All the bounty hunters under Lyra and Mika moved to the designated location as instructed. Robin and her team arrived around the same time as Lyra and Mika's group since they were relatively close to Mt. Moon, though the trip still took about a week. The other factions were delayed, being spread throughout Kanto.
"This place doesn't look ready to receive us," Robin commented from atop Clearstone Valley's western mountain.
From their vantage point, they could see the main building standing empty, the foundation of a communications tower beside it, a large unfinished warehouse in the distance, the skeletal frames of the hydroponics facility below, the freshly dug southern wall, and the imposing twin walls rising to the north of the property.
"We're not here to rest and relax," Lyra warned. "We're here for training."
"I don't see where my training was inadequate," Robin muttered.
"Ha," Mika scoffed. "You think a month of shooting practice counts as training? That was just to make sure none of them shot themselves in the foot."
"What about the police academy?" she asked.
"First of all, not everyone is a certified bounty hunter who spent a year at the police academy for early certification. Most of our members are fresh recruits with no prior training. Secondly, we rely on group tactics to take down our targets, and even then, most of them manage to escape. The training we'll receive is to make sure that even alone, we can hunt Elites."
"That's enough, let's get down there and get acquainted with the place," Lyra said before directing the group down the side of the mountain.
There were no walls on the eastern and western side of the property so they were able to easily walk or more accurately jump down.
Once they reached the foot of the main hub, Alex stepped out with Celise to greet the newcomers.
"Alex!" Lyra and Mika shouted, rushing toward him and hugging him tightly from both sides. "We missed you," they said in unison before kissing him on the cheek.
"And I missed you girls too," Alex replied. "Even though it's only been a month."
The apprentices under Lyra and Mika were already used to the sight from Alex's monthly visits, but Robin and her group weren't. They stared wide-eyed at the sight of their usually cold-hearted commanders acting so girly.
"So, which group is this?" Alex asked.
He was already acquainted with Lyra and Mika's apprentices, who had talent in combat. That left Robin and her group.
Apart from Robin, who looked to be the only one in good health, the rest were disabled in some way, missing limbs, weakened constitutions, imbalanced energy, and a slew of medical problems that made being a trainer difficult, even if all they had to do was carry Poké Balls and walk long distances.
Alex could sense the imbalance of energy within them, enough to guess that some were unable to bond with their Pokémon at all. The rampant energy interference would block any shared bond. Some didn't even have Aura, the most basic energy all humans capable of training Pokémon possessed. It was like staring at ordinary people from Earth.
"Our logistics," Lyra replied. "We usually send any captives we rescue to them for processing. They determine what the captives want to do from that point on, whether to reunite with loved ones through the police, go to a reliable orphanage, or start weapons training and basic conditioning if they want to join the group."
"I see. They aren't fighters then?"
"No."
"Then we can start the psychic evaluations," he said before releasing Malamar.
Robin and the girls immediately tensed. No one had mentioned anything about a psychic evaluation. Such an intimate and invasive procedure would place their lives completely in Alex's hands.
Lyra and Mika quickly noticed the shift in atmosphere. Most of the girls were on edge, and it seemed trust still hadn't been fully established, even after spending years fighting together.
"If any of you don't want to undergo a psychic evaluation, you're free to refuse," Alex announced. "But you won't be allowed to leave for some time."
From the back of the main hub, dozens of Pokémon poured out and surrounded the group. There were easily more than fifty, all at Elite rank. Included among them was a Champion ranked Raticate.
Sensing the tension, Lyra and Mika released their own Pokémon as well, ready to intervene and support Alex if necessary.
"Sorry, girls," Alex said, glancing down at them. "But you two will need to undergo a psych eval as well."
"Why?" Lyra and Mika asked at once, their voices tinged with disbelief.
"Psychics are dangerous business," Alex replied, his tone firm as he pulled them closer than was comfortable. "I can't risk anyone here being compromised by a sleeper agent. I need to make sure none of you have anything hidden in your minds."
