In the aftermath that followed, reports came in that all the cities except Rustboro had suffered casualties in the thousands, with extensive damage to buildings. The devastation was not as severe as two Champion ranked trainers fighting with wild abandon in each city, but it was collectively enough to enrage the masses.
In response, Steven Stone held a press conference and presented damning evidence of the culprits. This included multiple videos of Victor preaching the ultimate goal of human supremacists. Their aim was dominion over both people and Pokémon through violence and mind control. These videos were taken from the main base that Steven had half-destroyed but were preserved on servers that remained intact.
This cast a negative light on the human supremacists, who, until recently, had painted themselves as peaceful advocates seeking only to expand human territory and reduce the wild Pokémon population. As expected, they responded with denials online. However, it was clear to everyone that they were responsible, except for a few who refused to accept the evidence.
This effectively slowed the human supremacist agenda worldwide, as the devastation was shocking. Most of the time, Pokémon floods erased those who would complain the most, leaving survivors to simply cope. This battle, however, had more survivors than deaths, which meant most people had something to complain about.
In Hoenn, human supremacists were particularly hated, so those who survived the League's purge slunk away into the shadows.
Alex, meanwhile, focused his attention on another video, specifically the one showing Ruby fighting Kyogre alone. With him was his team of Mega Swampert, Mightyena, Delcatty, Castform, Milotic, Gardevoir, and, surprisingly, Deoxys. Together, they managed to bring down Kyogre faster than Zinnia had against Groudon.
It was an epic battle that caused sea levels to rise and generated a literal storm underwater. Fortunately, Castform and Gardevoir worked together to quell the storm, while Deoxys led the charge against Kyogre in what was a relatively even match. Along with the other Pokémon, Kyogre was taken out in no time.
The video was quite distant, so Alex lacked the finer details of the battle, but he could imagine them. Swampert likely switched with Deoxys as tanks while the rest of the team attacked from a distance, a simple strategy capable of taking down a Legendary once its ability to freely manipulate water was neutralized. It was another aspect of high-ranked battles that Alex would have to prepare for in the future.
A few weeks later, the compensation for the battle was handed out to those who participated in the purge. Alex, however, received nothing beyond the initial payment for the map of shipments he had provided. What he did receive was a summons to Mossdeep Space Center to meet with Steven Stone again.
Alex teleported to the same building as before, greeted the receptionist, and rode the elevator up. He soon stepped into Steven's office again. This time, Steven's expression was noticeably brighter, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Alex, welcome back," he greeted.
"You wanted to see me?" Alex replied.
"Yes. It's about your compensation."
"What about it?"
"Typically, you would receive 10% of the benefits resulting from the information you provided. This is standard for bounty hunters in the information sector, so I should be paying you quite a significant sum on top of the mission you completed so cleanly."
"That was my understanding as well."
"To save myself the trouble of paying out so many credits considering the technology from all the bases that were raided, I wanted to try and persuade you to accept a different form of compensation."
"How much would the compensation be if I refused?"
"Somewhere above 100 million credits, plus first rights to any assets that were seized in exchange."
That was a significant sum even for Alex. He could make that amount in credits in about five years of passive income from the floods at the base, not including any bounties he hunted. It would be a substantial addition to his current savings.
For the League, however, it would be a pittance, considering credits didn't need backing beyond the League's reputation and services, which were at an all-time high.
When translated into bullets at the current cost discount he had with Devon Corp, Alex could see why Steven would want to avoid paying that sum. It would deplete his bullet output for quite some time and likely strain several mines. It would come out as 10 million bullets after all.
"What do you propose?" Alex asked.
"Your starter Pokémon was a Raticate, I believe?"
"Yes."
"And you still include it in your team?"
"One of my best attackers."
"Great. I happen to have this Raticite laying around and it needs a home," Steven said as he placed a bracelet with a Keystone and a necklace with a brown Mega Stone on the table between them.
The gem's design featured the same S-shaped pattern, and its colors matched Raticate's primary shades of brown, tan, and white. The necklace was made of a soft synthetic material that stretched to allow transformation of the Pokémon. The bracelet was a more modern version of the one Alex and Sable had received at the sanctuary.
Alex's eyes widened at the offer. It was common knowledge that Mega Stones were impossible to purchase. If they were purchasable, it was not a service provided to just anyone, including himself.
