Chapter 595. Master Rank

Name: Raticate, Master

Type: Normal, Male

Ability: Run Away

Moves:

Master:

(+200% Damage): Quick Attack, Sucker Punch, Shadow Ball, Fury Swipes, Tackle, Bite, Take Down, Assurance, Crunch, Double-Edge, Rock Smash, Pluck, Dig, Facade, Giga Impact, Strength, Iron Tail, Cut, Blizzard, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Shock Wave, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Sludge Bomb

(Priority+4): Thunder Wave, Swords Dance, Taunt, Sunny Day, Work Up, Attract, Endure, Sleep Talk, Swagger, Rest, Substitute, Rain Dance, Super Fang, Thief, Grass Knot

(Effect Up +4): Endeavor, Screech, Scary Face, Tail Whip, Focus Energy, Roar, Protect, Double Team, Charge Beam

(-87.5% Cooldown): Laser Focus

Description: Raticate, the Mouse Pokemon. Its powerful front teeth never stop growing. It constantly gnaws on hard objects to keep them from getting too long. It can swim across strong rivers and even chew through concrete if necessary. Its territorial nature makes it aggressive toward intruders.

Name: Arcanine, Master

Type: Fire, Male

Ability: Justified

Moves:

Master:

(+200% Range): Teleport

(+200% Damage): Extreme Speed, Heat Wave, Temper Flare, Crunch, Take Down, Play Rough, Flare Blitz, Outrage, Thunder Fang, Wild Charge, Close Combat, Heat Crash, Aerial Ace, Bulldoze, Facade, Giga Impact, Double-Edge, Psychic Fangs, Iron Head, Ember, Flamethrower, Snarl, Dragon Pulse, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Overheat, Solar Beam, Scorching Sands, Swift, Hyper Voice, Hyper Beam, Tera Blast

(Effect Up +4): Morning Sun, Flame Charge, Body Slam, Agility, Roar, Protect, Helping Hand, Leer, Howl, Charm, Sunny Day, Curse, Scary Face, Endure, Sleep Talk

(Priority +4): Covet, Flame Wheel, Fire Fang, Retaliate, Reversal, Bite, Thief, Dig, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Rest

Description: Arcanine the Legendary Pokémon. Arcanine is known for its incredible speed and majestic presence. It can run over 6,200 miles in a single day, its blazing mane flowing as it dashes with grace. Revered for its loyalty and power, many cultures see it as a symbol of bravery.

Alex smiled brightly at Raticate and Arcanine’s status screens while waiting for the girls to gather for the meeting in the command center. There was only a single change across the entire page compared to when he had checked them a few years ago, but that single declaration represented the difference of an entire rank.

Basically, they were both now Master ranked Pokémon with rudimentary control over their respective energies. Normal type energy for Raticate and Fire type energy for Arcanine.

Their move proficiencies, along with those of several others, had already reached Master rank a few years ago, but only Raticate, Arcanine, Hydreigon, and Grim had reached Level 99 so far. Progress was painfully slow, especially after Level 95, when leveling slowed to a crawl, with only small gains coming from consuming Master ranked Pokémon meat. Still, Alex expected the others to reach that threshold soon and begin the long journey toward mastery.

It was truly fortunate that Raticate and Arcanine had taken such a massive leap forward. After all, it wasn’t every day that either of them would find themselves in such dire straits that reaching Master rank was the only way to survive. Alex wouldn’t even condone training that extreme unless they had experienced an epiphany and genuinely needed those harsh conditions to break through, as Raticate had. He wasn’t that cruel.

Now, Alex had 5 Master ranked Pokémon at his beck and call, each capable of going toe-to-toe with most Legendary Pokémon from other dimensions, which were often weaker than the Legendary Pokémon found in this world. They were Raticate, Arcanine, Knight, Guzzlord, and Ultra Necrozma.

Alex couldn’t have been happier about it. After all, in his eyes, he was now officially a Master ranked Trainer. He had taken his street rat and fire puppy from Novice rank all the way to the top, and seeing them finally reach Master rank was something he couldn’t help but feel proud of.

“You’ve got a stupid smile on your face,” Rhea pointed out as she waited with Alex in the command center.

“You’ve got an equally stupid smile on your face,” Alex replied, his own stupid grin still plastered across his face.

“Ehehehe… infinite resources…” she muttered dreamily.

“I was smiling about something else,” Alex said. “Raticate and Arcanine finally reached Master rank.”

“Oh? Congratulations, but that still doesn’t top infinite resources.”

“It means a bit more to me than that. Besides, resources are effectively infinite as far as I’m concerned.”

Alex could always go on dimensional expeditions, and it was impossible to collect everything in the multiverse. As far as he was concerned, there would always be more resources to find. His Pokémon reaching Master rank, however, was a completely different matter. It was both a massive point of pride and a significant increase in Alex’s capabilities. How could he not smile at that?

“What did you call this meeting for, munchkin?” Nyx walked into the command center before noticing Alex sitting at the head of the table. “Alex? You’re already back? It’s been less than a day. Was the time dilation funky again?”

