As Alex and the gang started heading to the elevator after their training routine, they heard a loud shout.
"Hey, you!"
Alex immediately turned to the source of the sound and saw that the shout was directed at him.
Looking at the man approaching, Alex noticed that he was probably new to the building as he had not seen this man before even though he had been coming here to train every day without missing a single day for the past nine months.
"Can I help you?" Alex asked.
"Why are you sparring with your Pokemon?" the man asked back with anger in his eyes.
"What's it to you?" Alex answered with a question of his own.
Alex didn't like the tone the man was using. That was a tone used by people who regularly used violence to handle any problems that came their way.
Taking a better look, Alex started profiling the guy the same way Jenny had taught him during one of their dinners.
'Tall—at least six feet (1.83m). Skinny. Short black hair, sunken brown eyes, long nose. Black shirt, black leather jacket with metal spikes—biker? Maybe just a fashion statement. Ripped skinny jeans, black combat boots with metal spikes. Is that a gun on his waist? Hard to tell, but it sure looks like one.
He's not alone. Two guys trailing behind him, dressed in the same punk-goth getup. One's tall and fat, the other short with an average build. They look like they're heading to a rave. Substance abuse is obvious—jittery movements, hollow stares. Something's off,' Alex thought by the time the man finally reached him.
The man was clearly trying to intimidate Alex, striding over without a word, making sure Alex had to look up at him before finally speaking.
"I don't like to mouth on you, kid. You think you're a tough guy?" he asked, his tone deliberately provoking.
"So what if you don't like it? You gonna beat up a 13-year-old kid in the middle of a training field?" Alex shot back, raising his voice just enough to draw attention.
The man glanced around and finally noticed the growing audience. People were staring, some even recording with their phones. His intimidation had worked—just not on the right person.
"Relax, kid. Just asking," the man said, his tone noticeably softer.
Clearly, he wasn't afraid of Alex—he was afraid of the cameras.
"It's a bonding experience," Alex continued, unfazed. "Also, it helps me learn how to fight off Pokémon while they learn to fight off humans."
"Oh, so you're teaching your Pokémon to kill humans, huh?" The man's voice rose slightly, and he stole a quick glance at a camera positioned behind Alex.
"It's so they can defend themselves against humans," Alex clarified.
"And why would they need to defend themselves against humans? They're Pokémon. They're supposed to obey humans."
Alex burst out laughing. A genuine, hearty laugh.
"What's so funny?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes.
"And what am I supposed to do when men like you and your buddies come along and threaten to kill me unless I hand over my Pokémon?"
"You give them up, of course," the man answered smugly. "Run to the police and let them handle it."
Alex snorted. "So you're saying that if I—or anyone here," he gestured to the gathered crowd, "were to follow you out of the city, we wouldn't need to worry about you using your Pokémon against us? That we'd be free to take whatever we wanted—including your life—if we felt like it?"
The man fell silent.
Alex stepped in closer, his voice returning to its normal tone.
"I'd be careful how you answer. You never know who's listening," he said, locking eyes with the man, his own widening as a grin spread across his face.
A shiver ran down the man's spine. He had never seen a kid this unhinged before. The look in Alex's eyes told him everything—this kid wasn't bluffing. If he answered wrong, Alex really might follow him out of the city just to prove a point.
"Hmph. You need to have more trust in the police," the man muttered before turning away, retreating with his gang out of the building.
"My mom's Jenny!" Alex called out smugly.
The man nearly tripped over his own feet before quickening his pace, vanishing through the exit.
"Heh." Alex smirked before continuing on his way, his Pokémon walking beside him, guarding him from the lingering crowd.
Unbeknownst to him, they had tensed the moment the man approached, sensing his aggression. Their bond was strong—they hadn't needed commands to defend Alex, nor had they lashed out recklessly. But Growlithe had been close.
Flames curled at the edges of Growlithe's breath, his muscles coiled, ready to strike. He had almost lunged for the man's ankles. But then he noticed Raticate—calm, cold, unmoving.
Growlithe had never seen this side of Raticate before, not even during their spars. He hesitated, then silently deferred to him, following his lead.
