Once Alex was assured that the base was safe and wouldn't suddenly go bankrupt, he headed for the police station in Saffron City as instructed in the offer he received.
When he arrived, however, he was surprised to find Jenny there, waiting for him.
"Hi, Alex," she greeted, already expecting his arrival.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm a police officer, so of course I would be at the police station."
"You know what I mean."
She chuckled before taking Alex to the side, away from the entrance, to a secluded corner.
"Vera told me you were going to the International Police headquarters."
"Yeah, I'm planning on registering as a bounty hunter under the International Police. It should allow me to get better-paying bounties, as well as access to their unique resources."
"It fills me with pride, seeing how far you've come on your own, Alex," she murmured, her voice soft, almost trembling. "I know I call myself your mother but… I've never truly been one, since you've never needed one from the beginning."
"Shh," Alex said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. "Don't ever say that. You picked me off the streets, raised me, and guided me… more than anyone else ever could. You are my mother, in every way that matters."
They lingered in that quiet, tender moment before Jenny slowly pulled back, brushing a stray tear from her cheek, and with a soft sigh, finally gave Alex the answer he'd been waiting for.
"I came because I thought you'd need a guide around the headquarters."
"Guide? You? I thought only Champions were invited into the headquarters."
"That's true; we only invite Champion ranked trainers with outstanding achievements and contributions to the League. But, like everything, there are exceptions. Come on, I'll lead you to the teleporter."
'We?' Alex thought as suspicions started building.
They walked past the front desk, where Alex was supposed to present his invitation, before heading down hallways and flights of stairs that led to a secluded, locked door.
Jenny took out an ID and scanned it. The door slid open with a low hum. Inside, they found a move crystal two meters in diameter with intricate carvings, similar to those found in bullets, though these looked crudely etched by hand.
Alex's eyes widened at the massive move crystal. With this much potential energy storage, Rhea could create a nuclear bomb.
"I guess you've never seen one this big before," Jenny said with a chuckle, taking in Alex's shocked expression. "These are ancient teleportation crystals that have been around for centuries. It's the technology your bullets were based on."
"Has no one tried to steal these before?"
"Some idiots try to steal it every few decades, thinking they're the first to have the idea, but they usually get caught immediately. These crystals serve as a beacon, you see. Unless they destroy it, they'll find themselves swarmed by Champion ranked agents in minutes. Besides, other than being turned into cheap bullets, it has no other uses."
They stepped onto the platform in front of the crystal, and it began to hum. With a flash of light, they disappeared from the room.
When Alex regained his sight, he found himself in a hallway filled with over a hundred similar sized move crystals, each topped with a nameplate. The nameplate on the crystal behind them read Kanto, Saffron City.
Around them, trainers came and went in a sparse flow, the teleportation hall remaining relatively quiet save for the hum of crystals activating. Pokémon capable of using Teleport milled about, appearing to recharge the crystals each time a set number of people were transported. The environment was serene, yet the ranking of the people walking as if heading to the office left Alex momentarily stunned, they were all at Champion rank.
"Come on," Jenny said, pulling him off the platform. "We only have a few seconds before it becomes active again."
They moved past the array of crystals and into a hallway where people hurried about their tasks. One strange thing, though, was that there were plenty of adult Jennys walking around.
"What is this place, Mom?" Alex asked.
"Excuse me!?" the Jenny Alex turned to exclaimed. "Young man, I am not your mother! Do I look that old to you?"
"You look as young as the day I met you. Now stop joking around and tell me about this place. I can tell you're my mom from your Aura."
"Tsk, I was sure I could fool you," Jenny said with a smirk. "This is the International Police headquarters and also the headquarters of the Jenny clan."
"You never told me your entire clan has a headquarters, let alone that it's a global organization in charge of fighting all the Underworld Teams."
"You never asked."
"I asked about your childhood. This would certainly have been included in that topic."
"I answered all your questions honestly. I just never elaborated. Anyway, this headquarters was built a long time ago by the more powerful Jennys. It serves as our main hub and a safe place to raise children. Although most Jennys prefer to live outside, the atmosphere here can feel quite stifling."
"I can tell," Alex said, noting the powerful aura radiating freely throughout the base. It was crawling with Champion ranked trainers. "How do you tell each other apart?"
"We have IDs," she replied, flashing the one she used to open the teleportation room.
"So you're the 2,041,178,902nd Jenny?" Alex asked.
"No, I don't think there have been that many Jennys in existence. It's randomly generated, I just got that number as my designation when I was born."
"How do you refer to each other then?"
"Usually by nicknames. I have a few, depending on who it's coming from."
"What nicknames do you have?"
"Starfire!? Is that you?" a Jenny at the reception desk exclaimed.
"Watermelon," Alex's Jenny, Starfire, greeted back.
"You promised never to call me that!" the receptionist snapped.
"And you promised never to call me Starfire either, yet here we are."
"I just missed you! I didn't think you'd be back so soon. You already hit Champion? By the way, who's the hunk? I thought you were dating that Joe guy."
"I am still dating that Joe guy. This is Alex, my adopted son. He's here to register as a bounty hunter."
"Oh! That Alex?" Watermelon said. "He's… um… he's grown up," she added, eyeing him like a fresh piece of meat.
"He has. Now, can you register him?"
"Of course! I'll need to see his invitation."
Alex presented his email invitation before Watermelon started typing.
"Will you be registering for the International Police Academy? It's only a few hundred thousand credits annually," Watermelon asked.
"No," Alex replied. "I'm sure I can handle myself against Champion ranked trainers well enough."
"Given your track record and recommendation, I figured as much," she said. "It's really only for Elite ranked trainers who've just reached Champion and need a crash course on how to fight criminals. It also teaches advanced tactics and strategy, as well as how to minimize civilian casualties and environmental impact."
"You understand that by registering with us as a bounty hunter, you subject yourself to being on our list of emergency contacts for cooperation?" she continued. "It doesn't happen often, but we do require that you respond to our requests for emergency support in the event a major loss of life is imminent. That might include Pokémon floods, Legendary disasters, or criminal hostile takeovers."
"Yes."
"Okay… And… done," she said, handing him a new license. "You're welcome to visit headquarters at any time to avail yourself of our services, which include the Teleportation Hall, Battlegrounds, Academy, Training Grounds, and our exclusive shops. Welcome to the International Police, Alex Wattson."
"Thanks."
"Do you need a guide—" Watermelon began intently before being interrupted by Alex's mom.
"No, thank you. I'll take it from here."
"Right, see you around, Starfire," she said.
"Maybe in the future, Watermelon."
As Alex and his mom walked away, he couldn't help but ask with a teasing smile, "Starfire?"
"We were kids, and that's the nickname I picked because it sounded pretty," she admitted, her cheeks reddening.
"And she picked Watermelon because?"
"She liked eating watermelons," Jenny said with a chuckle. "We've had a few changes in nicknames over the years, but that stopped when I left to join the Police Academy in Saffron City. The Jenny there was planning to focus on her kids, so she needed a replacement, which just so happened to be me."
"Why don't you just use regular names rather than a serial number and a list of nicknames?" Alex asked. "I'm sure you could be named Jenny Starfire Ashford."
"Because it's tradition," she replied with a sigh. "We're a very old and traditional family, right up there with the Aura Guardians. Don't you find it strange, Alex? How we all look the same, with roughly the same genetic code?"
"Very much so, yes."
"Well, it's because our progenitor and the Joys' progenitor were both created by Arceus."
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