Chapter 153. A New Bounty

Words : 1596 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Alex and the girls watched as Vermilion City was engulfed in a riot that was starting to get out of control while eating their dinner casually. The news projection hovered over their table showing streets filled with smoke and scattered fires. Protesters and rioters clashed with the police and League forces, while gunmen lit up the night in bursts of flame and electricity. The reporters spoke quickly, trying to keep up with the escalating chaos. None of them seemed particularly bothered. They kept eating, watching the scene unfold from the safety of their dining room. It was not the first time they had seen a city fall into chaos. Alex calmly reached for another helping of meat, briefly glancing at a scene of a building collapsing under an explosion before turning his attention back to his plate. "It's getting worse," Vera muttered, her voice tinged with concern. No one disagreed. They ate in silence, letting the noise from the projection continue in the background, as if it were nothing more than background music. "What's even the point of this?" Kaia asked. "The human supremacists can't possibly think pissing off the League constantly will get them anywhere." "A lot of people died too. Won't they get blamed for that?" Vera asked. "The League will blame the rioters for the use of violence during the protests, citing how more suddenly appeared all over the city to cause chaos," Rhea replied, her tone calm and logical. "The human supremacists will claim the League fired first. Most people will believe the League, but the supremacists aren't targeting most people. They're aiming for those who have lost loved ones to Pokémon. As long as they gather enough of them, they can continue building an armed force in the region." Everyone looked at Rhea, slightly shocked. She usually just joked around or only sounded serious when talking about machines, almost never about political or strategic matters. "What? I can use my brain for other things too." Kaia then turned to Celise and Talia, the group's resident former human supremacists, before asking, "Got any insights?" "I can't say," Celise said, looking down. "I'm not in the loop," Talia replied. "I'm just a nurse." "I agree with Rhea," Alex said. "My guess is they're trying to get more people in their camp to fight against the League. They've done protests before, but they've always been relatively peaceful. This was because they wanted to maintain a presence without giving the League an excuse to wipe them out." "Now that they've lost all their bases in Kanto, they've taken more drastic measures instead. They likely plan on inciting negative publicity in a destructive manner to achieve the greatest effect on the people while they reorganize." "Once they come back, they'll have some grunts to lead into the slaughter as cannon fodder. For now, they will want to inflict the greatest amount of negative press on the League." Alex then turned to Nyx before asking, "Did you find anything on their sites?" "There was a post on their forums that went out this morning asking for protesters to come to the square," Nyx replied, before suddenly saying, "Wait! They're posting videos about the police killing protesters." "Staged to paint the League as an evil organization of some sort, most likely," Alex commented. "Check the bounty board. I bet there's going to be another big bounty on it soon." "Just came in. Let me pull it up." Target: Varek Moln Rank: Elite Contract ID: #4829-JD Payout: 40 million Pokédollars or 30 million Pokédollars and 1 million credits Order: Wanted Dead or Alive Known Pokémon Team: Weavile, Crobat, Houndoom, Sableye, Toxtricity, Honchkrow Varek Moln is a lean, wiry male, approximately 29 years old, standing 5'9" (1.75 m) with pale skin and sharp facial features. He has icy blue eyes, silver-dyed hair styled into loose spikes, and multiple facial piercings. His attire usually consists of lightweight dark combat gear with reinforced padding, and he bears a distinctive tattoo of a crescent moon behind his left ear. He is a swift and elusive operative specializing in infiltration, sabotage, and high-speed ambushes. Known for hit-and-run tactics and precision strikes, he leaves minimal evidence, often escaping before authorities can respond. His operations frequently disable key infrastructure such as power grids, communication towers, and League checkpoints. Varek is a high-ranking field commander within the Kanto Human Supremacist Faction, known for inciting the Vermilion City riot that resulted in mass casualties, widespread property destruction, and direct confrontations between civilians and League forces. He was identified as the key agitator who coordinated