Alex strolled through the backyard of Jenny's mansion, overseeing the Pokémon's training.
Raticate was practicing Taunt, popping out at random to use the move on the Pokémon in training. For the next few seconds, they would shift from using status moves to attacking ones, directing their frustration at the annoying rat. However, Raticate was simply too fast, darting away with Quick Attack. Before they knew it, he was already gone.
Arcanine zipped around the compound, unintentionally carving out a running track as he sped along the fence with Extreme Speed. He was determined to advance the move to Advanced rank, knowing it would let him fully maximize the power of his Justified ability—something Alex had tested before.
He still remembered the rush of immediate power that Justified granted him. Sure, he could achieve a similar effect by repeatedly using Howl, but it simply couldn't compare. The surge from Justified felt different—pure, exhilarating. It was as if, in that moment, he was fulfilling his very purpose in life, attacking with an overwhelming stack of Attack.
Clawitzer floated above her lake as she fired Water Pulses at her airborne targets, landing each one perfectly. Occasionally, she would target Raticate or Arcanine, but Raticate's Quick Attack allowed him to evade, while Arcanine had already circled the entire yard by the time the Water Pulse reached its destination.
There were no truly guaranteed hits in the real world. Some Pokemon had advanced predictions that bordered on prophecy, and some Pokémon could make micro-adjustments through energy manipulation, but at the end of the day, if a Pokémon was fast enough to outrun an attack, the move would eventually lose power and fail to connect.
Off to the side, Rotom was repeatedly using Thunder Wave on Aegislash, who blocked it with King's Shield. Even if he slipped up, the Safeguard set up by Altaria ensured the paralysis wouldn't take effect.
Rotom would much rather spend its time playing online games, but Alex had a point—training proficiency did, in fact, enhance its ability to process information faster. As a result, its gaming skills skyrocketed, making it an even more formidable player. This was all to increase its gaming skills.
Forretress was on the designated battlegrounds in the backyard going through a rigorous cycle: setting Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, activating Gravity, then wiping the field clean with Rapid Spin—only to start the process all over again. Occasionally, he would steal a glance at Clawitzer, who remained focused on perfecting her Water Pulse.
He often daydreamed about becoming a Champion-ranked Pokémon and having little eggs with her. When he realized Frosmoth was staring at his distracted expression, he would grow flustered, then explode in embarrassment—literally.
Alex had suggested that if Forretress was going to self-detonate, he might as well use Explosion instead of Self-Destruct, just to build proficiency. Ironically, he would always wake up to Clawitzer healing him with Heal Pulse, reinforcing his bad habits.
Speaking of Gravity, it was an incredibly useful move for Alex's own physical training. He had Forretress maintain it while he did his exercises, increasing the strain on his body. At the very least, he was confident that if he were ever subjected to Gravity in battle, he wouldn't lose his footing.
Altaria soared overhead, cycling through her support moves—Mist, Safeguard, Tailwind, and Dragon Cheer—before finishing with Roost. She never focused on offense, always prioritizing support. Occasionally, she got cheeky and used Defog on Forretress's hazards, much to his frustration.
Sometimes, she would Sing, putting others who didn't have Safeguard to sleep. Worse, she would use Perish Song, forcing Clawitzer to heal everyone once they recovered—assuming Alex didn't recall her into her Pokéball first.
Frosmoth spent most of her time spamming Wide Guard, Mist, and Tailwind to build proficiency. However, she often got distracted by Forretress's routine, only to be hit with Taunt from Raticate, forcing her into an impromptu chase. She would fire off Dazzling Gleam, Blizzard, and Bug Buzz, but she never caught him. Raticate was simply too fast. Like a silver beam of light disappearing into the distance.
Meanwhile, Alcremie repeatedly cycled through Dazzling Gleam, Misty Terrain, and Calm Mind. Whenever she noticed Alex, she would approach and hand him a dollop of her matcha-flavored cream.
He would take it, eat it with a smile, thank her, then walk away a little faster. He was unknowingly being conditioned to ignore her training progress.
Finally, there was Aegislash, who alternated between King's Shield and Swords Dance. King's Shield to block Rotom's Thunder Wave, Swords Dance, then get hit, then King's Shield again. Over and over.
