Hello DEARIES...
Enjoy...
________________________________________
The boundary between the Deep Wilds and the Rocket controlled zone wasn't just a fence but was a feeling between nature and artificial stuff, it was dangerous but also clean in a way.
Alex pulled on Nidorino's mane.
"Hold up," he murmured.
His Nidorino stopped, its claws digging into the soft ground and let out a huff of poisonous steam, vibrating with energy.
It didn't want to go back because it liked the woods and It liked hunting large Pokemons or running away from them.
"I know," Alex whispered, patting the beast's thick, purple neck. "I don't want to go back either but we have a scorecard to sign and thrive in whatever comes our way."
He slid off Nidorino's back and his legs felt stiff as usual, he should make a makeshift sitting pad to be comfortable.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the MP3 player, his only remembrance of his past life, it was the only thing that made him remember who he was, not Ares, not the Chemist and not the Survivor...
Just Alex Hales, a pharma graduate.
He untangled the wired earbuds and slipped them in and pressed play.
Guitar strumming.....
Ed Sheeran's voice filled his head. "When I was six years old I broke my leg..."
The sound was jarring, was too clean, too produced for this gritty reality but as the chorus hit...."I'm on my way, driving at ninety down those country lanes"....Alex felt a lump form in his throat.
He leaned back against Nidorino's flank, closing his eyes.
He saw the backwaters of Kerala, the coconut trees, the traffic in Kollam, he saw his friends complaining about exams, drinking tea at a roadside stall, eating beef and chicken with parota.
It felt like a different universe, a universe where monsters were pixels on a screen and the biggest threat was unemployment.
"Singing to Tiny Dancer...." the song played.
Alex hummed along, his voice cracking slightly.
"And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real, and we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill........"
The song ended and the silence that suddenly followed was deafening.
Alex pulled the earbuds out and wrapped them carefully around the player and stored it away like a holy relic, there was a poketube in this world, may be he could be a singer, with all these songs....it could be another source of income, something to think for later.
"Okay," Alex exhaled, the vulnerability vanishing from his posture as he straightened his spine. "Break time is over."
He climbed onto Nidorino.
"Walk," Alex commanded. "Don't run, we walk in like we own the place."
Crossing the breach in the fence felt like walking backwards through time, the trees became smaller, choked by vines and the ground turned to mud.
They entered the outer perimeter of the Base, things had changed in a month.
Before the stampede, the recruits were scattered, individual scavengers but now they were packs.
Alex rode past a clearing where a group of five recruits sat around a fire, they looked ragged, dirty, and mean. They had carved symbols into the trees....territory markers.
They looked up as the heavy thud-thud of Nidorino's paws shook the ground.
One of them, a boy with a bandaged eye and a Raticate sitting on his knee, stood up and reached for his belt.
"Hey!" the boy shouted. "Toll road, you want to pass, you pay....."
He stopped instantly as he saw Nidorino.
Not the small, rabbit like Nidoran, this was a complete different beast..... A Nidorino standing nearly a meter tall at the shoulder, bristling with toxic spines, wearing a collar that oozed black sludge.
The boy's hand froze on his belt and the Raticate squeaked and hid behind his leg.
Alex didn't stop, didn't speak, he just turned his head slightly, a blank face staring them down.
Nidorino growled, a low, rumbling sound that vibrated in their chests.
The boy sat back down and looked at the fire, simply pretended he hadn't seen anything.
Alex rode past.
The Central Hub was crowded, It was the last day before the Monthly Evaluation. Everyone was here to register, to trade, or to pray.
The atmosphere was toxic as paranoia hung thick in the air. People were clutching their Pokeballs, eyeing everyone else as a potential thief or killer.
When Alex rode into the courtyard, the crowd parted.
"Is that.....?"
"It evolved, how did he evolve it."
"Look at the spikes."
"It's Ares, the Chemist"
The whispers followed him like a wake. In a sea of Rattatas, Zubats, and the occasional Oddish, an evolved Nidorino was a statement which screamed Power.
Alex rode straight to the Administration Building. He didn't dismount until he reached the stairs.
He patted Nidorino's head. "Guard."
Nidorino sat at the bottom of the stairs, glaring at anyone who came within ten feet.
