Welcome back DEARIES to another chapter
Enjoy
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Alex sat hunched over his workspace, a flat, slate rock he had scrubbed clean,the air smelled sharp and medicinal, a mixture of crushed herbs and tangy berry pulp.
Grind, Mash, Stir
He worked with the rhythmic precision of a man who had spent hundreds of hours in a compounding lab, his hands, stained blue and green, moved methodically.
"Viscosity is good," he muttered, dipping a finger into the dark blue paste. "Sap ratio is holding, so It won't run off in the rain."
He picked up one of the scavenged glass jars which was previously used to hold pickled onions...he could still smell a faint ghostly vinegar scent, but he had scrubbed it with sand until the glass was scratched but clean.
He spooned the Crude Oran Salve into the jar and filled it to the brim and screwed on the rusted metal lid.
Clink
One down, Four to go.
In the corner, the a Styrofoam cooler sat silently and Inside, a Feebas was floating motionless.
She was alive, but barely,She hadn't eaten.
Basically she is essentially in a coma to conserve energy. Alex looked at her, wiping his hands on a rag,"You're a problem," he whispered, not just because she was dying but because of what she represented.
He leaned back against the cave wall, he let his mind wander back to the hundreds of webnovels he had read in his previous life like Reincarnation of the Strongest Sword God, Lord of the Mysteries and more
"The smart MC doesn't show his hand," Alex mused.
"The smart MC has layers. If Ares....the masked Rocket grunt walked around with a useless Feebas, he would be laughed at and he would be targeted as weak, even if she evolved into Milotic, a Rocket Grunt with a shimmering, divine sea serpent would attract too much attention,the Executives would want it, hell even Giovanni might want it.
"No," Alex decided."Ares can't have you."
Ares needed to be terrifying, Ares needed Poison types, Dark types, things that killed quickly and dirty, Ares was the shield that protected Alex.
But Alex Hales... the orphan, the future Citizen... he could have a Milotic.
"The Dual Identity Strategy, classic one" he plotted, staring at the cave ceiling.
"Ares gathers resources in the dark, he steals, he kills, he grinds points in this hellhole and he funnels the money and items to Alex."
"And Alex," he continued, a small smile touching his lips, "Alex climbs the League ladder in the light, He uses the resources Ares stole to raise powerful Pokémon, he challenges Gyms and becomes the Champion." It was perfect,if Ares was ever compromised, Alex was clean and if Alex was ever targeted, Ares could strike from the shadows.
He looked at the Feebas, "You are Alex's Ace," he told the fish,"But first, we has to buy you a house."
He packed the five jars of salve into his deep cargo pockets, he checked his knife.
"Let's go," he said.
"We have a market to crash."
The perimeter of the Outpost was tense.
It was midday, and the recruits who had survived the night were gathering near the Safe Zone.
They weren't friends,they were sharks circling a reef, all of them eyed each other, looking for injuries, looking for weaknesses.
Alex stepped out of the tree line.
He walked with a limp,his ribs still hurt but he kept his head up, Nidoran walked beside him, its horn glistening with the purple Sticky Paralysis coating Alex had applied earlier.
He didn't go to the Bunker window, the Rocket exchange rate was literal robbery.
Instead, he walked to a large boulder where a group of three recruits were sitting,they looked battered.
One boy had a nasty gash on his leg that was festering and another was nursing a burnt arm likely from a Growlithe or Vulpix.
Alex stopped five meters away and then Nidoran growled, stepping in front of him.
"What do you want, huh?" the boy with the burnt arm spat.
He had a Spearow on his shoulder, but it looked exhausted, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a jar, the blue paste swirled inside.
"I see you're bleeding," Alex said, his voice was calm, "In this heat, that leg gets infected by tomorrow,Gangrene by Tuesday and Amputation by Wednesday."
The boy with the leg wound flinched, he knew Alex was right.
"Who are you? A doctor?" the boy sneered, but his eyes were fixed on the jar
"I'm a chemist," Alex lied smoothly. "That is concentrated Oran extract mixed with Silver-Leaf antibacterial, It heals faster than the raw berry and stops the rot."
He tossed the jar, It arched through the air.
The boy caught it fast and then he opened the lid and sniffed. "It stinks," the boy said.
"Medicine usually does," Alex countered.
"Put it on, If it doesn't soothe the pain in ten seconds, you can keep it and kill me."
