Chapter 39. Introspection

After touring the place, Jenny and Alex settled into their rooms on the third floor, each of which was larger than their entire apartment. It was almost too luxurious. The house had more rooms than they knew what to do with, so they decided to allocate some to the Pokémon. The house had three floors in total. The first floor contained the offices, living room, kitchen, meeting room, and large spaces for socializing. The second floor featured six guest bedrooms, a common room, a laundry room, and a public restroom. The third floor had four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, occupying the entire floor. Unfortunately, Arcanine, Espeon, and Boltund all chose to stay in the same room—right next to Jenny's. Clauncher, on the other hand, took to the decorative pond outside, where she played target practice with her new flying targets while bonding with the Wishiwashi. Raticate and Growlithe preferred to stay in Alex's room, while Rotom refused to leave its phone except to train move proficiency. "The place is too empty. We need to fill it up. It's time for some shopping," Jenny said as they made their way to the mall. "Some expensive, comfy chairs would be nice," Alex commented. In the end, they let it be and went shopping to start filling up their new space. TVs, exercise gear, comfy chairs, home computer systems, Pokémon beds, and specialized furniture—like a fireproof bean bag for Growlithe. They went all out. By evening, the sheer size of the house had begun to sink in. The extra space gave them a strange sense of loneliness. Luckily for Alex, Raticate and Growlithe had chosen to stay with him. It would have been depressing otherwise. As Alex lay on his oversized bed, listening to the subtle breaths of Raticate and Growlithe, his mind wandered. He began thinking about his next steps. School was fine. He was still learning new things every day from all the different classes. The Fighting Dojo was a must—there was no better place to train himself and his Pokémon. His present was set. But what about the future? He planned to travel the world, experiencing everything the Pokémon world had to offer. But what about the specifics? Did he want to become the Champion? No. What a waste of time. Did he want to become a farmer? No. He'd never be able to sit still. Did he want to drift around aimlessly? Maybe. Seeing new places sounded nice. Did he want to do something… evil? Maybe. Fewer restrictions would be nice. Did he want to go on a rampage? Yes. Battles. More battles. Not just Pokemon battles. Real battles. Requirements? Reaching his peak fighting condition. Personal protection equipment. Strong, loyal Pokémon. Army-destroying builds. A legendary Pokémon hunting team. Was what he had enough? No. He needed more time. He only had three—four if he counted the incoming Ninetales. Did Arcanine even need Ninetales as a partner anymore? No. Drought was convenient, but it restricted the others, like Clauncher. Clauncher? She was a fine fortress cannon that could Aqua Jet or Flip Turn out in a heartbeat. She didn't need a fortress when she could just run... Wait. Why run? Why didn't she need a fortress? She should have one. It would ensure maximum output. What constituted a fortress? Follow Me, Light Screen, Reflect, Wide Guard, Quick Guard, entry hazards… Entry hazards. They weren't just "entries"—they were hazards, pure and simple. Didn't matter who threw them out—everyone but the user would trip over them, even allies. But Clauncher? She didn't have to move. That was her opponent's problem. Best hazard setter? Forretress, hands down. It even had Reflect and Light Screen. Clawitzer covered Forretress's only weakness to Fire. Gravity/Earthquake and Surf to clear away everything then reset. It could get healed by Clawitzer, then Pain Split back… Brilliant. It worked well in battles and even in the wild. The pair could take on an army alone—Clawitzer against the air, Forretress on the ground. That was one pair down. Arcanine and Raticate? No skill synergy, but perfect role synergy. A self-healing tank and a self-buffing assassin. Arcanine would charge into the fire while Raticate cleaned up after him. Arcanine just needed to be trained as a Bruiser. He could already take hits well—now he just had to hit back, blow for blow. They'd work on that. Raticate, though? He needed more offense. Shadow Ball was a good call. He was such a little genius. Now for the last pair. He had enough money. He could have anyone he wanted. No Mega, though. Even the rich and powerful couldn't get them. What's the dream team? Tyranitar and Garchomp? Very powerful, but too disruptive. They couldn't even use Earthquake without killing each other. One 4× weakness each. No way to command the battle in the sandstorm. Flying on Garchomp would be nice, though. Gengar and Alakazam? Difficult to evolve. Haunter needed to terrorize enough dreams, and Kadabra had to read enough minds. Gengar would make a great shadow assassin, while Alakazam would be good for quick travel. Aegislash and Togekiss? Ace Pokémon, but no synergy. Each worked best alone. Aegislash would make a solid shadow guard, while Togekiss could even flinch-lock Legendaries. Unfortunately, I'm too serious all the time. Togekiss would be depressed while staying with me. How about Dragonite and Salamence? Then call it a night. Being spoiled for choice was just as bad as being poor. Alex fell asleep after that thought.  