Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

“Team Dominion, the nobles, or independent?” Alex asked right off the bat.

The trainers surrounding him looked like a biker gang, consisting mostly of Electric type trainers wearing black leather vests, chaps, and even helmets. Only, instead of motorcycles, they rode Luxrays, each one noticeably larger than normal, likely the result of a gigantification potion or procedure that allowed grown men to ride them.

It was adorable, Alex immediately decided. It would be a shame to kill any of them, considering their relatively wholesome setup. It didn’t mean he would hesitate when the time came, but it would leave a bad aftertaste if he went through with it.

“Team Dominion? Nobbles? Nah, we ride for ourselves, yeah. Saw you strutting about like you owned the joint, and after a quick gander, wouldn’t you know it, there’s a bloody hefty price on your head from the Assassination Board. Thought we’d cash in and finally give the lads a proper gaff with that shiny new airship, innit,” the Champion, a bald, heavyset man with a beard, answered.

“And did you happen to read how I got a price like that on my head? Why I don’t have a bounty with the League? Why I’m worth more than money can buy?”

“Somethin’ about fightin’ back against Team Dominion, yeah.”

“You should really learn to do your research,” Alex said as he released all his Pokemon.

Immediately, 50 Pokémon surrounded Alex and Grimmsnarl, forming a loose defensive formation to block attacks from all sides.

Grimmsnarl quivered in fright, suddenly finding itself in the middle of this terrifying lineup out of nowhere. It wanted to run and avoid whatever this was, but a hundred more Pokémon erupted from the biker gang’s encirclement, ensuring escape was impossible. So, it stood still, pretending to be part of the log it had been hiding in, not daring to move a muscle.

On the bikers’ side, all the Pokémon were Electric type and mostly ran on all fours, including Luxray, Boltund, Manectric, and Zebstrika. They fully embraced the running-Electric-type style, which also made them exceptionally vulnerable to Ground type moves.

“Last chance to back away and save your lives,” Alex warned.

“Bring it, suit! Attack!” the Champion shouted.

Electric attacks of every kind immediately rained down on Alex and his team from all directions. His Pokémon responded with a defensive Protect rotation, countering with occasional Surf, Dazzling Gleam, and Earthquake.

To their credit, the bikers’ team knew how to handle themselves. They immediately took up evasive maneuvers, dodging the wide-sweeping attacks while keeping their distance. They stayed out of Surf’s range, countered Dazzling Gleam with Shockwaves, and leapt in acrobatic fashion to avoid Earthquakes, all while their trainers hung back, letting their Pokémon fight.

It was a well-executed formation that genuinely impressed Alex. It also explained their obsession with four-legged Electric types, as they prized speed and agility, preferring to dodge and weave rather than engage in a solid head-on fight. The tactic allowed them to harass opponents relentlessly while ensuring no one could escape.

Sensing this was going to be a long fight unless he entered the fray, Alex checked up on Rotom’s information on this gang. In essence, they were thugs through and through.

They had charges for affray, public disorder, being drunk and disorderly, criminal damage, trespassing, and fighting in and around Galar tournament matches, covering pretty much everything soccer hooligans were known for. Aside from that, they had no bounties or assassination requests, so in most respects they were upstanding Galarian citizens.

Even their Champion, Cormac Steele, had been in the running as a Gym Leader but hadn’t performed well in the Galar League. He had instead focused his energy on his passion for the sport. Over the years, he had built a loyal following of underlings while perfecting the tactic Alex was now seeing in action.

Alex couldn’t, in good conscience, kill them outright; they simply didn’t deserve it. Team Dominion and the more vile Underworld teams were fair game if they picked a fight, but this group of testosterone-fueled hooligans certainly didn’t merit it. At most, they deserved a good thrashing, as the Galarians would say.

So he set about doing just that.

“Expand the line, send out the Champions and have them focus on the Elites while keeping the rest at bay, and adjust to the Champion when they move,” Alex commanded.

Through Gardevoir’s coordination, the entire defensive line expanded outward, widening the gaps between each Pokémon. In response, the biker gang’s Pokémon spread out as well, increasing the distance between each other while maintaining the same distance from their trainers, which only isolated them further.