The recruits exchanged glances, the boy with the leg wound dipped a finger in and smeared it on the edge of his gash.
He hissed, then paused and his shoulders relaxed.
The stinging heat of the infection was then replaced by a cool numbness.
"It... it works," he muttered.
"50 Points," Alex said.
"50?!" The boy with the burn shouted.
"A Potion is 50 at the window! , and that's instant!"
"A Potion is single-use," Alex said coldly. "That jar has ten applications, You could share it or You could save it for later and unlike the Potion, my salve keeps the flies off."
He paused, letting the logic sink in. "And," Alex added, "you don't have to walk to the window and let everyone see how hurt you are." The psychology hit home, Showing weakness at the window was dangerous. Buying from a shadow dealer was discreet.
"I'll give you 30," the burnt boy haggled.
"40," Alex countered. "And I don't stab you while you sleep." The recruits looked at the Nidoran.The purple rabbit looked ready to murder them all.
"Fine. 40."
They tapped their watches together.
Beep
[ +40 Points ]
"I have four more," Alex announced to the clearing, raising his voice slightly, "First come, first served."
An hour later, Alex walked back into the jungle, he had sold all five jars,also he had been threatened twice, nearly stabbed once, but the Nidoran's paralyzed horn had deterred the attackers.
[ Current Balance: 247 Points ]
He had done it , after a while he circled back to the Bunker, but waited until the crowd dispersed and only then did he approached the window.
"One Pokéball," Alex said.
The grunt behind the glass looked at him. "200 Points."
Alex tapped his watch against the scanner.
Beep
[ -200 Points ]
The tray rotated out, a single, red and white sphere sat there. It was pristine, It was the symbol of a trainer.
Alex grabbed it and he didn't linger much , he ran back to the cave as fast as he could.
He felt like he was carrying a diamond, Inside the crevice, Feebas was still floating in the cooler but She looked worse as her breathing was shallow.
Alex knelt down, he didn't do a dramatic pose nor did he spin the hat he wasn't wearing, he just tapped the button on the ball to enlarge it.
"You're safe now," Alex whispered.
He touched the ball to the Feebas's head.
Ding.
The fish dissolved into red energy and was sucked inside, The ball shook.
Wobble
Wobble
Click
[ Pokémon Captured: Feebas ]
Alex let out a long breath, slumping against the rock,he held the ball in his hand.
He could feel the connection now...the faint mental link that existed between trainer and Pokémon. He stood up and walked to the back of the cave, where he had dug a small hole earlier. He placed the Pokéball inside and covered it with a flat stone and dirt.
"Ares doesn't have a Feebas," Alex said to Nidoran, "Ares only has a Nidoran."
Nidoran snorted, seemingly pleased that the ugly fish was gone from sight, Alex checked his watch, he only had 47 points left.
He had food for a few days so shouldn't be hungry anymore. He sat down and opened the interface as plans should be established.
"We need to get stronger," Alex told Nidoran.
"Level 6 isn't enough, We need to hit high levels before the first evaluation."
He pulled up the stats one last time before the sun set.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
Trainer: Ares (Alex Hales)
Rank: Recruit (Fodder)
Points: 47
Inventory: Knife, Mask, MP3 Player, Empty Jars (0).
[ POKÉMON TEAM ]
1. Nidoran
* Level: 6 \ 7 (Leveled up from Oddish/Rattata XP)
* Gender: Male
* Type: Poison
* Aptitude: Red (Dark)
* Ability: Hustle (Active)
* Nature: Adamant
* Moves: Peck, Leer, Poison Sting, Focus Energy.
* Egg Move: Sucker Punch (Locked - 18% Proficiency)
* Equipment: Sticky Paralyze Coating (1 charge left)
* Condition: Leg Healing (80%)
2. Feebas (Unnamed)
* Level: 5
* Gender: Female
* Type: Water
* Aptitude: Blue (Solid)
* Ability: Swift Swim
* Nature: Bold
* Moves: Splash
* Egg Move: Mirror Coat
* Location: Buried / Hidden Stasis
Alex closed the screen.
"Tomorrow," he said, staring into the dark
Clouds coming to view, " we grind ".
Afterwards he took his MP3 player and put on music :-
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it ,beat it
MJ
Authors Note:-
Well that's that ,
Extra chap for you all
Support with power stones and collections.
Reviews are appreciated
Master of tactics just updated after 2 years
I guess my voice is divine 😌