Chapter 165: Hunter B (Patreon)

Alex gently stroked the smooth surface of the Riolu Egg, attempting to use his psychic powers to communicate with the unborn Pokémon inside.

Although little Riolu hadn't completely broken out of its shell, it already possessed a certain level of consciousness within the egg. Faced with the gentle, soothing waves of Alex's psychic powers, little Riolu did its best to respond using its own incompletely formed Aura.

"H-hello."

Feeling the unique Aura emanating from the egg, Alex smiled warmly. "Little Riolu, you're amazing. You'll definitely become an outstanding Aura Guardian in the future."

Alex soothed Riolu for a while longer before carefully placing the egg back into the incubator. His movements were incredibly cautious, terrified of causing even the slightest harm to the unborn little guy.

'Meow...'

Meowstic was a bit jealous of Alex's cautious attitude. She felt she might be losing favor.

She leaped gracefully onto Alex's shoulder, meowing incessantly, her voice filled with a yearning for affection.

"Alright, alright, how could I neglect our little princess?" Alex laughed, naturally scooping Meowstic into his arms and stroking her soft fur over and over again.

After some petting, Meowstic finally settled down. She snuggled contentedly against Alex's chest, occasionally rubbing her cheek against his.

When you owned many Pokémon, these amusing situations were inevitable. Sometimes it was easy to neglect one due to favoring another. However, Alex always tried his best to be fair and impartial, ensuring all his Pokémon fully felt his love and care.

Fortunately, most of the Pokémon Alex captured were strong and robust guys. Only Meowstic and Altaria were the type of small Pokémon who loved acting spoiled and had obvious needs for affection.

Though recently, for some unknown reason, the big sister of the team—Mawile, his very first capture—had joined the ranks of those seeking cuddles.

During the day, she would occasionally approach Alex for affection. At night, she would even sneak out of her Luxury Ball and tiptoe into Alex's bed.

Mawile's behavior initially made Alex very uneasy; suddenly feeling extra weight on his bed in the middle of the night had given him quite a scare.

However, over time, Alex gradually got used to it. Now, even if someone suddenly pressed down on his bed in the middle of the night, he could remain calm without batting an eye.

Perhaps this was just Mawile's unique way of expressing her bond.

Inside Hunter J's spatial backpack, apart from the Riolu Egg, there was a meticulously handwritten Riolu breeding manual. The pages were slightly worn, exuding a professional and vintage aura.

In addition to that, there was a massive hoard of Steel and Fighting-type resources, along with several precious Fighting-type Technical Machines.

Even with his discerning eye, flipping through the slightly yellowed manual, Alex could tell the knowledge recorded inside was incredibly professional.

After a careful read, Alex was pleasantly surprised to discover that the majority of this manual's contents perfectly aligned with Master Finn's notes. Moreover, since this manual was specifically tailored for breeding Riolu, combining the two might help elevate Alex's Breeder level even further.

The backpack seemed stuffed with various resources Hunter J had prepared for the unborn Riolu, though it was unclear where she had stolen them from. Regardless, this meant all these precious resources had now safely fallen into Alex's hands.

A thought welled up in Alex's mind. 'Hunter J is actually a pretty nice person. Not only did she deliver such a precious Pokémon Egg, but she also included so many useful resources for free.'

The next time he saw her, he decided he shouldn't kill her immediately.

He had to make sure to strip her clean first, see if her remaining assets were enough for a hefty ransom, and then deal with the rest later.

As Alex continued carefully rummaging through the backpack, a uniquely designed communicator suddenly caught his eye.

"What is this?" Alex looked confused.

The communicator looked like it was modeled after the League's Pokédex. Its design was ingenious, every detail handled perfectly, and its functions were likely similar to the official League hardware.

A Pokédex, as a pure hardware device, didn't pose too many insurmountable technological hurdles. Even dark syndicates had the capability to manufacture one.

It was just the most critical components—the personnel identification system and League identity verification—that dark syndicates simply couldn't hack into and modify directly.

The color of this Hunter Pokédex was black instead of red, with a beautifully engraved English letter 'J' on the back. Clearly, this was Hunter J's exclusive communication device.

'Is this a communicator used for secret contact within the Hunter syndicate?'

Out of curiosity, Alex subconsciously reached out and tapped the communicator lightly.

If he hadn't pressed it, nothing would have happened. But Alex casually tapped it twice and somehow hit a switch. The communicator's screen flickered a few times, displaying a blast of static.

Then, a young man with grayish-white hair, wearing a black and gold combat suit, appeared on the screen.

"Hunter J, how is the mission I assigned you progressing?" Before the image fully stabilized, the man's voice came through.

Alex froze for a moment, suddenly feeling a strong urge to slap himself.

'Why are you so impulsive? Why tap it for no reason?'

"Who are you?" At this moment, the person on the other end of the communicator also noticed something was amiss. The person on screen wasn't Hunter J, nor any familiar contact, but a stranger who looked vaguely familiar.

"I should be the one asking you that." Alex feigned a calm and composed demeanor, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Hunter J has already been defeated by me. Who are you?"

The man on the other side of the screen fell dead silent.

He didn't blurt out something stupid like, "Impossible." Hunter J's personal communicator appearing in someone else's hands—unless Hunter J had carelessly dropped it, which was highly unlikely—basically proved that this kid wasn't lying.

But if he wasn't lying, then the situation was far more severe than anticipated.

Everyone in the underworld knew Hunter J's ace was an Elite tier pseudo-Legendary—an incredibly fast, flying Salamence. Even when hunted by the actual Elite Four in the past, Hunter J had always managed to escape unscathed.

Logically speaking, even if a situation turned against her and she couldn't win, her extensive experience and formidable strength should have guaranteed a safe retreat.

Just what kind of divine entity could force J into such a corner?

Even if she had just lost the communicator, nine times out of ten, it meant Hunter J was severely injured and had suffered catastrophic losses. At the very least, the spatial backpack she kept glued to her person had been forcefully taken as spoils of war by the enemy.