Chapter 84. Getting A Place

Over the past two weeks, during which he hadn’t trained a single day, Alex had spent his time contemplating his current situation. Since turning sixteen, he had been living off his earnings at Jenny’s mansion. There was nothing inherently wrong with that, especially considering he was financially stable and capable of earning millions of Pokédollars per mission. This mission had been no different. In just two weeks, he’d earned 27 million Pokédollars, 5.6 million League credits, and secured 20 months’ worth of training food for his Pokémon. To the average trainer, this was a fortune—enough to set them and their team up for life. But Alex was different. He craved strength, power, combat, thrills, and adventure. The money he earned wasn’t for comfort—it was fuel. It would be spent on making his Pokémon stronger, not on letting them grow passively, as most trainers usually do. On average, it took trainers eight years of constant battling in the wilds to raise their starter Pokémon to Elite rank. That was the whole purpose of the gym circuit—to guide trainers to Elite rank efficiently, and at minimal cost to the League while simultaneously cutting down the Pokemon population in the region. Alex bypassed that process entirely. By pouring vast resources into his Pokémon, he accelerated their progress by more than three years. His Raticate, his starter, was now on the cusp of reaching Elite rank. It had taken just five years and a few months to get there—without ever leaving the walls of Saffron City to train, battle, or hunt for food. This kind of growth was a privilege reserved for the wealthy and Alex had made it work. Now, with enough funds to sustain his current lifestyle for another three years, he could remain at Jenny’s mansion and continue building his team. In that time, he was confident all of his Pokémon would reach Elite rank—and he’d collect three, maybe even four more badges by then. It was a valid expenditure of time and resources—one that would guarantee Alex’s growth. That was why it had been his original plan: to focus on building strength after getting paid for this mission. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Spending the next three years on proficiency training would benefit his Pokémon greatly, but it wouldn’t do much for him. He’d be bored out of his mind. So, he began thinking about how to make proper use of his time—not just his money. Ideally, Alex wanted to go on missions constantly—earning as much money and thrill as possible while he was still young and full of energy. At the same time, his Pokémon needed to grow independently, developing their move proficiency and converting food into strength and rank advancements. For the first requirement, he already had everything he needed: powerful Pokémon who worked flawlessly as a team in battles against other trainers. Unfortunately, they couldn’t focus on proficiency training during missions, causing their technical growth to lag behind. To address this, Alex needed to travel faster—cutting down on wasted time moving from one location to another. Unfortunately, he couldn’t meet that need just yet. Regulated Pokémon capable of using Teleport were tightly controlled. Access to them required either all eight badges and completion of a full set of qualifying missions, or significant contributions to the League that could grant early access to such resources—much like how trainers earned access to the League market, which was normally reserved for those with at least four badges. So far, Alex had made meaningful strides. He had submitted a significant research paper to the scientific community and played a key role in capturing Don, a high-profile criminal wanted by the League. These contributions earned him early access to four-badge-level resources, including the League market. With two badges and Monica’s capture added to his record, Alex was now close to unlocking eight-badge-level access to the League's regulated resources. To get there, he needed either one more badge or another high-value bounty capture. Either outcome could be achieved with time—or luck. After all, both of his previous major captures had been the result of being in the right place at the right time. As for the second requirement, he needed a proper home base—somewhere his Pokémon could train and recover between missions.  Jenny’s place, while perfect for her, was starting to feel too small for Alex. What he needed was a large, open space equipped with the latest technology for Pokémon training.  That large open space could easily be a farm out in the wilds. He and his team were strong enough to clear out a nest, build infrastructure, and establish a new stronghold that could protect the land from wild Pokémon. Since the area needed to be large enough to accommodate training for Elite-ranked—and eventually Champion-ranked—Pokémon, it made sense to turn it into a functional farm as well. That way, he could feed his team without having to rely on external supplies. The only recurring cost would be Pokémon meat—unless he sourced it himself during bounty missions. It was the perfect way to use his money: building a self-sufficient, private industry. He could hire breeders, farmers, and specialists to take care of both him and his Pokémon. Meanwhile, he’d dedicate his time to hunting bounties, using the profits to cover upkeep and salaries. Alex loved the idea. During his vacation, he started window shopping for the perfect