Aegislash was the most diligent when it came to proficiency training. Unfortunately, he was still stuck at Adept rank.
Alex would have to find a way for him to gain real battle experience soon—otherwise, he might fail when he was needed most.
Alex suddenly got a call. It was Clarissa.
"What's up?"
"I'm going to the Police Academy."
"Your parents didn't dissuade you?"
"Dissuade? They were thrilled. They were happy I was putting in the extra effort before going on my journey."
'Most likely thrilled that their daughter postponed her extremely dangerous journey for another year—one she could use to gain more survival experience,' Alex thought.
"Are you still enrolling to be a bounty hunter?"
"They didn't like that part and managed to convince me to follow your idea first."
"Getting three badges and completing a criminal bounty from the League?"
"Yes, that. They said I would understand better once I complete it."
"I think you will. You're such a princess."
"I'm not a princess!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Stop. Just—ugh. Anyway, I'll see you at the Academy."
"Alright. Don't forget to exercise regularly. They do basic training the whole morning."
"Alright, bye."
"Bye."
She was such a princess. She would get a rude awakening once she saw a routine drug den, a prostitution ring, an organ harvesting site, or a child grooming facility. Then, she would use her father's connections to have them removed, only to later find out that they had popped up again. And again. And again.
Such is the way of the world, after all. Such is the way of humans.
'Depressing,' Alex thought.
Shifting gears, he checked on the Wishiwashi he had been using to make Beat Up bullets, and they were doing quite fine.
They enjoyed a relaxing, predator-free life in the pond where Clawitzer lived. Alex ensured they were regularly fed with fish food they liked while also keeping them weak—otherwise, their Beat Up would deal even more damage to Arcanine.
They had produced hundreds of Beat Up bullets for him, and after a quick test, he confirmed that they worked as expected on Arcanine. While Arcanine took more damage from the bullet than from Beat Up, the results were undeniable—he became an absolute beast, capable of going toe-to-toe with Elite-ranked Pokémon.
The only downside was that firearms were not allowed in official battles, so Alex never had the chance to see what a fully attack-stacked Arcanine could do with Extreme Speed.
Well, almost never. He had done some testing and learned a lot about how Rotom's Protect functioned. By maxing out Arcanine's attack and having him use Extreme Speed against Rotom's Protect, he observed that before the upgrade, Rotom was sent flying. After the upgrade, he managed to stay in place.
From this, Alex surmised that an upgraded Protect could stop a half-Elite Pokémon, but he lacked an actual Elite-ranked Pokémon to test it further.
As he considered whether adding another Justified-ability Pokémon to the team would be a good idea, his phone rang again. This time, it was an unknown number. Judging by the timing, Alex guessed it was Lance.
There was no need to think too hard about how the Champion had gotten his number—Alex had a Rotom, after all.
"What can I do for you, Champion Lance?" Alex asked directly.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?"
"For now? Nothing."
"For now?"
"We're too young. I'd rather answer this question when we're at least thirty."
"You think I'll just let you go after you threatened my daughter?"
'Of course he'd know about that,' Alex thought. 'Froslass, that little snitch.'
"She was more afraid of Pokémon than people. What did you want me to do? Reinforce that misconception?"
"That's not a decision you're allowed to make."
"As her friend, it very much is."
"I'm warning you. Stay away from her."
"I'll let her know."
"Wai—"
Alex hung up and immediately called Clarissa. He was being petty, but if the Champion of Johto wanted to pick a fight with a 15-year-old, then he needed a lesson in how human relationships worked.
"Hey, Alex. Why'd you call?"
"Your father called and impolitely asked me to stay away from you, so I'll oblige. I can't defend myself against the Champion of Johto, after all."
"Ugh… He's doing it again. Don't worry about it. I'll let Mom know."
"Alright."
Alex hung up and went about his day, guiding his Pokémon and rotating their move sets to keep them from getting bored. Sometimes, he sparred with them himself or let them battle each other for extra practice.
By the end of the day, the expected follow-up threat from Lance never came. Alex figured the Champion was too busy getting firsthand experience on how human relationships actually worked.
In any case, he and his Pokémon had two months left before the start of the Police Academy, and based on Jenny's comments, Alex found himself feeling a bit expectant.
He just hoped this wouldn't be another meaningless certificate saying, Good job.
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