Chapter 32. Money Problems

Alex and Hitmonchan continued sparring, and toward the end of the hour, Alex finally understood what they had been talking about when Hitmonchan suddenly tanked a hit that would normally have made him stagger. Hitmonchan began increasing his resistance to staggering while gradually shifting his fighting style toward countering instead. Blow for blow, Alex had to endure increasingly powerful attacks, while his own strikes were ignored more and more. The intensity kept rising until a single hit sent Alex flying out of the ring. At that moment, Hitmonchan snapped back to consciousness and resumed shadowboxing. It was like fighting an opponent who gradually built up power and super armor, growing more relentless as the fight progressed. Toward the end, he would pummel his opponent mercilessly until they were either knocked out or sent flying out of the arena. He was a brutal sparring partner, dangerous to challenge, as he would get too caught up in the fight and hold back less and less. But Alex loved it. Hitmonchan was the perfect sparring partner for him—not only were they about the same height for now, but Hitmonchan's skillful combos allowed Alex to train both his offense and defense simultaneously. He felt like a Pokémon going through battles to gain levels, with the added challenge of increasing difficulty until the combatants timed out. After sparring with Hitmonchan for an hour, Alex went back upstairs after changing back into his usual hoodie. He only planned to have sparring matches for two hours a day. Potions were expensive, after all. They cost 200 Pokédollars each, and he had already used up five today. 'Should I get a healer on the team?' Alex thought. A healer would be incredibly important in the wild. Unfortunately, they were considered top-tier Pokémon—on par with Pseudo-Legendaries, the games' starter Pokémon, utility Pokémon, or any Pokémon with a minimum base stat total of 500 from the games and uncomplicated evolution requirements. Starter Pokémon were a given. Their base stats were 520 or higher, and they were incredibly popular, costing around 1 million Pokédollars each. Utility Pokémon, on the other hand, contributed to society in various ways. Chansey provided eggs, Miltank produced milk, Mareep supplied wool, and Ditto had its unique genetic material, among others. These Pokémon typically cost upwards of 500,000 Pokédollars, sometimes even millions. Chansey, in particular, was priced similarly to Growlithe. This was because such Pokémon were essentially money-printing machines—as long as they had a place to live peacefully, they could generate a steady income. People quickly realized the investment was worthwhile, which kept their prices from ever falling below a certain threshold. Healing Pokémon, in particular, were highly valuable, costing at least 500,000 Pokédollars. Their utility was undeniable—why waste money on Potions when a few Heal Pulses could do the job instead? For Alex, the only way to acquire one of these Pokémon was either to become a millionaire overnight or venture outside the city to search for one himself. Unfortunately, their rarity had skyrocketed due to over-capturing by trainers. I might have a way to become a millionaire, though. He still had the research paper idea regarding EVs. Unlike IVs, which required significant time and financial resources to map scientifically, EVs could be studied using just one Pokémon. All he needed was to prove—scientifically—how to increase and decrease EVs. However, to truly profit from this, he would need substantial backing. The best strategy would be to corner the market on the specific berries, publish the research, and then sell those berries at a premium. A more tedious but legal method would be to purchase farms, produce berries in excess, release the research, and then capitalize on the demand spike. Both options required significant capital. The first method might even be illegal. 'I'll ask Jenny later.' Alex thought Alex returned to the second floor to finish their third training session for the day before heading home in the evening. Over dinner, he decided to ask Jenny about the legalities of his plan. "Why would it be illegal to buy what you need?" Jenny asked, confused. "Because someone with market-sensitive information is trying to make a profit off it." "Isn't that what everyone does?" "To an extent, but in this case, I'd know for a fact that demand would spike, forcing the League to pay exorbitant prices for the product." "The League would probably just buy everything outright, right? They have infinite money, after all." "That's true, I guess. But is there no law against market manipulation?" "I don't think so. If there is, it would probably fall under International Police laws, so I wouldn't know." "Thanks, Jenny. That's all I needed to know." After some research, Alex discovered that market manipulation was illegal in the Pokémon world—but only when fraud or false claims were involved. For example, buying Potions in bulk, then paying the media to falsely claim that Potion prices would rise, only to sell them back at inflated prices, would be illegal. However, Alex's plan involved presenting new, credible research that would