"Raichu! Finish this kid off—Thunderbolt!"
A booming, thunder-crack of a voice burst out from the wide-open doors of the Vermilion Gym.
Even from quite a distance away, Kael heard the roar clearly. He couldn't help sticking his pinky into his right ear and digging around a bit.
"Man… that guy's lungs are seriously something else…"
Moments later, a boy wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and black shorts came crying as he ran out of the Vermilion Gym. Clutched tightly in his arms was a Rattata whose entire body was scorched black, its injuries clearly severe.
Rattata belong to rodent-type Pokémon, famed for their incredible reproductive ability. They are also among the most widely distributed Pokémon in the Kanto region. Thanks to their cute appearance—and the fact that once evolved into Raticate they can learn the powerful move Hyper Fang—they are often the first choice for families of modest or poorer means when selecting a starter Pokémon for their children.
After all, not every family can afford to pay the League's annual 100,000 Pokédollars training fee from the moment their child is born. And the number of starter Pokémon offered by the three traditional lines is far from sufficient to meet the needs of every new Trainer each year.
"Hang in there, Rattata! I'll take you to the Pokémon Center right now!"
The boy cried as he rushed past Kael at full speed, sprinting toward the Pokémon Center not far away.
With just a sidelong glance, Kael could tell that the Vermilion Gym Leader had held back. Though the Rattata's injuries looked frightening at first glance, they weren't life-threatening, nor would they leave any lasting damage. As long as it received treatment promptly—and given Pokémon's recovery abilities far surpass those of humans—it would be bouncing around again in at most two days.
The reason the injuries looked so severe was simple: Vermilion Gym was an Electric-type Gym. Among all elemental move categories, Electric-type attacks ranked near the top in raw destructive power—maybe not number one, but certainly within the top three. As a result, damage caused by Electric-type moves often appeared far more terrifying than that inflicted by other types.
As a Gym Leader, you were allowed to have personality. You could even, on a bad day, go all out and mercilessly crush a rookie challenger. But there was one absolute taboo you could never cross—losing control and dealing a fatal blow to a challenger's Pokémon.
The moment something like that happened, the League would immediately revoke your Gym Leader title, followed by massive fines and compensation. One incident like that was enough to utterly ruin a person's reputation.
...
Compared to the lively, relaxed atmosphere of the Pokémon Center, the Trainer Vocational Assessment Center felt noticeably cold and quiet. The lobby was spacious but nearly empty—aside from a row of seats for visitors, there was only a single reception desk.
The center only became busy during the final two months of each year. With the Indigo Plateau Conference approaching, elite students and top performers from Pokémon academies would often arrive in groups to sit for the qualification exam granting entry to the tournament.
Kael walked up to the counter and looked at the young receptionist, who was nodding off with her head lowered. He raised his voice slightly.
"Hello. I'm here to take the Elite Trainer certification exam."
"Yes!"
The receptionist jolted awake and snapped her head up. She had a lightly freckled face with fairly delicate features. Straightening up, she spoke seriously.
"No problem. Please fill out this registration form first."
After glancing at the form she handed over, Kael couldn't help laughing.
"Miss, I think you might've grabbed the wrong one. I'm here for the Elite Trainer certification—not the Indigo Plateau participation qualification…"
"Ah!"
Her serious expression instantly collapsed. Flustered, she apologized repeatedly.
"I'm so sorry, that was completely my mistake!"
...
Name: Kael
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Place of Birth: Kanto Region / Viridian City
Professional Certifications:
Berry Cultivation Lv. 3
Medicinal Material Identification Lv. 4
Pokéblock Production Lv. 4
Current Occupation: Bounty Hunter [Bronze]
Total Missions: 152
Successful Missions: 152
Failed Missions: 0
Completion Rate: 100%
Client Satisfaction: 98.5%
All of Kael's information appeared on the receptionist's computer screen. Her eyes widened as she stared at the flawless completion rate—one hundred percent.
This boy, who didn't even look particularly old, had completed 152 bounty missions. Even though most were C- and D-rank jobs, with a small portion being B-rank, that was still an astonishing achievement.
Bounty Hunters, as a relatively new formal profession, didn't enjoy a great reputation among Trainers or the general public. Those who hated them called them "money dogs"—hounds willing to do anything for cash, symbols of greed and crime. Those who liked them—or more accurately, those who frequently hired them—called them "black hawks," meaning loyal birds of prey: pay them enough, and they'd spill blood without hesitation.
In truth, bounty hunting had existed since ancient times—it had simply lingered in a gray zone. As long as the employer paid enough, bounty hunters would burn villages, kill people, poach Pokémon, rob tombs… or just as easily herd sheep, clear weeds, fight crime, and save lives. It all depended on who paid more.
Over the past twenty years, the League had worked hard to clean up the profession, dragging it into the light and legitimizing it as an official career. While plenty of bounty hunters still secretly did dirty work on the side, at least they were no longer as brazen as before.
But changing public perception overnight was never easy.
As far as Kael was concerned, being a bounty hunter was simply a way to survive and acquire resources.
What others thought of him—what did that have to do with him at all?