Hello dearies.....
How about a change...
Let's see someone else's perspective about our dear mc.
________________________________________
Location: Central Command Tower, Sector 1
Captain Viper hated the atmosphere of the island especially the humidity, it seeped through the glass of the command deck, curled the edges of his paperwork, and made his coffee taste like shit.
He stood by the window, looking down at the sprawling mess of Island 4, his reflection ghostly against the glass.
He took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling around his scarred cheek.
"Report," Viper said, his voice scratching like gravel.
"Evaluation prep is 90% complete, sir," a lieutenant said, typing furiously at a console behind him. "The arena is prepped and the wild specimens are caged, we have about 142 active recruits remaining out of the original 400."
"142," Viper exhaled smoke. "A 64% casualty rate, a bit high for the first month. Usually, we hover around 50%."
He turned to the wall of monitors, each screen showed a different feed: the mess hall, the barracks, the perimeter gates, different sectors.....
"The quality is low this year," Viper muttered, his eyes scanning the faces of the teenagers eating in the cafeteria.
"Too many thugs and too many dreamers but not enough killers."
His eyes stopped on a specific monitor.
It showed the courtyard, a boy in a grey uniform was sitting on a bench, polishing a combat knife and at his feet, a Nidorino was sleeping, with a black collar around it.
"Unit 4491....mm," Viper said.
"Ares."
"Sir?" The lieutenant looked up.
"Pull up his file, from day 1."
The screen flickered, replacing the live feed with archived footage.
Viper watched the recording, It was from the Selection....that first chaotic morning in the rain. He saw the boy dive for a crate and saw him pull a Pokeball. And then, he saw him get stomped by a scarred kid, Unit 3902
Viper remembered that moment, he had written Ares off right then. Hesitation, Viper had noted in his log. Failure to engage. Likely dead within 24 hours.
But he hadn't died, the footage fast forwarded.
Day 3: Drone footage of the riverbank
Ares stabbing a recruit, It was messy, amateurish and he was shaking.
Viper's Analysed: "Desperation kill, he crossed the line.....Good."
Day 10: The Outpost security cam
Selling jars of blue slime to other recruits.
Viper's smiled "Commerce, he realized points are fake currency, but goods are real. He's smarter than the ones trying to rob people."
Day 30: The Stampede
Viper leaned in, this was the moment that had really caught his attention, while other recruits were screaming and getting trampled by the Rhyhorns, Ares had baited a Mankey on a bridge, used it to farm battle xp, and triggered a mid-combat evolution.
"That wasn't luck," Viper murmured to himself. "That was calculation, he knew exactly how much XP he needed and risked his life on the math."
And then, the unthinkable happend.
"Where the hell did he go after the stampede?" Viper asked the lieutenant.
"He went off-grid, sir, his tracker signal vanished near the Northern Perimeter Fence for 28 days, we assumed he was eaten by the Aggrons or fell into a cliff but he reappeared yesterday."
Viper looked at the map, the northern Perimeter which leads to the uncharted Zone.
Team Rocket didn't go there, not because they couldn't, but because the cost-benefit analysis was trash. Why lose a squad of Elites to a Alpha Aggron just to map some trees?
"He crossed the fence," Viper realized. "He spent a month in the uncharted area where even the Elites fear to go."
He looked back at the live feed. Ares was sitting there, calm, collected, he wasn't twitching like the others.
"And he came back," Viper whispered.
Yesterdays cameras had caught the confrontation with the scarred boy. Viper had almost spit out his coffee ☕ when Ares threw the chemical vial, no Pokemon battle, no dramatic speech, just simple solution and the problem was solved.
"Lieutenant," Viper said, crushing his cigarette into an ashtray shaped like a Weezing.
"Yes, sir?"
"The Evaluation tomorrow, the standard Survival Wave format."
"Yes, sir....Waves of Rattata and Zubat, increasing difficulty."
"Scrap it," Viper ordered.
The lieutenant blinked. "Sir?"
"For the general population, keep it standard," Viper clarified. "But for the top 10 ranked recruits... I want something else. I want to see what they're hiding."
Viper tapped the screen, his finger resting on Ares's face.
