The calendar on the wall of Room 204 was a piece of cardboard with tally marks scratched in charcoal and Alex was staring at it from his bed.
More than 2 months......
It felt like two decades for Alex Hales who had woken up on a van filled with recruited children with a nasty migraine. That Alex had hesitated to kill even when situation was dire, that Alex had flinched at the sight of blood but the man reflected in the mirror now was different.
His face was gaunt but hardened, the jawline sharper. His eyes were cold and a scar, thin and white, ran along his forearm.... a souvenir from a Beedrill swarm in second month.
"Two months," Alex whispered, his voice rasping slightly. "And I'm still breathing in this damn world."
He looked around the Squad Leader quarters. Nidoking was asleep on the floor, curled up like a massive, purple dog. His tail, thick as a tree trunk, twitched occasionally, thumping against the metal desk. The room was comically small for a 1.6-meter armored kaiju. Skorupi was clinging to the ceiling fan, using it as a carousel whereas Duskull was inside the shadow of the wardrobe.
Feebas was in the bathtub, which Alex had filled with fresh water.
"We need to plan the future," Alex muttered.
Beep...
His watch vibrated.
[ MESSAGE FROM: CAPTAIN VIPER ]
[ CONTENT: REPORT TO COMMAND. 0800 HOURS ]
Alex stood up, stretching his back as his joints popped.
"Well work calls."
Central Command: The Tower
Alex stood at the office looking around it seeing various expensive items placed around there. He wore the new uniform... black with red accents, the mark of a Squad Leader. It was cleaner, made of better material, and actually had Kevlar lining.
Viper stood by the window, looking down at the training grounds where those who failed the evaluation ( now just grunts) were getting screamed at by drill sergeants.
Viper turned, a faint smirk playing on his scarred lips. " You know, I had to make calls regarding your situation as you were unusual among these trash.You've thrived among a unknown place, you have a fully evolved powerful Nidoking at a stage where most idiots are still struggling with trashy mons."
Viper walked to his desk and sat down, lacing his fingers together.
"Let's cut to the chase, there are things that you don't know, like how this island works... It's a filter."
"Filter?" Alex said.
"3 months is the time we take not a year, I lied at the start, not many can survive even three months here. Month 1 filters the weak, month 2 filters the stupid and month 3..." Viper leaned forward, his eyes hardening. "...month 3 filters the unlucky."
He tapped a file on his desk.
"The Final Evaluation is in thirty days. It's not a sparring match nor will it be a survival run. It is a full-scale combat simulation against active Rocket agents from the mainland."
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Real agents?"
"Agents who will not hesitate to kill you, the one's who will not show any mercy," Viper clarified. "You have to participate because the others are not satisfied yet, they want to see whether you are a real squad Leader material."
Viper slid a piece of paper across the desk. It was heavy, cream-colored stock with the red 'R' logo embossed in gold.
[ TRANSFER ORDER: KANTO REGION ]
[ RANK: SQUAD LEADER ]
[ STATUS: PENDING ]
"If you top the evaluation," Viper said softly. "If you prove you are the absolute best this island has to offer..... I will sign this, no one will be against it and you get off this rock. You go to Kanto, get a salary, a team, and a life in the real world."
The real world... that was all it needed for Alex, the cities, the black market, the pokemon and the opportunities.....
"What do I have to do?" Alex asked.
"Survive Month 3," Viper said. " And don't just survive.... hunt. I'm lifting the sector restrictions for you, last time you were just a recruit so it didn't matter, now you can go anywhere.... Sector 4, the Northern reefs.
I want you to push your team to the absolute limit."
Viper paused, his gaze drilling into Alex.
"Bring me results, Ares. Show me that my faith in you wasn't a fluke."
"Understood."
"Dismissed."
Alex walked out of the tower with a singular focus. He had 30 days to show his worth to all the executives of team rocket.
He checked his balance.
[ ID: Ares ]
[ Balance: 4000 Points ]
The Mt. Poles mission bonus had been generous and as such, relatively speaking, he was wealthy.
He walked into the Quartermaster's Exchange.
"Squad Leader on deck," the grunt behind the counter muttered, straightening up.
Alex leaned on the counter. "I need upgrades of higher tier."
"What are we talking?"
"First, food," Alex listed. "I have a Nidoking now and he eats 50 pounds of protein a day. I want the High-Grade Monster Chow, the stuff enriched with Calcium and Protein."
"That's expensive... 10 points a bag."
"Give me 50 bags."
Beep. -500 Points
"I need TMs," Alex continued. "Do you have Earth Power? Or Thunderbolt?"
The grunt checked the inventory. "I have a Thunderbolt disc. It was recovered from a dead Lt. Surge trainee while it's scratched, but it is functional."
"Price?"
"800 Points, electric moves are premium."
Alex gritted his teeth, 800 was a too much of his fortune but Thunderbolt on a Nidoking? It was the classic BoltBeam coverage as it covered Water and Flying types... his biggest weaknesses.
"I'll take it."
Beep. -800 Points
"And I need a Mining Laser," Alex said casually. "Portable, heavy duty. Capable of cutting through fossilized bedrock."
The grunt laughed. "A Mining Laser? those are industrial grade. We don't just sell those to bulk."
"I need it for work" Alex reminded him.
"The only one I have is the Devon Corp Mole Series and its listed at 5,000 Points."
Alex froze.
5,000 Points.
"5,000," Alex repeated. "That's steep."
"It's military hardware," the grunt shrugged. "It cuts diamond, you want it? Then need to earn more points."
Alex nodded slowly.
The Aerodactyl fossil was trapped in stone so he needed that laser so he needed to get some good points in the next days and that meant he couldn't just train. He had to find things that Rocket listed as High Value.
He bought a few more essentials....Max Repels, Full Heals which was not just potions, but actual status clearing meds, and lots of Pokeballs.
Room 204
Back in his room, Alex projected the map he had gotten from a grunt for some crack onto the wall.
It was a rough outline of the entire island.
Sector 1-3: Green
Sector 5: Grey
Sector 4: Red
Sector 6: Black.... the Northern Reefs.
And in the center of the island, a blank spot. No topographic data but just a label: ZONE ZERO.
"Viper said I can go anywhere," Alex murmured, tracing the map.
He looked at his team.
"Guys it's forest time again, we have a month," Alex told them. "And this time it's for our freedom, we could get off this island in to a entirely different place."
He pointed to the Northern Reefs.
"We start there," Alex decided. " There will be many Water types there and Feebas needs experience, if we're lucky enough, we might find pearls or sunken cargo."
He looked at the Thunderbolt TM on his desk.
"But first," Alex picked up the disc. "you need a quick upgrade."
He called Nidoking over.
"This is going to tickle buddy," Alex warned, pressing the disc to the giant's forehead.
Nidoking grunted as the data was instantly transferred. Electric arcs sparked between his horns and as he shook his head, sneezing a bolt of yellow lightning that scorched the carpet.
[ Nidoking learned Thunderbolt ]
"Perfect," Alex grinned.
He packed his bag.
"Rest up, boys and .... girl. Tomorrow, we leave civilization behind. We're going off the grid for a long time."
Authors Note:-
Third Month, final test, before freedom.....
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