Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

It took a week of lectures, scheduling, and preparations, but eventually Alex completed the orientation for newly inducted Master ranked trainers, with only one final visit left on the agenda.

In essence, the entire week was dedicated to explaining why Masters weren't allowed to roam freely. In terms of the destruction they could inflict, Master ranked trainers were considered comparable to Legendary Pokémon. Unlike Legendary Pokémon, however, they commanded multiple Pokémon powerful enough to devastate entire cities and possessed the wisdom to wield that power with terrifying efficiency.

Rather than imposing restrictions alone, the orientation also introduced designated Master ranked danger zones where they were allowed to gain power and let loose. It was much like telling a child not to play in the library before pointing them toward the playground instead.

The League employee also covered every known global threat. Alex was briefed on each Legendary Pokémon, including their known locations, abilities, behavioral patterns, and the warning signs that preceded one of their rampages. He was also informed about major Underworld organizations, dangerous individuals, and technologies that could threaten global stability if they fell into the wrong hands. Should any of these threats emerge, Master ranked trainers were expected to respond according to established emergency protocols.

After several days of being shown the stick, Alex was finally shown the carrot in the form of the privileges that came with reaching the Master rank. Numerous organizations, exclusive facilities such as Lumiose City, and specialized services were reserved exclusively for Masters. These privileges included expeditions to the Moon base, missions into Ultra Space, access to restricted ancient ruins, dimensional expeditions, and detailed records of untamed wilderness scattered across the globe, among many other opportunities.

Finally, the last part of the orientation was a visit to the mysterious black hole in the Distortion World. It was considered the greatest unstoppable and ever advancing threat facing the Pokémon world and the universe as a whole.

Alex was teleported to Sinnoh through the League’s private teleportation network and brought to Sendoff Spring, where he was escorted into the massive portal. Once on the other side, the escort navigated the labyrinthine three dimensional space with practiced confidence, guiding Alex through the heavily guarded shifting pathways until they reached a specific empty region.

In the distance, flashes of light erupted across the void as countless attacks collided. It took Alex a moment to focus his vision, but when he finally saw what lay ahead, he found Giratina, Palkia, and Dialga bombarding a black hole with enough energy to obliterate an entire region.

“That is the League’s, no, the Pokémon world’s greatest threat, and we need your help to eliminate it,” the guide, the same woman who had met with Alex at the Training Center, said.

“Before you ask any questions, please refer to Packet C, Section 12, Subsection 4,” she continued. “You’ll find an extensive record of every method that has been attempted so far and the reasons each one failed. The following subsections contain everything we know about it, along with the proposed methods for dealing with it.”

Alex reviewed the available information. What they’d discovered was that, unlike a normal black hole, it didn’t instantly consume everything it touched. Instead, it slowly digested energy, space, and matter over time. More concerning was that it emitted nothing, not even radiation.

In other words, this wasn’t a black hole at all. It was an entity, something akin to an immortal, indestructible jellyfish that simply drifted through existence and consumed whatever came within its reach. The problem was that it didn’t merely consume matter and energy, but space itself. Given enough time, it would inevitably devour the entire universe.

Checking the list of untested options, Alex found his name among the proposed solutions. The suggestion was to feed the entity to his Master ranked Guzzlord and observe the results.

Two outcomes were hypothesized. The first was that Guzzlord would eventually die, with the entity consuming it from the inside. The only benefit would be relocating the entity, but that offered little value. No matter where it was sent, entire dimensions would eventually be consumed, and the problem would only resurface in the distant future.

The second hypothesis was that Guzzlord’s stomach led to an unknown dimension, meaning the entity could potentially become trapped there after consuming everything within it. Unfortunately, further evidence suggested that this space likely connected to somewhere within Ultra Space, the same dimension neighboring Alola, leading to the same outcome as the first option.

Even so, it was worth testing. If successful, they’d have discovered a method to transport the entity. Then, if they could find a location where it could be safely discarded without creating future threats, the solution might actually work.

Alex’s thoughts immediately went toward the place he had visited through his soul. The place that existed beyond the boundary of existence. Perhaps dumping the entity there would work, but the problem was that he was nowhere close to being able to teleport there. He didn’t even know how to show a Pokémon that location without lobotomizing them like Sabrina had gone through.

It wasn’t like he had coordinates for that place either, since it technically existed beyond the boundary of existence. Simply adding more numbers to spatial coordinates wouldn’t work because, technically, even infinity still existed within the boundaries of existence. It was simply an extremely distant location, but it still existed within the universe.

“This isn’t worth testing until a location beyond the boundary of existence can be found,” Alex said, loud enough for his guide to hear.

“We understand,” she replied. “We’d simply like you to consider it a possibility if we do happen to discover such a place.”

“Sure. Guzzlord can consume space, so it should theoretically be possible, although it might get an upset stomach since that entity is basically a parasite.”

“Our scientists assumed as much, which is why they wanted to test it. However, the League deemed the experiment too wasteful, as it could result in Guzzlord’s unnecessary death. Because of that, we’ve merely recorded it as a possibility rather than pursuing it. At this point, your existence, unlike that of the other Masters, is quite important to the League. We consider you one of the few who carry the world’s burden on your shoulders, so we’ll assist you in any way we can, as long as you remain alive and able to conduct this experiment.”

“That sounds like you’re putting a collar around my neck rather than placing a burden on my shoulders.”

“Of course not. You’re free to exercise your freedom within the bounds of the laws and restrictions placed on Master ranked trainers. We simply value your life a bit more than others.”

“Although that value would decrease once another trainer gets their hands on a Master ranked Guzzlord, right?”

“I cannot deny that.”

Alex nodded, understanding the League’s position. They were simply a group of people doing their best to keep the world in balance despite the terrible circumstances they faced.

In other stories, the League was often able to govern a more peaceful world. This one was far more brutal. Pokémon were feral and fought in nests powerful enough to drown entire cities. The Underworld was far more prominent and successful. Legendary Pokémon were unpredictable and temperamental. Finally, there was a black hole slowly consuming the universe itself.

“Can I get closer?” Alex asked.

“For what purpose? We can’t guarantee your safety if you approach that battle. Not even against those terrifyingly powerful Pokémon.”

“I just want to get a closer look. The waves of energy from their attacks are interfering with my senses.”

“I’m sorry, but unless you have a plan in mind, we can’t risk disturbing those Pokémon.”

“That’s a shame.”

Alex wanted to see it, no, feel the aura of the black hole. He had a suspicion that it was connected to the place he passed through as a soul, but he couldn’t be certain. He needed to get closer to confirm it.

If the entity truly came from that place, then returning it there might be the only way to ensure the safety of this universe. If not, then there would still be a strong chance that the universe would remain safe for the foreseeable future, since that place contained no energy, matter, or space for it to consume. Perhaps it would simply extinguish on its own eventually.

“That concludes the orientation, Mr. Wattson. The rest of the packet should detail the specifics of our other approaches to containing this threat.”

“You mean dimensional expeditions through the Prism Tower?” Alex asked.

“Yes. As you know, we still don’t have a solution despite having access to all of the world’s resources. This means our only remaining option is to search for one in other dimensions or outer space. Since our spacefaring technology still has a long way to go before becoming viable, dimensional expeditions are currently our only option.”

The key to the dimensional travel technology the League had discovered and implemented came from Hoopa, which could create portals into hyperdimensions. Deeper within these artificial realities were true dimensions waiting beyond the other side. By studying Hoopa’s energy and replicating the same phenomenon, the League was able to develop their own method of dimensional travel.

By directly piercing through hyperspace, they could send Master ranked trainers capable of surviving the journey into unknown realities. Each trainer carried a beacon that allowed them to return to this world within 1 year of local time, regardless of how much time passed in the other dimension. If activated in advance, the beacon could immediately return them based on dimensional time, allowing them to leave before the 1 year limit in this world was reached.

Any spoils they brought back would first be claimed by the League for the purpose of containing the black hole or conducting research. Afterwards, everything else would belong to the trainer who recovered them. It was unfair, but given the circumstances, it was unavoidable.

Having finished the orientation, Alex was guided back to Sinnoh before finally being released. He immediately returned to the base in Kanto and called a meeting to discuss his new endeavor as a dimensional traveler.