Alex learned through Beheeyem that the silver-haired man was actually Team Dominion's regional manager for Paldea. He had been recruited out of the Unova region, where he received his psychic implants, before being dispatched on assignment to this region.
His mission was to establish a network of orphanages built around their ideology and quietly assemble an army, with the explicit purpose of retrieving any information related to the time machine and the artificial intelligence that the League had begun receiving reports about a few years prior.
Since his arrival, he had tried and failed to set up orphanages due to their anti-Pokémon ideology, which had become incredibly unpopular after the Hoenn fiasco. To compensate, he focused instead on recruitment, which proved relatively successful among those who had suffered under Pokémon attacks.
He ended up constructing multiple secret bases across the region while maintaining an exceptionally low profile, so low, in fact, that neither he nor his subordinates carried bounties. Even when their orphanages were shut down, he still didn't make a fuss or break any laws.
That revelation disappointed Alex, as he might have gotten quite the paycheck for taking down three Champions in one region. Fortunately, their bases were stocked with top-tier equipment supplied by Argent Solutions, which more than made up for it. He would at least get a shopping spree out of this mess.
With no further actionable intelligence beyond the existence of a major recruitment hub in Unova, Alex left the man to the authorities, who were likely Nemona's underlings, and followed Penny outside.
"So, how does this work?" Alex asked. "I read the information online, and it was vague at best. Something about only having one chance, but with no further specifics."
"We usually do this in two parts," Penny said. "First, you get a list of Pokémon we have available in Area Zero. Then, you can try your best to capture them at your own risk. If you fail to capture any, you are given a final chance by summoning one from the time machine. If you fail to capture them even then, you would have consumed your ticket and would have to pay again for another chance."
"Has there actually ever been anyone who failed?" Alex asked. "I mean, even if someone doesn't bond with them, they can still take the corpse back."
"This usually isn't much of a problem, since those who can afford to pay are quite powerful and Paradox Pokémon prefer a solitary lifestyle, which makes them easy targets. However, there have been some who lose the battle and end up with nothing. This continuous cycle of capture and summoning is how we regulate the number of Paradox Pokémon in the crater to ensure they don't spill outside."
"About that," Alex said. "I know you try your best to prevent them from escaping by sending Nemona after them, but why don't more Paradox Pokémon try to escape?"
"The prevalent theory is that all Pokémon, in general, stay near areas with a similar concentration of energy as their own so that they may hunt and grow. Hence, all the strong Pokémon tend to clump together in a danger zone. Those who are weaker would escape to areas with relatively equal levels of energy to their own, creating the pattern that we naturally see out in the wilds."
"Interesting."
They continued walking until they made it out of the lab, where Penny pulled out her phone and produced a hologram displaying a map of Area Zero that highlighted all the Paradox Pokémon and their general locations.
"So," she asked, "which Paradox Pokémon are you interested in?"
Alex didn't really know, to be honest. He just wanted one for the sake of the bargain. As he thought it over, he remembered his newest addition, Grim, who would no doubt fill a slot on his attack team. He would need two more attackers that could work with it. Speaking of which, he hadn't even figured out its moves yet.
"Do you mind giving me a second to check with Grim before deciding?"
"Sure, I'm not that busy despite the chaos."
Alex released Grim from its Poké Ball, immediately attracting the attention of everyone outside the lab. Almost at once, they recognized the dreaded Roaring Moon as Tempest, one of the most territorial and vicious Pokémon in Area Zero.
"Hey, Grim," Alex called out, earning a hard shove with its head. "Easy there, buddy. I missed you too. Do you mind showing me all of your moves?"
Grim the Roaring Moon obliged, unleashing its moves and adding to the devastation around the lab, which had just gone through a battle, while Alex recorded on his phone.
Name: Roaring Moon, Champion
Type: Dragon Dark
Ability: Protosynthesis
Moves:
Basic: Dragon Breath, Leer, Bite, Focus Energy, Breaking Swipe, Incinerate, Headbutt, Dragon Claw, Zen Headbutt, Flamethrower, Night Slash, Dragon Dance, Throat Chop, Double-Edge
Advanced:
(Effect Up +1): Roost, Scary Face
(Priority +1): Sunny Day
Expert:
(+100% Damage): Jaw Lock, Dragon Rush, Scale Shot, Breaking Swipe, Fly
Description: Roaring Moon, the Paradox Pokémon. Known for its overwhelming power and primal ferocity, this ancient relative of Salamence bears a striking resemblance to the Mega Evolved form of its modern counterpart. It is said to soar through the skies of a prehistoric world, scattering feathers as it hunts with a ruthless intensity.
Alex had expected its moves to be skewed, but he never expected it to be this focused. Essentially, it relied on Roost to heal itself, Sunny Day to boost its damage, Scary Face to slow its prey, Jaw Lock to prevent them from escaping, Scale Shot to weaken them from afar, Dragon Rush to deal damage, Breaking Swipe to gain space, and Fly to intercept. Everything else was ignored in favor of these moves, which it always relied on for hunting.
