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Kouji looked at the eevee and the Lycanroc, it was a good question but, he was a man who lived in violence.
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”The one looking at me.”
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”That Lycanroc looks tough, a real warrior, but a good warrior ain’t a good killer. That Eevee is watching me, and ain’t nothing scarier than a well aimed, well timed Swift.” A move that couldn’t be avoided even if you ran to the ends of the earth, it would follow you, it was aimed perfectly.
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”But that Lycanroc would be better at ripping out my throat, yeah?” He didn’t know the lesson hidden in the grass, the lesson underneath the beneath.

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Urshifu crashed through the tree moments after; yet his iron head allowed him to not feel the brain too greatly, he took a large splinter from his shoulder before he shook his head and used it on another tree where a Pidgey fell from.
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”You’re the boss, boss…But it matters a lot for these guys.” He added in his two cents, he didn’t know what this man expected, what he wanted, what he sought. But he didn’t pry.
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The white-haired thug brushed some dust off his shoulders as he looked at the smaller Cubfu, his golden eyes peered into the back of the little creature’s head, he didn’t turn as he spoke. His voice was low, and yet it resounded well in the clearing.
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”Attack that pidgey, it’s an easy target. If you’re gonna get strong, start from the ground.”

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There was a difference between brutality, and being tough; it was a thin line, but he could understand neither truly applied in this case. ”Ain’t no way they ain’t, look at those gnarly scars you both have. Can’t survive that if you ain’t dangerous.”
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The same couldn’t be said of his Umbreon, she was new, she wasn’t a long-term member of his team. Were it his Eevee, it would have been a different pokemon, it would have grown into a toughened pokemon, but the way she rolled over and allowed him to pat her belly made him sigh. ”Aye, well…Pokemon come in different shades, but sometimes I wish they weren’t all that timid.”
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Some of his pokemon hated him, there was a careful balance he kept with his own, that of being able to rip out his own throat, but yet beaten down enough to never try. ”How’d you do it? Most of mine are waiting to beat me up?” He said with a chuckle, his training was brutal.
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It wasn’t tough.

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Kouji found his words stopping in a moment.
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Anything else came to a halt, his mind didn’t seem to move in the way he wanted to, there was no special words to give out. For a moment he thought perhaps it might have been one of his lost siblings, but that went away the moment in which he looked at the person who was behind the door.
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That hope died, it was someone he hadn’t met before, hadn’t talked to before, could not remember.
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”Aye, that’s my pops. The guy’s had better days, but if you know his name, then…No, who the hell are ya?” He said as he walked forward, towards the door of the bunker, his eyes went to the Chandelure and then back to Jayden.
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Kouji found his expression stalling for a second before he began to chuckle again, there was something to all of it.
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In a way, it was a surprising interaction with the man that was Gavi-, Cillian, the man was something else in a lot of ways. There were the aspects that made Kouji respect him, there were the parts that made him want to fight the man more, to break blood with this man. But at the same time, he was surprisingly human.
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”I’m tryna do so…Planning to.” He hadn’t gotten to train yet, but he wanted to. ”Can’t figure out how to break a man without fighting ‘em, and second best is to fight someone like ‘em.”
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”Well, I wanna fight strong guys, but I’ve got my missions to do first. Whenever they come around again, gotta get healthy again.” He said as he raised his arm, tucked in a cast, his entire body felt heavy, he had to recover.
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”I’ll see about adding ya and Tempest to my sparring list, I reckon after our win we’ll all be busy.” He said with a fake pomposity that faded far too quickly, his voice broke into chuckles.
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”Y’know, I’m glad you’re one of my bosses.” He had a lot of thoughts, a lot of reasons, a lot of experiences in the last few days, but more than all of that. ”I was worried we had a buncha sofites, but you crashed down on me hard. A strong top means that the bottom can be stronger too.”
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And he wanted to go even further.

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”That looks gnarly dude, surprised you’re still working around.”
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Yet, the question turned towards him; knowing this about Temp, in a sense there were some similariites, taking after their fathers; their mothers being gone for one reason or another. Kouji believed his mother was dead but, he disliked talking about his own past but he was a reciprocial person.
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”My pops is from Kanto, not sure where my mom is from; my dad wasn’t the kind to talk about her. But I grew up in Rustboro. He was some smuggler for Rocket, he quit after the last boss got ‘imself killed, but I spent a lotta time smuggling with him, sea routes, ships, that kinda boring stuff.” He knew he was pretty good at it, but at the same time he disliked it, his expression fell to be kinda neutral.
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”He’s a pretty gross guy, but I learned a lotta good things from him, well good for rocket, so bad for everyone else.” He laughed as if it was a joke only he really understood.
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”Seems neither of us are princes, so no exciting stories there.”
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But his eyes fell on the Sharpedo, she was big, she was strong, but at the same time, she was a survivor just like her own trainer. ”You really like your pokemon huh? She survive alongside you?”

