Alex made it back to the farm by evening, got a night's rest, and left for the Psychic Gym early the next morning. The sooner Arcanine learned Teleport, the sooner he could raise it to Advanced rank—and the further Alex could reach when bounty information came in.
His current area of interest was around Saffron City, but he wanted the flexibility to pick up bounties as they appeared across the region.
As Alex stepped inside the gym, he immediately noticed the female receptionist's outfit. The uniform consisted of a sleek, high-collared bodysuit adorned with silver arcane embroidery, paired with fingerless gloves—exuding an aura of mysticism and mental discipline.
"Hello. Welcome to the Psychic Gym, led by Gym Leader Sabrina. Do you need anything?" the receptionist asked in a calm voice.
"I'm here to have my Arcanine taught Teleport," Alex stated simply.
"Do you have your license?"
"No. I need that printed as well. My application was approved immediately after I submitted it yesterday."
"Identification, please."
Alex handed over his bounty hunter license as the woman checked his information online. A few minutes later, she handed him a printed and laminated copy of his license to own regulated Pokémon.
"All set. Please proceed to the fourth floor. The floor coordinator will take it from there."
"Thank you."
As Alex passed through the gym, he noticed an entire floor dedicated to psychic training. Children as young as five were staring intently at stuffed Poké Balls, willing them to float.
The sight of children squinting with all their might as their ball wobbled slightly—only to erupt in excitement at their success—was oddly adorable.
Older students hovered multiple balls in the air with ease, creating a mesmerizing display of psychic energy.
On the second floor, trainers were locked in battle with their Psychic-type Pokémon. They also underwent resistance training against Dark, Bug, and Ghost-type moves.
It wasn't about increasing their resistance stats, but rather training their minds and bodies not to flinch from damage. They learned to confront their weaknesses without fear, focusing on the fight instead of the pain.
The third floor held floating platforms where trainers battled for their badge challenges. At the far end of the room, Sabrina stood, overseeing her Pokémon's training.
Then, suddenly, she looked up—locking eyes with Alex.
He gave her a quick nod before continuing to the fourth floor.
The environment there resembled a training area for young wild Pokémon, like those in the Fighting Dojo. But instead of cages, there were glass enclosures glowing with a soft pink hue—likely infused with psychic energy to prevent escape via Teleport.
"You must be the buyer. Which Pokémon would you like to teach Teleport?" a man in the same uniform as the receptionist asked.
"Arcanine," Alex replied, pulling out its Poké Ball.
"Alright, follow me," the man said, leading Alex into a side room.
Inside were several TMs ready for use. One particularly large unit sat in the corner, where the man was heading.
"This is the League's regulated Technical Machine. Place the Poké Ball on the slot, your license on the scanner, then press the big red button. It'll function like a regular TM after that."
Alex followed the instructions—and a few minutes later:
Ding!
Arcanine successfully learned Teleport.
"That'll be 100,000 Pokédollars," the man said, holding out a scanner for Alex's card.
"For a single use?" Alex asked.
"Yup. Think of it like how an Abra egg costs 15 million on the market, while pseudo-legendaries only go for 10. Regulation drives prices up."
Alex paid without complaint, then made his way out of the gym.
He had a feeling he'd be returning sometime in the future.
Alex left the gym soon after Arcanine learned Teleport. On his way back to the farm, he calculated how long it would take to get Teleport to Advanced and estimated roughly half a month.
Arcanine had already maxed out his Physical moves, so he had been working on his Status moves rather than Special moves. He defaulted to using Heat Wave most of the time anyway, so he preferred to finish up his Status moves as soon as possible.
Right now, Arcanine knows Morning Sun (Effect Up +1), Agility (Effect Up +1), and Roar (Effect Up +1). Morning Sun heals for 75% under normal weather, Agility boosts Speed by +3 per use, and Roar affects Champions and has a guaranteed effect on Elites.
His next target is Protect, to increase Effect Up +1 so he can defend himself against Champions.