Alex walked up to the registration desk, the same bored grunt was there, looking even more tired than usual.
"ID," the grunt sighed.
Alex tapped his watch.
[ ID: 4491 (Ares) ]
[ Status: Active ]
"You're alive," the grunt muttered, checking the screen. "We had you marked as MIA as you went off-grid for 28 days."
"I went camping," Alex said.
The grunt looked up and saw the worn gear, the scratches on it and the confident posture.
"Right....camping." The grunt typed something.
"You're registered for the Evaluation tomorrow at 08:00. Captain Viper wants everyone ready, so don't be late."
"What's the format?" Alex asked.
"Classified," the grunt said automatically. Then he paused and lowered his voice. "But between you and me? Pack light, It's not a race this time."
Alex nodded. "Thanks."
He turned to leave, but a voice stopped him.
"Well, well..well...well... Look who crawled out of the jungle."
Alex stopped, he knew that voice.
He turned around and standing near the notice board was Butch, the boy with the scar who had kicked him in the ribs on Day 1, the bastard who had stolen the Zubat.
Butch looked bigger and was wearing stolen armor pieces, a shin guard here, a chest plate there and beside him stood a Golbat.
It was large, its mouth gaping wide, its wings restless.
"Level 21 huh," Alex analyzed instantly. "He evolved it, he's been grinding it alone, no other secondaries, most probably using the kids as Xp grinders daily, truly idiotic."
Butch smirked, crossing his arms. "I see you got yourself a dog....Cute, Nidorino, right?. It's just a Mid tier poison type."
He stepped closer, his Golbat fluttering up to hover behind his shoulder.
"You know," Butch said, his voice loud enough for the crowd to hear. " I still have that Zubat you found for me, he's a killer now....Maybe I should thank you."
He laughed and his lackeys laughed along with him.
Alex simply looked at him and saw the status numbers.
[ Target: Butch ]
[ Threat: Moderate ]
[ Pokemon: Golbat (Flying/Poison) ]
[ Level : 21]
"You're blocking the stairs," Alex said calmly.
"Maybe I am," Butch grinned. "We have a score to settle, you embarrassed my friend in the woods, the one with a Geodude."
"He was stupid," Alex said. "Are you stupid too?"
Butch's smile vanished. "You think because you have a Nidorino you're top dog?. My Golbat eats your rabbit for breakfast."
The air in the courtyard grew tense....a fight was brewing.
Alex sighed, he really just wanted a shower.
He reached into his pocket but didn't pull a ball. He just pulled out a small, glass vial.....
Concentrated Gloom Extract
He uncorked it with his thumb.
"Smell this," Alex said, with a evil grin.
He flicked his wrist, splashing a few drops of the clear liquid onto Butch's chest armor.
"What the..." Butch looked down. "Water? You throwing water at me?"
Then the fumes hit him.
Butch's eyes rolled back, he swayed and his knees unbuckled...
Thump...
He collapsed face-first onto the concrete, completely out cold.
Golbat shrieked, confused, hovering over its fallen master.
The crowd gasped.
"What an idiotic asshole," Alex said to the room at large.
He corked the vial and stepped over Butch's body, kicking him hard in his balls, " That was for my ribs, bitch..."
"Anyone else?"
Silence....
Alex walked down the stairs, Nidorino stood up, snarling at the Golbat, daring it to attack. The bat retreated, landing on a roof.
Alex climbed onto his dear mount.
"Let's go get some burgers," Alex said. "I'm sick of berries."
As he rode toward the mess hall, he felt the eyes of the entire base on him.
He had just taken out the strongest recruit who has been terrorising with a chemistry set.
" Let everyone see what I can be," he thought, listening to the imaginary echo of Ed Sheeran in his head. " I am really are a nightmare dressed like a daydream."
Authors Note:-
Well, there was always a receipt waiting right....
Tell me .... Have you guys been enjoying it.
The island arc will end in between the 50 and 60 th chapter and we can get to the regions.
Also need opinion.....
Should there be Romance..... And if so who... please comment.
Love you all ❤️❤️❤️.
You guys can have early access of chapters through patreon,:-
P a t r e o n . c o m / Aegis007
(Remove the spaces!)🔥🫰.
Support with power stones and reviews