Chapter 16. Another Shopping Spree

Words : 1568 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Averaging about one Basic move every five days of continuous practice, Raticate's new move pool took quite a while to complete. Alex could only imagine how much more effort would be required to reach the next proficiency rank. Unfortunately, now that Raticate was at his final evolution, he needed to expand his move pool with even more Novice-rank moves. It would be a while before Alex could focus on a specific move set to master as quickly as possible. He could have settled on a small set of moves months ago, but every move has its uses, and in Raticate's case, variety was necessary to contend with future opponents. If Alex had a Legendary Pokémon, he'd be more than happy to focus on a single move practiced to Master rank. He would even equip a Choice item to maximize his advantage. But instead, he had one of the weakest Pokémon in existence, with the only viable strategy already known to everyone and their mother. That meant he, as Raticate's trainer, had to be more creative—requiring Raticate to be more flexible. After noting Raticate's progress, Alex took him to the nearby medical facility for a quick checkup. Finding nothing wrong aside from expected lower stamina from the recent battle, Alex decided to cut training short and stock up on more moves for Raticate. As a student, he opted to purchase the move disks directly from the school at a discounted price, paying in cash. It was a significant expense, but the sooner Raticate mastered these moves at the Basic level, the sooner he could begin advancing a set of them to the Advanced level for the first upgrade. In the end, Alex bought Thief, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Shock Wave, Charge Beam, Rock Smash, Sunny Day, Pluck, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Roar, Hyper Beam, Attract, Endure, Giga Impact, Swords Dance, Swagger, Cut, Strength, Sludge Bomb, and Rain Dance, spending a total of 81,000 PokéDollars—far cheaper than the 109,500 PokéDollars it would have cost outside. Once Raticate learned all of these moves, he would have officially mastered every move available to him, except for newly invented ones he might later prove compatible with. The reason Alex made this investment was simple—Raticate was already close to learning all of them, so he might as well go all out and maximize his versatility. Alex doubted he would do the same for his future Pokémon, but at least if he ever needed to teach these moves again, he would already own the TMs. After his sizable purchase, Alex and Raticate made their way back to Jenny's apartment. It was about a thirty-minute bus ride—fairly far, but at least the service ran until midnight. Arriving home just in time to catch Jenny preparing dinner, Alex put his things away before helping set the table. "Welcome back. How was your first day of school?" Jenny asked warmly. "The classes were boring, but Rattata evolved after a battle," Alex said, presenting the chubby rat in his arms. Jenny beamed. "That's great! Congratulations. You two worked really hard for this. How's his move pool proficiency coming along?" "Ra… rati…" Raticate let out a dejected noise, his excitement briefly interrupted. "I got him all the TM disks he can possibly learn, so he'll be stuck rotating different moves for the next year," Alex explained. "Sounds expensive." "It was, but it's worth it. Besides, I'll never have to buy them again, so I consider it an investment. Plus, it was cheaper at school than at the store." "That's good. So, did you make any friends?" Jenny asked. "No. I sat at the back with the other quiet kids, so I didn't really talk to anyone. Doesn't matter, though—I plan on testing out of a few classes so I have more time for battles to earn credits." "Don't neglect your social life, Alex. You never know—they might end up being important comrades in the future." Alex sighed. "Fine… I'll try to make friends." "That's all I ask." It wasn't that Alex was against it. It just felt weird for a grown man to start making friends with 12- or 13-year-olds. He wasn't even a loner—back on Earth, he had plenty of friends. But here? Making friends with a bunch of kids felt strange, and frankly, exhausting. He had no problem getting along with adults, especially those in the apartment's training area. Ironically, they were the ones weirded out by how well they vibed with a 12-year-old. "Anyway, how was work?" Alex asked, quickly changing the topic. "Bad. Crime rates have been steadily rising for months and are projected to keep climbing until Gym Leader Sabrina finally decides to do something about it," Jenny said, clearly frustrated. "What can she do that the police can't?" "Legally read minds. I swear these criminals are all up to something, but we just can't get it out of them. It's been a nightmare, running around with nothing to show for it." "How about the Rangers? Can't they legally read minds?" "They technically can, but we're restricted from asking them to do so unless there's a proven threat of significant loss of life due to negligence. In the meantime, we just have to keep chasing shadows, hoping something gives," Jenny said with an exasperated sigh. "Sounds like you have limited options." "What options do we even have besides increasing patrols and risking the wrongful incrimination of innocent people?" "Well, you could go the vigilante route and start kicking down doors left and right," Alex teased. "Absolutely not," Jenny rejected firmly. "Or," Alex continued, "you could bait some small fish and use them to catch bigger and bigger fish until you get to the bottom of the lake." Jenny took a moment to process the analogy before it clicked. Essentially, they could catch a random thug and threaten them with jail time unless they outed their boss. Then, they'd repeat the process, climbing the criminal hierarchy until they reached the mastermind. It was a common tactic used by the DEA in America to dismantle cartel operations, and it worked well for them. Unfortunately, this was the Pokémon world, where civility was as thin as a Nincada's wing. Officers who tried this method would likely get themselves killed by the powerful bosses running these organizations. "Just promise me you won't personally lead the capture squad," Alex added, his tone softening. "I love you, Jenny, and it would kill me to lose you to an idea I suggested." Jenny, recognizing the irony of such a situation, remained silent. Thinking on the idea further, it had merit, but it would ultimately lead to the deaths of those not strong enough to enforce the law. Even she wasn't reckless enough to try arresting criminals in control of Legendary Pokémon—that would be pure suicide. She and Arcanine were top-level Experts at best, and they would likely face Elite-level trainers or higher. Still, the idea was worth passing up the chain of command. If the Elite Four or Gym Leader Sabrina could provide a safety net, it might be worth the risk. "I'll bring it up the chain, but if they put me in charge, you know I won't have a choice, right?" "That's a horrible excuse. Just know that if you do die, I'll dedicate my life to avenging you—even if I have to take the first option." Jenny almost scolded him for suggesting vigilantism—until she realized how ironic his logic was. Talking with Alex feels like speaking to someone far older than herself. His logic is sound, and he gives great advice. Sometimes, she even feels like the child while he plays the role of the adult. Ever since the adoption, she has only become more convinced of this fact. Alex is kind, considerate, diligent, and remarkably responsible with his purchases—so much so that she has never even considered taking over his finances. As he promised when he first suggested the adoption, he truly takes care of himself. This was precisely why she agreed to it. Alex is far more mature than other children his age, to the point where he might have walked a darker path had he remained an orphan. Allowing such a brilliant child to be consumed by darkness simply because of his circumstances would be nothing short of a crime in her eyes. Their contemplative silence lasted until bedtime. Early the next morning, Alex resumed his training session with Raticate—only now, Raticate had an even larger move pool to practice. As his Pokémon cycled through its diverse attacks, Alex continued his own workout routine. During their routine sparring match, Alex was surprised to find himself keeping up with Raticate. He managed to land more hits than usual, while Raticate seemed to struggle with his turning speed. Although Raticate was certainly faster than before, his evasive judgment was off. If Alex had to pinpoint the issue, he would say that Raticate's larger size made him an easier target, allowing Alex to land more blows than in previous matches. It could be due to Raticate's unfamiliarity with his new body, but that was exactly the purpose of these sparring sessions—to improve with time. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath

Chapter 16. Another Shopping Spree

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