Alvera hadn't been having the time of her life since she left home to wander on her own. It wasn't the camping, the harsh battles for survival, or the inconveniences of being out in the wilderness; those were challenges she had been preparing for her teenage life. It wasn't loneliness either; she had her Pokémon, regular calls home, and Nyx's thoughtful parting gift to keep her company. What frustrated her was that her blog and her photos weren't gaining any recognition.
Sure, her social media posts blew up whenever she appeared in the photos, whether through selfies or drone shots, given she was a beautiful woman with what most considered the perfect face and body. But more importantly, her photos of nature and Pokémon were largely ignored.
She received the expected attention from her mothers, friends, and an army of simps, including former classmates and even Dean, but it was driven by familiarity or lust rather than genuine interest in her work. To be fair, she had to admit she wasn't a very good photographer, which made sense since she was still an amateur.
At most, she had a small following that cared more about her subjects rather than her vision or artistry. These were people impressed and intrigued by the remote wilderness she manages to reach despite being a lone amateur photographer. It reflected more on her strength and skill as a trainer, but she still did her best to nurture this small group of true fans who at least appreciated her work rather than just her appearance.
"I need something that will put me on the map," Alvera said with determination as she paced around her luxurious hotel room, deep in thought.
Her Pokémon, sprawled across the wide, soft bed, watched their trainer with worried expressions, afraid she might do something stupid again, like trying to take a picture of a pile of baby Sandshrew in the middle of a Sandslash nest filled with hundreds of highly territorial Pokémon. That little adventure had nearly cost them their lives, especially since they were all Ground types and Bellibolt could only Soak them one at a time.
"I need something bold, something daring, something that will push me far above the rest. I need something that will make me go viral," she said, stars in her eyes.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her. She grabbed a drone and tossed it into the air before giving it a command.
"Bring up a map of Kanto."
The drone hovered above her and projected a hologram of the complete Kanto map onto the floor around her.
"Focus northeast."
The hologram zoomed in, showing Cerulean City at the top left, Saffron City at the bottom left, and Lavender City at the bottom right, with the abandoned power plant just north of it.
"There!" she shouted, pointing to the right side of the center where a mountain range sat next to the power plant. "I should take pictures of Zapdos!"
As an Elite, she had signed the information package privy to her rank and knew about certain locations that required a specific level of strength to access. Among them was the abandoned power plant, which forbade entry to the second floor and required an Elite rank to explore the surrounding area.
"I have top-of-the-line equipment, so I should be able to get a clear shot of Zapdos through a broken window or something," she said, her conviction growing with every thought and justification. "I won't be breaking any League laws because the mountain range is clearly Elite ranked, and from so far away, I doubt I would be bothering Zapdos. Also, I'm more than strong enough to find my way there. Plus, since I'm already in Lavender Town, it's really close."
There were plenty of photographs and videos of Legendary Pokémon floating around the internet, but most of them were limited by a very specific point of view. They were either taken from below as the Legendaries flew overhead, showing grainy images of their underbellies; official League photos taken by highly ranked trainers and released to the public; or battle photos, which were far too common and often poorly shot. Rarely were there candid moments captured from unique angles.
Many photographers aspired to capture Legendaries, but few ever reached the rank required to access their nesting grounds. As a result, candid photos were scarce, usually limited to highly successful professionals like Perrin. Certainly none came from amateurs like her, who were just trying to kickstart a photography career.
"It's decided," she said, beginning to pack up and store her Pokémon. "Come on, guys. We're going north!"
She checked out of her hotel, stopped by the grocery store to stock up on food and supplies, and then went to a Hawke Delivery Courier Store.
"Welcome to Hawke Delivery. How can I assist you today?" the clerk greeted.
"I'm here for supplies," Alvera said, flashing her bounty hunter family member license.
"Of course. Please make your way to the back through that door," the clerk said, pointing to the side where a sign clearly read 'Employees Only.' "Someone will come to assist you right away."
Alvera made her way to the back, following the corridor until she reached an open room that exuded luxury. Its walls were meticulously organized, lined with firearms of every shape and caliber, each spotlit to highlight craftsmanship. Sleek glass displays held armor plates with reinforced alloys, high-tech grenades, surveillance drones, and every type of specialized gear a bounty hunter might need. The floors gleamed under soft, ambient lighting, and subtle air filtration kept the room pristine, giving the impression that this was a professional haven for elite operatives.
"Welcome to the Silver Network Supply Depot. How may I—" the clerk began, but Alvera cut her off.
"Jess!" Alvera shouted in surprise, rushing forward and grabbing the poor girl from over the counter, pulling her into a violent hug.
"Gah! Alvera? What are you—ow, ow, ow! You're crushing my bones!" Jess protested.
"Whoops, sorry," Alvera said, loosening her grip slightly but continuing to sway side to side as she hugged her. "I missed you guys."
