(Abandoned Power Plant, Route 9-10, Kanto Region, Pokémon World)
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(Lance POV)
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Lance kept a close eye on the young man and a closer eye on Zapdos. Despite his reservations, he was willing to permit the battle to continue only if there was no clear danger to the young man physically. Zapdos seemed quite offended by the very suggestion when Lance had brought it up. But so far, the young trainer had been very strategic in how he had battled Zapdos.
''Dro?'' Dragonite tapped his shoulder and pointed to the Charmeleon, who went down hard, but managed to hit Zapdos with a powerful Dragon Breath at point-blank range. The powerful move worsened the burn on Zapdos, as well as lowered Zapdos's stats a little bit.
He just might win this.
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(POV Shift: Nemona)
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She was just one of several dozen students who had tuned in to the livestream. Because the Paldean News Network and the Pokémon League had decided to stream it, the Staff had allowed it.
They watched with bated breath, and a cheer went up at Lance's appearance. The Battle was proving to be well worth the watch.
She watched as the Charmeleon went down, but let out a massive Dragon Breath that hit Zapdos at point-blank range, even as it struck the Fire-Type with Brave Bird. An attack that defeated it.
She felt her own spirit for Pokémon battles rising.
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(POV Shift: Cobalt Black)
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Charmeleon hadn't gone down without one last blast of Dragon Breath. This made Zapdos's burn worse and lowered its stats.
And gave Cobalt the chance to explore the choice of a new Pokémon.
His hand went to grab a Pokéball, but he hesitated and changed his mind a half a second later.
Not yet.
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(POV Shift: Alexander)
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He and Deino were shocked to see a trainer live-streaming his battle against Zapdos.
''Dein.'' Deino's mouth was wide open.
The trainer apparently changed his mind about a particular Pokémon, choosing another as a Pidgey appeared on the battlefield.
This battle wasn't going to be short.
Or maybe it would be, as Pidgey went down without a chance to show off. It was taken down in one shot by Zapdos with a powerful Thunderbolt.
To the trainer's credit, he caught his Pidgey as it fell, before returning it to its Pokéball.
The Trainer then called out his Weedle and it was quickly dispatched too. The trainer finally introduced his next Pokémon.
And it was an Abra that entered the battle, and it quickly tanked a hit from Zapdos, then evolved. The trainer seemed surprised, disappointed even, as if whatever excitement he had at his Abra evolving into a Kadabra was replaced by confusion.
Strange.
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(POV Shift: Cobalt Black)
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He was so very confused right now. Abra evolved into Kadabra and this was the very first serious battle he'd used Abra in.
It was exceedingly rare for any Abra to be able to use any sort of battling moves. Usually, they had Teleport and that was it. According to Professor Oak, Abra slept a lot to store Psychic energy, and when they reached a moment of great stimulation, they expended that energy all at once to evolve. But he hadn't had Abra all that long. Which begged the question of just how much Psychic Energy Abra had stored up when they met?
Still, he wasn't going to take this sudden change for granted. Nor was it Kadabra, it seemed, who looked at Zapdos angrily, and teleported directly behind it, before striking it with an Ice Punch. Maybe he should have Kadabra examined. Ice Punch was only available in one of two ways. By a TM/HM or through specialized breeding.
And Move Tutors weren't widespread in Kanto right now, so something to look into later.
For now, the battle was in his favor.
''Kadabra, don't let up!'' Cobalt called out.
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(POV Shift: Lance)
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In an instant, the tide of battle had shifted. Zapdos was suddenly on the defensive; ordinarily, a Psychic-Type wouldn't be this effective against a Pokémon like Zapdos. But Kadabra was using Teleport to constantly get into advantageous spots to strike Zapdos with repeated uses of Ice Punch. The constant teleportations were making it impossible for Zapdos to counter, especially since any time a discernible pattern began to form, Kadabra began to form Kadabra flipped that on its head and changed the pattern.
The constant blows from Ice Punch dealt critical damage again and again. Unfortunately, the constant Teleportations and use of Ice Punch wasn't sustainable. Such rapid uses of Teleport and constant use of Ice Punch expended Kadabra's Psychic energy faster than it could be replaced. To top it off it was a freshly evolved Kadabra, who was unused to its newfound strength in Psychic energy as well as its sudden ability to more easily manipulate said energy.