"We've got a lot of work to do for you to catch up with the rest, buddy," Alex said as he patted its neck while onlookers watched in amazement at the ferocious beast acting like a needy child.
'Protosynthesis doesn't work even with Booster Energy because I have a Neutralizing Gas Weezing. Then again, the attack team is in danger of being affected by Pokémon abilities because they often fight away from the defense team, which is why Steelix was affected by Psychic Noise,' Alex thought.
'This means Grim would benefit from having a Booster Energy rather than an Ability Shield like the others. Since its Attack is already high enough, boosting its Speed would likely be the best stat to focus on, which means I will need to concentrate on Speed and Defense for its EVs rather than Attack, as with the other attackers.'
'Based on its temperament, it would need a pair of supporters to keep up with it. One of them definitely has to have Feint, and I might as well make sure they can fly,' Alex thought, before realizing it would be more important to take Grim's opinion into account.
"What do you think about having a pair of partners to help you out in battle?" Alex asked.
Grim snarled, clearly disliking the idea. It was a solitary hunter and quite successful at that, not someone so weak as to need others to look after it. Alex noticed this immediately and came up with an idea to convince it.
"How about this, you fight three of my weaker attackers at the same time, and if you win, you don't need a team to fight with," Alex suggested.
Grim bared its fangs in a menacing smile. All it had to do was prove its strength, right? Fine, bring them on.
"Rooar!" Grim accepted.
"Excellent," Alex said, releasing Kommo-o, Togekiss, and Dusknoir before giving instructions. "Standard defensive play."
They nodded and immediately took their positions, Togekiss at the back, Kommo-o and Dusknoir at the front.
Grim scoffed. These three were exactly as weak as Alex had promised, so weak, in fact, that he barely bothered targeting others with this level of power; they wouldn't even count as a snack.
"Have at it," Alex said.
At his signal, Grim immediately bolted into the sky using Fly, avoiding a direct confrontation. They might have been weak, but he wasn't foolish enough to face them head on. Besides, it sensed that the bird at the back posed a significant threat.
Dusknoir opened with Gravity before Grim could clear the area of effect. Grim's power allowed it to maintain altitude, but doing so drained more stamina the longer it stayed airborne. Kommo-o used Protect in case Grim decided to charge, while Togekiss employed Follow Me to pull attention.
Grim followed up with Sunny Day to boost its Attack as much as possible before firing off Scale Shot, raining its feathers at them from above. Dusknoir stepped forward and used Protect, blocking all the feathers thrown their way. Kommo-o used Dragon Cheer to bring up the team's critical hit ratio, while Togekiss opened fire with Dazzling Gleam, dealing significant damage.
Thanks to Grim's stats, even with the super effective hit, it could resist for a while, but Grim immediately knew it couldn't win this fight from the air, so it dived down while using Dragon Rush directly on top of Togekiss. Togekiss used Protect, completely negating the damage.
Kommo-o, noticing Grim was diving, jumped to the side, allowing Togekiss's Protect to take the hit before targeting Grim's right side with Close Combat. He rushed up close and began a flurry of Fighting type energy-filled punches that hit critically, dealing as much damage as Togekiss's Dazzling Gleam.
Dusknoir, noticing the same thing as Kommo-o, stood in place, pulled its right fist back, and began concentrating. When Grim landed from using Dragon Rush, Dusknoir unleashed Focus Punch, launching his fist with full force at Grim's left side just after Kommo-o finished his combo.
Grim roared from the massive damage it took, which threatened to knock it out. In fury, it used Breaking Swipe, turning with its wings stretched out and hitting all three of its enemies.
Togekiss dived behind Kommo-o, who used Protect while firing off Dazzling Gleam, while Dusknoir tanked the hit and countered with Life Leech to heal from the attack.
Realizing it was about to lose the battle, Grim decided to bring down at least one of them with it and turned to the isolated member of the group, Dusknoir, before using Dragon Rush with full force. Unfortunately, when it tried to execute the move, it immediately turned to Togekiss and rushed forward, smashing into another Protect barrier and doing no damage, while Kommo-o jumped to the side and used Close Combat, and Dusknoir repeated his use of Focus Punch, knowing full well Togekiss had Grim's attention with Follow Me.
After taking another barrage of undefended hits targeting its weaknesses, Grim collapsed, on the verge of fainting, with disappointment and shame clear on its face.
Alex stepped up and used Full Restore, knowing the fight was over.
"Not bad, right?" Alex said. "Teamwork and proper coverage of moves allow even weak Pokémon to gang up on the strong. Imagine what you and your team could do if you had the same strategies and moves."
Grim got up from the ground, looked at Kommo-o, Togekiss, and Dusknoir with a glare, and then nodded in their direction, accepting its defeat. It turned to Alex and nodded as well, accepting his methods.
"Roar!" Grim said, adding a condition that it would choose its own teammates.
Alex smiled, accepting the offer, but before he could make suggestions, Hydreigon popped out of her Poké Ball and roared at Grim.
"Hydrei!" she said, demanding that Grim pick her.
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