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"You should take more then just 5. You should get yourself checked after that strike." Said a man standing on the side of the fight. As Kazimir would look towards the voice, he'd see a tired Balder, sighing at what he had just seen. "Training without any protective gear against a pokemon who's main focus is martial arts. Do you have a death wish?"[break][break]

Beside Balder stood a Zeraora that was way too happy to have witnessed this exchange. The cat hadn't been born for long, thus he was still discovering the world. So seeing something like this, with such intensity? It helped get him excited for what the future held for him. Balder looked at the excited cat beside him and sighed.[break][break]

"At least someone enjoyed it." Balder advanced towards Kazimir, towering over the man that was leaning on his coach pokemon. Since the trainer still had a shirt on, it'd be hard to see any visible damage to the chest. "Try taking a deep breath. If it hurts, you might have gotten damage to your lungs. And if you feel pain while moving your torso, then it's broken ribs."

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD COPPERAJAH APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD HERACROSS APPEARED!

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while kazimir was being looked over his urshifu towered over the young zeraora and let out a grunt and held out both of its hands up for the lightning cat to punch like they were pads used for training young boxers. if it was going to get this excited about the training then it might as well join in.
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"well...nothing feels broken. or too sore." kaz took another deep breath and removed his shirt to reveal a large hand print that was red all over on his torso that covered part of his pectorals and abs. "well...that doesn't seem bad...." as he moved a hand to poke a it he could feel a twinge of soreness spread through his body. "ok yeah...think...i'ma just not move...for a few minutes. still i don't think anything is broken, remarkably, guess i'm close to getting that iron bod ya used to have." he then realized what he just said and shut his mouth as he glanced away from balder and then looked up at him apologetically.
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"uh sorry. that mighta been a bit...in bad taste. but hey at least this means...hero work won't kill me right away." that's good yeah?" as if arceus himself willed it to help change the subject of the conversation a large copperjah came bursting out of the woods and ran past the group as a heracross was mischievously chasing it. talk about luck.[break][break][break]


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When the boy removed his shirt to see the hand printed upon his chest, Balder facepalmed. He clearly wasn't fine. The pokemon, whatever specie it was, didn't hold back much on its strike, and the mark proved it. And Kazimir's reaction when he poked it just made this clearer. The comment that followed however...[break][break]

The guy apologized, but that didn't story Balder's anger from rising within his chest. Ignoring what the wannabe hero was saying, the Alolan man poked the hand-print on Kazimir's chest, before pulling a pokeball from his belt. "If you mention that ever again, you'll regret it Kazimir."[break][break]

As the Zeraora was happily punching the "mitts" of Urshifu, Balder threw the pokeball he had to call his Camerupt on the field. "Erupt." was the simple command that the creature received. As if to vehiculate his master's Anger, the Camerupt made the volcano upon his back explode, striking both the Copperajah and the Heracross. Balder threw a quick empty pokeball in the chaos, capturing the Heracross. He then looked at Kazimir over his shoulder. "Now, why don't you tell me why you were really training in that dangerous manner?"

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD PANCHAM APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD PIGNITE APPEARED!

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balder's finger left a small white imprint on the mark that quickly faded back into the red and also left a small tingling sensation in kazimir's chest as he rubbed it. "noted." he had to remember that despite the guy being a protector he was still pretty hot tempered as well, something that the both of them sort of shared in different spades. Plus he could probably understand about losing something special, that strange green dog did never come back after it sneaked out of the secret base one night. kaz was still convinced that it was just done with him and didn't see any use for having a former vessel and food source. plus he did get it captured by team rocket that one time, that must not have been pleasant.
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when asked why he was even doing such dangerous training kazimir kept quiet for a bit as he watched the alolan man's camerupt dispatch the heracross and him catch it like it was nothing. if he could express what seeing that made him feel into words then maybe he could get him to understand, he wasn't too good with words despite his heroic monologues. still he needed to try, or well just do. "'cause i gotta get stronger," he let out a sigh as he suddenly felt like a weight fall off his chest, and no it wasn't the bruise, and he turned his back towards balder as he looked up into the sky and the setting sun heading towards the mountain tops. "stronger as a trainer, stronger as a person, as a hero, just...stronger i guess. hell i don't even know what i'm doing. meanwhile everyone else does. everyone else seems to just be...really skilled or special."
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his urshifu suddenly turned his head towards a rustling in the grass and slapped the zeraora's fists down before walking over to the tall grass as his trainer was still speaking. "we...i...couldn't do much to help pears in space...i couldn't do much when that giant tree showed up and i ended up in rocket's clutches for a hot minute. oh, did i never tell ya that?" he looked back at the man and wanted to give a smile but kept his indifferent face on as he continued, "there i think...well...i might have had some kind of pokemon come out of me. don't know what it was but i think...it was something special. and then it left me. like it didn't even want me."
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his chest was hurting again.
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"maybe i'm too...self absorbed to be pokkenger even. still wanna help people but i can barely help myself..." his train of through was interrupted as the bodies of fainted pancham and pignites were flung out of the grass and his urshifu gave them both a bow for putting up a fight. seeing it kazimir took out a ball and threw it at the pignite. "so maybe if i just build some muscles or know how to kick serious ass...i could be more useful. i just feel like shit lately and i wanna stop."[break][break][break]


