Early in the morning, Alex made his way to the Pokémon Center, where he registered as an official trainer. The registration process had several requirements: owning a Pokémon, paying the registration fee, providing a valid ID, being at least 16 years old, having a bank account, and holding either a high school diploma or a general education certificate, among other criteria.
However, the Pokémon ownership requirement could be waived if the applicant purchased one from the League. The League offered three tiers of Pokémon for aspiring trainers, each with varying levels of rarity and potential.
For 20,000 Pokédollars, trainers could participate in a lottery-based selection, primarily consisting of common and inexpensive Pokémon such as Bellsprout, Rattata, Pidgey, Caterpie, and Geodude.
Those willing to spend 100,000 Pokédollars could choose from a curated selection of more valuable and versatile Pokémon, including Scyther, Pikachu, Poliwag, Machop, and Seel.
Finally, for 1,000,000 Pokédollars, trainers could gain access to rare and powerful Pokémon, such as Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Dratini, Lapras, and various Fossil Pokémon.
This system helped fund the Gym Leaders, who trained young Pokémon for these sales.
Once his registration was complete, Alex approached the counter, where Nurse Joy handed him his Trainer ID and performed a final checkup.
"Your Pokémon are all healthy, your registration is complete, and you're in great shape too," she said with a warm smile. "You're all set, Alex. Congratulations on becoming a trainer."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy—for the checkup and for protecting me four years ago," Alex replied. "I've been meaning to thank you in person, but I never had the chance."
Nurse Joy's expression softened. "You're welcome, Alex. I remember when you were just a frail, scrawny kid with a negative outlook on life. Now look at you—a strong, healthy young man with a powerhouse team. I'm proud of you. Congratulations on your recovery."
Alex smiled. "Thanks, Nurse Joy. I'll see you around."
"Take care, Alex."
Alex's next stop was the police station, where he would register for a bounty hunter license.
The application process had requirements similar to those for becoming a trainer but included additional qualifications: a police academy diploma, proof of being capable of taking down Elite-ranked Pokémon, and other strict criteria.
The Elite-ranked Pokémon requirement meant that a bounty hunter's team had to be strong enough to defeat at least one Elite-ranked Pokémon. This served as a significant cutoff point, as most police officers only had two or three Pokémon, requiring them to be at the top of the Expert rank to stand a chance against an Elite-ranked foe.
Because of these high standards, fresh graduates rarely applied to become bounty hunters unless they had extensive prior experience and a solid team of at least five Pokémon. This essentially described experienced trainers, meaning they only needed to obtain the diploma to unintentionally earn income simply by encountering people during their travels.
That said, bounty hunters weren't expected to take down Elite-ranked criminals single-handedly. Factors such as henchmen, environmental risks, and potential collateral damage had to be carefully considered before engaging such dangerous targets.
This was why studying at the police academy was a requirement—the last thing the League and the police wanted was to provoke powerful figures, only for the League to be forced to clean up the mess.
"Here is your Bounty Hunter License, Mr. Wattson. The rest of the information you need is available online. Have a good day," the woman behind the counter said as she passed Alex his new license.
"Thank you."
To fulfill the requirement of being able to take down Elite-ranked Pokémon, Alex submitted the incident report detailing his capture of Don, along with Hydreigon's medical report. It was an easy requirement to meet.
Alex pocketed the license before walking out of the station and heading toward the Fighting Dojo.
As he walked, he browsed the official bounty site, which contained a complete list of currently available targets.
Thousands of individuals had bounties on their heads in Kanto alone. There were also listings for other regions, in case fugitives had fled across borders.
The site allowed bounty hunters to submit intel on wanted individuals. If someone else captured or eliminated a target using that information, the informant would receive 30% of the bounty, while 10% went to the police station, and the remaining 60% was awarded to the hunter who secured the capture or kill.
For those who handled everything themselves, the reward was 90% of the bounty—unless the target was a direct assignment from the police, in which case the bounty hunter received the full amount.
As for the assets of captured or deceased bounties, the League took control of the aftermath and handled their distribution. They acknowledged that bounty hunters had certain liberties—but only up to a point. Cross the League's invisible line, and they would make sure you knew it.
At the Dojo, Alex met with Laura, the receptionist, and officially registered for a challenge. However, he would have to wait a month for his turn. That was actually quite fast, considering high school classes were ending within a few days.
One could only imagine the rush of sixteen-year-olds flooding gyms for a challenge the moment they got their diplomas.
