On the sunny late-spring beach of Undella City, Lyra and Mika lounged on comfy chairs on the white sand, surrounded by tourists, vacationers, and hawking locals.
Behind them, the city of Undella had grown into a sprawling tourist trap complete with hiked-up prices, a thriving party scene, expensive accommodations promising the best beach views, and numerous businesses dedicated purely to entertainment. The city also featured a Water type gym to maintain the peace, skyscrapers and luxurious high-end villas that were only in use during the summer, and the Marine Tube, an underwater tunnel that connected directly to Humilau City farther northeast.
Ahead of the girls, the open sea stretched out, hiding no fewer than three Team Dominion bases beneath the waves. Iris had been sent to scout them, with promises of joining once she and her army of Butterfree finished securing teleportation points.
Wearing sexy bikinis and dark sunglasses, the pair sunbathed comfortably, enjoying the warm sun and the cooling sea breeze, uncaring of the gawking and stares their well trained figures attracted.
As can be expected, a pair of confident young men in board shorts strode over, unable to resist the temptation.
"Hey there, beautiful ladies, mind if we join you and make this view—" one of the guys called out.
"Not interested. Go away," Lyra interrupted, her tone flat and final.
"Oh, come on—" the other guy started, but froze as a threatening Elite rank aura flared.
From underneath the sand behind her, Lyra's Flygon's head popped up, eyes glinting and wings twitching. It let out a low, chittering growl that sent a clear warning toward the pair. Understandably, they bolted without a word.
While Flygon's sudden emergence left most of those nearby stiff and uneasy, a small few were drawn in instead. In particular, a muscular man stepped forward, puffing out his chest with a Poké Ball in hand.
"You look strong. How about a quick one-on-one Pokémon battle? I'm only at Expert rank, but my Glalie can probably take your Flygon on."
Lyra didn't even look up as she flashed her bounty hunter license.
"Not interested unless you have a reason for me to battle you," she said threateningly.
He blinked, paled, and shuffled away, unwilling to tangle with professional killers.
A third onlooker noticed an opportunity the first two had failed to exploit, so he approached and took his chance.
"Hey there, ladies! You're both looking pretty hot. How would you girls like to buy some ice cream? I have Blitzle Lemon Zest, Jigglypuff Cotton Candy Swirl, Bulbasaur Berry Blast—" he said rapidly before being interrupted.
"Nope. Not interested."
The vendor shrugged and started to wheel away, looking for other customers.
Then Lyra's eyes shot open. "Wait… did you say ice cream?"
He perked up instantly, turned with a professional smile on his face, and said, "Yes! Would you like some?"
"I'll take the Jigglypuff Cotton Candy Swirl," Lyra said, smiling.
"And I'll get the Bulbasaur Berry Blast," Mika added.
The vendor nodded and handed them their orders, the earlier turmoil forgotten as the girls continued to relax under the warm sun and cooling sea breeze, this time with refreshing ice cream in hand.
"I missed this," Mika said as she licked her ice cream.
"The attention? The battle invitations?" Lyra asked, lowering her sunglasses as she turned to Mika. "Or did you miss the orgies we used to have with groups of random strangers?"
Mika turned to Lyra, raising a brow at the mention of orgies.
"I recall you were the one who enjoyed that last one the most," Mika said with a smirk.
"Not anymore," Lyra said, shaking her head. "It's surprising how much more tiring and fulfilling dealing with Alex in bed is compared to literal orgies."
"Agreed. But I was talking about us spending time together like this," she said, before quickly adding, "Don't get me wrong, I love Alex and I love Micah, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but I missed being out in random places, sightseeing with you, and getting into trouble. It was nice being a mother, but there's more to life, you know?"
"I get it," Lyra said with a sigh. "Life is more exciting with variety. It's tiring being a mother or a lover all the time, so getting out like this every once in a while is a welcome escape."
"I do kinda miss Micah though. He's so adorable when he stares up at me wanting my sweets and looks away when I offer."
"I miss Lila too. I swear she takes after Alvera with how mischievous she gets."
"Doesn't she take after Alex then?"
"That makes sense."
They shared a laugh before Lyra's phone buzzed. It was a message from Nyx, who checked in from time to time to get updates on their progress and to keep them informed on the situation.
"Anything interesting?" Mika asked.
"Looks like Alex is finally on the radar. I knew it would happen someday, but not for such an insulting price."
"How much?"
"One billion Pokédollars, as both an assassination payout and an official League bounty."
Mika whistled, clearly impressed. "What the hell did they do to earn an official League bounty?"
"It's just a local one since the Unova government couldn't convince the other regions to support it. There was video evidence submitted of Alex killing the Arset family in their home, but Alex managed to deny it by presenting the supposedly murdered individuals in question, so he's in the clear."
Gardevoir coordinated with Zoroark, who had been hiding in the room the entire time, to produce an illusion of the Arset family burning for the cameras in the foyer, while Arcanine fired a Heat Wave to destroy the cameras at the same time. The Arset family was then teleported out, after which Alex and Rhea searched for the evidence Julien had collected.
"Then why do they still have a local one?"
"They only presented their case to Interpol and hid it from the Unova region, stating that the Arset family would be in danger if it was found out they were still alive. It was a special circumstance supported by the Jennys."
"It's nice having a Jenny as a mother. You immediately get the benefit of the doubt before anything else."
"They'd be the first ones to be pissed off, after all."
They shared another laugh before Lyra received another message.
"What now?" Mika asked.
"We're being told to hurry up. It seems the timeline is tighter than we originally thought."
"And I was just starting to get comfortable here."
"I know, right? Well, we'd better go tell Iris."
"She will not like missing out on this, however short it was."
"It can't be helped," Lyra said, shrugging.
The pair sighed, got up from their comfortable positions, packed up, and met Iris out at sea, who was indeed quite dissatisfied with missing out on the beach day.
Still, with Alex and Rhea being hunted across the region, they had no time for further delays. They returned to visiting all the bases Team Dominion had in Unova, moving with far greater urgency than before.
-----
Deep in the dry Desert Resort northwest of Castelia City, the light of teleportation cut through the tranquil, shifting sands, revealing Alex and Rhea in their combat attire. Alex wore his bounty hunter gear and tactical helmet. Rhea wore her lab coat, Zoroark's illusion presenting an important, professional-looking redhead.
"Finally done with all that drama," Rhea sighed with relief, shading her eyes against the harsh desert sun. "I suppose this is just a tiny bit better, though it would have been nicer if it were a beach."
"Let's go," Alex said, releasing Mantine. "We have a beachgoer to meet up with."
Rhea laughed. "Now that you mention it."
They flew deeper into the Desert Resort until they came across numerous tracks in the sand, marking the trail of a powerful nest. They followed it until what appeared to be a cactus forest came into view in the distance.
As they drew closer, they spotted a cowgirl in a white bikini riding atop a Mudsdale. They landed and approached the striking young woman.
"What's so important that you needed to meet?" Olivia asked. "I know you're being hunted now, with Team Dominion having pretty damning evidence against you, but that shouldn't have interfered with our plan."
"It seems their spy network in the League is more powerful than even you realized," Alex answered. "We need them gone before we can go through with the plan. Otherwise, they would be able to quickly rebuild by taking over another prominent tech company."
"Tried, failed," Olivia said, shaking her head. "They have mayors, councilors, police, and even Gym Leaders. It'll be tough to get rid of all of them, not to mention that I would be drawing attention to Umbraline if I start meddling. Besides, this wasn't included in our deal."
"How about I sweeten it?" Alex asked as he tossed over a data drive filled with damning evidence against everyone, Team Dominion, Argent Solutions, Gym Leaders, mayors, councilmen, police, nurses, newscasters, everyone.
"I'll have my people look into it, but I don't think it's enough. We need the cooperation of the Champion, Iris, or at least one of her Elite Four."
"Can't you get that to them?"
"I could, but it's a gamble. They aren't exactly known to be tech-savvy, which is how Argent Solutions has been able to run around freely all this time."
"Give it a try anyway and be ready to hunt down those who come out in support of them. I'm sure Team Dominion has even more of them than that drive has evidence against."
"And what do I get out of this? You realize this will be more work than it's worth."
"A less hostile work environment after the fact."
"I would get that anyway once all their threatening manpower leaves the region."
Alex narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
"You know, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you wrapped your arms around my neck," she said, licking her lips. "I really tried my best to ignore it, but I just can't help myself."
Alex turned to Rhea beside him as if asking for permission.
"What are you looking at me for? I don't mind just watching from way over there," she said, pointing to the distance.
Alex shrugged and easily agreed. It wasn't a big deal anyway.
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