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Balder listened to what Kazimir had to say regarding his desire to do dangerous training. Wanting to be stronger... It was a normal reason. Anyone would want that in their life. But for this boy, it sounded like he was pinning it as a duty. The fact that he mentioned that he needed to be stronger as a hero helped to confirm that thought.[break][break]

Yet, he was considering that everyone else knew what they were doing, had something special and/or were extremely skilled. Balder silently facepalmed upon that statement, but allowed the "fallen hero" to continue his speech. The story with Pearson was indeed troubling, but what came after... A giant tree? Why did that happen? How come he hadn't heard anything about it?[break][break]

The part after that tree though... That was more concerning. Team Rocket.. Balder frowned upon the mention of that name. It was the second time since he returned to Hoenn that someone mentioned them to him. And they all appeared during his absence. He was right to think they hadn't vanished with the death of Silas after all...[break][break]

The thing about a pokemon coming out of him though... Was Kazimir going insane? Having hallucinations? There was no way this had happened for real. First, a man giving birth was generally only a thing you'd see in a cinema, but now having a pokemon come out of him? He was on drugs. Or ate too many malasadas. Either way, this wasn't good.[break][break]

And the pathetic speech he had afterwards... Someone needed to set him straight. Noticing the Pancham body flying out of the grass, Balder threw an empty pokeball to capture it. Using the momentum of throwing the pokeball, he decided to do what the boy deserved. "Kazimir..." Balder's hand closed into a fist. "GRIT YOUR GODDAMN TEETH!" And on that line, the alolan man delivered a punch with all of his might to the side of Kazimir's jaw, hopefully enough to make him fumble on the ground.[break][break]

Unlike previously, Balder's knuckles were now bleeding a little. A reminder of his now regular skin. "Self-Absorbed? Not worthy? Who the fuck gave you permission to go depressed on our ass." The Ex-Gym Leader advanced towards the depressive boi, grabbed him by the neck and brought his face closer.[break][break]

"You know what all of those people you think are skilled or special or strong got in common? Perseverance. They kept working to get where they are. They didn't let the events around them overwhelm them and proceeded to push forward. To hell with not being worthy of Pokkenger. How many folks do you think you saved while in your fucking suit?!"[break][break]

Balder released Kazimir's throat and stood up. "It's normal to doubt. To feel lonely. But so long as you don't let fear and darkness overwhelm you, you'll shine through. And if you need it, call your friends. A certain Saint told me that. If you want to be strong, keep persevering, without putting your goddamn life in danger by doing martial arts with a bear. It takes time to develop muscles, to grow stronger, but it all starts with how you view yourself and the world."

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD MIENSHAO APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KLINKLANG APPEARED!