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[attr="class","body"]Kouji hadn’t expected the explosion of dust, hanging on tightly onto his Iron Jugulis, he felt himself get jostled around; yet he heard the voice that had called his name, and the blowing of sand in the air was problematic.
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But more than that was the shaking of his creature; it was trying to shake him off, he hadn’t acknowledged it, and it hadn’t acknowledged him, they were different creatures following completely different paths, this wasn’t an option.
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Yet, it wasn’t his choice; the large Garchomp bit down on the neck of his Iron Jugulis, blood and black ichor, oil spurted out loudly; the dragon roared loudly before Kouji found himself falling through the air; through the cloud of smoke; a shout escaped his throat as he found himself being rocked towards the ground.
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Until he felt the grip of claws on his shoulders; the roar of a dragon, a true dragon above him. ”That was close, thanks Roaring.” He said as he felt the comforting hold of that dragon as it dipped towards the ground, the mechanical roars of his Iron Jugulis only got louder.
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”Outrage.”
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A blue energy got brighter and brighter before in a loud burst as the air dispersed, it crashed into the large dragon, claws, teeth; its wings rasped against it.
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Yet it attacked, and Kouji watched as his Iron Jugulis was released; black oil fell as it crashed down from the sky into a large dust cloud; flattened against the ground, and that was the moment in which the earth began to shake; an earthquake that spread like a wave, turning the earth upside down.

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”Kanto…Well my family, I was born in Rustboro.” He said as he cracked his neck both ways.
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He still couldn’t see the man, couldn’t perceive him, couldn’t find him, the only thing he could tell was the gender, if that. Maybe this was by intent, but it didn’t put Kouji on a comfortable footing, it was a problem for him.
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”You? The hell you from? What’s your name?”

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Saying there were a lot of people was understating it, but it was beyond difficult to keep track of all of them, or what they were saying. He phased them out, slowly; those words became a drawl as he settled on his own thoughts, his eyes didn’t see Akira, or Eris. Akira wasn’t the type for this kind of thing, and the other was a child.
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At least he could be happy for the little things.
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But his eyes searched for one Selena Desmarais, as well as those like Kaname Fujihara, and Alba Evovae as they popped out; his golden eyes scanned the crowd like those of a Braviary.
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Yet it was a different person who called out to him.
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He let out a quiet sigh.
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”Forgot my name again huh? It’s Kouji.” This was a man Kouji could respect, it wasn’t a shared understanding of bloodshed, or violence, it was the opposite. This person was pure in his violence, truly a well-raised dog, and perhaps one day he’d get to meet their owner, but the question on hand was more important.
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”Huh? That might be true, though the softies I know didn’t join up, so I wouldn’t underestimate these guys, they might give us a good fight…Stick with a brainy person, we’re idiots.” He said as he ran a hand through his hair, there was one approaching them. ”I know one, how about you go and meet my buddy, Kaname.”
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Kouji began to smirk as he saw Kaname approaching them, and so he closed the rest of the distance.
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”I’ve got a buddy to introduce ya to, here’s Hitoshi, good guy…Well, he’s pretty violent, but it’s the good kinda violent…He’s alright. More trustworthy than me, but less than Alba…You met Alba yet? Anyway, don’t trust a lad with gold eyes.” He chuckled ominously, yet it was a joke only a singular person in that room would have understood.
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”Be his brainy person, between your brain, and his skills, you’ll be fine.” If Hitoshi wanted someone to throw his sword in with, he couldn’t think of a better choice.
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”Hey hey, take it easy. I didn’t even know, but damn, so we’re in your element huh?”
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That was a surprise, but not too unwelcome.
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”I knew you were strong, but a gym leader huh? Things got too busy on your end did they? So, were your parents also from Hoenn?” Kouji asked, in a way he wanted to know more about the friend he had made, but at the same time he had done his best not to pry.
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He hated the same thing being done to him, so he avoided it, swerved around it, and carried on as normal.
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But Kouji let his eyes fall on the Sharpedo, that was a good pokemon, a strong one, he could tell with a look. For the dark types he adored, this pokemon was perhaps a bridge between their themes.

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Kouji looked at the river that cut through the woods; the feeling of dust, and fresh grass, that smell of nature.
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”Gross.”
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His Umbreon tilted her head, and yet he couldn’t help but think of the Eevee he had lost, but it wasn’t as if she was a replacement, she was stronger, older, and a little more ruthless. ”You’re doing well, so then Temp. How do you want to do this? I ain’t been pokefishing in a while, you got any water types? Umbreon’ll keep them healthy, and we’ll…Get a good meal?”
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He wasn’t even sure on that, he hadn’t eaten magikarp in a while, but even then, it could be nice and filling.
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”You ever been fishing, Temp?”

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”Cil is pretty smart huh? She’s kinda like that too; bit lighter though.” He said with a chuckle, though he seemed to notice Temp’s eyes, and his own went to the person approaching them; his demeanor flipped, just like that of a switch.
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Kouji calmed his breathing, his hand went inside of his tunic, and stayed there; resting on the hilt of his knife, his eyes focused on the man, and yet, he allowed Temp to take the lead in this one.
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He watched as the man stopped a couple of steps in front of them, saying he stood out was one thing, but it was the shine on the hilt of the scabbard that told him that wasn’t just a model, it was a real sword; Kantonian in design.
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”On the Red Burst, the scent of Oil blows.”
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A cryptic message, and yet it didn’t mean anything.
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”You mean a fucking rocket? C’mon, the hell is that supposed to be? Ain’t even a real haiku.” The man who missed the subtlety in the air had burst the balloon of tension in a singular moment.

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