The arrival of Gym Leader Drayden all but guaranteed Alex would lose this fight; the number of combatants arrayed against him had effectively doubled. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't choose the destructive route and simply target the city, inflicting as much damage as possible. Drayden understood that as well, which was likely why he had yet to launch his attack.
There was something odd about his declaration, though. There had been no hostilities before his arrival, so what did he mean by not allowing such recklessness to continue? Unless Alex wasn't the only one he was addressing. Perhaps the region's top authorities weren't as blind to Team Dominion's encroachment on the government as Alex had initially believed.
"Gym Leader Drayden, just the man I wanted to see," Alex said nonchalantly, staring at the three armies assembled against him.
"There are better ways of grabbing my attention," Drayden replied. "An email, for example."
Alex chuckled while Jarek and Torin furrowed their brows. They didn't like where this conversation was going.
"Drayden!" Jarek called out. "We have him surrounded three on one. We can capture this criminal while ensuring minimal damage to the city."
"Are you sure about that?" Alex asked, turning briefly to his water team. "I can at least guarantee Opelucid City has a new lake in the middle of it before I go down."
"I said stand down," Drayden said strictly. "Otherwise, I won't hesitate to get rid of you first for starting this unnecessary battle."
Jarek and Torin realized there would be no battle today, at least not with Drayden watching over them. It seemed they had some explaining to do later.
"Now, why don't we return to the matter at hand," Drayden said, fixing his gaze on Alex. "What do you want? Why the theatrics?"
"I came to take down this lab for illegal human experimentation," Alex said, stepping to the side to reveal the victims of EvoGene Lab's operations. "Nothing more."
Drayden narrowed his eyes. He didn't like what he was seeing. He could immediately detect the chaotic energy in each of these individuals. He could even tell there was something very wrong with the Gardevoir in particular, who looked the most nervous out of everyone.
"Very well. You have accomplished your goal. I now ask that you leave my city in peace."
"Sure," Alex said as he handed a copy of all the data from EvoGene Labs to one of the victims. "I highly suggest you investigate this matter personally if you don't want to remain blind to the situation this region and its people are in. I also wouldn't trust either of these two with it. After all, I would just return to destroy whatever they built from it."
Alex immediately stored all his Pokémon before teleporting away with Rhea, leaving the victims at the mercy of the three Gym Leaders. Understandably, the victims tensed as they were stared down by the powerful Pokémon surrounding them.
"Drayden," Jarek called out with a fuming expression. "Considering you already failed this city by letting the criminal get away, I think you've done enough for one day. Why don't you let us take it from here? We'll make sure the League conducts a proper investigation."
"Don't bother," Drayden said as he approached the victim holding the hard drives. "I'll personally handle this matter from here on out."
"I must insist," Jarek said, stepping forward while Torin flanked from the other side.
ROAR!!!
The dragons under Drayden roared in unison and acted as a coordinated force. In the sky, a hundred Elite ranked dragons dove down, forming an impenetrable barrier that blocked Jarek and Torin's Pokémon from getting close to the victims. Meanwhile, the Champion ranked dragons on the ground spread out to either side, creating a clear path directly to the victims.
Drayden walked through unthreatened, maintaining a leisurely, deliberate pace, until he reached the hard drives held by one of the victims and took them into his possession.
"I'll be making a report to the League regarding this matter," Jarek threatened. "Especially concerning how you just let a criminal escape an encirclement."
"Go ahead," Drayden responded. "I would like nothing more than to give my dragons a chance to spread their wings in this region. The corruption and filth has spread too far, so a purge would likely be in order, just as we did decades ago with Team Plasma."
Jarek narrowed his eyes before signaling Torin to retreat. They had lost this particular exchange and would simply answer for it later. It wasn't as if they were under any real threat from Team Dominion, given their own personal power. It would just mean a reduction in resources moving forward.
Drayden, meanwhile, took charge of the victims and handed them over to the Nurse Joys in the Pokécenter for treatment, while he examined the information on the drives with the help of the League's Rotom to summarize everything.
On the drives was incriminating evidence linking Team Dominion, Argent Solution's Chad Veylan, and EvoGene Lab's scientists in human experimental trials aimed at turning people into Pokémon while preserving their sanity. The experiments were largely successful, but not universally so; certain individuals with poor talent for Pokémon energy often died during the procedure. It was, in his opinion, a travesty.
Immediately after reviewing the evidence Alex had given him, he called Iris and forwarded all the information he had gleaned from the drives.
"Let me guess," Iris said as she answered the call. "Team Dominion again. What did they do this time?"
"I've forwarded the files to you."
After a few minutes of reading, she muttered, "Those sons of bitches really think they can do whatever they want in this region."
"Language, young lady," Drayden warned.
"I'm not a young lady anymore, old man. I haven't been one for decades."
"You will always be a young lady to me, Iris."
Iris chuckled on the other end before shifting her tone to a more serious one.
"I'm sorry, Drayden, but there's nothing I can do about this. As you know, Team Dominion has an ongoing threat against us. They won't hesitate to start massacring people everywhere if we do anything to their operatives in the League or begin using violence to clean up the government. We need to maintain the peace as much as possible while preserving as many lives as we can."
"I know. I just think the time is near."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"I've read up on this bounty hunter from Kanto, and he has all the motivation to bring them down from their side."
"We've had plenty of bounty hunters and trainers try, but they've all died."
"Yes, well, I believe this one has promise. All I'm asking is that we be ready once Team Dominion can no longer proceed with their threats."
"Alright, I'll let the others know."
"That's all I ask."
-----
Meanwhile, Alex and Rhea continued teleporting southeast across the Unova region until they reached Nacrene City, the site of their final operation for Grimefold targeting The Veins, a gang of drug dealers.
Once they arrived at the outskirts, Alex moved to enter the city but noticed Rhea standing in place, staring at him intently.
"What?" Alex asked, noticing her expression shifting between intrigue, lust, and approval.
"Have you ever considered wearing a dress shirt, vest, and slacks on a daily basis?" she asked. "Maybe even a beard. Of course, not the one you had when you came back from Hisui, but a clean one."
Alex suddenly realized what Rhea had in mind. He ignored it at the time because it was irrelevant, but now he remembered how sharply Drayden dressed, which gave him a naturally authoritative effect on those around him.
Drayden wore a white shirt with rolled sleeves, gray pants held by two purple suspenders with spiked shoulder pads, and black shoes. He also wore black gloves, and a green gem was etched onto the collar of his shirt, with two green strings hanging from it.
Briefly, Alex imagined wearing the same outfit and shamelessly admitted he could pull off the sharp look with the same presence. Unfortunately, he had to acknowledge that he couldn't pull off the beard because of his youthful blonde hair. It just didn't convey the same level of seasoned authority as Drayden's white one.
"I could," Alex said. "Only if the clothing provided the same level of protection as my current armor and overcoat. As for the beard, forget about it. Maybe in a few centuries, when my body reaches that stage of maturity."
"That's fair," Rhea said, nodding in agreement. "As for your clothing, I'll see if I can work something out. I may not be an expert at weaving, but I can probably come up with a material that can be spun into a nice outfit for you."
"Sure," Alex said with a laugh. "In the meantime, we have a gang of drug dealers to take care of."
"Yeah, and a naughty beggar sect to deal with afterwards," Rhea added.
-----
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