BOOM!!!
At once, all the storage warehouses filled with drugs exploded in a fiery inferno that engulfed multiple surrounding buildings. Towering pillars of fire erupted into the sky while overlapping shockwaves rippled across the area, reducing concrete and steel to a storm of twisted debris. Thick black smoke billowed upward, swallowing the skyline as secondary explosions continued to detonate one after another.
Trainers scrambled to put out the fires while those on patrol scattered in search of intruders. They released their Pokémon and worked to contain the blaze as others investigated the surrounding area. It was clear they were under attack, which meant an intruder was somewhere within the compound.
Alex, meanwhile, launched his assault amid the chaos. He released his Pokémon and darted into the warehouse where hundreds of chained victims had clearly seen better days. His defense team spread out to secure the prisoners while his attack team closed in on the Master ranked trainer. The man was already waiting with his Pokémon deployed, including two Master ranked Pokémon.
Raticate took the lead with Arcanine and Ceruledge to corner one Master ranked Pokémon. Kommo-o, Togekiss, and Dusknoir focused on the other. The battling Pokémon tore through the office before bursting out of the building to give themselves room to fight, devastating the surrounding area and creating an even greater distraction. The rest of the attack team overwhelmed the remaining Champion ranked Pokémon in much the same way, driving them away from the warehouse as the battle spread across the compound.
Meanwhile, the defense team secured the area around the warehouse, preventing anyone from entering while corralling the prisoners into a tight group that was easier to protect. Trainers soon attempted to force their way inside, only to be driven back by the defense team's coordinated bombardment. Since they were all Champion ranked, even the other Champions in the compound couldn't muster enough force to break through.
Alex accompanied his attack team as they raced through the compound, pursuing the retreating Master ranked trainer. Fighting a single Champion in a coordinated group battle was one thing. Facing the equivalent of three Champion ranked trainers' worth of Pokémon fighting with flawless coordination and tactics was another entirely.
The Master ranked trainer was, in essence, being bullied. His Master ranked Pokémon possessed greater power through mastery, but their attacks struck nothing but Protect shields. Meanwhile, they were systematically cornered, counterattacked, and battered from three sides. He called for backup over the radio, but it was largely futile.
Alex joined the battle with Stormline, adding another layer of chaos as thousands of Elite ranked rounds tore through the battlefield. Rotom released the Mauler, escalating the fight with an even heavier barrage of gunfire that drew more Pokémon toward them. Together, they posed enough of a threat to tie down two additional Champion ranked trainers while the defense team continued cutting through groups of trainers desperately trying to contain them.
Eventually, one of the Master ranked Pokémon defending its trainer was brought down, forcing the man to recall it and begin administering treatment. Raticate's group gave him no such opportunity. Arcanine slammed into him with an Extreme Speed, knocking him off his feet. A heartbeat later, Raticate flashed past with a Quick Attack that took his head clean off.
Alex wasted no time. He strode over to the corpse and stored the trainer's remaining Pokémon, ending the fight. With one Master ranked trainer eliminated, his attack team was free to focus on the others. Like an avalanche gathering momentum, they swept across the battlefield, hunting down one trainer after another until the defenders' resistance began to collapse.
Soon, every trainer had been taken down, either killed or incapacitated along with their Pokémon. The warehouse fires were smothered with Rain Dance before they could spread any farther. The trafficked men and women were secured, and the police finally moved in to clean up the aftermath.
Meanwhile, Alex reflected on his Pokémon and their performance. In essence, they had been nearly flawless, barely struggling despite facing larger groups with stronger opponents. Their perfect coordination and tactics had made all the difference, which also meant they weren't being pushed hard enough to break through their limits.
"What do you think, Gardevoir?" Alex asked. "Assuming you've all reached the peak of Champion rank, what would it take for you to break through to Master rank?"
"Gardevoir." She gave a small shrug, fell silent in thought for a long moment, then finally answered, "Gardevoir..."
"You're right," Alex said with a nod. "We won't know until we actually reach that point. And life-or-death battles aren't the only way to forge the willpower needed to reach Master rank."
The truth was that, aside from a handful of exceptions, none of Alex's Pokémon had actually reached the peak of Champion rank yet. They were still in the phase of accumulating strength, where steady training produced consistent growth. It was his responsibility to bring them to that ceiling before they would feel compelled to seek something beyond it.