Then, like clockwork, Alex’s Pokémon rearranged their formation. The Champions retreated toward the center, then moved behind Alex to confront the Elite ranked Pokémon blocking his path deeper into the forest. Once in position, they broke away from the defensive line and began knocking out the Elite ranked Pokémon one after another while tanking incoming damage.

They were outnumbered two to one, but because of the expansion, only the neighboring enemy trainers were close enough to help contain them. This created a deficit that allowed the Champions to start bringing down Pokémon one at a time. Once only a few Pokémon remained per trainer, they pushed forward and knocked out the trainers as well with powerful enough hits to preserve their lives.

The Elite ranked enemies might have been fast and evasive, but their main advantage was their numbers. Since Alex’s Champions were faster, they were able to keep pace while knocking them out one after another with coordinated strikes. The battle wasn’t going well for them, even if they were dealing significant damage to Alex’s Champions.

“Damn it! Luxray, take your team and go after them. The rest of you, pull back into a defensive line around me and start using Protect on rotation,” Cormac, the Champion ranked leader of the gang, commanded.

Gardevoir detected the change in the enemy formation before they even moved and immediately rearranged their own. She pulled the lines back and split them into two groups. Most of the defense team moved to the front to face Cormac and the gathering Expert ranked trainers, while the remaining Elite ranked attack team gathered behind Alex to anticipate any ambushes from the now roaming enemy Champions.

Then she switched the defense team’s attack pattern from alternating Protect to triple bombardment, bathing the now gathered enemy formation in so much Elite ranked energy that their numbers began to struggle to cope despite their Protect rotation. This effectively locked them out of the fight unless they were willing to take losses to rearrange their formation.

Meanwhile, Alex’s Champions, consisting of Grim, Knight, Raticate, Arcanine, Hydreigon, Kommo-o, Clawitzer, Togekiss, Altaria, Alcremie, Frosmoth, Dusknoir, and Ceruledge, split into two groups. Grim, Knight, Raticate, Arcanine, Kommo-o, and Togekiss confronted the six Champions under Cormac and kept them contained, while the rest continued to mop up what remained of the Elite ranks, who had already taken a beating despite their evasive tactics.

Their fight was epic and devastating to the terrain as they tore up the stream, evaporated the water, obliterated tree trunks, and made an absolute mess of the place. Still, damage had been mounting on Alex’s Champions for a while, and they were starting to lose ground against Cormac’s Champions. Alex decided that couldn’t continue, so he chose to expose himself.

“Send in Lucario’s team to help,” he commanded.

Immediately, Lucario, Lopunny, and Gallade teleported to Togekiss, who had been having the most trouble containing Cormac’s Zebstrika. Togekiss mainly fought as support for Kommo-o, so he couldn’t confidently solo an equally powerful Champion. On top of that, he had already taken damage earlier, so it was inevitable that he would be the first to be knocked out.

Lucario, Lopunny, and Gallade immediately teleported around Zebstrika, trapping it in a triangular formation and preventing it from using its speed, as it was blocked from all sides. Meanwhile, Togekiss began spamming Wish and Life Dew to restore the Champions to fighting condition, immediately shifting the tide of the battle.

Cormac, seeing this opportunity, commanded Luxray to focus on Alex, the main enemy trainer. He used a radio that sent signals that Luxray had been trained to pick up even in the heat of battle.

Luxray abandoned its fight with Raticate and paid the price with a Quick Attack to the stomach as it charged at Alex with Wild Charge. The attack was reckless but powerful enough to likely knock him out or at least cause chaos among his Pokémon. Fortunately, Alex still had Aegislash ready to defend from the shadows, so he wasn’t worried.

Just as the attack was about to land, Grimmsnarl, who had been hiding in the trunk between the charging Luxray and the indifferent Alex, decided to intervene. This human was undoubtedly a powerful threat to it, but he wasn’t coming for it yet. On top of that, Alex had an intriguing pull on it, so it chose to save him, hoping to earn his goodwill.

Grimmsnarl confronted Luxray and used Fake Out, temporarily halting the Wild Charge and giving Raticate the chance to tackle it away with Double-Edge, dealing significant damage. It heaved a sigh of relief and retreated closer to Alex for protection as the battle continued.

“Not bad, little fella,” Alex said, impressed, before making his offer. “How about joining me and fighting by my side once all this is over? I guarantee Champion ranked meals as well as a life of combat and luxury.”

Grimmsnarl considered him, looked up, and made its decision.

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