isolated location to build his base. In the end, he found several promising options. Some farms were already up for sale, fully equipped, ranging from 5 to 20 million Pokédollars. Open lots ready for development inside cities were available too, though they were roughly three times the price just for the land. There were even foreclosed properties—buildings taken from bankrupt owners or criminal organizations, like those that had belonged to Don or Monica. Then there was the League’s land development policy. The League actively encouraged trainers to hunt Pokémon to empower their own teams. At the same time, it advocated for certain territories to remain off-limits, providing safe havens where Pokémon could grow naturally and sustain the ecosystem's cycle. Unfortunately, this often led to Pokémon floods caused by territorial disputes between nests—a problem the League had the power to resolve by simply killing them all but consistently chose to ignore in favor of producing more Pokemon. In essence, people suffered and died because the League prioritized Pokémon over human safety. It made Alex question whether the human supremacist activists were as crazy as he initially thought. It also raised the possibility that his parents' deaths—and his unfortunate childhood—were a direct result of the League’s refusal to cull Pokémon near populated cities. “Meh,” Alex thought as he continued walking back to his hotel from the police station. He didn’t personally care much about the previous Alex’s life. Blaming the League outright felt like a stretch, especially considering the active defenses they had in place. As far as he was concerned, Alex’s parents had died in an accident. The Golem responsible for their deaths had already been captured—and for all he knew, it might have ended up as Elite-ranked Pokémon meat. Returning to the topic at hand, the League is incredibly strict with land development and usage due to the ongoing dispute between using land to develop Pokémon habitats or reserving space for human needs. In the end, there is never enough land for both. The League therefore has identified specific usage criteria and requirements depending on the land to be owned.  For example, the area surrounding Saffron City, being the heart of the region, must be developed into farms. To maintain ownership of this land, farm owners are required to sell a certain amount of food annually depending on the size of the land. The immediate vicinity of large bodies of water can either be designated for wharfs or fisheries. Depending on the chosen preference, wharfs must provide public access and meet safety standards, while fisheries are obligated to sell a specific amount of produce based on the season and the estimated fish population in the water. Needless to say, owning and developing land under these conditions is a significant burden. This explains why such lands—riddled with Pokémon, threatened by Pokémon floods, and heavily controlled by the government—are not popular to own. On top of that, there is the hefty initial investment required to develop the land and build the necessary infrastructure. As for owning land as private property, Alex couldn’t find any information on it, so it must only be available to those with 8-badge-level access and above. These strict requirements had dissuaded Alex from his initial idea of land reclamation. All he wanted was enough space to train, not an industrial farm. His realistic options were limited to either buying an operational farm and hiring people to manage it or purchasing an entire building and converting it into a training space with a farming area for Pokémon produce and berries. After researching his options, he found two choices: a building near the slums, previously owned by Don, for 5 million credits (with a discount as the source of the property), or a farm northeast of Saffron City, ravaged by the Pokémon flood 9 years ago, priced at 5 million Pokedollars. The building in the city, once a manufacturing facility for Don’s drugs, occupied an entire city block. It has five floors, plus two underground. The League had imposed a 2% tax on the property, making upkeep cost Alex 2 million Pokedollars per year.  The building was sturdy enough to host Elite-ranked battles and offered ample space, potentially generating income if used properly. However, its location near the slums posed a constant danger, with employees at risk of robbery or assault. On the other hand, the farm Alex found had been destroyed and now existed as little more than undeveloped land. Spanning the size of ten football fields, it sat closest to the forest that had served as the origin of the Pokémon flood nine years ago.  As the designated buffer between the wilds and the more developed farmlands, ownership came with a strict requirement: the buyer must have at least one Elite-ranked Pokémon to ensure their safety. If Alex were to construct a multi-level hydroponics facility on the property, he could maximize vertical farming output and potentially reserve the remaining land for his personal use—training grounds, facilities, or living quarters. That is, of course, assuming the League didn’t adjust his required produce quota to match the new scale of his infrastructure. Between the two options, Alex could either become a businessman or a farmer. As Alex finally made it back to his hotel room, he suddenly received a call from an unknown number. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath