Chapter 78. The Den

Words : 1662 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Alex had been spot-on when he profiled the bartender's past. Her name was Vera Madison. She had been abandoned at birth, left at the doorstep of an orphanage with no real last name. "Madison" was the name of the orphanage itself. The orphanage offered no warmth, no loving mother figure for her to lean on. It broke her early. As a result, she never relied on anyone. She learned to care for herself, to fight for herself, because no one else would. By the time she reached adulthood, Vera worked for two years just to afford her first Pokémon, enough supplies to survive in the wild, and the time to evolve her Pidgey into a Pidgeotto through repeated short trips beyond the city walls. She didn't embark on a full journey until Pidgeotto had reached Adept rank. Not long after that, everything fell apart. Her Pidgeotto was killed. Vera was taken to Saffron City and forced into prostitution. The training to become a "proper slut," as they called it, was grueling. Real effort went into perfecting every subtle movement, learning to read clients' desires, and acting on them with practiced ease. Brainwashing didn't implant skills directly. They were trained—over and over again—like machines, repeating lessons until everything became second nature. One mistake on a test meant starting the entire course from the beginning. Vera didn't even hate sex. To her, it was just something fun and pleasurable. Even now, if Alex asked, she would probably accept and even enjoy it. That was how deeply the lessons had shaped her thinking. But she didn't resent it. She actually appreciated what she'd gained from those lessons. She was confident she could easily get and keep a husband—and Alex believed her. As for the building itself, it had eight floors. The top floor belonged solely to Monica. The seventh housed her inner circle. Floors six to one contained private rooms and parlors. Beneath it all, underground, was the Den—a training area where new girls were held until they reached "perfection" and could begin making money for Monica. Alex's plan was simple: eliminate Monica while his Pokémon created chaos throughout the Den. The Velvet Reflections didn't allow outside Pokémon inside the building—only those they personally owned. It was a security measure to protect clients. Alex didn't mind. He'd read Monica's profile. She was a pure Psychic-type specialist and had once trained under Sabrina as a Gym trainer. She quit after bonding with a wild Malamar, and from there, she built her criminal empire around sex trafficking. Pure Psychic types couldn't detect Alex when he sneaked in the dark and Alex had trained to resist passive psychic manipulation. He couldn't shrug off direct Psychic moves like Hydreigon could, nor hold out for long, but he could last long enough. After their talk, Vera asked what she should do now. Going back to Monica wouldn't have been a problem given her opinion on work through sex assuming Monica didn't control her mind again and avoided paying her. Alex didn't have an answer, but he promised to help her out if she ever asked. He owed her one for the information, anyway. They talked more about her options until midnight struck—and the lights suddenly went out. Alex bolted to the door, guns at the ready. He left his suit jacket to Vera, who still had nothing on. Opening the door, he saw people scrambling to reach the lower floors. The hallways were pitch black—perfect cover for Alex. He ascended the stairs, carefully hiding his presence whenever anyone passed. No one noticed as he made his way toward the top. Suddenly, a surge of people came rushing down. Alex pressed against the wall, silent and still, as over fifty people thundered past him. Then, a group of five caught his eye. Four men surrounded Monica, clearly escorting her out. Curiously, they didn't have their Pokémon out. Alex slipped into their wake, tailing them unnoticed until an explosion rocked the building from below. It was the perfect distraction. In one swift motion, Alex grabbed Monica. With one hand, he locked her Poké Balls. With the other, he wrapped his arm around her neck and yanked her back. The guards in the rear didn't notice—until Monica abruptly jerked back, her feet scraping against the floor. They turned to see a shadowed figure holding their boss hostage. There was a flash of silver. Then came a world-shaking Roar, blasting through the air and shaking the walls. The guards didn't even think—they ran. Alex dragged Monica down the stairs amid the chaos. She went limp in his arms—unconscious. He retrieved her Poké Balls, slung her over his shoulder, and pressed on. The first floor was packed, bodies everywhere in panic. He didn't bother pushing through. Instead, he fired a Throat Chop at the nearest window and leapt out from the second story. The fall was heavy but he managed to stabilize. Sirens wailed in the distance—police