"And we missed you too," Jess replied, pushing herself back just enough to avoid being smothered by Alvera's ample breasts. "Damn, girl, did your tits get bigger again?"
"Maybe? My shirts have been getting a bit tighter recently," Alvera said with a thoughtful look. "Anyway, I didn't know you started working at the supply depot after we graduated, let alone that you're stationed here in Lavender City."
"It's not something you can just post about on social media," Jess replied as she headed back behind the counter. "Assignments aren't optional either, and we often get moved around for security purposes. Anyway, what do you need?"
"Ten crates of offensive-type 7.62×51mm. I'm not picky, so offload whatever slow‑moving inventory you have. I'll also take three dozen stunner‑type 9mm mags with a minimum 40‑round capacity."
Jess whistled. "What the hell have you been fighting? You're not even a bounty hunter and you're using up enough ammunition to bring down an army."
"Nests, mostly," Alvera answered casually with a shrug. "I ran into a nasty Ground type nest that wouldn't let me leave after I took a few pictures of their babies."
"You're as reckless as ever, Alvera," Jess said with a sigh before rummaging through a few space bags, producing crates that could easily hold over a thousand rounds each, along with the requested three dozen magazines. "These crates are loaded with Ice Punch, Poison Jab, and Body Slam, our least popular bullets. As for the stunners, it's your standard Glare, Hypnosis, and Thunder Wave combo."
"Thanks," Alvera said, opening the crates with her bare hands and dumping the contents into a self-sorting space bag connected to the guns mounted on her exosuit. She then grabbed the magazines and stored them in the ammo pouches on the sides of her backpack. Finally, she placed her license on the counter and smiled at Jess brightly.
Alvera wasn't a bounty hunter so her license didn't allow her to catch criminals. Instead, it was attached to Alex's bounty hunter account, allowing her to charge any purchases or services offered by the Silver Network to him.
Jess finished the transaction and returned the license to Alvera before asking, "So, where are you heading next?"
"North, to the Rock Tunnel mountain range."
"Another Elite ranked danger zone our little adventurer is going to mess around in," Jess said with a sigh. "Take care of yourself, Alvera. Try not to get killed."
"I'll try. See you around, Jess."
"See ya."
They parted ways, with Alvera heading north out of the city before beginning the perilous climb up the mountain. Along the way, she and her Pokémon fought off aggressive Flying and Rock type Pokémon, and a month later, she found herself overlooking the abandoned power plant from the summit of a treacherous peak.
She was directly south of the power plant, with a deep river cutting between them. Powerful winds buffeted her, blowing her hair and short skirt to the west, while her camera, mounted on a tripod and staked firmly into the ground, allowed her to fine-tune her composition. She adjusted the angle, focus, aperture, and exposure, tweaking the lighting and depth of field to capture the perfect shot.
She zoomed in on every window, scanning the frames through her telephoto lens. Plenty of Electric type Pokémon lounged inside, but Zapdos was nowhere in sight. Still, that didn't stop her from snapping a few shots.
She captured cute close-ups of Pikachu being adorable, dramatic high-contrast shots of Electabuzz duking it out, and busy, layered compositions of Magnemite drifting between exposed wires. The images were solid additions to her portfolio, but without the centerpiece shot they were little more than routine wildlife photographs.
"I need a higher or closer angle," she finally decided.
She didn't actually know where Zapdos was nesting. Perhaps it was closer to the southern wall, which would explain her poor angle. So she headed west, following the mountain peaks as she circled north and gradually moved closer to the power plant.
Along the way, she took shots of the sweeping views from the mountain range and photographed nearby Pokémon while sifting through the thousands of pictures she had already taken.
She spent another month traversing the dangerous terrain, setting up her camera for a few hours each day to check whether the new angle gave her a better line of sight.
Eventually, she arrived directly west of the power plant with as high and close an angle as she could hope for.
She was perched on a rocky outcrop that jutted from the cliff face, looking down at the power plant and finally spotting what she had been searching for. Zapdos was there, sleeping atop a nest of sparking wires in the southwest corner of the abandoned power plant's second floor.
"Jackpot!" she shouted before snapping her precious photos of the candid Zapdos.
After a few shots, she began changing the settings to capture different kinds of images. Eventually, she realized the result was undeniably boring. Zapdos was asleep, and her angle was hardly better than the typical shots taken from below. The photos had no soul, no awareness, no sense of danger, just a simple, cozy image of an Electric type Legendary Pokémon sleeping.
"I guess this is as far as I should go," Alvera said with a sigh.
She wasn't stupid. Waking a sleeping catastrophe was grounds for imprisonment, so she decided to be satisfied with the lackluster photos she had taken.
"Maybe it's enough," she said. "I'm just an amateur, anyway."
