Early the next morning, Alex checked his listing for the Dodrio and found they had been sold overnight. It turned out they were more popular than he had expected.
He checked his account and saw that he had made 1.3 million credits for all five of them. Now, his balance sat at 38.5 million credits.
He was making progress toward his goal of 200 million for his dream home. It was slow, but at least it was progress.
Once he finished preparing for the journey, Alex teleported back to the entrance of Tohjo Falls, arriving first thing in the morning.
Several other trainers had the same idea, so a small group gathered to travel through the cave path together.
The first thing Alex checked as he entered was the left wall. If the mapping was correct, digging through it would create a passage to the other side of the cave, acting as a makeshift bridge over the river that split the two sides.
"You don't want to dig through that wall," a trainer behind Alex said. "That there's a load-bearing rock sitting right above the river, holding the whole place up. If you dig through it and it cracks, the whole cave will come down."
"How do you know?" Alex asked.
"I specialize in Rock types, and let's just say I know my rocks."
"Makes sense. Still, even if the whole cave collapses, wouldn't we be able to make a bridge then?" Alex argued. "It would open up the route a bit more and make traveling through less tedious."
"Only trainers travel between regions on land. No sense in destroying a perfectly good piece of nature just to save a day's journey. Besides, if you want a bridge, just build it outside. Same thing."
"Why don't they just build a bridge then?"
"Just keep going and you'll find out."
Alex shrugged and moved deeper into the cave.
As he made his way through, the space suddenly opened up to a massive expanse. It was far more spacious than he had expected.
The walls stretched high above, glistening with moisture as the sound of rushing water echoed throughout the cavern. A wide river split the cave in two, its current strong as it flowed toward the river mouth outside. The air was cool and damp, carrying the scent of moss and fresh water. Dim light seeped in from gaps above, casting soft beams across the rocky floor and giving the entire place a quiet, almost serene atmosphere despite its size.
"Did you get your answer?" the trainer asked.
"Yeah, I think I got it."
The cavern was a beautiful place, worth the detour. Nobody bothered to build a bridge over the river when they could just walk through it inside the cave.
The waterfall was also a breathtaking sight. Water crashed down from high above, sending mist through the air as it roared into the river below. Despite the noise, there was something calming about it.
The trail around the cave was a winding path that circled the entire cavern and led to the other side. There was also a natural stone bridge above the waterfalls, allowing travelers to cross with ease.
As Alex continued following the crowd of trainers, he noticed a threatening aura past the waterfall's source, deeper into the cave. The direction pointed north, toward the mountainous region near Mt. Silver.
It made sense that they would restrict trainers of Alex's rank from going any further. There was probably an even greater expanse deeper in that was home to Champion rank nests.
A day of walking passed before Alex finally reached the other side of the cave. There were a few encounters with the local wild Pokémon, but most kept their distance from the large number of trainers passing through. Alex didn't even need to lift a finger.
After exiting the cave, he came across another campsite. Rather than teleport back to his suite at Fallsend right away, he figured it was better to keep going until he reached the docks that led to New Bark Town. So, he mounted Arcanine and continued west as the sun began to set.
Four hours later, he arrived at the docks deep into the night, where another campsite had been set up. From here, it was supposed to be a day's travel by boat to reach New Bark Town. However, it was already late into the night, so he teleported back to his luxury suite at Fallsend Town and spent his final night there before moving to New Bark Town for accommodations.
At first light, he checked out of the suite and teleported back to the docks before mounting Arcanine and blitzing across the top of the water. Rather than take a slow boat ride, it was better to simply run over it and reach New Bark Town sooner.
Who needs Surf when Arcanine can just use Agility to run on water.
It took an hour of Arcanine running at 80% speed, but they eventually reached New Bark Town still early in the morning. He was understandably tired when they arrived, worn out from the overuse of Agility, so Alex gave him a big treat before letting him rest in his Poké Ball.
Alex looked around New Bark Town and found it relatively similar to Pallet Town, not because it was the typical starting point for players, but because of its architecture.
The town had plenty of houses, most of them modest, single-story homes made of wood and stone with sloped roofs and wide porches. There were no towering structures or large commercial centers, just narrow streets winding between houses that looked as though they had been standing for decades. It had the air of a quiet, traditional town, untouched by the rapid urbanization seen in bigger cities. Power lines stretched between wooden poles, and many of the homes had gardens or small patches of farmland.
The only structure that stuck out in the town was Professor Elm's lab which was notably bigger.
Compared to the towering skyscrapers and brightly lit streets of larger cities, New Bark Town felt frozen in time. It was peaceful, but undeniably old-fashioned.
Alex walked around until he found a quiet shop serving breakfast, so he decided to stop by for a quick bite. He did so more for enjoyment than necessity, as Elite ranked Pokémon meat was the only food he truly considered a meal.
As Alex took a seat, a server approached and placed a menu on the table before greeting him.
"We've been expecting you, Mr. Wattson."
"Umbraline?" Alex asked.
"Johto branch."
"I hope you pay in League credits, because my priorities have shifted."
"Unfortunately, League credits are heavily monitored, so we won't be able to pay you with them. Even when we used proxies in the past, they were quickly discovered and arrested. We can only offer payment through our services and Pokédollars."
Their services included deliveries, information gathering, Pokémon procurement, and access to their facilities, such as hotels, vacation spots, training centers, and black markets. They also handled blackmail and extortion, essentially applying the right pressure to make any goal easier to achieve.
Alex skimmed the menu and ordered something simple.
"I'll have a plate of eggs, a side of bacon, and Oran berry toast. Black coffee too, no sugar."
The server jotted it down with a nod.
"Excellent choice, Mr. Wattson."
"So? I'm guessing this is about the human supremacists again."
"Among others."
"I'm planning to travel across all of Johto during my extended stay. I might be able to help you, depending on what I get out of it."
"We guarantee the targets will have the ample supplies you require. In addition, our services will be free of charge during your stay."
Meaning guns, ammunition, and technologies that would allow Alex to continue building his stockpile. It was no secret that Alex was targeting the human supremacists specifically for their technologies, and Umbraline was more than happy to connect him with the right caches of equipment, as long as he caused enough of a mess along the way.
"All right, send me the information and I'll see what I can do."
The server nodded before submitting Alex's order to the kitchen. When he returned a few minutes later, he placed Alex's meal on the table along with a new phone.
Alex checked the phone and found information regarding the targets and operations they wanted taken down as well as the services they offered in the region. The details included the price for each, and all payments were listed in Pokédollars.
Credits could still be purchased through Pokédollar exchanges, but the rate was severely inflated, averaging around one thousand Pokédollars per League credit, and like any market, it fluctuated based on supply and demand.
It was unrealistic to rely on that route to reach Alex's goal of 200 million credits. Still, Pokédollars had their uses, so he might as well earn as much as possible. At the very least, he would never have to worry about basic necessities again.
Alex ate his meal in peace and left once he was done. He then released Arcanine, who had enjoyed a good rest, before heading out through Route 29 toward Cherrygrove City, where his first target was located.
It had been a while since Alex hunted down his last bounty, so he was understandably eager to get back into action.
He could already feel the familiar thrill rising within him as he set off toward his next target.
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