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”Oh yeah, Ursaluna, that’s what that thing was called. Really rough day, we should do it again.” Kouji said with a laugh as he waved off her concern, his pokemon seemed to be in the same state, enjoying the heat though the change of energy was also not particularly great for it.
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As the heavy sunrays slowly shifted, and replaced by even more of a charge, Kouji could feel the hairs on his skin stand up, but that was the extent of it. ”I’ll be fine, I train dragon types.” He stated as he patted the head of his Roaring Moon who gave a roar in reply.
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”Still working on training them to be quiet though.” He said before he got a head bump in reply which made Kouji laugh a little before he walked closer, finger on his chin. He hummed aloud for a moment.
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”I’ve had this feeling for a while…But, I think I’ve seen you before.” He said as he looked at her left profile, and then at her right profile. It had been a while ago, but at the same time.
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”Not just as Howard’s buddy…Wait, Alexandria?” He said with a surprised voice before a grin took over his expression, a blast from the past like this took him by surprise before he extended his hand in order to ruffle her hair. ”Holy crap, it’s been ages, doing some undercover work huh?”

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”Much better, I feel like all the stresses in my life have left my soul, and flew off into the sky, or something mushy like that.” His expression changed into that of a half smirk before he stuck his tongue out,
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”Losing my touch? No way, never ever. Can’t lose something I’ve never had.” A tone filled with mirth and mock depression, Kouji turned his head away, though the smile on his face could be seen even through his side profile. ”Not like you’re one to talk.” He said as he turned back to her, finger poking her cheek a single time.
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”Got looks like that, and you’re single? Avoiding partners on purpose?” Though he was ready to quickly jump from the topic itself, and unto that of Area Zero, he knew he hadn’t enjoyed his time there, too much dryness, and a strange place, time distortions weren’t something he’d ever want to deal with again, and that place was now utterly ruined for him.
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Enough to bring his rising mood back down. ”More like a curse, but it’s a rare enough place. Wonder if the one in Paldea is the same.” Kouji wondered aloud, though he covered up his ears so she wouldn’t pull on it anymore.
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”No way no way, I’d have to have something bothering me in the first place, and nothing ever bothers me.” He said with a thumbs up, trying to play it all off, he kept eye contact for as long as he could, as if that would add extra credence to his statement. Though, making it humorous was also a way he dealt with it, covered it up, and hid it all.
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Though he was the first one to break eye contact, a little dour but he put a proper smile to his face. ”Maybe one day I’ll tell ya, right now there’s way too much to think about.” Was his honest admission.

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”I’ll make no promises.” Kouji said with a half chuckle before making his way inside, he knew what he needed to do, so a downstairs entrance was not viable. He climbed a pipe until he reached a window, an arduous task that required him to rest momentarily. The upper deck provided an easy view down to the bottom deck, where the criminals were interacting with an important guy; the way he carried himself at least. That was his first target.
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Kouji didn’t hold back when he jumped in, going straight for three of his Pokemon, Greninja, Sableye, and Urshifu, the last of which was the one that threw him from the railings at the largest of the men; Kouji’s knife had been out as he slashed at the man’s throat; using the force to land, and roll.
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He had been surrounded, but that was utterly fine. The pokeball that were to be thrown at him were dispersed by an Extrasensory courtesy of the frog-like ninja who managed to aid him properly.
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”Alright boys, let's behave ourselves. We’ve got a pretty lady on her way, and I don’t want you making me look ba-” A man to his right moved, an arm extended itself from his shadow causing him to trip. Sableye’s cry echoed from it.
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”Don’t be that guy.” It was a small moment of quiet, as they stared between themselves wondering what to do. They had backup in other rooms, and thus they decided to wait.
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Kouji was confident that the backup wouldn’t be coming.

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Kouji passed up on the sweets, he wasn’t into sweet things to begin with. His eyebrow rose as Kokou asked how to access them. ”It’s too simple to access even, just outside Littleroot down is a huge hole, right at the bottom of it is Mechanical Kingdom. It’s like that for other places. Something or someone is connecting us to them.” He stated, his voice dour, his tone serious.
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”Don’t treat them lightly, there’s things in every one of them that will try to kill you if given the chance.” A warning, properly given, he hoped it worked out well for Kokou if he chose to go into them. The boons one could get from visiting those places was well worth it.
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”Make sure to bulk up a bit, maybe carry some salt and incense?” He decided to kill the serious mood there.