The next morning, Alex called the breeders and canceled his reservation for a Drought Ninetails.  He conducted extensive research and found that, aside from Forretress, Toxapex was also a strong choice as a hazard setter. Unfortunately, Toxapex's abilities forced enemies to attack anyone but itself. It was more effective in official battles, where opponents had no choice but to target Toxapex directly. Ultimately, Alex chose Forretress—it was simply too good to pass up. It could set Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock to control the battlefield. Rollout allowed it to dish out serious damage, Pain Split helped heal Clawitzer, and its Sturdy ability made it nearly indestructible next to a 75% Heal Pulse Clawitzer. And when all else failed? Explosion. It was the perfect choice. He immediately searched for a breeder and found a Sturdy Pineco. Due to its reputation as the ideal hazard setter in official battles, Pineco eggs were valued at a staggering one million Pokédollars. Fortunately, he was looking for one with Sturdy not Overcoat, which countered or complemented Hail teams—currently the dominant meta. Alex ended up spending 80,000 Pokédollars and received his Sturdy Pineco via PC transfer. The breeders had an oversupply of Sturdy Pineco, which made it significantly cheaper. Next, he needed a third Pokémon pair to complete his team. After some deliberation, he realized a third pair wasn't necessary—what he truly needed were Pokémon that complemented his current lineup. His team already had both offensive and defensive synergy, so his focus shifted to finding Pokémon that could support their strengths. Arcanine and Raticate were offensive powerhouses and didn't need a dedicated healer—Arcanine could sustain itself with Morning Sun, and Raticate could simply retreat when necessary. After further research, he narrowed it down to Dragonite and Altaria. The key was finding a Pokémon that could support Arcanine and Raticate's rampage. Both Dragonite and Altaria had access to Dragon Cheer (boosting allies' crit chance), Tailwind (boosting Speed), Mist (preventing stat reduction), Safeguard (blocking status conditions), Haze (resetting stat changes). These moves would allow Arcanine and Raticate to go all out without fear of stat drops or status ailments. After further research, Alex immediately purchased a Swablu from a breeder auctioning one online. This Swablu had both Defog and Roost—two incredibly valuable moves. Defog would ensure that Arcanine and Raticate had a clear battlefield, while Roost gave it sustain. Additionally, Perish Song could guarantee a win even in impossible situations. While Dragonite also had Roost, it lacked Defog, which was the deciding factor. Arcanine and Raticate needed a clean battlefield to dominate, and Defog provided that advantage. Alex won the auction and received his 4-million Pokédollar Swablu. Typically, Swablu eggs cost the same as Arcanine eggs—around 3 million Pokédollars—while hatched Swablus cost 1 million. However, this particular Swablu was top-tier, boasting Defog and Roost, making it worth the extra investment. Despite the high cost, Alex considered it a worthwhile purchase for his dream team. Altaria would also complement Clawitzer and Forretress, which lacked protection against status conditions. With Altaria secured, Alex still needed a Pokémon to complement Clawitzer and Forretress. Dragonite would work well for preventing stat reduction and status ailments, but it was a close-range fighter. It preferred to be on the front lines rather than providing passive support. What the team truly needed was another Special Attacker—one that could hit multiple opponents. Given Clawitzer and Forretress's low Speed, a Trick Room setter would have been ideal. However, since their strategy relied on holding off swarms of lower-level Pokémon, a Trick Room setup might end up making them slower than their enemies instead of faster. After extensive research, Alex narrowed his choices down to Alcremie and Frosmoth.  Alcremie had access to Misty Terrain (protects from status conditions), Aroma Veil (prevents being Taunted or Encored), and Decorate (boosts an ally's Attack and Special Attack by two stages). Frosmoth had access to Aurora Veil (sets up Reflect and Light Screen in one move), Wide Guard (protects from AoE attacks), Mist (Prevents stat reductions), and Tailwind (boosts Speed). In the end, Alex bought both.  The Pokémon limit only applied to official battles—he had bigger plans. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath