Heahea City is one of the most developed coastal hubs in Akala Island, designed as a sprawling resort metropolis. Wide streets lined with modern buildings, boutique shops, and polished tourist facilities stretch inland from the shoreline, all arranged with a sense of order and comfort. Despite its “city” designation, its scale is immense enough that it could easily support a permanent population of a few million, with infrastructure clearly built to handle heavy seasonal influxes without strain.

Tourism defines the city’s rhythm. Travelers from across the Alola region and beyond fill its hotels, shopping districts, and seaside promenades, turning even ordinary afternoons into a steady flow of activity and relaxation. Cafés spill out onto sidewalks, souvenir stalls advertise Akala-themed goods, and guided tour groups frequently gather near transport points. Everything is optimized for convenience, from easy navigation routes to abundant lodging options that range from modest inns to high-end seaside resorts overlooking the ocean. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

At the edge of the city lies Heahea Beach, a long stretch of pale sand that curves along the coastline where the city meets the sea. The shoreline is always active, dotted with swimmers, sunbathers, and trainers relaxing between island trials, while shallow waves roll in under the bright Alolan sun. Farther out, the water deepens into a vivid blue expanse that reflects the sky, with occasional Mantine gliding across the surface.

Along the beach, Alex and the group booked a luxurious hotel for a week, uncertain how long they would actually be staying despite planning for only a few days at most. As for their activities, they mostly focused on shopping, since the beach was, as expected, quite crowded. Although that didn’t stop Alvera and the twins from heading out to cause trouble, their sexy bikinis drawing attention wherever they went.

Marlo and the others, along with most of the kids, headed into the shopping district for some good old-fashioned tourist shopping. Dressed in bikinis and sarongs, they wandered beneath the bright tropical sun while a cool sea breeze tempered the heat. The prices were understandably inflated for tourists, but money hadn’t been a concern for Alex’s family for a long time.

Meanwhile, Alex, dressed in beach shorts, took Lila with him for a father-daughter outing. The young girl, who had inherited her mother’s short blue hair, walked beside him clad in a protective bodysuit and Alvera’s old Elite ranked exosuit vambrace, with Tyrunt safely tucked away inside her Poké Ball.

“Where are we going, Dad?” Lila asked excitedly.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Alex asked with a smile.

“A bounty hunter!” Lila shouted without hesitation. “I want to be like Mommy and the bounty hunters who go around kicking ass and killing bad guys with their Pokémon and guns.”

“Do you know why they go out and do those things? Do you know why they’re called bad guys in the first place?”

“Because they do bad things, of course, like kidnapping people and Pokémon, and killing and stealing. And they break the law and make people sad.”

“Alright, alright,” Alex said with a chuckle. “Well, while we were at Royal Avenue, I found a group of bad guys who were selling people to other regions as slaves. They partnered with some businesses here in Heahea City to transport their goods across the world. So we’re going to go beat them up.”

“Yey!” Lila cheered.

“But I want you to understand something,” Alex said suddenly, his tone turning serious and drawing Lila’s attention. “What we’re about to do to them is exactly what bounty hunters do to people when they misbehave. I need you to understand that they deserve it and that by doing this, we’re saving people from suffering under them. Do you understand?”

“Yeah…” Lila said, a hint of doubt creeping in at how serious he had become.

“Good,” Alex said firmly. “Because if you want to become a bounty hunter in the future, you need to be able to do what I do when the time comes. The slightest hesitation can lead to your death and probably the death of other people too.”

They made their way south of Heahea City toward the docks, where ferries, cargo ships, and private yachts were kept. The air grew heavier with salt and diesel as they approached the waterfront, the steady clang of metal and shouted orders carrying over the waves. Crates were being unloaded in long, efficient rows, and workers moved with urgency along the piers. The easy atmosphere and bright colors of the tourist districts were gone, replaced by grime and industry in the underbelly of the city of tourism.

“Where are we, Dad?” Lila asked.

“This is where the city gets a constant supply of goods and tourists. It’s one of the best places to keep illegal activity under the authorities’ eyes since they lie about what is actually happening here while paying off those who would have the chance to report it.”

“Why wouldn’t they report it though? Do they want the bad guys to win?”

“You grew up without ever having problems with money, Lila, so you don’t understand how desperate humans can become when they can’t even afford to buy food for themselves, let alone their children. You need to understand that people will do anything for money or survival, even if that means destroying other people’s lives.”

“That sounds evil.”

“It’s a bit of both. It’s the gray area of human nature. I’m sure you’ll understand better in high school when you take ethics.”

Ethics classes were among the most important requirements for entry into the bounty hunter program. Students were expected to understand that humans were never strictly black and white, but instead existed in countless shades of gray. People were just as capable of good as they were of harm, with decisions shaped by circumstance, necessity, belief, and fear. It was a reality Alex had understood even before arriving in the Pokémon world, and unsurprisingly, nothing about humanity had changed here.

Soon, the pair reached a dock owned by a private shipping company that, on paper, looked like a thriving business. In reality, it was a Team Skull operation that specialized in moving illegal goods between the Alola islands and other regions. No doubt, bringing this business down would send Team Skull a message to tone down their criminal activities, or else.

“Alright, now put on the exosuit,” Alex said. “From this point on, it’s going to get dangerous.”

“Ei!” Lila shouted as she exaggeratedly pressed the activation button on the vambrace and found herself covered from head to toe in bulletproof Elite ranked metal.

Alex then released Gardevoir, Gothitelle, and Espeon, who immediately dispersed and began executing coordinated psychic disruption across the docks. Non-combatants were rendered unconscious by precise neural jolts, while the criminals operating under Team Skull were lobotomized. Chains, locks, and cargo containers snapped open one after another as a sweeping mental force scanned the entire facility. Alarms blared to life, soldiers scrambled into position, and trainers quickly released their Pokémon in response to the sudden breach.

The soldiers started falling one after another, either dead or knocked out, while the trainers and their Pokémon suffered the same fate. They were still confused on where the attacks were coming from, giving the three Psychic types the freedom to bring them down one after another with brutal efficiency.

An Elite ranked trainer in charge of the facility managed to mount a defense with his Pokémon, forcing back the psychic pressure long enough to stabilize himself. He then stepped directly into Alex’s path as they advanced toward a specially secured shipping container. Beside him were six Elite ranked Pokémon, Toxicroak, Weavile, Houndoom, Drapion, Honchkrow, and Scizor, each one taking position around their trainer as they prepared to intercept the assault.

Alex broke into a sprint to intercept them as the Pokémon charged in turn. Toxicroak advanced with Poison Jab, but missed as Alex weaved past the strike. Weavile followed with Night Slash, but Alex deflected the horizontal slash with his wrist, redirecting it upward before pushing forward. Houndoom fired a Flamethrower to force him back, but he cleared it with a jump, sailing over the flames. Honchkrow swooped down with Foul Play, aiming to slam him into the ground, but Alex instead used it as a stepping stone, kicking off midair and launching himself toward the ground.

He landed directly on top of Drapion’s stinger, whose reaction accidentally flicked him toward Scizor. Just as Scizor’s Metal Claw was about to shred Alex to pieces, he hit the ground and kicked off at a diagonal angle, avoiding both the Pokémon and the attack entirely, and closing the distance to the Elite ranked trainer at the rear. With a sharp uppercut, he knocked the trainer unconscious, then immediately recalled and locked all the Pokémon into their Poké Balls before finishing the trainer off with a violent twist of the neck.

“Dad! That was awesome!” Lila shouted as she approached, ignoring the dead body that dropped to the ground. “I can’t believe you took down a trainer without any guns or Pokémon. That was amazing! You have to teach me!”

Alex smiled the proudest smile at Lila’s enthusiasm. There was no better feeling than being idolized by his children with such an excited look.

“Sure thing, sweet pea. It’ll hurt though. You’re going to bleed and have broken bones from the training. Just ask your big sister.”

“I don’t care! I just want to learn to fight like that,” she insisted, stars in her eyes.

“Alright, when we get back home from vacation.”

“Yey!”

Alex noted that Lila didn’t seem bothered by the dead bodies around her. He also noted that she understood they were dead and not just unconscious. He could see the recognition in her eyes, followed by a nonchalant dismissal. Either she still didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation, or she was just like him, someone who simply wasn’t mentally burdened by murder. She was a child after his own fucked-up heart.

The pair continued until they reached a specific shipping container that had already been unlocked by Gardevoir. Alex pulled it open, revealing an entire cargo hold filled with beautiful naked women bound in chains, prompting a sharp gasp from Lila. It seemed she wasn’t as cold and uncaring as Alex had initially assumed.