Lance finally let go after a firm handshake. Alex had half-expected the world around him to crack under the weight of the Champion's will, but it seemed Lance was more mature than he had given him credit for.
That didn't mean Alex couldn't see the barely restrained fatherly instincts screaming at Lance to obliterate the little mongrel corrupting his precious princess.
Shaking off the tension, Alex turned back to Jenny.
"This is Jenny Ashford, my adoptive mother. Mom, this is Clarissa—my classmate and friend ever since I advanced a grade," he introduced.
Jenny beamed at the girl. "Hi, Clarissa, it's nice to finally meet you. Alex has told me so much about you."
Clarissa hesitated before responding. "Um… Hi, Officer Jenny."
"Just call me Jenny," she said with a grin. "I'm off duty."
Jenny liked this girl. She was cute, well-dressed, and surprisingly sharp for her age—especially considering her decision to join Alex at the Police Academy.
"So, have you decided to join the Police Academy?"
Lance and Lorelei turned to their daughter, stunned. Apparently, she hadn't told them about it.
"Alex recommended that I take on some criminal bounties from the League first to get a feel for it," Clarissa explained.
"That's for experienced trainers. You'd need to earn three badges first," Jenny pointed out.
"There are three gyms here in Saffron City," she countered.
"Badges need to be from different cities to count. The experience of traveling in the wild is much more valuable than just beating gym leaders. You should go anyway—it'll help you learn proper tracking, which will go a long way in your journey."
"You need three gym badges to take on criminal jobs?" Alex asked, surprised.
"Yes. Trainers who've traveled to at least two other cities typically have enough relevant experience to handle criminals who stay within city limits. This restriction prevents inexperienced trainers from getting themselves killed against seasoned criminals," Jenny explained.
"I see."
Their conversation continued until Lance reminded them of a dinner reservation—no doubt an opportunity for him and Lorelei to discuss their daughter's surprising decision.
Alex could only hope Lance would knock some sense into her. He was used to fighting and taking down dangerous people, so the transition made sense for him. But an innocent girl like Clarissa had no business chasing down criminals at the first opportunity.
Alex and Jenny celebrated his early graduation with an expensive dinner—nothing too fancy, but definitely not normal animal meat.
At the end of the night, Alex returned to his room to ponder his next move. He still had 15 million Pokédollars left, though 10 million were already accounted for, as that would cover the cost of maintaining his Pokémon's current eating habits for an entire year without relying on the Fighting Dojo.
Alex still hasn't decided whether or not to stop going to the dojo at night, but the lack of time for training proficiency will become apparent while he is at the Police Academy.
Apparently, his Pokémon need to participate as well, so they cannot be left at home while he goes off to study. Even more, some of them will be given homework, so move proficiency training will certainly slow down.
Speaking of which, Alex checked the progress of his Pokémon's move proficiency.
Arcanine is close to raising the proficiency of his Extreme Speed, but he is still about two months off.
Clawitzer has managed to increase both Aqua Jet and Heal Pulse to Advanced. Aqua Jet increased damage and, by extension, range by 50%, while Heal Pulse increased in Priority +1.
The simultaneous increase was due to the extra time during classes, which allowed her to refocus on Aqua Jet while fully concentrating on Heal Pulse at the Dojo. She is now working on Water Pulse as the accuracy is guaranteed and it is a STAB move.
Rotom increased the effect of Protect by 50%. It is well known that Protect is able to negate all incoming damage while in effect, but it does not apply to moves used by Pokémon one rank above them. They suffer a severe knockback when they attempt to do so. Against opponents two ranks above, Protect is broken, halving the damage instead. Against three ranks higher, it might as well not be there at all.
Rotom's Protect is capable of negating all damage from Expert-ranked Pokémon while still being Adept-ranked. It, similar to Aegislash, did not get much sparring, so its level is stagnating. Rotom is now focusing on Thunder Wave to stun opponents who manage to get passed Aegislash to protect Alex.
Forretress, apart from achieving Expert rank, managed to get Stealth Rock to Advanced, reducing its cooldown by 50%.What this means is that Stealth Rock can be released twice in the time a similar-ranked opponent can release a single move.
This upgrade is the most desired for any move and only applies to fire-and-forget moves like Stealth Rock, which simply target the static environment. It does not apply to moves such as Hypnosis, as there is a targeting aspect to it.
This upgrade typically applies to weather and terrain effects. Buffing moves do not count, as there is an element of sustain to them that continuously drains stamina—or so the latest research has revealed.
Alex, though, was ecstatic with the discovery, since it would allow Forretress to set up twice as fast if he could get another 50% cooldown reduction on a move. Forretress is now working on Spikes next.
Frosmoth received a Priority +1 on Aurora Veil and managed to reach Expert rank. She is now working on Mist to protect against stat reduction.
Lastly, Alcremie is still Adept, as part of the stay-at-home team, but managed to get Decorate to Advanced, with an increase in effect by 50%, similar to Arcanine's Morning Sun. This means that the amount of stats given is now three stacks instead of just two for each of Attack and Special Attack.
She is the secret boss hiding behind the scenes in the defense team at this point.
After checking over their progress, Alex thought hard about getting more Pokémon. He currently had three in the attack team, four in the defense team, and two in the utility team, for a total of nine Pokémon.
It would be ideal to add a pseudo-legendary to each team.
The attack team could use another line breaker and perhaps a Follow Me user to draw heat away from Altaria and redirect it to the defense team.
The defense team could use a lift—it would allow Forretress to use Earthquake when they get swarmed.
The personal defense team could use a Pokémon to facilitate communication between Alex and the other two teams.
Ultimately, finances were currently tight, and adding more Pokémon would leave Alex open to rebellion once the food quality dropped again.
In the end, Alex sighed and dropped the matter. He would first acquire more money to increase the quality of their food, then revisit the topic.
Having more Pokémon wasn't the problem for Alex—it was giving them the best money could buy. They were his means of protection, after all. He would never skimp on his Pokémon if he could help it.
To take his mind off his dwindling finances, Alex did some research on the Police Academy and found all the resources they would teach there.
There were laws the League implemented across all regions, laws specific to each region, and even laws unique to each city, town, or village in Kanto.
There were standard operating procedures for various emergencies and scenarios.
There were also the rights of individuals, trainers of each rank and badge, League employees, gym trainers, gym leaders, the Elite Four, and even the Champion.
It was refreshing to see that the laws affected people of greater power less and less. These were not the laws of a fair government—they were the laws of a smart government.
Power in this world was tangible, similar to medieval novels with swords and magic or stories of immortals and cultivation. You could complain about fairness all you wanted, but if the Champion of the region wanted your mother dead, there was very little the League could actually do to stop it.
They could denounce the Champion and make a big mess, but too many people would die in the process. People were still in the middle of a war with Pokémon.
Humans had merely carved out a small space for themselves in an overwhelmingly hostile world. If all the Legendaries deemed humans a nuisance, humanity would be wiped out without question. There were still too many of them, after all.
There was plenty to memorize and an entire year to do it, but Alex decided to get a head start. He didn't want to spend his time at the Police Academy focusing on rote memorization just to pass.
Alex wanted to learn these laws to better navigate them when he inevitably found himself in trouble—especially the kind involving authorities and ranks.
He was certain there were corrupt individuals within the League's ranks, and he knew he would draw their attention once he started making money off their business. He needed to know when to fight and expose these criminals, when to run as fast as possible from the League, and when to call in favors from Clarissa or the Jennys.
With that in mind, Alex closed his laptop and exhaled slowly. "I'll have to up the Pokemon's training."
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