Nyx walked over and kissed him on the lips before taking her seat. They had only recently had their farewell sex, so she wasn’t exactly in the mood for another round.

“It’s been less than a day for me too,” Alex replied. “No, I came back with a bit of a surprise. I’ll tell you about it when the others get here.”

“Hmm…” Nyx looked thoughtful for a moment before narrowing her eyes at Rhea’s unusually cheerful expression. “Rhea seems to know, though. I mean, just look at that stupid smile on her face. She didn’t even complain when I called her munchkin.”

“Nothing you say can dampen my mood. Hahaha,” Rhea laughed.

“Not fair,” Nyx grumbled.

Soon, the rest of the girls began filing in, or at least those who weren’t particularly busy or away from the main hub. Even so, video calls started connecting from all over the world as Lyra, Mika, Sable, and even Clarissa joined the emergency meeting remotely.

Once everyone was in attendance, Alex finally addressed them.

“First of all, I’d like all of you to take a look at this,” Alex said as he shared a video feed.

The screen showed Unbound Hoopa lying lazily on a factory floor while boxes of donuts were placed beside it. The Legendary Pokémon casually ate them one after another with its six floating arms. The sight didn’t elicit much of a reaction at first, until the girls realized the footage was a live feed and the factory in the background looked familiar.

“Is that… Rhea’s laboratory?” Lyra asked.

“And it’s live?” Mika asked as well.

“You managed to tame an Unbound Hoopa?!” Clarissa exclaimed.

It was no secret that Hoopa was almost always found in its Bound Form, only able to assume its Unbound Form through the use of the Prison Bottle. This held true even in the other dimensions most Masters visited. As a result, seeing a calm, non-rampaging Unbound Hoopa was quite the miraculous sight.

“Did you come here through its portal?” Clarissa immediately asked, quick to catch on.

“Yes. I left the return beacon in that dimension for now, and I’d like to keep Hoopa’s existence a secret from the League.”

Clarissa furrowed her brows in silence as the rest of the girls gradually grasped the implications. A tamed Hoopa was an extraordinarily valuable asset, even to the League. Its ability to create portals between dimensions meant that its owner could conduct dimensional expeditions without relying on the League’s facilities or resources.

More importantly, whoever controlled such a Hoopa could potentially establish their own dimensional expedition business and compete directly with the League. That alone made it an asset worth protecting. If a criminal organization somehow acquired one, however, the implications were far more serious. They would gain access to the resources, technology, and power needed to directly challenge the League, making them an unprecedented threat to global security and giving them the means to grow even more dangerous over time.

“Why did you hide it?” Clarissa asked seriously.

“Taxes,” Alex replied with a shrug. “With Hoopa, I could go on a dimensional expedition and immediately return home, so I wouldn’t have to worry about meeting the yearly contribution point requirement anymore. I wouldn’t have to spend half a year mining for resources either. Instead, I could focus on the things I actually care about, like spending time with you girls, battling, training, finding new technologies, and collecting unique resources.”

Clarissa nodded, understanding Alex’s point. As the Champion of Kanto, she was supposed to report such high-priority information immediately, especially since it had the potential to become a threat to the entire world. However, since it was Alex, a highly trusted individual in good standing with the League and her husband, she had some wiggle room to keep the matter between them.

“Alright, but if it concerns the black hole, I’ll be forced to share this information,” Clarissa decided.

“That’s all I ask. Besides, if it means permanently fixing that problem, I don’t mind sharing all my secrets and resources.”

“Is it really that big of a deal?” Iris asked.

“Yes,” Clarissa answered seriously. “Hoopa is currently considered the League’s best option for dealing with the black hole in the Distortion World. The problem is that its rings become destabilized whenever they try to send the black hole through them, so they’ve been developing technology that can harness its hyperspace energy to transport it and the space around it to another location.”

“The technology is still experimental, though, and it would require a monumental amount of energy to work, which is why progress has stalled. Even if they managed to pull it off, however, they would only be delaying the inevitable rather than solving the problem. Eventually, the black hole would still consume every dimension in its vicinity, including ours.”

“When they reach the final phase of development, I’m planning to tell them about your Hoopa. It should give the project the push it needs,” Clarissa finished.

“That’s fine with me,” Alex said, accepting the decision.

“Now that the boring stuff is out of the way,” Rhea immediately called out.

“I demand Pokémetal!” she shouted.

“It’s such a miraculous material, yet apparently so rare because the League wants to maintain a monopoly on it. Once it’s been primed, though, it can take on practically any property you want. I’ve done some testing, and it’s the key to creating Master ranked robots, exosuits, and giant robots that don’t crumple under their own weight.”

Rhea continued on and on about Pokémetal’s usefulness while the others occasionally chimed in with rare materials they wanted as well. Kaia wanted more Herba Mystica and Tera Crystals, while Vera wanted shed materials from Legendary Pokémon.

And so began their lengthy discussion on how to properly make use of Hoopa and its ability to provide what was effectively an infinite supply of materials, so long as it had a sample.