temporarily increase berry prices. Since berries were a renewable resource, the inflated prices would naturally stabilize once farmers ramped up production. Even so, Alex wasn't ready yet. He needed to conduct the study, find a trustworthy wealthy collaborator, publish the research, and only then collect his profits. He estimated that the study would take about two months—just in time for the new school year. Over the next month, Alex and the gang settled into their routine. Raticate and Growlithe struggled at first but eventually adapted after a week. Surprisingly, the benefits were minimal—Raticate was already accustomed to the training environment, while Growlithe's growth had begun to slow. It didn't help that Raticate was restricted to only three or four moves, and Growlithe no longer had time to refine his lower-ranked moves. However, they were gradually becoming more resilient in the face of constant, high-stress battles. During this period, Alex himself felt like a Pokémon undergoing rigorous combat training. Sparring against Hitmonchan left his body bruised and battered, but his skin, muscles, and bones had toughened considerably—something he had never trained before due to the lack of availability of mystical healing supplements. To compensate for the intense training, Alex made sure he and his Pokémon had the best food money could buy. On average, they spent 10,000 Pokédollars daily on expert-ranked Pokémon meat, premium-quality Moomoo and Gogoat milk, Pokéblocks, and even indulgent treats like Poképuffs. Considering their temporary income of 15,000 Pokédollars a day, it was a worthwhile investment—ensuring they all had the proper nutrition to make the most of their grueling battles. Today was supposed to be another jog back home for Alex and the gang—until they passed a certain alleyway in the evening. They had taken this route before but hadn't seen this sight, so it was strange that the alley was now occupied by homeless people. It was dark out, and he only managed to catch a glimpse as he jogged by, but Alex could recognize a drug den when he saw one. In the alley, a few seemingly homeless individuals loitered near the entrance. Deeper inside, a group of decrepit individuals were shoving money into the hands of a bouncer, who, in return, handed them small baggies filled with a white substance. Behind the bouncer stood a heavily fortified door. The entire building was old—five stories tall, with all the windows covered. At a glance, it looked like any other aging apartment complex, but a closer look revealed something off. Almost all the rooms had identical, minimalistic interiors, suggesting that the entire building was a hideout. Alex came to a stop, considering his options. He could call Jenny and have a raid take place within the hour, or he could raid the place himself. On one hand, the right thing to do is call Jenny in and be given a pittance in recompense. On the other hand, he'd get the money the drug dealers were currently collecting. This might be an alternative way to make money. Sure, he'd be making enemies—but Jenny was the perfect meat shield against retaliation. Nobody messed with Jennys. Anyone who got Jenny killed or kidnapped would immediately find themselves under the scrutiny of the rest of the family. And every single one of them was a police officer. A terrifying thought. They all lived ordinary, mediocre lives, but the moment someone dared to poke the Combee, all the Vespiquens around the world would declare war. As for the danger to his own life? Alex didn't care. Drug dealers like these typically hired trainers as bodyguards, but what kind of trainer would rather guard a facility than be outside, training their Pokémon? The weak, poor, and desperate kind, of course—and poor trainers were weak. They didn't have the luxury of purchasing TM disks, Pokéblocks to accelerate growth, or the proper nutrition to reinforce the gains made through battle. Plus, if they spent all their time guarding, they weren't out there gaining combat experience or helping their Pokémon grow stronger. Essentially, the only advantage criminals had was their secrecy. Once their location was exposed, they could never defend themselves—not against the League and certainly not against Alex, who had a year and a half of non-stop, luxurious growth under his belt. Trainers became powerful by venturing outside, battling to grow stronger, eating their spoils to convert growth into strength, then healing at free Pokécenters to repeat the cycle. The longer they maintained this lifestyle, the stronger they became. The second they landed a cushy job in the city, they stopped growing. They stagnated—just like Jenny had with her top-level Expert-ranked Arcanine, whom Raticate was already closing in on. Sure, it would take a few years, but Jenny had long since stopped training her Pokémon, relying instead on live combat experience as a cop—which only happened once in a blue moon. After all, she couldn't afford to feed them if they didn't work, and excessive training like what Alex was doing was prohibitively expensive. In any case, Alex had made up his mind. He would raid this drug den for all it was worth. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath