Chapter 131.5 (Patreon)

This is a short, bonus, alternative POV chapter that's set almost immediately after Chapter 131. Make sure you've read the previous chapter before reading this one.
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Hunter J's hands were bound and locked together as she sat in the back of the armored vehicle traveling southwards. With Lucian's Pokémon so tired, she was instead being transported over land to the facility where she would be tried and held, likely indefinitely.

Despite this, there was no expression of dissatisfaction or displeasure on her face. Her flying ship had been destroyed, her men had all been defeated or captured, and her Pokémon had been confiscated. However, she had one last trick up her sleeve.

Literally.

"Surprised you're so quiet back there," a voice called out from the front. "What, no complaints about how unfair this is or how you're actually innocent? Most captured criminals usually do that."

Hunter J smirked.

"Like I would ever stoop so low," she said.

The man scoffed and said no more.

Currently, she was seated on a long bench that stretched across the wall of the truck. She was alone, having been deemed too dangerous to allow anyone else to travel with her. They were right, of course, but being alone didn't mean she was helpless.

Slowly, and as quietly she could muster, Hunter J began to scoot closer to where the front cabin of the truck was divided from the rest. There was a small glass window that allowed the two Ace Trainers driving this vehicle to check on her whenever they wanted, but that glass divider also had a set small holes in it to allow sound to get through. A mistake.

The driver glanced up into a mirror where he made eye contact with the slowly approaching Hunter J. He elbowed the man in the passenger seat to get his attention.

"Hey," he grunted. "She's moving."

The second Ace Trainer turned around to glare at Hunter J.

"Stop that," he ordered.

"Stop what?" Hunter J asked casually.

"Go back to where you were sitting before. You better, if you know what's best for you."

"Oh, believe me, I know what's best for me."

Hunter J clicked her boots, activating the magnets in them and locking her position. Before the Ace Trainer could reach, she brought her arms up and pointed them right at the holes in the glass. The Ace Trainer yelled, but he wasn't fast enough to warn the driver before a small needle-sized dart was shot right into the driver's neck.

Those fools in the Pokémon League had thought to pat her down, but they hadn't been careful enough. Hunter J was no fool. The seams of her sleeves held spring-loaded dart launchers for emergencies like this.

Knocked unconscious, the driver's head slumped forward to slam down onto the steering wheel and to honk one long continuous horn. The second Ace Trainer cursed and tried to grab the wheel, but he was too late as the truck swerved off the road and slammed into a tree.

The man was knocked unconscious as two large airbags puffed up to save his life. Hunter J clicked her tongue disapprovingly when she saw that both drivers had survived the crash. She was a bit jostled around from the impact herself, but her magnetized boots had allowed her to stay safely in one place.

Still, she had more pressing matters to deal with than the fate of two of the League's dogs.

Using those heavy boots, Hunter J stood up and casually began to kick the reinforced back door. She kept an ear out to listen for any of the truck's likely escorts to show up, but to her surprise, none ever came.

Eventually, she managed to break the door open where she stepped out onto the dirt ground. It took her only a moment to work her hands free of the restraints directly afterwards. She rubbed her wrists as her mind went over plans and possibilities that would help her rebuild.

Her mind kept wandering back to the moment of her capture, however.

"Dumb, kids," Hunter J grumbled. "Once I get my hands on them—"

"Listen, is that a failed criminal, I hear?"

"Its whining pitifully to me, loud and clear."

Hunter J blinked, then glanced over to where a few others now stood in this clearing. Unlike usual, she wasn't wearing her visor as the League had confiscated it. Her eyes were visible when they briefly widened in surprise before narrowing into suspicion and recognition.

"You," she hissed.

A pair of white-suited individuals and one infuriating cute cat stood confidently only a few yards away.

"You know, it's times like these where I think a return to a classic is appropriate," the Meowth said.

"Hmm. I can see that. Really show her how badly she messed up," the red-haired woman said.

"I completely agree," the last one, a blue-haired man, commented.

The trio jumped back, crossed their arms, and somehow, became lit up by a spotlight.

"Prepare for trouble," the woman declared.

"And make it double," the man followed up.

Hunter J genuinely had to pause to process what the morons in front of her were doing.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

A Wobbuffet released itself from its Pokéball to salute and finish the speech with a shout of its name. A Mime Jr. did the same immediately afterwards.

"I don't have time for this," Hunter J growled once she properly recovered. "How much do you want? I have enough money put away in hidden bank accounts to have you set for the rest of your pitiful lives."

"Oh, we don't want money," the red-head, Jessie said. "There's only one thing we want."

"And that's the twerp's Pikachu! The one you tried to steal!" the Meowth accused.

Hunter J scoffed, then tried to casually circle to the side of the group to find a path to escape. The three fools did nothing to stop her.

"So? It wasn't personal," Hunter J said. "I failed, in the end. You still have the chance to take it for yourself."

"Oh, no, no. You don't understand," James said.

"You went after our twerps," Jessie followed up.

"And for that, you have to be punished."

Hunter J let out a barking laugh, throwing her head back as she moved closer to the tree line. Still, she wasn't stopped.

"Punished? Me? Please. I've never been captured. I've never been contained. Until now, my record has been nearly perfect. What do you think you're going to do that no one else could do?"

"This," the three of them said at once.

Out of nowhere, vines shot out of the woods to wrap around Hunter J's arms and legs. She fought and tried to pull free, but the Carnivine easily lifted her up in the air. The Grass Type's large mouth dripped with something as its head lingered right next to her ear. Hunter J held back a shudder.

Once she finished mentally kicking herself for falling into such an obvious trap, Hunter J glared at the three sorry excuses for criminals in front of her as they looked right back at her with obvious glee in their expressions.

"And what now?" she hissed.

The red head pulled out an old cell phone from her pocket.

"Oh, Meowth," she sang.

The woman handed the device over to the cat. The talking Pokémon snapped it open, dialed a number with its claws, then gave Hunter J a feline grin.

"Hey, Mr. Stone!" the cat cried.

Hunter J's face paled.

"Yeah, don't worry. We're just... digging right now. Yup! Digging for stones, like we usually do!"

Jessie and James giggled behind him.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. Right. Anyway, we have something important to tell you. Very important."

There was a moment of tense silence. Hunter J began to struggle to get free once more.

"We quit!" Meowth yelled. Hunter J paused. "We were members of Team Rocket the whole time! We tricked you into hiring us! Betchya feel like a fool now. Too bad you won't catch us! There's no way you can find our location seven miles just south of Snowpoint, off to the right side of the highway."

Meowth hung up and quickly snapped the phone closed. The Team Rocket trio burst into laughter.

"Oh, only if I could have seen the look on his dumb face!" Meowth exclaimed.

"I don't know, Meowth," Jessie said. She was in the middle of covering her mouth with her hand. "The look this one is giving us is pretty funny."

Hunter J stared at the three, completely dumbfounded at what just happened. Out of everything that could have finally done her in, it was these three idiots to do it? They just called the authorities on themselves! It made no sense!

"Release me!" Hunter J yelled. "I can't be captured! I'm Hunter J! The Pokémon Hunter! There's no way you imbeciles can beat me! This isn't fair!"

Carnivine lowered her to the ground and lashed her to the forest floor with vines it commanded to grow. With one last smirk, Team Rocket returned their Pokémon before turning around and walking off into the forest.

"Say, Meowth, does this count as doing a good deed?" James asked.

"What? This? No way. This is us eliminating the competition! It'll be smooth sailing from here on out! Think about it, you goof. No Hunter J means no other criminals in this region. It'll only be us, giving us plenty of room to expand," Meowth said.

"That's more time to go after Pikachu," Jessie said.

"More time to collect other Pokémon," James commented.

"And, we can report this to The Boss, and he's sure to reward us!" Meowth exclaimed.

The three members of Team Rocket let out a motivated cheer as they finally disappeared from view. Hunter J only heard one last thing before they were gone from her life forever.

"Team Rocket's blasting away the competition! We only have up to go from here!" they all yelled.

Only a few minutes later, the first Ace Trainer arrived. From there, Hunter J was promptly recaptured and taken away, this time, for good.

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Author Note:

Just to be clear, this is a bonus chapter, not a replacement chapter. I still owe you all a chapter for the one I missed. Consider it a thank you for waiting while I dealt with issues irl.

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