The Hoenn region lies west of Johto, across the open sea. It was a considerable distance from their current location, but that wasn't much of a concern for Alex, since Arcanine and Gardevoir had both brought their Teleport skill up to Expert rank.
With their abilities, the two Pokémon could now travel between regions in fewer than ten teleports, which was more than manageable. The real challenge wasn't the distance. It was that they didn't yet have a mapped route, and creating one would take a significant amount of time.
There was a service that could teleport Alex between locations for Elites. The teleporter would follow a predetermined route, which Alex could then replicate as long as he brought Arcanine and Gardevoir along. However, using this service would expose his teleportation points, leaving him vulnerable to a potential ambush.
Teleport takes a long time to cast, relatively speaking. It takes a few seconds for the Pokémon to focus on their next destination and execute the move. So, although it may take less than a minute to travel from one region to another, the teleporter has to endure a few unguarded seconds before moving to the next spot.
The distance between Johto and Hoenn, however, was considerable. Traveling without a proper route was risky, and even Alex wouldn't survive venturing out to sea blindly.
This meant he had no choice but to make his travels visible until he had a proper route to teleport along. He would need to revisit each teleport location and move it far from its original spot.
It would take considerably less time than actually traveling the route, but it would still leave him vulnerable to ambushes by locals who knew the area better.
Without much of a choice, he booked a trip from Kanto to Hoenn with a personal teleporter.
"I heard you were leaving for Hoenn," Vera said while there were just the two of them in the room. Alvera was in her own room with Mabosstiff now that she had grown up enough.
"Rhea needs more ammunition, so I have to hunt down more human supremacists. I need to do this before the base is built, so it's properly armed once operations start," Alex replied.
"How long will you be gone?"
"However long it takes to get enough ammunition. It won't be the same as my trip to Johto that took eight months. This should be quicker. I just need to hit enough supply depots before returning."
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
"When have I ever not?"
"When your arms were cut off."
"I was fine after a week."
"Alex."
"Yes, honey. I'll be careful. I have Alvera now. I won't do anything too reckless."
Vera sighed and accepted Alex's guarantee. She never liked that he was an adrenaline junkie. He had improved over the years when he stayed at the farm and meditated, but it turned out he couldn't be kept away from the fight for long before he felt the need for violence.
Alex continued packing, deciding to bring roughly the same gear he usually took with him. Along with his away team, supplies, and standard tech, he also brought the Deep Suit, since Team Dominion favored underwater bases; the Silent Suit, since he didn't plan to be identified; and, of course, Stormline, his gatling cannon.
The next day, packed and ready to go, Alex teleported to Saffron City, where he would meet with his personal teleporter. He had paid a million credits for a private one rather than using the public teleporters who could be paid in cash, so he could build a route along the way.
"Alex Wattson?" a young man asked from behind him.
"That's me," Alex replied, turning to his teleporter.
The young man looked to be about the same age as Alex, though leaner and with a calculating gleam in his eyes. His clothes were plain but well kept. There was no trace of a fighter's discipline in his posture, only the twitchy energy of someone who smelled profit. He carried himself with the quick, overeager confidence of a man who would go anywhere, so long as the pay was right.
"Oh, good. Are you ready to go?"
"I wanted to get our facts straight first," Alex replied. "I want to take this trip so my Pokémon can learn a teleportation route to Hoenn. This means—"
"That we take stops. I understand, sir. It's part of the package," the teleporter interrupted. "The price of the package was so expensive precisely because it had this in mind. Don't you worry, sir. I'll be sure to give your Pokémon plenty of time to take in the sights."
"Good," Alex said as he released Gardevoir and Arcanine.
"Wow. Two elites who can teleport, and so young. You must be a big shot or something," the man said before releasing Alakazam.
Alakazam was an elite as well, but it was on the weaker side despite seeming older than Alex's own Pokémon. It was clearly not built with battle in mind.
"Ready to go?"
"Yes."
"Then off we go!"
Alakazam started the teleportation, and in a few seconds, they found themselves in Celadon City.
"Welcome to Celadon City, where—"
"You can skip the tour until I say otherwise. I already have a route through Kanto and Johto."
"Oh… okay. Then, off we go!"
Alakazam started the teleportation again. After over twenty hops, they found themselves in the Safari Zone in Johto, the furthest point west Alex had reached.
"Now, you can start the tour and the stops," Alex said.
"Great!" he replied with enthusiasm. "Our next destination will be further southwest to the beach."
After the teleportation, they arrived at a relatively empty beach with coarse sand. The shoreline stretched wide, broken only by scattered driftwood and patches of seaweed left behind by the tide. The air carried the sharp tang of salt, and violent waves rose high in the distance.
"This is the last location we will be in within the Johto region. Our next stop will be a few islands before reaching Ever Grande City."
Alex nodded to his Pokémon, who immediately scattered. They spread out and searched for spots to teleport to in the future, taking their bearings to connect the previous location with their current one.
After a few minutes, the pair returned and nodded to Alex. They were ready to move to the next location.
"Alright, where to next?" Alex asked.
"Our next point will be an island that way," he said while pointing southwest.
Alakazam started the teleportation, and in the next moment, they found themselves on a lone island dotted with sparse trees. The ground was mostly rock, leaving little room for sand, and it was hardly the kind of place suited for a beach trip. There were no indications of any islands or landmasses nearby so it was a jarring teleportation point.
"Welcome to the island. It doesn't have an official name, but to those of us who regularly teleport between regions, this place is the ideal spot for our first jump," the teleporter said. "It doesn't have much in the way of amenities, but it's relatively safe compared to the other islands in the area."
"There are other islands?" Alex asked, while Arcanine ran over the water with Gardevoir on his back.
"Oh, yes. You might not be able to see them over the horizon, but there are plenty of lone islands between Johto and Hoenn. The trick is knowing which ones aren't owned by a champion-ranked nest."
"How viable is it to simply run or fly to Hoenn?" Alex asked.
"Unless you have a champion to ride on, I wouldn't recommend it. The champion of a territory will lose their mind if you trespass. Even if you're fast enough to escape, reaching a seaside city would only make things worse. The champion would likely attack the city, and then the League would hunt you down for causing it. So, no, it's not very viable."
Alex still remembered his run-in with a champion-ranked Gyarados and considered himself lucky that Viridian City hadn't been anywhere near where he landed. He had ended up in a forest east of the city, a place relatively empty except for weaker Pokémon. If the chase had spilled out beyond that forest, he would have been forced either to confront the champion or face harsh reprimand from the League.
Once Arcanine and Gardevoir returned, Alakazam teleported them to the next site. They repeated this process of hopping between islands until they teleported to a place in the middle of a dense forest.
"Welcome to Torterra Island!" the teleporter said.
Unlike the previous locations, this place radiated danger from every direction. It was clear the island was filled with Pokémon, and it was likely that a very powerful champion-ranked Pokémon was nearby.
Arcanine and Gardevoir hesitated to move. The place was clearly owned by a nest, so they held back from scouting the area immediately.
"Where are we, exactly?" Alex asked. "We'd have to be on the mainland to have this many powerful Pokémon nearby."
"Oh, there aren't that many powerful Pokémon nearby. Just the one."
"Where is it?"
"You're standing on it."
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