Chapter 34: Chapter 34
"Of course, Gary's Krabby may be big, but it has nothing on Cobalt's Kingler," Oak continued on, shaking his head, "I've no idea how the boy is doing it, but his pokemon are all absurdly strong."
"Cobalt?" Ash perked up at the mention of his semi-friend being mentioned to have one upped Gary.
Professor Oak nodded, "Oh yes, he caught a Krabby right after leaving Pallet Town," the old man confirmed, "It was maybe only a bit bigger than yours, but with whatever insane training Cobalt has been putting his pokemon through, it grew to maybe a bit bigger than Gary's Krabby from what I know before it evolved the day before he got to Pewter City."
"Cobalt huh?" Brock spoke up, "I remember him, he battled me not long after Gary. His starter pokemon had already become an Ivysaur by then, and using both it and that Kingler of his, which is as impressive as Professor Oak says, he absolutely demolished me in less than five minutes."
So Cobalt's starter had already evolved by then. Ash's eyes briefly landed on Pikachu, who still rarely battled for him when asked. He'd used Mankey and Cloyster again Brock, and it was a close call.
"Yes, Cobalt is very impressive," Oak nodded, "He got his third badge about five days ago and is currently on his way to Cerulean City, from what he told me, he heard rumours of a rare pokemon he wanted to capture."
"Heh," Misty snorted, "Looks like there's another trainer from Pallet that's better than you as well."
"Three huh?" Ash ignored her. He'd like to say he wasn't that much better than him, but unlike Gary who was zooming ahead in a car of all things, he couldn't refute Cobalt's talent. He'd grown up with him, but while Ash and Gary had been more interested in playing, Cobalt from a young age had dove into learning all about pokemon and learning all he could for the day he started his journey.
"He's left Gary steaming mad," Oak continued, "They've already battled twice and from what I gathered, Cobalt crushed him with ease. Apparently he's also taken to flirting with Gary's cheerleaders which is annoying him even more."
"Heh," Ash snorted, "That sounds like him." Cobalt was always getting under Gary's skin when they grew up. But no matter what Gary tried, Cobalt always just brushed him off. The only thing Cobalt was interested in was preparing for his journey, and once he hit his teenage years, to a degree, but he'd picked anything important for his journey over a girl any day.
Generally though, if he wasn't preparing for his journey, working out, again for his journey, or playing video games, he was flirting with whatever girl was passing through. He didn't really see the appeal of dating and such. It did always bother Gary though how skilled Cobalt was with girls, and Ash could vividly remember the mortification on Gary's face when an older trainer girl he hit on who was passing through gently turned him down, and then they found her half an hour later, making out with Cobalt.
"Gary has caught 45 pokemon so far," Oak continued, drawing the young trainer from his thoughts, "And while impressive, it's been a bit overshadowed by the absurd pokemon Cobalt's managed to get his hands on. A Charmander, a Squirtle with a rare colouring, a Haunter as well that is completely white in colour, and heck just before he went for his second badge in Vermillion City he caught a Dratini of all things."
"Wow." Brock gasped, Misty doing the same.
"They're so far ahead of me." Ash muttered to himself, clenching a fist. Maybe next time he saw Cobalt he should ask for a little advice? Ash shook his head, while they were good friends, he wouldn't really give up advice about pokemon he wanted himself for nothing. Cobalt was far too focused on getting ahead, to think giving good advice to a competitor was a good idea.
Maybe if he was a hot girl, there might have been a chance. Lamentably, Ash was not born a girl. So he could not trade anything, besides maybe give him a shot at Misty, that he would be interested in.
"Actually, from what I read off of his pokedex location," Oak spoke up, "Cobalt isn't far from you now, with the rain going as it is over there, he might end up seeking refuge as well."
Ash cast an eye at Misty, she was good looking, although bitchy. Maybe if he couldn't do it, he could somehow trade Misty for some tips. Or, load her off on him and get her to follow Cobalt instead of him. Her always putting him down was getting more and more irritating by the day.
...Honestly, if she wasn't such a bitch he might have actually bought her a replacement bike. It was just a bike, even a top of the line one was barely the cost of a few pokeballs.
___________
It was maybe an hour later, while Bill was explaining the thesis of his research to the group of three over dinner, that Ash heard the doorbell ring again, Bill quickly getting up to answer it.
And a few minutes later, he returned, and Cobalt walked in behind him, with a large, stocky Poliwrath at his side.
"Ooh a Poliwrath!" Misty squealed.
Ash saw Cobalt's eyes shoot to her, eyes lingering on her chest a bit. Misty while younger than her sisters, did still seem to have inherited the same ttype of curvy body as them, and even through the blue jacket she was wearing, her bust was quite noticeable.
Huh, maybe there was a chance? Ash doubted Misty could resist Cobalt's charm, she was too shallow. And already he could see her face flush slightly as she took the other Pallet native in.
The problem was, swinging it in his favour and making it seem like an offer to Cobalt. Dare he hope it was possible?
Finally Cobalt's eyes came off of Misty, and he greeted Brock respectfully, before his eyes fell on Ash himself and his face split into a wide grin, "Ash, buddy!" the good looking boy beamed, walking over and throwing a one handed hug around his shoulders, "How you doing on your journey so far?" he asked, waving at Pikachu who was lazily slurping from a bottle of ketchup.
The fact that he was so glad to see him, after dealing with Misty putting him down for so long made Butterfree flare in his stomach a bit before he pushed them down and smiled back, "I've been doing great," Ash replied, "I've managed to get two badges so far and I've caught tons of pokemon."
"Good to hear," Cobalt replied, pulling his arm back after a moment, "I've got three myself, I went over the Diglett Cave to get to Vermillion quickly instead of heading through Mt. Moon to Cerulean, and Saffron was just a day away so I could go for my third badge there too."
Cobalt sat down on one of the empty chairs, and beckoned his Poliwrath over, patting it on the head, "Thanks for the help Poliwrath, why don't you take a nice long rest?" he said, and then returned the water and fighting type before turning his attention back to Ash, "Still, it's good to see you, I called your mom a few times and she was worried you weren't calling her much."
Oh yeah, his mother. They got along great didn't they? He'd forgotten about that. Maybe he could ask her to do it? Ash thought on it a moment, before shaking his head. People seemed to consider physical attraction and sex a kind of big deal, while he didn't get it at all, and it frustrated him to no end how much emphasis people put on something so silly - he'd at least be courteous about it with his mother.
Best just go with the Misty plan for now. If he was lucky, it would get him rid of her and get him information to use on his journey to surpass Gary and rub it in his face!
Oh, and one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master as well of course.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
0_Jordinio_0
0_Jordinio_0 Cobalt's Current Party Levels:
Kingler - Level 42
Electabuzz - Level 40
Growlithe - Level 40
Squirtle - Level 35
Dratini - Level 37
Poliwrath - Level 33
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone