Chapter 99. Checking Privileges

The first thing Alex noticed was the overwhelming number of invitations flooding his inbox—offers for employment, meetings, conventions, bounty targets, and more. At first, it all seemed like spam mail, but the senders were anything but shady. Reputable organizations like Devon Corp, Silph Co., the Battle Frontier, and the Aether Foundation were all reaching out. They wanted him as a trainer, bodyguard, hunter, research associate—you name it. Alex was honestly overwhelmed by the sudden spike in attention. It felt like his name had exploded in popularity overnight. 'Is there some unspoken rule to wait until a trainer earns eight badges before hiring them?' he wondered. He skimmed through a few before asking Rotom to decline the job offers, save the bounty hunting requests, and forward them to Nyx for investigation. Pushing aside the flood of messages, he turned his focus to the League's official site to check for updates on his information access. After signing yet another NDA, Alex received an updated info package detailing the conduct requirements for trainers or contributors who had signed the League's internal contract. Essentially, it was another barrier—locking out anyone who had only four badges and hadn't made any meaningful contributions. The new info packet included a detailed map of various restricted locations, each marked with its own rules and regulations. These included the whereabouts of Legendary Pokémon, nesting sites, ancient ruins, League-controlled zones, Underworld territory, and privately governed areas. It was assumed that anyone granted this information was now strong enough to reach those places—and therefore, was warned to either stay away or tread extremely carefully. For instance, Alex had already known about Zapdos residing in the old, abandoned power plant northeast of Kanto. Turns out, the League knew too. Access to that site was strictly forbidden unless a trainer received direct authorization from the League. Most trainers couldn't even get close to the power plant. The wild nests surrounding it made it nearly impossible to reach without getting torn apart. The League kept the place off the radar until a trainer had the strength—and the sense—to survive the journey. As for the rules on-site, one in particular stood out: do not go above the second floor of the power plant. That was Zapdos' domain. Violating this directive would result in severe punishment—on par with the League declaring open war against the Underworld. In simpler terms: death. The logic was obvious. Poking Zapdos could trigger a never-ending thunderstorm—one capable of wiping out the entire Kanto region. Other restrictions were just as strict: don't damage ancient ruins, don't disturb Pokémon nests, don't approach League-controlled facilities without clearance, and in Underworld territory, follow their rules or die. To Alex, this all felt like being a new hire who had just gotten clearance into Area 51—only to be told, "Yeah, aliens exist, and you need to respect their space." "This is the barracks where you sleep. That's the cafeteria. Over there? That's the interdimensional bar where aliens trade intel—just follow the rules. That's the playground… don't ask." Then there were the rules on combat. In short: avoid fighting inside cities. If it's unavoidable, limit the destruction to a single city block. Depending on the extent of the damage, consequences may include fines, imprisonment, or even death. Don't fight in Underworld territory—and if a battle does break out there, everyone involved is executed, no exceptions. And under no circumstances should you feed human corpses to local Pokémon. Seriously. Don't. Alex had repeatedly broken one of these rules—but he'd also eliminated the enforcers tasked with upholding them, effectively reverting that particular zone from Underworld-controlled territory back to neutral ground. This specifically applied to his hunt for Don, Monica, and Darren. No doubt, he was now on their backers' hit list. Next came the rules on trainer indoctrination. These were meant to prevent corporations, factions, and organizations from poaching League-registered trainers too early. Doing so could stunt their development and interfere with their role in managing Pokémon populations.  