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Diana, Kouji couldn’t say he had worked with her before, though he had heard her name once or twice. Working with her was going to be interesting, but then again he might as well make a good impression.
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”Yo, I’m Kouji, if I’m dying please smash a brick into the side of my head.” Morbid humour was perhaps one of the things he’d been relying on a fair deal recently.
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Being posted in outside seating at this high up bar was a choice of his, he wanted a vantage point to look down at the warehouse below; where he knew pokemon were being smuggled into. A part of him wondered just how they could handle this.
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It was a matter of people smuggling pokemon from Galar, which ate into their profits. Kouji didn’t really mind, even if smuggling was one of the two things he was good at beyond violence. It wasn’t easy, especially with only a recent lift on the embargo. So, he made himself comfortable as he watched their movements.

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Working with Victoria was something he enjoyed a fair bit; a real professional which made his own job easier, but on the other end he didn’t really know much about her either. He held his hands in his pockets as he passed on the binoculars. ”Here you go, reckon this will be fun?”
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He at the tiny island they were on, it could take a fair while to last on this; but if they managed to catch however was smuggling through this root, even if it took a while; there was something large they could make of it.
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Rocket wasn’t the only criminal organisation, even if it was by far the largest of them all. Kouji as a smuggler could properly appreciate the effort that went into doing it, but that was also why he was going to cut into their profits, for rocket.
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It was an organised movement, so they couldn’t just rush in. A part of him had considered just blowing up the warehouse, but there was a chance of taking the pokemon.
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”Any chance we could get our hands on some C4? If we sink these mini islands, we can stop one of their exchange points.”

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Testing air defences wasn’t something Kouji particularly enjoyed if he was going to be completely honest, but at the same time it was a necessary thing. He wasn’t tasked to do this by anyone, but in the same vein, he needed something to distract his mind. Dangerous tasks, adrenaline, just something to make him feel alive for a few moments would do. On the back of his Roaring Moon, he found himself getting just that.
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Flying near Ever Grande City was dangerous, stupid even, but it was exactly the kind of thing that he wanted and liked to do.
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The hot air, the sun over head, the humidity, and the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair…Even if he could have done without the bugs. He took in a deep breath as he held on tighter, urging the dragon to take a quick dive closer to the city.

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Training had been ramping up for a while, ever since that address by Boss Walsh, Kouji had expected this. It felt almost hollow, all of this hardwork; but it also felt different to every other operation that had been in the works.
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It wasn’t just a matter of pokemon training, but the physical work had gone up, moving items, moving people, moving pokemon. Even now, Kouji was in the middle of fighting; moving between punches, he blocked one that had come dangerously close to landing at his liver with his elbow, the hiss of pain from his opponent caused him to dive forward, taking the leg of his comrade, and pulling at it while pushing with his shoulder, and turning.
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A standard single leg takedown, before he straddled the opponent fist held tight before he got up onto his feet, and rubbed his elbow. ”Good hit, fucking sucks. Get your fist checked out, I’ll see if anyone wants a three way fight.”
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Yet as he looked around the training area, he found his eyes landing on a familiar frame. Kouji flashed a momentary smile before he waved. ”Yo Admin Cross, see that you’re busy, which means we’re busy.”

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Taking Dracozolt out to eat was rather important, just like Tyranitar it had a rather large diet that the rest of his pokemon didn’t have…Thinking about it, he was finding out more and more often that his pokemon were taking up more and more of his budget. The Dracozolt could eat berries though, so he wouldn’t find himself struggling to get certain smells out.
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”Mah, I really wish you ate rocks and mountains…” Kouji said as he patted the back of the dragon who gave a happy trill before eating on another berry that it had knocked down from a large tree. Oran berry, they made some rather good pies for pokemon, but Kouji wasn’t much of a baker.
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Still, he allowed his attention to wander which meant his dragon type wasn’t being watched properly in that moment, a large cracking sound got his attention as it hit the tree with a bolt beak, causing a conundrum as a swarm of beedrill began to peek out from the felled tree.
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”Oh fuck.” A shock of electricity, but it was hit by a poison jab causing the dragon to jump back and look at Kouji. ”Run. Let’s fucking run.” And the two did exactly that as they were chased by this swarm.