Alex made it back to his apartment, took a shower, and went to school for another boring day. When he returned in the evening, he was surprised when Jenny ambushed him in a tight hug, lifting him and spinning him around.
Alex just gave up, already knowing the reason behind this ambush.
"You called me Mom," Jenny said, gushing.
"You are technically my mom. Plus, it was a good comeback."
"They were so mean to you. Are you okay?" Jenny asked as she stroked his hair motherly.
"I've had worse," Alex replied nonchalantly.
This reminded Jenny of what Alex had been through before they met. She only remembered an orphan asking for help. She couldn't imagine what his life must have been like before that.
'He must have lived as a homeless child, begging in the streets, trying and failing to find a decent meal or some spare change to save up. He must have been treated worse in the orphanage if he preferred to live like that instead of going back,' Jenny thought as tears started pouring from her eyes just imagining it.
"Sorry, I—" Alex started to say before Jenny hugged him even tighter.
'My poor baby.'
'Can't… breathe…'
After Jenny calmed down, she recounted what had happened in the office after returning from her patrol over dinner. The video went viral and it made its way into their office.
Some of the officers didn't appreciate Alex's words or attitude. They insisted that the police should be relied on for such cases and that the best course of action was to simply run away while having your Pokémon block the offender's Pokémon—not fight back. Certainly not have them fight another human.
Most of the other officers disagreed but didn't voice their opinions, as it was too stupid to even argue about something so obvious. You were supposed to defend yourself—it was in the laws. Pokémon could be used to threaten humans when they were the aggressors.
Specifically, a Pokémon's actions were considered an extension of a human's will, so anything they did, their trainers were responsible for—including defending themselves against attackers.
Trainers, as citizens, were allowed to defend themselves.
Still, the issue blew over quickly when the new Chief of Police nipped the problem in the bud by plainly stating that Pokémon could be used against humans in the right scenario. It was in the laws, after all.
"You should note who started the complaint and investigate them. The opinion is too asinine to even be considered logical. Something is wrong with them if they actually agree with the idea that Pokémon shouldn't be able to fight humans, especially trained ones," Alex said matter-of-factly.
"You have a point. What kind of people would specifically be against Pokémon hurting or killing other humans no matter the scenario?" Jenny pondered out loud.
"Human supremacists—the kind that want to enslave Pokémon rather than befriend them. Even then, it's quite a stretch. They're basically saying humans should only be at the mercy of other humans, not Pokémon," Alex answered.
"Oh, I almost forgot. That man was carrying a gun," Alex hastily added.
"The kind that shoots bullets in movies?"
"I don't know. He carried it on his waist under his shirt. I only saw the profile. It might be that new one that stores and fires Pokémon moves."
"I didn't know those were released already."
"Neither did I, and I've wanted to get one for a while now."
"What do you need those for? Pokémon do way more damage than those toys. The replicated energy is at a loss so those toys would never match a Pokemon's power."
"Arcanine has Justified as an Ability, right? How about you get a trainer with six weakened, Novice-ranked Wishiwashi and have one of them attack a Move Crystal with Beat Up? Then, at the start of a fight, you shoot Arcanine with the result of that move. He should have a maxed stack of Attack before the first move is even used. Then, you can follow it up with Bulldoze to wipe out all your enemies on the field," Alex said as if discussing the weather.
Jenny, meanwhile, was imagining the result of that scenario.
'A 300% damage-boosted Arcanine… Even an Extreme Speed that merely grazed an opponent would be enough to take down Pokémon one rank below Arcanine. Grazing wouldn't even be necessary another rank below that—the air pressure alone would shred them to bits. That's terrifying,' Jenny thought.
"That's genius!" Jenny exclaimed.
"I'm throwing that into the group chat. You don't mind, do you?"
"Nah. Oh! I wouldn't mind if I could get one of those myself. Growlithe inherited your Arcanine's Justified Ability."
"Okay. I'll see what I can do."
For the first time, Alex learned how terrifying the Jenny group chat was as the world moved to fulfill their orders.
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