A week on a slow, luxurious cruise later, Alex made it to Cianwood City and disembarked before the cruise continued to circle the Whirl Islands to reach Goldenrod City, their next destination.
It turned out the suspicious-looking trainers were, in fact, bodyguards who belonged to the very wealthy guests. Specifically, they were hired to protect individuals who had no protection or Pokémon of their own, either because of age or their lack of interest in Pokémon in general, which was understandable. Not everyone wants to take responsibility for other beings.
Alex was lucky to have been a gym trainer before, because it taught him patience, but most people didn't have that, unless they had an interest in it beforehand.
Alex found out about it because he was approached by one of the bodyguards to figure out which guest was his target. It was easy enough to spot people of similar occupation, so while he was noting these suspicious individuals down, they were doing the same with him.
Alex explained himself briefly before showing his bounty hunter badge, which cleared him of suspicion. The rest of the trip was just a relaxing week for him as he enjoyed his cruise, much to the rest of the bodyguards' envy.
The days passed with the gentle sway of the ship beneath his feet, the ocean stretching endlessly on all sides. There were nightly performances, exotic meals served on white tablecloths, and the occasional group of travelers chatting idly over drinks. He kept to himself, usually by the railing, watching Wingull dive in and out of the waves.
Alex made sure Arcanine and Gardevoir took note of their bearings, ensuring they could teleport over in the future. Sure, they would have to teleport over the sea, but it was only five teleportations, which they could easily accomplish in one go, so it was worth the hassle they were going through.
Cianwood City felt like the edge of the world.
Tucked against a rugged coastline and constantly washed by the sound of crashing waves, the city moved at its own pace. Isolated from the mainland, it could only be reached by sea or long-distance flight, giving it a quiet, detached atmosphere. Salt hung in the air, clung to skin and clothes. The horizon always looked a little hazy, like the ocean didn't want to be seen clearly.
Despite the name, it didn't feel like a city. There were no skyscrapers, no corporate buildings, nothing built for height. It stretched out instead of up, a wide sprawl of small homes and low buildings that looked more like a large seaside suburb than anything urban. But the population was there, just hidden across the spread.
They had dug into the mountains to make that possible. Flattened slopes, redirected paths, and artificial platforms carved from stone gave the city just enough land to support itself. The terrain was uneven but livable. Roads curved awkwardly around ridges that didn't used to be there.
The Gym was the only structure that stood out. It was a League-standard facility, five floors tall and made of steel and reinforced cement. There were no other Gyms nearby, likely because the area was too remote for that.
There wasn't much else that stood out. A well-known pharmacy, a few general stores, small restaurants, and some cliffs where Wingull gathered at dusk. Despite the population, the city didn't feel crowded. The locals were fine. Quiet, mostly. They nodded in passing but didn't offer more than that. They were used to outsiders but didn't care much for them..
Alex didn't waste any time in the city and immediately headed west through the rugged mountain trails. Routes 47 and 48 had been effectively abandoned due to recent development along the mountainside, allowing visitors to head straight for the Safari Zone without needing to pass through tunnels, waterfalls, or grasslands.
It took the rest of the day for Alex to reach the Safari Zone before he immediately teleported back to Violet City by evening. He wasn't interested in adding more Pokémon when his energy couldn't take it. He might visit someday, but only if there was profit to be had, like his trip to the Safari Zone in Kanto that netted him 1.5 million credits.
The next day, Alex teleported to Ecruteak City before heading east. They traveled the forested path at the foot of Mt. Mortar, running over two lakes along the way before finally reaching Mahogany Town by evening.
Mahogany Town was small, quiet, and unassuming. It sat nestled between mountains and forest, a settlement that felt like it had been placed there and then left alone for decades. The buildings were old, mostly wood and stone, with narrow streets and sloped roofs built to handle heavy rain and the occasional snowfall from the mountains. It had the look of a town that had stopped growing a long time ago.
Its history was more complicated than it appeared.
Originally a rest stop for travelers crossing the mountains, Mahogany became known for trade. Not large-scale commerce, but simple exchanges, herbs, minerals, and whatever could be carried through the passes. Over time, it gained a reputation as a place for secrecy. Smugglers used it as a halfway point. Criminals passed through under false names. People came here to disappear.
That reputation peaked during the Rocket occupation. The town had once harbored a hidden base beneath a souvenir shop, operated under the noses of the locals or, in some cases, with their quiet cooperation. The remnants of that time were gone now, but the memory lingered. People didn't talk about it, but everyone knew.
The Gym was modest, fitting for an Ice-type specialist. It didn't draw challengers the way other Gyms did, and it wasn't designed to impress. Just a standard League structure set into a quiet street.
Mahogany didn't attract tourists. It wasn't built for them. What it had was a kind of quiet resilience. The locals kept to themselves, polite but distant. The air was colder here, not just in temperature but in tone. Like the whole town was waiting for something, or remembering something it would rather forget.
Alex wasn't interested in Mahogany Town. Like Olivine City, Cianwood City and Mahogany Town were lost causes as far as Umbraline was concerned. Their presence had dwindled, replaced by the human supremacists. Similarly, there were plenty of assassination requests here, but for the same reason as before, Alex wasn't interested.
What he was interested in, however, was Umbraline's information on the Lake of Rage further up north. It reportedly had the presence of a base that was currently occupied by Gravik. Alex's chance at a big payday.
It was the same base that was noted in Celise's phone, the same one where she had once been trained and "indoctrinated."
It likely wasn't their main base in the region, given how prominent their presence was in Olivine City, but it was a base that was set up to cover more ground. Reportedly, their route started in the undiscovered base near Olivine City, then went through Goldenrod, passed through the destroyed base in Cherrygrove City, headed north through the Dark Cave, then somehow toward Mahogany Town, and finally reached their furthest stretch, the Lake of Rage.
It was an ideal location because of the Gyarados in the lake, which prevented any large-scale confrontation, so the League couldn't get to them.
Alex wasn't sure that was the main reason, but it didn't matter. Either way, he needed a way in.
To do that, he was going to have to do Umbraline another favor by taking out the head of Mahogany town to get access to their key. Before that however, he needed to clear the way so he teleported back to Violet City to rest for the day.
The next morning, Alex teleported back to Mahogany Town and made his way north through Route 43. The path was more forested, with wild Pokémon attempting ambushes at regular intervals. This part of Johto felt noticeably less tamed, with fewer trainer-owned territories and less human presence. In a way, it reminded Alex of Kanto.
By late afternoon, they made it to the Lake of Rage, a vast lake that Alex could easily mistake for the sea given how expansive it was. He couldn't even see the forest on the other side of the horizon. It would be impossible to search for the base without ticking off the local Pokémon.
The waters were a deep, stormy blue, rippling with restless energy as a cold breeze swept across the surface. Clusters of reeds swayed near the shore, and faint cries of Gyarados echoed in the distance. The air smelled faintly of wet earth and lake salt, wild and untouched by civilization.
Fortunately for Alex, he had the exact coordinates of the base, so he scouted out the way until he found the unassuming entrance hidden on a boulder by the lake. It was easy to miss, just a faint seam along the rock and a disguised keypad under a patch of moss.
Once Arcanine had memorized the location, they teleported back to Mahogany Town just in time for their operation to steal the card key to begin.
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