Olivia's confidence in combat came from years of facing trainers who assumed she was just a pretty little thing while relying solely on their well-trained Pokémon. To take advantage of most trainers' hubris, she learned self-defense, trained her body like a maniac, and even added guns when they became popular in Unova.
This allowed her to gain a swift advantage whenever opponents inevitably approached to claim their prize. She would target their groins, jugular, solar plexus, and even their toes, creating a brief window of opportunity to turn the tide by locking their Pokémon in their Poké Balls and killing the stunned trainer.
She wasn't afraid of Alex getting his hands on her. In fact, she relished the opportunity to truly demonstrate her skills.
Immediately, she fought Alex's grip and widened her arms, opening his body for attack. Then, with practiced ease, she shot her right knee forward into his undefended manhood.
Alex, having extensively trained Alvera to do the same when caught from the front, knew exactly what a confident and beautiful woman like Olivia would do and immediately countered. He raised his right knee while turning to the left, blocking the attack to his groin with his leg.
Olivia wasn't done with just that one attack. She raised her right knee even higher and attempted to kick out, targeting Alex's core to knock the wind out of him.
He continued his counter as he turned to the right, shoving her right leg to the side, forcing her to miss, while simultaneously pulling her toward him with the momentum. Then he brought his head down, smashing it into hers with brutal force.
The attack was so devastating that Olivia was nearly knocked unconscious. She might have trained in self-defense, but she was no match for Alex, who was a professional.
He continued his assault by crossing her arms and pulling them down, forcing her to lower her upper body. Then he wrapped her neck under his arm and trapped it between his chest, locking her head and both arms before applying pressure that cut off the circulation of blood to her brain.
She choked, unable to resist, even as her legs continued to knee his lower body, stomp at his feet, and kick his shins with all the strength she had. The blows were powerful enough to dent reinforced metal, yet he ignored them, focusing solely on choking her and maintaining his hold.
Eventually, as her consciousness began to fade, she realized there was no escaping his grasp, so she decided to tap out.
Once Alex released her, she slumped to the ground and gasped for breath, slowly regaining her senses.
"I think you're done," Alex said as he stood over her.
"Yeah, you have me completely beat," she said between labored breaths. "You're a monster."
"Thanks," Alex replied, accepting the compliment with a genuine smile.
Olivia shook off the loss and immediately began tending to her Pokémon, all of whom were knocked out except for her Maractus Nest, which still had plenty of fight left thanks to their numbers.
Alex tended to his own Pokémon, feeling especially proud of Grim, Knight, and Hydreigon, who had performed exceptionally in the battle and demonstrated their superb aerial superiority.
Meanwhile, Rhea worked on Mantine's armor, removing the Maractus thorns that had riddled it.
"The underside gun didn't fire even once!" she muttered as she examined the damage. "It's not even luck, just too much damage from all that heavy fire underneath. Thickening the barrel or casing won't cut it. I'd have to cover the whole thing in a thick shell, but that's just extra weight with moving parts prone to failure, and it would mess with the field of fire. I hadn't even thought about what would happen if it clogs. Yeah, scrap the underside gun. Maybe front-facing ones instead? Make them retractable when under fire. But that would add more moving parts, which means more weight. There is always a problem with the damn weight."
She examined the armor, plucking thorns and checking how deep they had penetrated and how the damage affected its integrity.
"The armor did its job though, which is a good sign. Even under concentrated, continuous fire from a powerful nest, its structural integrity remained intact. I'd have to replace the outer armor, though, since it's full of holes. I thought the thorns getting stuck was bad, but now that I think about it, the softness might have dampened the damage and prevented cracking. Alright, keep it as is for now until I find better materials."
She swapped Mantine's armor for an earlier prototype she had on hand, almost identical to the current version. It would do for now while she worked on making some repairs and upgrades.
