In a secret hideout in Hoenn, a Champion ranked trainer was overseeing the training of his army when his secretary rushed to him.
"What is it?" he asked without looking back.
"Victor, sir… our entire operation in Rustboro City has lost contact."
Victor smiled with a nasty grin as excitement bubbled up in his veins. The League was finally going to find out what happens when they're not taken seriously. He didn't particularly care for the losses, nor for his own men. Their only purpose was to serve as a threat against the League by holding the city hostage.
"How much of the city was destroyed?" he asked.
"Um… well," she stammered.
Victor narrowed his eyes. Judging by her stammering, it wasn't good news.
"Come on. Spit it out!"
"The city didn't suffer any damage at all, aside from a few noise complaints."
He turned his head to stare at his secretary, who wore a nervous expression. It was clear she was telling the truth, and she likely didn't know how.
"How?"
"I… I don't know, sir. We just lost all contact with them during our regular check-in this morning."
"Then go find out," he growled, irritated by her incompetence.
"Ye–yes, sir," she said before rushing off to organize an investigation.
Victor, meanwhile, wore a sour expression. Since the League hadn't suffered a single setback in taking down all his men in Rustboro City, they would only be emboldened to press forward until Team Dominion acted first.
If they struck the first blow, it would almost certainly trigger an all-out war, one that would spread beyond this region into others as well, and they weren't ready for that yet. For now, they needed to hold the League back while carefully projecting their power.
Had the city been damaged or destroyed, however, it could have served as a warning rather than a declaration of war. Heavy casualties would have forced the League to slow its resistance and choose its battles more carefully, instead of retaliating with full force.
The standoff between the two powers had been escalating ever since the League began lashing out through propaganda. It all traced back to Devon Corporation's move to secure Move Crystals for their own production of weapons.
Team Dominion relied almost entirely on those crystals to build their forces, given their views on Pokémon. They couldn't allow Devon Corp to claim a share of their pie, so a standoff was established in Hoenn to fight for control of the resources.
Now they had lost a city, freeing the League's forces to focus on the others still held hostage. If this continued, Team Dominion would have to resort to a more violent approach to force the League to back off.
Victor took out his phone and made a call to an associate who might be able to equalize the situation.
"Victor? What can I do for you?" a voice said on the other line.
"Have the relics been found yet?"
"We have always known where the relics were, my dear Victor. It is getting them that is the problem."
"How soon?"
"As soon as you give me more competent men. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to infiltrate a League-guarded danger zone, let alone steal from it? You must be insane to think—"
"How soon?" Victor repeated sharply.
"As soon as you can give me a good enough distraction around Mt. Pyre."
"Consider it done."
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Alex woke up in the afternoon in a hotel after a long night of hunting. It had been a while since he had gone all out, so he felt particularly refreshed.
Not only had he hunted down his designated targets around Rustboro City, but he had also taken out several operations connected to his first target's contacts. As it turned out, all of them had bounties on their heads placed by Devon Corp, so he went a little wild and ended up clearing everything out by morning.
Not only was he expecting payment from Devon Corp for the missions, but he also anticipated collecting the bounties on those who had not been designated targets. On top of that, he had gathered a considerable amount of ammunition throughout the night.
There hadn't been much at each location, but once tallied, the total was significant. Still, it was only a drop in the bucket compared to what Rhea had requested. With nearly a thousand stationary guns, each capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute, he would need 6 million rounds just to fire continuously for a single minute. The hundreds of thousands he had collected during the night barely made a dent in that requirement.
Alex had another meeting scheduled that evening, so he got up, prepared himself, and headed to Devon Corp. He was eager for good news, expecting a sizable boost to his compensation for going above and beyond.
"Mr. Wattson, the board was very impressed with your results after just a single night of hunting," Janet said as soon as Alex arrived. "They've agreed to convert all your compensation into ammunition, as you requested."
"At cost?" Alex asked.
"Yes, at cost. However, they've added a stipulation. Any ammunition you purchase from us will be discounted by no more than 20%. Only your compensation will receive the full discount."
"That's fine. And that includes the extra bounties as well?"
"That can be arranged."
"Good. Can you have it teleported directly to my farm in Kanto?"
"We can ship it directly to—"
"No," Alex cut in. "I want it teleported, not shipped. I'm not willing to bear the losses if Team Dominion intercepts my ammunition."
"We can certainly arrange that."
"Good. Now, do you have more targets for me?"
"Yes," she replied, swiping at her tablet.
Alex received the information and welcomed the change. He was no longer being assigned low-priority targets but ones more like his first. These were Elite ranked middle management directly under the Champion, responsible for sites under Team Dominion's control.
These targets were far more likely to be sitting on valuable resources compared to the rabble he had wiped out the night before.
"These will do," Alex said. "Keep sending me targets, and I'll keep completing them. I don't think we'll need to meet again after this."
"Understood, Mr. Wattson. I'll forward more missions as you complete them."
They finished up the meeting before Alex started investigating his new target.
Target: Sable Mercer
Rank: Elite
Contract ID: #5931-MC
Payout: 1M credits
Order: Dead or Alive
Known Pokémon Team: Garchomp, Excadrill, Flygon, Rhyperior, Dugtrio, Gliscor
Sable Mercer, female, 52, 5'11" (1.80 m), with olive skin, angular features, dark brown hair worn in a braid, amber eyes, and a faint scar on her right cheek. She wears reinforced industrial gear and bears an emblem of a crystalline shard on her right shoulder.
A seasoned mining expert, she oversees Move Crystal extraction operations in Meteor Falls, enforcing strict security protocols and personally intervening against intrusions. Known for her keen perception and situational awareness, she maintains near-complete control of her surroundings, making it extremely difficult to approach undetected.
Sable is highly disciplined and methodical, combining her mining expertise with combat readiness. She is actively expanding control over multiple sites in the region, increasing the risk associated with interference. The Meteor Falls site is considered virtually impenetrable without a coordinated force and Ground type experts.
"Virtually impenetrable, huh?" Alex muttered.
He had a weakness when it came to stealth operations underground. His Silent suit couldn't pass through narrow sections heavily guarded by Pokémon, and he couldn't dig his way through without alerting a Ground specialized elite. If he wanted a shot at his target, he would have to break in from the front with Steelix, and risk his target escaping.
"Failing to catch her isn't the worst outcome," Alex said with a smirk. "Surely they wouldn't mind me picking up a few samples from those mines, right? It's not like I'll be taking everything or mining it myself. Just enough for Rhea to play around with would be more than enough."
Raw Move Crystals were essentially just crystals capable of storing Infinity Energy. It wasn't until they were processed that they became usable Move Crystals, able to store Pokémon moves for use as ammunition.
Alex wanted Rhea to get her hands on some raw material to explore potential applications beyond turning them into ammunition. Perhaps as a battery, a means to Mega Evolve Pokémon, or even as a core component for an engine powered primarily by Infinity Energy.
He didn't know the specifics, but from his perspective, the possibilities were endless. There were always ways to utilize energy, as long as it could be stored in massive quantities.
"She might even be able to restart her bigger projects that have stalled while she was focused on defending the base. I guess we'll see once she gets her hands on some."
With his next target and plan of attack set, Alex was officially done with business in Rustboro City. His next move was to head north to Meteor Falls, take a shot at Sable, and see if he could secure a few extra gifts for Rhea.
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