Early the next morning, after a relatively restful night, Alex headed west through Route 27, aiming to reach Tohjo Falls by nightfall.
Route 27 was a sprawling seaside coastline with more homesteaders than usual, likely drawn by the scenic views and the distance from the bustling cities, while still having access to a well-traveled path for supplies and resources.
Alex rode on Arcanine along the coastal road, taking in the scenery.
He had never traveled this freely in his previous life, so taking the slower route felt like a pleasant change of pace. Sure, he was riding the entire time, but walking would have taken more than a month. Spending just a day on the road was the best compromise between adventure and efficiency.
'Maybe bringing the girls along would have been a good idea,' Alex thought. 'Vera, Lina, and Mira would have appreciated the view. Lyra and Mika would have enjoyed the trip. On the other hand, Maris, Kaia, Nyx, and Rhea would have complained. Celise and Talia would have dreaded the exposure.'
As Alex was thinking about the girls, a loud squawk echoed from behind, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He turned back to see a flock of Dodrio on Arcanine's tail, with four Elite ranked Dodrio leading the charge, and they were gaining fast. Dodrio were naturally faster than Arcanine, so it wasn't much of a surprise. To make matters worse, Arcanine was running at a leisurely pace rather than using his full speed with Agility or Extreme Speed.
Alex quickly checked his phone and navigated to the League's local mission board for Route 27, where he spotted a mission to eliminate a Dodrio nest that had been terrorizing the area. The flock was known to attack travelers on sight but would flee if they encountered strong resistance.
The payout was 700k credits, which wasn't bad, though it seemed a bit low for a nest with multiple Elites. Alex could only assume they were recent additions, that the nest had not been too active, or that they had not racked up enough victims since they kept escaping strong trainers. Still, 700k credits was a sizable amount and worth the effort.
Dodrio were fast and commonly had the Run Away ability, which greatly increased their chances of escaping when they sensed danger. That made them difficult to corner or capture.
Since he couldn't use his full team openly, Alex had to think carefully about how to handle the nest.
He scanned his surroundings and spotted a lone Dodrio running along the cliffs to his right, keeping pace with the flock.
'That was probably the leader, ready to escape at the first sign of danger,' Alex thought.
He signaled with his right hand, sending out a shadow, before turning back to assess his chances against the flock.
Trying to surround and overwhelm them didn't seem like the smartest option, as they would likely scatter, with many slipping away. He also couldn't summon any more Elites than the ones they had already seen for the same reason. A single devastating area-of-effect attack from a weaker Pokémon seemed like the best chance to take the nest down.
Alex released Espeon onto his lap before ordering Ditto to transform into her. His watch shifted and morphed, soon taking the form of another Espeon with a silly face.
"Espeon, Calm Mind. Ditto, Psychic Terrain up ahead," Alex instructed.
Espeon immediately began using Calm Mind, steadily building up stacks, while Ditto projected a Psychic Terrain as far ahead of them as it could manage. At the same time, Alex fired Decorate rounds at Espeon to help maximize her Special Attack.
The moment Arcanine crossed beyond the terrain's boundary, Alex issued his next command.
"Turn around and prepare to use Heat Wave."
Arcanine skidded to a stop at the edge of the Psychic Terrain, turning back with flames already gathering in its mouth, ready to unleash the attack at Alex's signal.
The four Elite ranked Dodrio were the first to catch up. Each began firing Tri Attacks as beams of Fire, Ice, and Electric energy launched simultaneously from their three heads.
"Rotom, Protect," Alex ordered.
A shimmering barrier appeared just in time, shielding them from all twelve incoming attacks.
As the shield dissipated, Alex's eyes narrowed. The rest of the flock had just caught up and fully entered the Psychic Terrain.
"Espeon, Ditto, Expanding Force. Arcanine, now!" Alex shouted.