Alex thanked Laura before heading home for the day. He needed to break in his new holsters, test his new gun, and prepare for his first outing tomorrow.
The next day, Alex stepped out of Saffron City's massive gates for the first time in his new life. Dressed in a printed red shirt, black shorts, red sneakers, and a black cap, with a backpack slung over his shoulders, he took in the sight before him—the open trail flanked by thick forests on either side. A grin spread across his face as he took off at a steady jog, eager to experience the wilderness he had once dreaded upon arriving in this world.
Half an hour into the trail, Alex became aware of the stares.
Pokémon were inherently territorial—any intruder who wandered into their domain without caution often found themselves mauled before they even realized what had happened.
It was an eerie feeling, knowing that over a dozen unseen eyes were locked onto him. Some watched out of caution. Others out of hunger. Most were simply driven by violent impulse.
To ward off any would-be attackers, Alex tossed a Pokéball into the air.
"Go, Togekiss! I choose you!" he called out.
With a flash of light, Togekiss appeared—and immediately perched itself on his head.
Alex chuckled, adjusting slightly so as not to disturb his partner. Then, with renewed confidence, he continued deeper into the trail. The stares were still there, but they had lessened considerably.
Togekiss may have only been Adept rank, but he was close to reaching Expert—enough of a deterrent that the local wildlife would think twice before challenging him and risk becoming prey themselves.
They traveled onward until their first challenge of the day appeared.
A Butterfree flitted through the air, seemingly minding its own business—until it spotted the human with the fat bird on his head.
"Go, Togekiss! This is your first challenge. Use Air Slash!" Alex commanded.
Togekiss gave a lazy flap of its wing, sending a sharp blade of air toward Butterfree. The attack struck cleanly, significantly injuring the wild Pokémon.
In retaliation, Butterfree rapidly beat its wings, releasing a shimmering blue-green powder into the air—Sleep Powder.
"Oh no! Quick! Use Fairy Wind to blow it away!"
Togekiss flapped both wings, sending a gust of pink mist rolling forward. The Fairy Wind easily dispersed the Sleep Powder while dealing the final blow to Butterfree, causing it to faint instantly.
"Now's my chance! Go, Pokéball!" Alex shouted, throwing a Pokéball at the unconscious Pokémon.
The ball struck Butterfree, absorbed it in a flash of red light, and landed on the ground. It wobbled once. Twice. A third time—
Click!
Alex had caught his first wild Pokémon.
"We did it, Togekiss! Our first capture!"
"Toh." (Meh.) Togekiss responded, unimpressed.
Alex ran over to retrieve the Pokéball—only for a Pidgeot to dive down, snatch it in its talons, and vanish into the forest, soaring north..
"No! That's my Pokémon!" Alex yelled, immediately taking off after it.
As he chased the bird deeper into the forest, he noticed something unsettling—the further he went, the quieter it became. The usual rustling of leaves, the chirping of Bug-types, even the occasional distant cry of wild Pokémon… all of it had vanished.
The silence was unnatural.
Finally, Alex skidded to a stop in front of a cave entrance. Thin wisps of smoke drifted from within, illuminated by the soft flicker of a bonfire burning inside.
Someone—or something—was in there.
"What do we have here?" a man's voice called from within the cave.
Alex took a step forward, his fists clenched. "Your Pidgeot took my Butterfree!"
"Oh, that thing?" The voice scoffed as a figure emerged from the cave, his silhouette illuminated by the fire inside. "Butterfree don't sell too well. That Togekiss, though? Different story. Should go for about 700,000 on the market."
Alex's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? You can't have my Togekiss."
The man chuckled. "That's up to us, kid."
"Us?" Alex asked.
A second man stepped out from the cave, standing beside the first.
Before Alex could react, Togekiss suddenly stiffened, its body locking up. A piercing Glare came from the darkness of the cave, paralyzing it in an instant.
"Togeki—" Alex started, but a powerful arm suddenly wrapped around his neck, yanking him backward. His breath hitched as another set of hands rummaged through his backpack.
"Find anything good?" the first man asked.
The thief behind Alex let out an excited laugh. "Hell yeah. Kid's got like ten Pokéballs in here, all filled. Plenty of gear and food supplies too. This kid's loaded."
The second man grinned. "We're gonna be rich."
But just as they were celebrating their haul, the first man suddenly stiffened, his instincts flaring. His hand shot toward his belt.
"Something's wrong," he muttered.
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