Something that became steadily more apparent as the battle continued. Cobalt Black knew it too, because he raised his Pokéball and recalled Kadabra. Who quickly left their Pokéball and tried to continue the fight.
''Kadabra, enough. You're running out of energy. You don't have the endurance to continue for much longer. Stand down!'' Cobalt tried to reason with Abra, who did not look too happy with the idea, but didn't fight the second attempt to return to its Pokéball.
''This has gone better than expected. Time to finish this. Let's kick it Overdrive! Snorlax let's go!'' He called out.
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(POV Shift: Giovanni)
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Giovanni watched with pride and intense interest as the boy he believed to be his son was fighting against Zapdos and winning.
He showed tremendous skill and possessed a tactical brilliance that reminded him of his mother.
Kadabra wore Zapdos down after Charmeleon and Ivysaur both laid the groundwork. And now Snorlax was going to finish it. The Snorlax could do it too.
Giovanni was glancing over the Pokémon's stats and moves as he watched the battle.
Snorlax took everything Zapdos threw at it and whenever Zapdos got close, Snorlax and Cobalt didn't bother with moves like Hammer Arm or Hyper Beam that would give Zapdos time to dodge, instead hitting it with Flamethrower, Bubblebeam, or Ice Beam.
Finally, at long last, Zapdos, sluggish and slowed, was slammed hard with a Body Slam. And Cobalt used a very distinctive throw. He threw the Pokéball with a Curve.
It wasn't so much the fact that it was a curved throw, but the fact that he was spinning the Pokéball before he reeled back to throw it. That was something Danielle did back in the day.
It couldn't be trained, it was instinct.
He watched the Ultra Ball clock Zapdos on the head, and the ball wiggled three times, and for the longest eternity, the ball seemed like it would fail.
Before clicking.
Giovanni released a breath he didn't know he was holding, but the look on Lance's face was the most telling.
Lance had competition and he knew it.
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(POV Shift: Cobalt Black)
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Cobalt walked over and picked up the Ultra Ball. He held it in his hand.
''I'm going to get a heart condition if this keeps up.'' He felt a massive weight lift from him when the Pokéball clicked and Zapdos was successfully captured. He felt the str,ss drain from him.
He turned to face the drone.
''I'll see you soon Surge.'' Cobalt said as he ended the stream shortly after he finished speaking.
Cobalt fell flat on his back after that.
''Oh my fucking Arceus! That was stressful.'' He groaned.
''It was impressive though, and extremely reckless.'' Lance said.
''Maybe, but I entered this fight fully aware of the consequences and dangers. It is not arrogance or lack of fear that guides me, but trust in my Pokémon. To be honest, I honestly expected the battle to last much longer. I haven't had Abra all that long you see, so I was very surprised by the sudden evolution and shift in personality.'' Says Cobalt.
''In the past, Abra's have been known to absorb ambient excess psychic energy from their trainers. When they evolve into Kadabra, their personality tends to shift to match their trainers. You saw this with your Abra, it suddenly became strategic and tactical upon evolving into Kadabra.'' Lance explained.
''Since you're here… I have a question for you.'' Cobalt says after a few moments.
''Oh?'' Asks Lance.
''There's an Island here in Kanto. I seek it, in exchange for its location, I'll provide you information on a very cruel man who threw his bulbasaur into the sewers for not evolving and some twenty years later is now in a position of political clout. I'll also tell you the city in which Team Rocket is headquartered.'' The way Lance's posture shifted was subtle, but telling nonetheless.
''You seek Dragonite Island.'' Lance surmised.
''I do, do we have a deal?''
''Assuming I can verify your information, then yes.'' Says Lance.
''Team Rocket is headquartered in Viridian City, though I suppose that's to be expected admittedly, given the city's fame and overall importance in Kanto. As for the Bulbasaur, it is located in the sewers of Trovitopolis in the Orange Islands. The mayor is the bastard who abandoned him.'' Says Cobalt.
''If your information about the Bulbasaur is correct, I'll track you down and provide you with the location of Dragonite island.'' Says Lance.
''Just like that?'' Cobalt questioned.
''My Clan has a foothold on the island. If you betray the island's location, we will know and you will be dealt with.'' Lance says.
''Fair enough. Well, I guess I had best return to Cerulean City. My girlfriend will be pissed if I leave her behi I'll see you around Lance.'' Cobalt says sitting up andhavingaving the Abandoned Power Plant.
