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The takedown attempt came, it was too tight to just back away; Kouji would just have to adjust.
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He felt Zev push against him as his leg was grabbed, this was a dangerous position, Kouji understood as someone who preferred going for his opponent’s legs, a soldier lived and died by his legs after all.
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It was a snap second, that was how long he had to decide on his action, and so he tried to grip onto Zev’s t-shirt just as his back impacted the floor. It was an attempt to force the man into a close half-guard, so that he couldn’t crank the kneebar.
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But that just meant he was at an impasse for now, he’d need time to get out, a battle of stamina on the ground.
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”Tch. Feeling comfortable enough to talk, huh?” Then again, so would he. ”Well, a lump of iron can grow infinitely, or that’s what I thought I was tryna say. Back then I had the tools, I just learned to apply them better with some more practice.”
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Still, he didn’t want to admit the man was right to his face, it would leave a sour taste that would go away, just as he could feel now. But even so, as they were talking, Kouji tried to triangle his legs together, to buy him even greater time in that small space, that window.
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”Going for my knee, ain’t you vicious. You’d think you hate fighting by how fast you’re tryna end this. Didn’t take you for the peaceful type, Harcourt.”

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[attr="class","text"]It was a decisive strike, even with the ship in pieces, Hitoshi had managed to pierce the great being above. Kouji couldn’t help but smirk at that strike, it was decisive, they were clearly getting be-
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”Tch…You’re not the only one, I just ended up forgetting this is just running on a script.” He knew this was a loop, but Kouji looked at the normality that was phasing into the world, and he couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh.
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”Getting sick of this crap.” It was weird, but they had almost all of the routes together, and there were just a few more left.
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”Same time tomorrow?”

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With the lack of distance between the two, Kouji knew that this was an opportunity for him, as much as it was for Zev, taking a blow this tightly would do too much.
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He used his lead arm to block the blow aimed at his Solar Plexus, he felt his forearm rock with that punch; even blocking would cause pain, and one like this was really stung. But Kouji gritted his teeth, there was only one path to attack here.
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He pushed the arm he used to block outwards, as if he was going to attack with his left but instead he raised his foot again, but instead of stomping down, he went for the shin this time around with the bottom of his foot.
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He wanted to win this battle of movement, it was why he was going for the slow and steady method; different to his preferred method of just busting his way through, but that first hit had told him that a battle of strength wouldn’t go his way this time. But, he knew just as well that he couldn’t win in just a tricky fight.
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It might have just been the start, but he could feel the walls beginning to close in.

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As a flood of flames met a comfey, and were dispersed by the Glailie, he had no choice but to opt to bring out his other pokemon.
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”Scrafty, you’re up.” He’d have to allow Houndoom to go on his own, taking the Superpower, before it returned a loud howl, torment. Even as he did so, the dark type pokemon was thrown strongly until it loudly impacted with a tree, falling down into the ground; being out cold with a singular hit.
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”Tch, gotta do more stamina training later. Weavile, you’re up.” He brought out his dynamic duo, two pokemon that could work together well, even with the Glalie in the back, and the…Whatever that weird dog was.
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”Use Payback Scrafty on that…Whatever it is. Use metal Claw on Glaile, Weavile.” He gave his pokemon instructions, to continue the battle. ”Maan, I thought you Gym Leaders were strong only in name, pretty surprising it’s otherwise.”
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That was a lie, almost a taunt.

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His elbow had been blocked, it was a solid stop to his strike, a singular arm, and that momentum was now being used against him. Simple feints weren’t going to do it, he’d have to get a lot more complex.
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And brave.
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He had made the decision for a mutual strike, Kouji was proud of his durability, how much punishment he could take, and he loaded up his right again, pulling it closer to him, by his ribs; leading foot planted solidly on the ground, back foot flexible to help take some of the impact.
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Then just as Zev’s punch came in, Kouji rele-
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His head was knocked upwards by the jab to the face, before his lead foot faltered just a bit, it was a well placed blow; enough to rock his head around. Precise, and powerful, it might just have been a jab, but it was a well placed jab.
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Kouji had underestimated the man in front of him, the added space between them would make it more difficult, when it came to striking; he’d have to pull it all out. He kicked off the ground again, he threw a fake jab, followed by a fake uppercut before he stepped to the right, trying to take the outside with his lead foot, Kouji was trying to manoeuvre for the most foot space.
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When it came to striking, Kouji understood the precepts just fine, dodge to the outside, try to take one’s lead foot to that same outside, it was the most subtle dance of dominance, and in the middle he mixed in more feints, before he opted for the foot stomp.

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”Nothing else special or important. You’ve been around the block, huh?”
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Her responses were enough to tell him that she held a fair amount of experience underneath her belt, it didn’t matter in what form, it wasn’t his business in the end. Small talk and whatever else could wait until after the mission was completed.
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Kouji waited silently until their mark came to eventually cross by, a walk back. Kouji made sure not to look directly at him, the man was way too skittish for that kind of approach to begin with, they’d lose him. ”Try to stay a few paces behind.”
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He gave a few moments before he exited the alleyway, he was sure between the two of them, they’d be able to tail him just fine. He looked down at his Rotom Phone, scrolling while walking, or at least so it seemed. With a second look, it was obvious that he screen was dim, more a mirror than anything else.
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Their mark had yet to notice anything.

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Preserve.
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It was a good word, Kouji closed his eyes and nodded, it was really the only option left to the people who had endured it. To continue to endure, to preserve, and to eventually…
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”I ain’t gonna say no to some free food.” He gave a toothy smirk as he finished speaking. ”But don’t expect me to not call ya stupid if it’s some crackpot theory.”
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Kouji took out the handle of his old walking stick, the thing that had kept him up and standing, which concealed his weapon, his only way to strike out against that cruel and cowardly world. He didn’t need it here, but he gripped it tightly before nodding, making up his mind, and looking forward.
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”Let’s grab some Paldean food, feeling like eating something spicy. A good Paella will do the trick.”
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”You’re looking as thin as a stick of bamboo anyway, feel like I’d be able to throw you around real easy around now.”
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The thing they all needed, after losing so much, and gaining a few things along the way, was time.

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He felt the pull on his bag, it was weak, yet his legs stopped on the spot, an immediate cessation of angular momentum, in a sense for the fragile heart of a child, the determination behind it made the strongest pull possible.
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Kouji couldn’t speak, he listened, his brain had almost turned off the moment he had decided to move, to turn himself into an automaton, a moving corpse, not the monster he had hoped to be. He wasn’t tout of heart yet, he was only a child after all. Even with his dreams of joining rocket, a whole life dedicated towards Rocket and their cause…
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He knew this was wrong.
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But, the dark clouds that had begun to cover his heart, to stop the view of the sea of stars known as emotion, it felt as if he could feel his own pulse again. ”The hell…I can’t jus-...”
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If he didn’t, they’d both become monsters, if one of them took this then they’d both be able to avoid such a fate. It was an obvious decision, it was the more practical path, the one with the least sacrifices.
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Thus went the lie that his brain told his heart, that this was the right way to do all of this, that there wasn’t any other alternative path. ”Where’ll you go?” But his mouth moved regardless. ”Without Rocket, you’ll just get killed out there, or worse.”
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”I can’t just…”
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But he could.

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Alba Evovae[break][break]

NOTES

- Poke-Traffiking

MADE BY GUNSMILE