Even then, some simply lacked the drive. Many of the Pokémon Alex had purchased at the Expert or Elite rank had been raised through structured training from the very beginning. They had been conditioned to follow orders rather than chase power for its own sake, leaving them with far less ambition than Pokémon that had clawed their way up through constant struggle.
Others were simply content. They had food, shelter, companionship, and a purpose. As far as they were concerned, that was enough. Anything beyond that felt distant, something only their trainer could place within reach.
Then there were exceptions like Knight, the Iron Valiant, and Grim, the Roaring Moon. Both possessed tremendous willpower, both had already reached the peak of Champion rank, and yet neither had managed to step into Master rank. That alone proved the breakthrough wasn't as simple as checking off a list of requirements. It demanded a genuine opportunity, one that couldn't simply be manufactured through training or deadly combat alone.
In the end, there was nothing for Alex to do but continue down the path he had chosen, training relentlessly, growing stronger, and seeking out battles against opponents powerful enough to force everyone, himself included, to evolve beyond their limits.
Once he had finished giving the police everything they needed to complete the cleanup, Alex immediately teleported to Cyllage City, the second most prominent trafficking hub in Kalos.
If Coumarine represented Kalos's commercial wealth, then Cyllage represented its leisure industry. Its coastline stretched for miles, lined with broad sandy beaches, surfing districts, seaside cafés, marinas, luxury vacation homes, and even designated nude beaches. What had once been a quiet cliffside town had grown into one of Kalos's premier vacation destinations, where festivals, water sports, and vibrant nightlife kept the shoreline busy from sunrise well into the early morning.
Away from the coast, sprawling resorts, upscale neighborhoods, shopping promenades, and recreational facilities replaced dense commercial districts, giving the city a far more open feel than most of Kalos's urban centers. The booming tourism industry brought immense wealth along with a constant flow of visitors who came and went without attracting attention.
That endless turnover made Cyllage a smuggler's paradise. Pleasure yachts, fishing vessels, cargo ships, and private freighters all shared the same coastline, while secluded private docks concealed rows of warehouses that blended seamlessly into legitimate shipping operations. Officially, they stored imported goods. In reality, several served as major distribution points for the Underworld's drug trade.
Following the intelligence gathered by Nyx, Alex made his way toward one of those secluded private docks. The beaches and tourists gradually disappeared, replaced by chain-link fences, security checkpoints, and rows of anonymous warehouses standing shoulder to shoulder along the waterfront. On paper, it was nothing more than another private logistics facility. In practice, it was the second largest distribution center in the region.
In the dead of night, Alex repeated his assault in almost the exact same manner. He destroyed the warehouses storing the drugs to create a diversion, focused down the Master ranked trainer in charge while protecting the captives, and once the leader was eliminated, the remaining defenders were cleaned up without much trouble.
He waited for the police to arrive and take over the cleanup before teleporting to Ambrette City to repeat the process. This time, however, he wasn't surprised to find the compound already abandoned.
Taking down one trafficking ring could be dismissed as coincidence. Taking down a second established a pattern. By then, the third largest trafficking organization had decided not to take the risk. They had evacuated their drugs, personnel, and prisoners, leaving behind nothing more than an ordinary-looking private shipping yard.
"Two out of three isn't bad, I suppose," Alex said. "It's a shame I couldn't squeeze a little more out of this industry. It would've been far more profitable if they'd been a bit more belligerent. Then again, this is Kalos. There are no shortages of Master ranked trainers here. Taking down two major trafficking operations in a single night is already a respectable haul."
Calling it a night, Alex slept through the day before contacting Nyx for his next target.
So far, he had dismantled three poaching bases and two trafficking operations, leaving only the black markets and the professional criminals untouched. If he wanted to keep elevating both his hunting and his Pokémon, the black markets would have to be next. Their defenses were considerably stronger, their personnel more experienced, and their operations far more entrenched than anything he had faced so far.
Only after clearing them out would he begin hunting the Underworld's true powerhouses. Unlike the organizations, these were individuals whose reputations had been earned through overwhelming personal strength. They were exactly the kind of opponents capable of pushing both him and his Pokémon to the very edge of their limits.
At least, that had been the plan until his phone rang with a call from an unknown number.
"Mr. Wattson," a calm voice said, "we, the Black Market Alliance, would like to request a meeting."