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kazimir turned his head when balder mentioned his name, expecting the guy to give some sort of pep talk to him in the form of some grandiose speech. ok maybe that was less an actual want and more of a desire to have that than what he actually got, a fist to his face that sent him to the dirt. the sound of the smack and thud caught the attetion of his urshifu who turned around to see his trainer on the floor and the alolan giant standing over him. "goddamnit balder what the hell was that-ghark!"
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he was suddenly lifted to his feet by his neck as he felt the man's hands wrap around his throat and pull him off the ground. surprise and vitriol were in his eyes as he tried to grab hold of balder's arm and pry it away from his neck as he could feel his supply of air starting to weaken. meanwhile balder was speaking, and his words cut deep. was kazimir really that pathetic sounding? he could barely get any reply in when he was suddenly let go and balder gave him some advice about viewing himself and the world around him while the blond was coughing and taking a few deep breaths.
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"you say that, but man you don't really know what i get up to as pokkenger do ya?" yeah being his urshifu's punching bag was probably not the best way of going about getting strong but it was some kind of stepping stone. where that step was in the climb to becoming better and stronger was still up in the air. "but thanks...think i needed that." he coughed out as he stood up straight as his urshifu came up from behind him with fists clenched until kazimir held out his arm to stop him from going any forward. "still...i think i need a bit more time to think about...the world and stuff."
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he took a deep breath before looking up to balder with determination in his eyes, "but your right, the world's got a lot of crazy shit in it and team rocket ain't backing down anytime soon. so i'll keep fighting. maybe i'll get out of this slump sooner or later. right now...i think i just needed to break outta that funk for a minute." he tried to put on his best smile for the man. it wasn't a big one, but it was still one filled with a bit of life and optimism for himself before it turned into one full of curiosity.
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"oh yeah...you were gone for a while weren't you? boy you missed some stuff, where the hell did you go anyway?" it was a question that was gnawing at the back of his head for a while now.[break][break][break]


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"I don't know what you get up to as pokkenger? Are you sure about that? Cause I did things similar to you during the Kanjoh wars. Without a mask though." The Kanjoh Wars. When Team Rocket had attempted to invade Johto after successfully taking Kanto over. Things had been so messy back then, and Balder likes to believe that he had provided appropriate assistance to the region during that war.[break][break]

As Kazimir stood back up, coughing and thanking the man for the punch, the ex-gym leader noticed the Urshifu approaching from the corner of his eye. Balder's head turned slightly to stare at the bear. A stare that wasn't challenging the creature, but served more as a warning to not try his luck.[break][break]



Luckily for both parties, Kazimir stopped his martial art fighter from stepping in. And proceeded to say he'd need more time. Simply admitting that, and the words that followed, proved that the boy was seeing a bit clearer now. For once, that punch finally had the desired effect. It had failed on Kyle, but Kazimir was knocked back into life.[break][break]

As the wannabe hero asked what Balder had been doing during the months he had vanished, the man noticed that his thunder cat was gone. Seconds later, a Klinklang stumbled out of the bushes, being attacked violently by the Zeraora while a Mienshao seemed to be encouraging the ferocious cat. The alolan man sighed and threw a pokeball to capture the Klinklang. He then directed his gaze back at Kazimir.[break][break]

"I went back to Johto, and re-visited Orre. There was... something I needed to look around for. And to confirm a few things." It was best to remain vague on the subject of his travels. There had been many reasons as to why he had gone out of Hoenn, other then dropping from the League's radar for a while.


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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD MONFERNO APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD DURANT APPEARED!

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he raised an eyebrow out of curiosity when the alolan giant explained he had gone to johto and orre during his disappearance. johto wasn't too far but orre was much farther away than any other place in the world. he got the sense that he shouldn't really pry too much into it, not unless he wanted another punch in the face or to be choked again. or worse. balder was a little more volatile than he remembered, and this was the same guy who went super sayain on an ultra beast at the start of the new year. so yeah maybe prying was not the best thing to do. he was still curious about it and was sure he could still take whatever he dished out.
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"did ya find what you were looking for though?" concern was spread on his face as he asked, no one went to far off places looking for something that wasn't important to them in some shape or form. off to the side his urshifu watched closely as the two men talked, keeping his distance but his body ready to jump in and intervene. all the while a durant walked by and looked at him only to recieve a glare before running off scared.[break][break][break]


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"Not quite." said the man, sighing as he sat down on the ground. He looked towards the sky, thinking of the trip he had. "I was able to confirm that at least these two regions weren't affected by the ultra beasts madness. No reports whatsoever. Things seem to be going just fine for them. Orre has no rocket activity too."[break][break]

"Johto... Well except the usual skirmishes with rocket, everything's good so far." Balder's eyes then drifted to Zeraora, who had found a new challenger: a Monferno. The two were going at each other, trading blows without using their pokemon abilities. A fair match. The Alolan man then looked back towards Kazimir.[break][break]

"While that hadn't been the purpose of my visit, it was an information that I enjoyed knowing. And it did help me work on my resolve a bit." As the Zeraora emitted a victory cry, Balder threw a pokeball, capturing the monferno. The monkey deserved some rest after this little skirmish.

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