Emma, the older of the sisters, had been doing an amazing job as a bounty hunter. Alongside her sister Lily, she had gone on various hunting expeditions ever since Lyra and Mika reclaimed their positions as trainers for the Silver Network. Since then, the two of them had been running all over Kanto, tracking down criminals and collecting their bounties within the network, and had built an exemplary track record.
They had already reached Elite rank thanks to the substantial pay offered to the Silver Network's trainers. Now, after several years of operating independently across Kanto, they had refined and rounded out their capabilities. They were not only powerful Elites, but seasoned ones as well, with the experience necessary to fully leverage their strength.
This was why Alex didn't hesitate to include them in the plan. They were strong enough to take down other Elites while also being trustworthy enough for a job this meticulous.
For them personally, this was both an opportunity to prove themselves and a high-paying job that promised 5 million credits. A significant sum, especially considering their usual bounties were paid in Pokédollars.
Emma, a long brown haired woman wearing the complete bounty hunter gear which included an armored vest, overcoat, and helmet, stepped out of the light of teleportation in the middle of a forest east of Accumula City with one of Iris's Butterfree on her shoulders.
She looked down while taking out a small spherical silver metal ball etched with lines that seemed to divide it into geometrical shapes with a big button on top and recalled her instructions. Her current location was apparently right above an underground training facility belonging to Team Dominion, which was supposed to be her most dangerous target for today, while her sister Lily had started south of her location at a training facility in Nuvema Town. She was supposed to take down the leader of the base here before Butterfree teleported her to the next location with a supposedly weaker target, repeating the process a total of three times before she was sent back to Kanto.
Not one to waste any time, she pressed the button on the device and dropped it on the ground before releasing her Talonflame, grabbing its talon, and taking to the skies. The sphere emitted a red light that scanned the surroundings before orienting itself in the optimal position. Then it exploded, sending pieces of it scattering across the surroundings and exposing the crystals embedded inside each fragment. In a coordinated rhythm, they released the energy inside the crystals, unleashing Elite ranked Earthquakes into the surrounding.
The ground shook, trees toppled, and crevices opened and closed as the Earthquakes were released. That wasn't all though, as the Earthquakes seemed to synchronize in a pattern of constructive interference where their vibrations intersected, producing an Earthquake that was magnitudes stronger, reaching Champion ranked levels of power.
Suddenly, the ground sank in, revealing a mile long crater filled with destroyed buildings, panicking henchmen, and staff running around like headless chickens as they tried to survive the collapse of their base.
Emma honed in on the strongest aura she could detect from the wreckage and zeroed her sights on a half-destroyed building. She had her Talonflame drop her off close to it before releasing the rest of her team: Rapidash, Ninetales, Camerupt, Magmortar, and Infernape, all of them, including Talonflame, at Elite rank.
"Fire Blast!" she commanded.
Each of her Pokémon shot a ball of fire that exploded against the building, causing it to collapse completely and revealing a trainer surrounded by Steel type Elite ranked Pokémon in a defensive Protect rotation.
Without a word, she unholstered the pistols at her waist and opened fire, sending out Feint and Phantom Force rounds against the enemy formation while her opponent did the same. Her rounds bounced harmlessly against the Steel types, interrupting their Protect rotation, while her opponent's rounds struck Camerupt, who stood protectively in front of her.
Emma's Pokémon didn't need to be ordered. They immediately scattered, with Infernape and Talonflame charging forward, Ninetales and Rapidash circling to the sides, and Camerupt and Magmortar beginning their bombardment. Camerupt and Magmortar's attacks easily overwhelmed the enemies' own, given the type advantage of Lava Plume against Flash Cannons, allowing the other four to slip in close while preventing any damage from reaching Emma.
Infernape and Talonflame took evasive maneuvers before reaching the front of the enemy lines. Talonflame took the lead and used Feint to bring down their target's Protect barrier, then Infernape used Raging Fury to deal massive damage. This sent Infernape into a single-minded rampage to bring down their opponents, while Talonflame continued to pave the way, using Feint to ensure each of Infernape's hits counted.