Once the installation was complete, Mantine flew around, appreciating the armor that had once felt like a heavy burden. The recent fight had shown him that this armor was his new best friend in battle.
He had initially been against acting as a flying fortress, given how dangerous it was. He preferred a more laid-back, relaxing lifestyle, but he had been convinced after tasting the Herba Mystica and learning he would be wearing heavy armor for protection. Now, he could confirm it had been the right choice, as he had barely done anything besides survive and use Tail Wind, Aqua Ring, and Amnesia. In a way, it had been relatively laid-back, and he would get to keep eating to his heart's content, which was a solid win.
As evening approached, they finished taking care of their Pokémon before convening to discuss their plan of action. Essentially, Alex would call Olivia once Iris had established a teleportation point near every base Team Dominion held in Unova. Then, they would launch a simultaneous attack from every angle.
Olivia would focus on assassinations and business takeovers while fending off the League. Rhea would personally target her father's old business partners. Alex would strike the largest bases, while Lyra and Mika would go after the weakest ones, those with minimal military presence.
They would continue with this plan until any one of them encountered a problem that forced a retreat. At that point, they would regroup to consolidate their information, then rinse and repeat until all of Team Dominion had been driven out of the region. Ideally, they would accomplish their plan in one fell swoop, but Alex knew that plans had a way of falling apart once a chaotic battle started, so they built in some leeway to recover while still pushing the plan forward.
As they were finishing up the meeting, Alex decided to ask.
"What do you think about Orvan Kestrel?"
"Everything you have on file is accurate and up to date," Olivia answered as she prepared to head out on Mudsdale.
"No, I want your opinion on him," Alex insisted. "You've dealt with him and his expansion in Unova all these years, so I want to hear your personal opinion rather than what your informants have told you."
Olivia considered Alex's question carefully before answering. "He's meticulous, callous, and cowardly. He won't hesitate to jump to the worst-case scenario when threatened, which is why I wanted to know if you had what it takes to bring him and his army down."
"He's also very well connected for someone who operates in the Underworld. I don't know how he does it, but he has plenty of allies in the League who protect his businesses whenever their questionable practices are exposed. It's almost as if he has the personal approval of the Champion, even though I know for certain that Iris and the Elite Four aren't compromised."
"He's not afraid of delegating responsibility or being replaced either. He takes the best men he can find and hands over power easily, as if he never cared for it. I know you're confident in your strength, and you have every reason to be, but you still need to be careful when you take down his Elites. They aren't pushovers like the ones you've faced before, and they take their jobs very seriously."
"Alright, thanks," Alex said, reconsidering his approach to taking down these bases given what he was up against.
He had initially considered storming these bases as he always had, but if the regional head spooked easily, a shock-and-awe approach might be more effective.
As Olivia turned to leave, Rhea suddenly called out.
"Do you have any more information on the founders of Argent Solution?"
"Like I said, everything you have is already complete and accurate."
"I want more than that. Their schedules, habits, preferences, what time they take a shit, and for how long."
"What are you planning to do with that information? You already have their work schedules, residences, and offices. If you intend to kill them, you have more than enough."
"I want to make sure they are the only ones who have to suffer."
Olivia sighed, then pulled out her phone and swiped a few times.
"I've sent you a contact in Castelia City. He doesn't officially work for Umbraline, but we have an amicable relationship. Go see him if you want information beyond the scope of what I've provided."
"Thanks," Rhea said as she confirmed the details on her phone.
Olivia tipped her hat before leading Mudsdale and her Maractus nest to a new location. Quite a few of the weaker ones had died in the battle, staining the sand with their blood. They needed to move to avoid attracting predatory Pokémon that wouldn't hesitate to snatch a few despite her presence.
Alex and Rhea teleported back to Castelia City and settled in at a luxury hotel for the night. Tomorrow, they would begin scouting the area to get Rhea familiar with it and, perhaps, visit the contact even Umbraline relied on for information in the city.
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