She began packing up when suddenly there was a rumble. The ground beneath her trembled before detaching itself from the cliff face, showing her exactly what she had been standing on. It was a hibernating Elite ranked Graveler, easily thrice the normal size, that slowly awoke when she stabbed its head with the tripod.
It swiped at her with its four arms, successfully knocking her off and sending her and her gear flying.
She didn't panic, however, quickly activating her exosuit and chasing after her camera gear, while also activating the boosters on the exosuit's back and hips. She hovered in place by the mountainside, looking for any ledge to reach when suddenly a massive boulder was thrown her way.
Alarms blared in her vision as her guns erupted from her forearms and shoulders, shooting at the falling boulder that was right on top of her.
Brrrrrt!
Once the boulder exploded, she re-aimed and shot at the annoying Graveler that was making her life difficult.
Brrrrrt!
A short burst from all four guns sent a hundred rounds of Ice Punch, Poison Jab, and Body Slam bullets straight at the Graveler, causing it to faint from the damage. Fortunately for it, its legs were embedded in the surface of the cliff face, ensuring it didn't just fall to its death.
Alvera took advantage of the fainted Graveler and flew up before landing on top of it, then double-checked her gear. She counted everything and found it all accounted for.
"Phew, that was close. I would have lost it if I dropped my camera," she said, deactivating her suit and taking out her climbing gear to finally start heading back to civilization.
Suddenly, lightning erupted from the power plant, shooting straight into the sky and drawing dark clouds that answered with wrathful lightning strikes.
Alvera turned and aimed her camera at the spot where Zapdos was supposed to be sleeping. Instead, she found it staring straight at her through the lens, its eyes sharp with fury.
"Oh boy," Alvera said, worry creeping into her voice. "I done fucked up."
Adrenaline shot through her as she assessed the situation. First of all, there was no running; she was as fucked as she could possibly be. Secondly, the shot actually looked pretty damn good, so she clicked, capturing photos of the rearing Zapdos as it prepared to attack. Thirdly, since she had accepted her fate, she might as well let her father know why his daughter was about to die. She dialed his number through her vambrace, and he quickly picked up.
"Dad, I think I messed up," she said, her finger clicking her camera like her life depended on it.
"What happened?" he asked, concern evident in his tone.
"I may have pissed off Zapdos," she said, watching it burst through the window and hover in front of her in the blink of an eye, her hand quickly adjusting the settings to accommodate the close-up.
"You know, when I said you shouldn't be afraid of trouble, I didn't mean you could piss off a Legendary Pokémon."
"I know, Dad, and I followed the law, staying away from the second floor of the power plant. Instead, I took pictures from outside like a good girl," she said with an innocent smile.
Alex's sigh bled through the phone, knowing she was definitely the cause of this mayhem.
"Alright, I'll be right there. Try to keep yourself alive."
"I can't promise anything," Alvera said as Zapdos's beak almost brushed her neck, its eyes staring deep into her soul. "But if I die, I want you to upload the images of Zapdos to my blog."
"Alvera—"
"Promise me, Dad," she said seriously.
"Alright," Alex replied, his tone neutral, almost cold.
She cut the call and focused on her rather unique situation. Zapdos was studying her, seemingly deciding she was worth the time it spent hovering in front of her.
"I'm sorry for waking you," Alvera said gently, her hand resting lightly on Zapdos's beak despite the deadly amounts of electricity coursing through her. "I didn't mean to make any noise. I just wanted a photo. You don't mind, do you?"
Zapdos tilted its head curiously at the girl in front of it, who seemed unaffected by its touch.
Alvera, hyped up on adrenaline and the electricity coursing through her, took her chance and slowly turned around. She raised her flipped camera, smiled while tilting her head the same way, flashed a peace sign because why not, and clicked a few times for good measure.
She turned back, finding Zapdos mildly intrigued, and then displayed the result via a small hologram on top of her hand.
"See," Alvera said. "Don't we look cute together?"
Zapdos raised a brow, considered it for a moment, then shook its head and flew back down to its nest, the skies calming as it did. It settled back into its rest while keeping one eye on Alvera, who remained frozen on top of the fainted Graveler.
A moment later, Alex teleported next to Alvera, along with several trainers appearing along the peaks of the mountain range, seeing nothing worth worrying about.
"Dad!" Alvera shouted, hugging his chest tightly while he stroked her hair.
"It's good that you're alive," Alex said with a relieved sigh.
"I don't think I was in any danger. Zapdos was actually pretty cool."
"That's good, but you know you're still in trouble, right?"
"Yes, sir," Alvera replied meekly, pressing her face into his chest.
"Alright, now let your old man handle the rest," Alex said as Lorelei and Clarissa teleported next to him.
"We need to talk," Lorelei said in a neutral tone.
-----
Support me on Patreon
pātreon/babywrath