"Especially him, he went into the deep woods and came back alive."
Viper knew how trainers worked, you don't go into a high-level zone and come back with nothing.
"Does he have a secondary?" the lieutenant asked.
"He hasn't registered one," Viper said.
Viper walked back to the window, the sun was setting, casting long, blood-red shadows over the base.
"He's hiding something," Viper mused. "Maybe a rare item? A strong TM? Or a Pokemon he's keeping in reserve."
"What do we throw at him, sir?"
Viper smiled, it wasn't a nice smile.
It was the smile of a scientist about to poke a rat with a sharp stick to see if it bites.
"The Arbok," Viper said.
"The.....Alpha, sir? That's a Level 25 specimen, it killed three instructors last week."
"Exactly," Viper said. "Ares has a Nidorino may be level 18 by now.... Poison vs Poison, resistance vs resistance. It will force him to use his secondary, If he doesn't.... he dies."
"And if he survives?"
Viper looked at the Nidorino on the screen.
"If he survives," Viper said, "I promote him. We need Squad Leaders for the Johto expansion, I need thinkers, not just thugs."
He turned away from the window.
"Update the roster and put Ares in Block A. Solo match to the main arena."
"And get me another coffee, this tastes like Muk sludge."
The Next Morning: The Arena
The Arena was a repurposed rock quarry, dug deep into the earth and lined with electric fences.
Bleachers had been carved into the cliffs, where the survivors sat, watching their peers fight for their lives.
Alex stood in the holding tunnel, it was dark.
He checked his belt, his pokemon were there.
He didn't know what the test was, the grunt had Just said not a race.
"Number 4491!" the loudspeaker boomed. "Ares! Enter!"
Alex took a deep breath to calm his nerves and patted Nidorino's flank.
"Showtime....."
They walked out into the blinding sunlight.
On the observation deck, looking down like a Roman emperor, was Captain Viper.
Alex looked up and Viper looked down.
Their eyes met and Viper picked up a microphone.
"Recruit Ares," Viper's voice echoed. "You spent a month off the grid and survived the stampede, you act like you're better than the trash in the stands."
The crowd murmured, Butch, sitting in the front row with a bandage on his nose, glared hatefully.
"Today," Viper continued.
"We verify that claim."
The massive steel gate on the opposite side of the arena began to grind open.
HISS.....
A sound like escaping steam filled the whole quarry.
Something massive slithered out of the darkness. It was purple and long and had a hood that flared wide, displaying a terrifying, angry face pattern..... It was freaking humangous.
[ Pokemon: Arbok (Alpha) ]
[ Level: 25 ]
[ Aptitude: Green (Deep) ]
[ Ability: Intimidate ]
Alex felt the Intimidate hit him physically. It was a wave of dread, Nidorino flinched, his Attack stat dropping instinctively in the face of the alpha predator.
"Level 25," Alex whispered. "That's.....that's a fucking boss fight."
"Defeat it," Viper commanded. "Or feed it, Begin...."
Alex looked at the Arbok as it raised itself up, towering over them. It was easily ten feet long, with fangs dripped with venom.
Nidorino growled, stepping in front of Alex but his legs were shaking slightly, Alex was thinking faster.... Poison resisted Poison so his Poison Jab would be useless and his double Kick would be neutral but weak against that bulky body.
He needed Psychic and Ground but he didn't have them but he had a Skorupi. Skorupi had Sniper, still Skorupi was a Bug/Poison and it also resisted.
"He wants to see my hand," Alex realized, looking up at Viper. "He knows the matchup is garbage and wants to see what I'm hiding."
Alex narrowed his eyes.
"You want a show, Captain?" Alex thought. "I'll give you a show, but I'm not showing you my pokemons."
He reached into his pocket but didn't pull a ball, instead pulled out the Thunder Stone Shard he had traded from the hermit and also pulled out the Flashlight he had looted from the ruins.... hope this works
"Nidorino!" Alex shouted.
"Pattern Delta! Focus Energy!"
The Arbok lunged...Bite
"Dodge and Horn Attack ! Aim for the tail!"
The battle for survival has began.
Authors Note:-
How was it .....
With a change in pov.... Others thought about mc....
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