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Zacian.
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Kouji nodded as he stepped forward with a heavy step to meet the leaping warrior with a barbaric overhead strike; two blows would meet in the middle but Kouji felt himself being pushed back by the superior weight of his opponent, size made a difference when he could feel his stomach churning at the slightest of movement but he fought the bile and blood down with a hard swallow as he reconfirmed his footing.
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Ready to follow up with a secondary hard strike, an uppercut with his opposing arm as he felt his head ring, his ears ring, his balance attempting to go from him.
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Tyranitar was struggling in a similar manner, the Sacred Sword had come far swifter than the behemoth could deal with. A sharp blade that cut at both of its weaknesses, almost threatening to take it down in a singular strike, but the Dark type roared with a roar of conviction as it forced energy from the shard within its body, changing from merely being a relative of dragons, to one of its own.
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Before it leapt at the legendary with a mouth filled to the brim with flames, Fire Fang. Yet it knew, it was experienced, a Tyranitar before every meeting its trainer. A pokemon tested in fire and flames, a hero like this wouldn’t fall to a dragon. That sword existed to cut its ilk down, and the one who could guide him to a better resolution was lost within himself.
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Yet, he had lost to that human, and so he would fight for that human. That was the shattered pride of the monarch of rock and sands rushing towards the sharpest blade.

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”I’ll come with you whenever you decide to go, it’s not a place you can go to unprepared.” Kouji said as he thought about the man’s musings, a wistful smile on his face, a part of him had always wondered about what happens to those who pass for ages, and even now he wasn’t really sure what truly happened to someone.
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”Can’t say, I haven’t died yet. But a lot of spirits end up there, that much I can say, and then they pass on when they’re ready…It’s like an empty place, not much there. It was…Peaceful? Almost. When I got possessed, they tried to make me join ‘em. But, it doesn’t seem like hell, and a part of you wants to stay there, like a part of you is supposed to be there?”
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He wasn’t even sure if what he was saying applied, but that was how it had felt to him. ”But, once that’s done, that call is gone. You ever felt like throwing your keys off a bridge? It’s a bit like that. But a whole place. Humans might go there, and come back in some shape after they pass on, or the spirits that stayed there are fake…Who knows? That’s the mystery of life.”

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”I thought I was being slick if you ask me.” Kouji said as he rubbed his ears, not truly out of pain; but out of habit. ”Can’t say things are much better for me, work has me move around a lot…So I’ve been too busy to break hearts.” He jested with a subtle laugh.
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Though the chuckle died down right before he hummed aloud, his index finger tapped on his chin for a few moments as he considered how to answer her question. His eyes shot upwards, before his golden eyes locked onto hers, a cocky smirk adorning his face. ”Me and Trouble are fated to be together, but to answer your question…It was in Area Zero while I was working, got there, and next thing I know, I come out four years later, it's really hard to explain that one to the manager.” He said light heartedly, the happenings of Hoenn were utterly strange.
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”Might have to go back, maybe these ears of mine will shrink instead, can’t have you stretching one of them too much.” Though, when the opportunity came to tease her properly, his dull smile spread wide, almost a cheshire grin as he hovered his hand above her head.
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The height difference wasn’t truly staggering, but it was enough for him to still tease her. The comfortable, lighthearted fun he was partaking in was enough to bring a flicker of a shine back to his eye as he patted the top of her head.
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”Yeah yeah, I’m sure you can beat my ass after you bite my ankles like three hundred times.” He gave one final pat as he leaned back against the fence post again, arms crossed over his chest; and a raised eyebrow.
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”From the sounds of it, am I the only one that missed this? There you go, I repeated it. Never ask me again.” He said with mock annoyance before he let go a long, over exaggerated sigh.

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