackling the rest of these problems! So, what do you say, young lad? Care to help an old man out? I'll make it worth your while, hee hee!"
"Of course, sir. Just send me all the information you have, and I'll take care of it. Just send it to—"
"Alex Wattson, bounty hunter extraordinaire, isn't it? Oh-ho! I've heard all about you, lad, and I must say, I'm mighty impressed! Fuhaha! And would you believe it, I'm actually a big fan of your Battle Royale show! Oh yes, yes! I just know we'll have oodles and oodles to chat about once we finally meet, hee hee!" Mustard interrupted, much to Alex's surprise.
On second thought, it made sense. Alex had been making waves in the other regions, not to mention gaining popularity from streaming the Flying Arena and the Battle Royale training he underwent with his Pokémon. Someone as powerful as Mustard would surely know about him.
Suddenly, Alex received the information on his phone through Rotom, sent from Mustard's contact information. No doubt, a man of his caliber had access to private information well protected by the League.
"I'll get right on it, sir," Alex said respectfully.
"Hee hee hee! Good, good! I'll be waiting for the good news," Mustard replied before ending the call.
Alex bid Janet farewell before teleporting back to the bandits' hideout to escort the rescued people to the closest city, Hulbury. As they began their trek through Galar Mine No. 2, he scrolled through the information Mustard had sent and was surprised to see just how many locations were struggling.
It cast the current League in a poor light, their region clearly suffering under threats that lingered from the old nobility. Yet it also made sense that they struggled to resolve these issues, requiring someone like him to step in and handle it for them.
With no personal stake beyond the resources he was owed, Alex was the perfect candidate to handle the situation efficiently, putting everyone in their place without disturbing the delicate balance.
As the faint light of Galar Mine No. 2's passageway came into view, Alex allowed himself a small smile. He had taken his first step in meeting Mustard and learning from the old goat. Yet he knew this was only the beginning. Galar still held more shadows to clear, and he was just getting started.
-----
Support me on Patreon
pātreon/babywrath