Most Elites did not have Mega Stones, let alone the Key Stones that were required to activate them, so this offer was exceptional. Even if he later discovered that he had been taken advantage of due to his lack of proper access, it was inconsequential because, as it stood, he did not have access to this boost in power.
"I accept the offer," Alex said as calmly as he could manage.
"Great. Our business is considered complete. You have a good rest of your day, Alex."
"You too, Mr. Stone," Alex said as he grabbed the necklace and bracelet from the table.
"Please just call me Steven in the future."
"Will do," Alex said on his way out.
He teleported in a hurry to an open space in the wilderness, far from any people, before calling out Raticate.
"Alright, buddy. This," Alex said while putting the necklace on Raticate, "is a Mega Stone that will allow you to Mega Evolve."
Raticate's eyes widened in surprise. He knew exactly what Mega Evolution was and what it was used for. He remembered the fight with Erica so many years ago, when her Venusaur evolved before the battle, giving Altaria a hard time despite the guaranteed winning strategy. He had also seen quite a few examples on TV of trainers Mega Evolving their Pokémon, so to get to experience it himself was not only a privilege but a source of additional power.
Once it was securely fastened, the necklace shone briefly before settling comfortably around Raticate's neck.
"You ready, buddy?" Alex asked.
"Raticate!"
"Here we go!"
Alex sent his energy into the Keystone on his wrist and felt his bond with Raticate elevate by a significant margin. It easily surpassed the other stronger bonds Alex had with his Pokémon.
He could feel a stronger connection with Raticate that allowed them to telepathically communicate without effort or contact. It was as if they shared the same minds with zero latency. Anything Raticate felt, Alex could feel as well, and vice versa. They developed an understanding beyond anything words or intent could convey. They simply understood each other.
Alex could feel his energy being siphoned by the Keystone at a relatively slow rate. Perhaps it would take a few hours before all his energy ran out, maybe even a day. He wasn't sure unless he actively stress-tested it, likely leaving him completely drained.
His energy entered Raticate and allowed him to evolve. He shined brightly with the colors of a rainbow and grew in size until finally the light receded and showed his new form.
Raticate emerged half a size larger, standing at 3′6″ (1.05 m). He had also gotten quite a bit fatter, but what was particularly of note were the three ghostlike Rattata floating behind him. Upon closer inspection, Alex noticed that their tails were all attached in a messy bundle.
This new look reminded Alex of a phenomenon called the Rat King, in which a bunch of rats would live in such tight spaces that they would accidentally entangle their tails, never to be unraveled even at the end of their lives. This created a Rat King, which was a rat dragging around the corpses of other rats as the sole morbid survivor.
Upon closer inspection, Alex noticed the distinct lack of intelligence in the Rattata behind Raticate. It seemed they weren't truly conscious but more of a representation or aura.
Without needing a command, Raticate started testing out his moves for Alex to record. Their bond allowed them to simply do what needed to be done without communication, so they didn't bother with words.
From the scan, Alex figured out that Raticate's new typing was Normal/Ghost while his ability had changed to Infiltrator. As for the stat changes, there was an increase to Attack and Speed.
The Speed increase made Raticate the fastest Pokémon Alex had, to the point that he could even catch up to Arcanine's Extreme Speed with just a Quick Attack. As for the increase in Attack, it wasn't as significant. It merely allowed him to deal about the same damage as the average pseudo-legendary.
Still, with these changes combined, Raticate was officially Alex's strongest attacker, even surpassing Arcanine. However, he was still quite weak in terms of overall stats, so he needed to maintain a cautious battle strategy.
Raticate immediately understood this from their connection, so he didn't need to be told. He also understood that he shouldn't get cocky just because he could now contend on equal footing with most other Pokémon.
Once they finished playing around, they cut the connection and immediately felt the bond return to normal. Along with it came an energy drain that affected them both physically. It wasn't that bad; it felt like they had just run a marathon at full speed, physical exertion that wasn't significant given their Elite ranked bodies.
The Mega Evolution was a significant power boost that would only get stronger once Raticate reached Champion rank. Since he was first in line to reach it, along with Arcanine and Hydreigon, it wouldn't take long for the benefits to show themselves.
"This trip to Hoenn was incredibly profitable," Alex noted. "But it's time I headed back home."
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An R-18 chapter of Alex's wild night with Elara is available on Patreon.
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