A powerful wall of psychic energy erupted from both Espeon and Ditto, their Expanding Force colliding and merging midair before surging outward like a crashing tidal wave. At the same time, a blast of scorching wind roared from Arcanine's maw in a wide arc, engulfing the four Elite ranked Dodrio.
The wave of heat and psychic energy caused the four Elite ranked Dodrio to faint, while the entire flock chasing after them all died from the Expanding Force. A devastating area of effect attack as was needed.
Alex quickly released his Pokémon as Gardevoir took command of the team to finish off any survivors, while he looked up at the cliff where the leader was watching the battle. He spotted the leader glaring down at him from the top of the cliff before turning away to escape.
Just then, a shadow that had been hiding beneath Dodrio sprang out and blocked its path. Aegislash used Block, preventing it from escaping.
"Crobats, help Aegislash take out the leader atop the cliffs," Alex called out.
The Crobat couple shot up the cliffs with Quick Attack, where Dodrio was desperately trying to break past Aegislash and escape. But it was futile, as Aegislash stood firm, shifting between Block and King's Shield to keep it pinned. Even with Run Away, escape was impossible with trapping moves.
Once the Crobats reached the top, they wasted no time. One locked Dodrio in place with Mean Look, while the other put it to sleep with Hypnosis. Together with Aegislash, they pummeled the leader until it was unconscious.
They then carried Dodrio down the cliff and handed it off to Alex, who captured it without resistance. He also captured the four Elite ranked ones that were in the lead.
'Dodrio have some niche clientele, so maybe I can find a buyer for them,' Alex thought, tightening his grip around Dodrio's Poké Ball.
Dodrio are known for their use in racing, much like Rapidash, Zebstrika, and Cyclizar. They also boast impressive attack and speed stats, so there might be a chance to profit even more.
As for the rest of the flock, there were just over thirty Dodrio and Doduo corpses. It was likely this had only been the hunting party rather than the entire nest. Somewhere out there, a smaller nest of the Doduo line likely remained, too weak to contribute to the hunt.
'Still, taking down four Elites and the leader should be enough to complete this mission,' Alex thought.
Once the team finished cleaning up, Alex teleported back to Fallsend Town with Arcanine, where he submitted the request along with all the evidence.
"Thank you so much for taking down that flock," the pretty receptionist at the Pokécenter request desk said warmly. "They've been a menace around here, and it was only a matter of time before they killed enough trainers to truly be a problem. As for the estimated other half of the nest, don't worry about it. They won't be a threat for a long time, so the request is considered fulfilled."
"Happy to help," Alex replied as he received his trainer ID along with his spoils.
Next, he deposited the Dodrio and listed them for sale on the market using a public PC. He also stopped by the local butcher shop for an exchange before finally teleporting back to continue his journey west.
'Encounters are more lucrative than I thought,' Alex mused.
Simply relying on information on the internet to pursue opportunities was not the only way to earn credits.
Finding opportunities through encounters was just as, if not more, profitable. A perfect example was Don, a very lucrative job that Alex got underpaid for. Then there was Monica's base, which was also quite profitable.
Sometimes, chance encounters led to far greater rewards than planned ventures.
The journey west continued for the rest of the day after Alex's quick stopover. By sunset, they reached the entrance to Tohjo Falls, where a campsite had been set up for trainers.
Unlike in the game, where a simple wall of trees blocked the way, there was an actual river mouth here, its fast current flowing toward the sea. It was enough to force most trainers to take the cave route.
As expected, the cave could easily be bypassed by flying over the wall of trees and river mouth, but Alex was not about to take the easy route. He wanted to explore the cave and see how closely it matched the game.
He had been in Diglett's Cave before, but unlike in the game where it was simply a narrow tunnel, the real life version was a maze with multiple dead ends. It was a far more exciting place.
For now, it was already late, so Alex simply teleported back to Fallsend Town and spent the night in the same luxurious suite.
Tomorrow, he would enter the cave and see how it would compare.
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