extremist cells to spark the violence, using misinformation campaigns and planted agents to escalate tensions. He remains at large, with no sightings reported in Kanto. "Looks like I just got a job," Alex said with a smile. "It's in credits. Do you think you'll have competition?" Vera asked. "Not sure. There were plenty of nests with bounties around that price, but no one has taken them down yet." "Isn't taking down nests significantly more difficult than a single trainer?" "Depends on who you ask, but generally, yes. It's easier to take down a single trainer than an entire nest. Personally, I've had more trouble with people since they can use Protect. In my experience, humans are far more dangerous." "How are you going to find him?" "I already have his location. Right, Nyx?" "The coordinates were on the phone Celise had. Their base is on the northwest outskirts of the city, past the river. I just sent you the coordinates," Nyx replied. "You will have to move fast. I doubt they can stay hidden for long." "I'll be back by tomorrow morning, I guess," Alex said as he left. He went to his room to get changed, quickly depositing the Crobats he had captured into his PC. Then he called for all his Pokémon, who assembled in front of the mansion before he stored them and teleported outside the north gate of Vermilion City. From there, he headed west into the forest, riding on Arcanine. It took an hour to reach the base's location, where Alex found a lone shack in the woods, seemingly empty and untouched for decades. "Since I can't get in the old-fashioned way, I guess I'll just have to knock," Alex said, releasing all his Pokémon. "I'll take half the team to storm the base. Gardevoir, take the other half and spread out. I want a perimeter around the shack. Watch for a man about 5 foot 9 with silver hair, likely carrying Dark-type energy, with a tattoo behind his ear. Do not let him escape." "Gar…" Gardevoir replied with a hint of disappointment. "I know you won't get to kill many humans this way, but I promise if I find him inside, Raticate will immediately call for you. Right, Raticate?" "Raticate!" "Gar!" "That's my girl," Alex said, lovingly stroking Gardevoir's head. She cooed in reply before her expression turned serious, then spread half his team in a perimeter a kilometer around the shack. Her group included Gardevoir, Clawitzer, Forretress, Frosmoth, Hydreigon, the Crobat couple, Tsareena, Espeon, and Zoroark. Meanwhile, Alex took Raticate, Arcanine, Rotom, Altaria, Alcremie, Kommo-o, Togekiss, Dusknoir, Ceruledge, Steelix, Mausholdx3, and Weezing to storm the base. This lineup was chosen to neutralize the battlefield and allow his attack team to rampage freely. Without wasting time, all the Pokémon began powering up their stats to the max while Alex supported them by firing off Coaching and Decorate bullets. "Steelix, Body Press," Alex commanded. Steelix coiled its body before launching its head upward, stacking itself like a towering pile of metal stones from tail to head. Then it fell forward, glowing with Fighting type energy, putting its full weight into the move as it slammed face-first onto the shack. With a resounding crash, the shack shattered into pieces, along with the trapdoor hidden beneath it. Alex tapped Steelix at his side, and the large Pokémon shifted aside, revealing an opening that led underground. The passage was narrow at first but seemed to widen the deeper it went. Alex would need to clear the way to allow his Pokémon to pass through. "Dig through it all the way to the other side," Alex commanded. Steelix dove in headfirst, spinning as it burrowed through the soft dirt, carving out a wide tunnel for the others to follow. Alex moved in from behind until a sharp, echoing clang rang out ahead. They had likely reached the main doors of the base. "Rotom, hack in and open the gates. This is an official bounty hunter raid." Rotom zipped out of Alex's phone and dove into the scanner. With a beep, the heavy metal doors slid open, revealing a base nearly identical to the one in Pewter City. The only difference being the noticeably fewer people training inside. They were either out orchestrating the ongoing riot or this base simply lacked the manpower that Pewter City had. Either way, everyone present stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at the intruder and his many powerful-looking Pokémon. Without hesitation, Alex's Pokémon surged into the base, ready for battle, and quickly formed up to protect him. "Good. Looks like I made it in time," Alex said with a breath of relief before his voice turned cold and firm. "Kill them all." ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath

Chapter 153. A New Bounty

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