"Did you run a psychic evaluation on the other girls too?" Lyra asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Every single one. They all passed with flying colors," Alex said. "Well, except for Celise and Talia, who still have that information lock buried deep. Even Gardevoir can't remove it without causing brain damage, so they're under strict 24/7 monitoring."
"Oh… I guess that's fine," Lyra said, relaxing slightly in his grasp. "Since they went through it, I don't see why I shouldn't."
"Yeah, I'm fine with it too," Mika added.
"Thanks, and sorry about this. But we need to be sure everyone is clean," Alex said before turning to Malamar. "Malamar, if you would."
Malamar reached out her tentacles and placed them on Lyra and Mika's foreheads before concentrating. A few seconds later, she woke before sending Alex a psychic message.
'Both are clean.'
Alex turned to Robin and the others, his voice cold as he asked, "Well? What will it be?"
Robin gulped, then, to everyone's surprise, bolted at high speed, sending her Fearow into the air in an attempt to carry her to safety.
A pair of Crobat swooped down from the top of the main hub, accompanied by a swarm of Zubat and Golbat. They approached with Quick Attack, then used Mean Look, Supersonic, and Hypnosis, preventing Robin from escaping. The coordinated assault also trapped several of Lyra and Mika's girls who had tried to flee, using Robin as a distraction.
Only Lily, Emma, and the disabled group under Robin remained, all understandably shocked.
A brief melee broke out, but Robin and the fleeing girls were quickly subdued and knocked out, along with their Pokémon. They were then probed one by one by Malamar, creating a grim scene for Alex.
"Robin was sent by Umbraline to keep tabs on my organization," Alex explained. "She hadn't betrayed you girls, but she had been grooming those under her. They'll need a thorough evaluation to determine their loyalties."
"What about them?" Lyra asked sadly as she looked at her apprentices.
These were the girls Lyra and Mika had taken under their wing after rescuing them from mind control, traffickers, or brothels. They had talent in combat and the drive to improve, which is why they were personally trained. Of the original seven, only Lily and Emma remained, both equally shocked by the events.
"They're from different lower-ranking criminal organizations and were planted as spies in case any of their bases were raided. All of them have shared sensitive information with the criminal organizations above them, including the location of this base," Alex replied. "No further instructions were given, but it can be assumed they plan to intercept the remaining bounty hunters who are on their way."
Enraged, Mika unholstered her guns and aimed at their heads, but Alex pulled her back before she could pull the trigger.
"Why?" Mika asked, her voice trembling with frustration.
"There's a better use for them than killing them here and now. Wait for the others to arrive before we do anything drastic."
"Are you going to pick them up?" Lyra asked.
"No, but I'll have Nyx keep watch in case they need it. If they're from a strong organization, they'll know to stay away from my belongings. If they're from lower-ranking criminal organizations, your group should be able to handle an ambush of this level."
The probing continued with Lily and Emma, and the sisters were found to be fiercely loyal. Their story was a common one. Emma had gone off to search for their missing mother but was captured for being pretty and naive. Lily later set out to find her sister and was taken by a different group. Years later, they were each rescued separately and eventually reunited under Lyra and Mika. As for their parents, there was no news of their mother, while their father had died in a riot.
As for the rest of Robin's group, they turned out to be relatively innocent. Unfortunately, they carried subtle conditioning that made them dependent on Umbraline's services and prone to leaking information through casual interactions. It was a refined form of manipulation, but Malamar was able to detect the traces thanks to Lucien's training in countering Umbraline's techniques back in Hoenn.
It would take some effort on Alex's part, but their conditioning wasn't an unsalvageable situation. Everything depended on whether they were willing to put in the work.
"After what you've learned, do you still want to accompany Robin?" Alex asked those who remained. "I plan on releasing her once the bounty hunters get here. At that time, you can choose to stay with her and work for Umbraline."
The group took some time to consider it before eventually splitting. The more recently recruited half chose to stay with Alex, grateful for the rescue and the opportunity, while the more deeply conditioned half decided to remain with Robin.
In the end, Alex imprisoned Robin and the half of her group that stayed with her, along with the traitors from Lyra and Mika's apprentices.
"Now we just need to wait for the rest of the bounty hunters to arrive."
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