Rapidash and Ninetales bombarded from the flanks with the purpose of harassment, forcing the enemies to either divide their bombardment or deploy Protect. They were also in charge of taking down any gunmen attempting to surround Emma, ensuring she was never swarmed. Of her Pokémon, these two played it by ear the most, offering support wherever needed and keeping interlopers out of the battle.
In no time, Infernape and Talonflame had systematically taken down the base leader's Pokémon, with Camerupt and Magmortar providing long ranged area of effect bombardment. Only the trainer remained, attempting to escape on a Skarmory. Ninetales and Rapidash, tasked with also preventing any escapes, brought it down with a pair of Flamethrowers before the trainer could get away.
Emma approached, placed her pistol against the base leader's head, and fired, splattering his brains across the broken ground. Ignoring the organizing chaos as instructed, she retrieved her Pokémon and patted the Butterfree on her shoulder, prompting it to teleport her to her next target location.
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Clarissa, having teleported above a large building in Driftveil City, felt a surge of excitement for her first solo hunt in a long time. Scratch that, her first solo hunt ever. She rarely encountered trouble with humans, except for that one time in Viridian City or when she hung around Alex.
Most of her experience had been with normal trainers going about their journeys or fancy meet-and-greets with major organizations in the region. Now, she finally had an adventure all her own.
Her target was Adrian Vellin, a notorious underground broker and fixer who secured shipping lanes for Team Dominion by coercing port officials, warehouse managers, and freight coordinators through kidnapping, violence, and calculated blackmail. Operating through Driftveil City's extensive dock network, he forced compliance at gunpoint or under threat, ensuring illicit shipments moved in and out of the region without delay. He left a trail of broken families and ruined livelihoods in his wake, an evil individual who preyed on vulnerability and fear, a person who needed to be stopped.
Following her instructions, she pulled out the Pokéball-shaped silver device, pressed the button on top, and dropped it on the roof of the building where she had teleported. Then she released Charizard, mounted its back, and took to the skies, watching as the device triggered a series of Earthquakes that took down the entire building floor by floor until it revealed a hidden base beneath it.
She had to admit she was horrified at killing so many people with a simple press of a button, but it had to be done given how evil the people in this building were. She wouldn't go so far as to say they deserved it, but she wouldn't lose sleep over their deaths either.
She shook her head to regain focus, doing her best to ignore the dying henchmen and panicking staff. Instead, she focused on her target, who radiated a Champion ranked aura while struggling to salvage the base and prevent it from completely collapsing on top of them. It was an admirable trait for such an evil man, but it did nothing to absolve him of the damage he had done to so many people.
Clarissa swooped down on Charizard and released the rest of her team, letting her Alolan Ninetales take the lead. Snow Warning flared, unleashing a snowstorm that increased the Defense of her Ice type Pokémon.
Her Ninetales, Glaceon, Arctibax, and Cetitan immediately unleashed pinpoint-accurate Blizzards, strengthened by the storm, and began taking out Adrian's distracted Pokémon one after another. They tried to regain some semblance of a defensive formation, but Cetitan and Arctibax charged into the fray, turning the battlefield into a chaotic melee.
The disorder left all of Adrian's Pokémon unable to properly resist, which led to his sudden death at the hands of Dragonite. He blitzed through the crumbling defenses with Extreme Speed, killing Adrian on impact. The rampaging survivors were easily dealt with once they no longer cared about their lives and were swiftly taken out.
Thus ended her first ever bounty hunter mission.
"That was easier than I thought," Clarissa said as she retrieved her Pokemon and patted the nearly frozen Butterfree on her shoulders. "It didn't even take me 5 minutes. Oh, right. I still have two more Champions to take down. Maybe they can give me more of a challenge."
The light of teleportation enveloped her, bringing her to her next destination. Meanwhile, the other bounty hunters, along with Sable, fared much the same. They all finished their first target in less than five minutes, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake.
As for Alex, he hadn't started yet. He was currently riding on Mantine while staring down at Twist Mountain, which supposedly housed the leader of Team Dominion in Unova. Strangely, he didn't feel the aura of a Champion ranked trainer inside, nor even that of an Elite ranked one.
It seemed he might have encountered a slight problem.
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