Based on his current schedule, it would take half a month to finish it, which would reduce the time needed to get Teleport to Advanced to 8 days, plus 5 days to get it to Basic from Novice.
In total, roughly a month will be needed for Arcanine to get Teleport to Advanced rank after Protect. It would also be ideal to improve +50% Range rather than Effect Up +1.
Alex would prefer an increase in distance traveled rather than successfully breaking through trapping moves. He is the hunter, not the prey.
After a month of intense training, Arcanine upgraded Teleport to Advanced rank, gaining a +50% Range.
At first, he could only teleport around the Farm, often ending up in the septic tank with Grimer or the hydroponics bay with Goomy and Dewpider. Once he reached Basic rank, he was able to teleport freely within the range of Saffron City.
Now that he's reached Advanced—with a +50% Range—he can teleport the distance of a full day's travel on Hydreigon in just seconds.
Alex can now reach anywhere in Kanto within minutes. The world suddenly feels a bit smaller.
Unfortunately, Arcanine still needs a familiar memory of each location to teleport there reliably. So, Alex planned a sightseeing trip, riding Arcanine across the region to build those memories firsthand.
So far, Arcanine has visited Saffron City, Lavender City, and Celadon City. The next closest locations are Cerulean City and Vermilion City, each about a day's flight from Saffron. So, they made a quick day trip to both cities and simply teleported back to the Farm afterward.
The rest of Kanto would require about a month of travel, given the vast stretches of wilderness between cities. So, Alex decided to postpone the journey until it became necessary.
Over the past two and a half months, the girls have stayed behind to stabilize the Farm and build up a stockpile of resources.
Elara has been teaching Kaia how to repair her machines and has crafted spare parts to give Kaia enough time to grow comfortable working with them.
Maris has handed off her responsibilities to Nyx while she focuses on research and developing her own business plan.
Vera was ecstatic about the 10 million Pokédollar Chief Breeder information package and has accelerated her studies to earn certification.
Lydia is undergoing intense Gravity training, sparring regularly with Alex to build her physical strength for the journey ahead. Her Corvisquire has already evolved into a Corviknight, serving as both an excellent scout and reliable bodyguard. Meanwhile, her pair of Mightyena have learned to patrol the forest on their own.
Their training continued until Alex received a call from Jenny.
"Hey, Alex. Can you come over?"
"I'll be right there."
Alex usually visited Jenny whenever she called like this—it had practically become routine.
He brought Arcanine and Raticate with him and teleported straight to Jenny's mansion.
"Look what we got for you," Jenny said, patting a crate by the hallway near the entrance.
"The combat gear is done?" Alex guessed.
"Ten sets, all made to your specifications. These bulletproof vests are so useful that the Council decided to equip every Jenny with them. Lately, they've been getting into more fights with armed humans, and some have been injured. Their Feint and Phantom Force bullets have been too effective."
"What about the police?"
"The League's been complaining about the cost—but it's probably their spies stirring things up. They don't want the police armed with guns and combat gear. With the sheer number of officers, they'd be outmatched."
Alex had Raticate cut open the crate. Inside were lightweight full-body suits, plated vests, armored pants, steel-reinforced boots, fingerless gloves, tactical helmets, and heavy, armored long coats. In total, it weighed about 100 lbs which is just comfortable enough for Alex to use for long distance travel.
"Devon Corporation says these are upgrades to your usual bodysuit and coat. They're resistant to the current generation of firearms used by the human supremacist faction and can even withstand early Elite-ranked energy attacks. In testing, the mannequin survived both an Ember and a Quick Attack from an Elite-ranked Ninetales."
"That's good enough for now. Thanks, Mom. And thank the chat for me, too."
"They said to thank you as well—for bringing in such a large shipment of combat gear. They managed to recycle it into these sets and even got Devon Corp to begin mass production for the rest of the Jennys."
"Now, how are Vera and the girls doing?" Jenny asked, her doting motherly side kicking in.
A few minutes of chatter later, Alex received a call from an old friend.
"Hey, Clarissa. How's it going?"
"Alex, I need help!"
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