''No doubt.'' Lance says.
Cobalt left the Abandoned Power Plant. His next legend was clear, but the path to it required a little course alteration. He'd take a page out of one of his favorite Fanfiction author's playbooks.
Sort of, he didn't believe he could pull off such absurdity as that self-insert, but it inspired him to change his plans a little bit. He'd reunite with Acerola, and they'd decide what their next step would be.
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(Author's Note:)
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I originally planned this battle to last three, maybe four chapters. But when I decided to go full Sun Tzu in the battle I quickly realized that I wouldn't have enough content. The thing with Cobalt is he's extremely tactical and Strategic, every move he makes has a reason behind it.
Streaming this battle so soon after his tag battle with the Sensational sisters was to showcase his individual skills and also make a point to Paloma. He didn't count on Lance showing up, but he had considered the possibility of at least one member of the Elite Four showing up. With Lance, Cobalt took advantage of the fact he more than likely knew where Dragonite Island was. Even his choice of information to trade was strategic.
Realistically, Viridian City is the obvious choice for Team Rocket HQ, its the Capital City of Kanto and is the main central hub of Kanto's economy. But, Cobalt previously revealed that to his friend in the Rangers who will likely have since filed that somewhere and when Lance does the same, it will be a member of the Elite Four ostensibly confirming it. This ordinarily wouldn't hold up if Lance learns Cobalt was Carro's source, but Cobalt offered up a verifiable piece of information as well. Lance is morally obligated to investigate Cobalt's claims, and he's the best person to do it to, because he's an Elite Four member of both Kanto and Johto and the Orange Islands are nestled between the two regions. Even if Lance finds out Cobalt is Carro's source, as long as he was able to verify the truth about the Bulbasaur, there's also the fact that Cobalt was friendly enough with a Pokémon Ranger for that Ranger to take him at his word about Rocket HQ being in Viridian City. Additionally, when Giovanni finds out the boy he believes to be his son is telling people this, it makes the battle between them all the more interesting.
Anyways, shout out to Morgan Sinn for his Longstanding support on a certain site that some of the sites I post this fic hate enough to threaten to block my fic, which has been rewarded by a second Character Creation Token. Morgan's oc is Alexander. I wanted to introduce the character as a small cameo when I realized that I wouldn't have enough battle content upon going full tactical. Having the POV switch between people watching the battle and having them cover what was happening was the most obvious solution when I realized the battle would on its own cover about six or seven hundred words at most instead of my original hopes for three or four chapters.
On a final note, next chapter we'll see some responses to Cobalt's capturing of Zapdos next chapter and we'll find out Cobalt's next destination. There are a few places he could go before tackling Lieutenant Surge, we'll see what Acerola thinks.
Anyways, till the next chapter.
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Thanks to Mitchell Howard, David Martinez, ROGUE505 Saver, Mathew T Linderman, Luck George, Kyle Diano, Julien, Morgan Sinn, Tom A, Nathaniel Lessord, Birhaledin, Nicholas Berenguer, Arimar26, GGbeejee, Craig Butler, Robin Kristiansen, Robert Hernandez, Dragon emperor87, Vlone_Icy, Daniel Setchell, James Fleming, and Benoit Valtin for their support on P-atreon.
And also a big thank you to Cody, Luci Alarra, TJ Cruz, Kunta, Availon90, Gavin Barclay, Dragonslayer29, Jacarya Robinson, Nathan Just, Francisco J Guzman, Axlii, Reece Hutton, Ken Harris, Zeldris Wrath, Duy, lonelynib _, Austin, D3EATH707, Cutler1812, Aleksander_402, Lewis Wilson, Profound Magician, Arzard, HxC 740 VxD, Attila Kovács, Ruby Uzumaki, Mudit Chadha, Maciek, Joao Goncalves, Dwhateverprof, Jibreel Kamal, Luis, Luis, Zeca, Rowdy_Rich, Bent, Jason, Beastmode2003, Solus 1994, Evil King and Manuel for their past support on Patreon.
The next Chapter is currently available on my relaunched and rebuilt P-atreon, to access simply search the following link, but without the dash between the P and A, Two tiers with the same benefits but different contexts. The chapters on P-atreon will be published when the chapters following them are done and dusted and ready to publish over here on this site.
p-atreon.com/TheRagFromTheCragCorner24