on the way. He made a beeline for the secret escape route out of the Den, where the real chaos had erupted. He left his Pokemon here to cause chaos at midnight so he could slip in and grab Monica. He hadn't expected it to work so literally. Along the way, he passed knocked-out Pokémon and the bodies of dead guards. His team had gone wild. Following the destruction through a blasted-open wall, Alex entered a room packed with terrified teenagers—both boys and girls—huddled away from Forretress while the rest of his Pokémon tore through the building. He asked for an update, and Metagross quickly filled him in. The dead guards had bounties—dead or alive. The ones who were merely knocked out were just regular staff who had responded to the commotion. They were being swarmed, so Kommo-o had taken position at the door, buffed up, and held the front line. Clawitzer supported by occasionally firing off a Heal Pulse at Kommo-o to keep the path blocked. Frosmoth had been ambushed by a pair of Machokes and had fainted, while Togekiss was taken out by a Rock Slide. Arcanine was recovering using Morning Sun, and Raticate was simply waiting for enough space to join the fight. Alex absorbed the report and began issuing orders. They needed more room to maneuver, so Arcanine used Extreme Speed to smash through room partitions—carefully avoiding the building's foundational pillars. Togekiss and Frosmoth were revived and fully healed. He then organized the team into a concave formation facing the only door leading down into the Den. Forretress lined the path ahead with a deadly mix of Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Gravity. Altaria and Alcremie stayed at the rear, offering support and guarding the escape route. Hydreigon took center stage, while Arcanine and Raticate stood closest to the door, flanking it near the wall. Once everyone was in position, Alex recalled Kommo-o and the floodgates opened. Dozens of guards charged in with their Pokémon at the front, only to be immediately assaulted by the hazard field. They were pierced by Spikes, crippled by Stealth Rocks, poisoned by Toxic Spikes, slowed down by Gravity, and then utterly overwhelmed by a barrage of devastating Special Attacks from the concave formation. Some of the guards died during the assault, causing their Pokémon to go berserk and adding even more chaos to the scene. Attempts to form defensive formations collapsed instantly as Raticate and Arcanine blitzed through their lines, tearing apart any semblance of coordination. Protect barriers were shattered mid-formation by Ceruledge and Dusknoir, who crashed through with ruthless efficiency. At some point, Kommo-o dove back into the fray, sweeping through the chaos with wide Breaking Swipes that tore across the enemy ranks. Hydreigon held the center, unleashing waves of pressure with Snarls and Heat Waves. Dazzling Gleams shined on the killbox three at a time. More guards rushed into the fray, only to be overwhelmed in turn. Every time a new formation began to take shape, it was broken just as quickly. The guards couldn't regroup or establish a foothold. Their numbers only fed the frenzy, each one pushing to get in, only to be swallowed by the storm. Eventually, the tide turned completely. The remaining guards on the first floor broke ranks and fled, abandoning the building entirely. With the police now on-site, none of them could explain the existence of the Den or the brainwashed teenagers without implicating themselves. Monica was nowhere to be found, and with their biggest backer gone, their morale crumbled. When the last of the guards' Pokémon fell, Alex methodically rounded up the guards one by one. He took note of their bounties to ensure fair compensation—Monica included, who was worth a pretty penny. Finally, someone made it into the Den. It was Jenny. "I guess your plan worked?" Jenny asked, surveying the devastation around her. "Better than I'd hoped," Alex replied. "That's Monica over there. Those are the captives. All the women working under Monica were brainwashed, and most of the male prostitutes were too. Monica had at least three regulated Pokémon—Malamar, Gardevoir, and Zoroark—though I lost track of the last two since they were busy serving customers." "Most of the dead guards had bounties, and some of the others were directly complicit in Monica's crimes. Rotom should've recorded the entire fight. There's a girl on the fifth floor wearing my jacket—I managed to free her from the mind control using Taunt. I wouldn't recommend the same method for everyone without a psychic present. Vera's tough and handles her mentality well. The others... might just kill themselves." With a heavy sigh, Jenny finally said "Alright. I'll take care of it. You don't mind this getting delayed by another week right?" "Whatever works for you." ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath

Chapter 78. The Den

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