Companies were advised to wait until a trainer reached the proper clearance level before offering roles like gym trainers, rangers, or research leads. In short: any occupation tied to a trainer's status had to wait until they'd earned all eight badges. Until then, trainers were to be left alone to help reduce wild Pokémon numbers through natural encounters. This didn't apply to trainers actively seeking employment—it was mostly a safeguard against spam and premature recruitment. Region travel also came with new restrictions. Previously, trainers and civilians could move freely between regions. But at Alex's current level of power, a fresh NDA, just as binding as the current one, was required before he could travel again. The logic? Simple: "Know the local rules before you go screw around." Finally, the upside to all these restrictions: Access to all regulated Pokémon, and eligibility for higher-tier services—whether through the League or the Underworld. Alex could finally request access to regulated Pokémon. It was a bit late, considering what he'd lost after capturing Monica—but better late than never. He immediately submitted a request for a license to own Pokémon with abilities related to Teleportation, illusion-casting (like Zoroark), and memory manipulation—and was surprised when the license was approved almost instantly. Apparently, having his memories read by Sabrina—twice—counted as a full psychic evaluation. Having Jenny listed as his adoptive mother? That was basically a badge of honor. And capturing four Elite-ranked bounties earned him automatic approval from the League. 'Have I underestimated how successful I've actually been?' Alex wondered, confused. After thinking it through, he realized the truth: he'd simply made too many enemies and somehow lived long enough to actually benefit from it. Most bounty hunters at his level relied on submitting intel to lead to arrests. Few—if any—were reckless enough to infiltrate Underworld bases and personally capture Elite-ranked trainers. But Alex had a key edge: his guns, and more importantly, his use of Metagross as a battlefield commander. While most trainers barely had a single psychic-type, Alex was using his Metagross to coordinate entire squads. He could effectively command multiple six-Pokémon teams—far beyond the standard limit. That made him more dangerous than any single Elite-ranked trainer, and arguably more effective than a small army of Expert-rankers—none of whom had anywhere near his level of coordination. Couple that with his guns—which allowed him to max-stack buffs faster than stronger trainers could—and it was no wonder he'd been able to steamroll through fights with terrifying ease. Most bounty hunters would've died facing ambushes from someone like Don or Lucan. Alex, on the other hand, had not only survived—he'd profited from it and grown stronger. As he continued flying home along Route 8, he looked into how to obtain the Teleport TM. He found that the Psychic Gym was legally allowed to teach the move to those with a license.  Without hesitation, he scheduled an appointment for tomorrow—he wanted his Arcanine to learn it as soon as possible. With a full day of travel ahead, Alex kept reading about the perks available at his badge level—and some of them were genuinely shocking. There were medical retreats that could bring someone to peak physical condition in under a year—through memory manipulation. Essentially, an obese person could pay millions to have their mind controlled. Under that influence, they'd be forced to exercise, follow a flawless diet, and undergo a series of medical procedures to remove excess fat and skin, correct poor posture, fix skeletal alignment, clear up skin blemishes, and even treat malformations. At the end of the process, the subject's memory would be wiped—and they'd walk away believing they had always looked perfect. There were also elite trainer schools—extremely expensive and highly secretive—that accepted children as young as 8 and trained them until age 16. These schools guaranteed their graduates would leave with a full team of six Elite-ranked Pokémon, ready to tackle every problem during their journeys. Alex also came across knowledge packets designed to fast-track certifications—like breeder licenses. These dense study programs guaranteed certification, so long as the buyer could memorize and retain everything inside. They included specialized Pokéblock recipes, tailored diet plans, care regimens, and more. He made a mental note to buy the 10-million Pokédollar package for Vera, which promised to make her a Chief Breeder. The 100-million Master Breeder package was tempting too—but that would have to wait until he had the funds. There were also islands, mountains, valleys, mines, lakes, and even floating islands available for purchase—sold by both the League and the Underworld. No, the islands didn't fly. They floated on the surface of the water, yet were large enough to qualify as true islands. Perfect for Water-type trainers looking to claim their own territory out at sea. Alex assumed the League offered these lands to trainers strong enough to defend them from nearby wild nests—a strategy to stabilize and civilize untamed regions. Meanwhile, the League offered Pokémon eggs and young Pokémon at a premium, with a long waitlist. The Underworld, by contrast, had nest raiders—people who incapacitated wild nests and sold the young to high-paying clients. If you had enough money, they'd get you any Pokémon you wanted—even from protected nests. Alex also searched for services involving Legendary Pokémon hunting—but found nothing. Either they didn't exist or the information was locked behind Champion rank or higher. ----- Support me on Patreon patreon/babywrath