"You!", a young voice exclaimed, his hands quickly punching the target. The cold water of the rice paddy splashed from the direct contact, a smile forming on the figure's face. His small, black paws slowly picked up an unusual purple rodent, whose teeth was pretty large for such a small creature. The figure held it up by the usually curled tail it had, a small sparkle seen in his sky-blue eyes. From the looks of it, the figure had knocked it out cold.

"Ahhh…", the small figure, which was around the height of 3'6", took the other paw and adjusted the wide, shallow hat made of local reeds. He brushed his deep blue fur off, scratching around his ear. "It looks like your time in this farm is over, feeble Ratatta," he said in his best attempt at a stoic tone, trying to imagine himself as the greatest warrior in the land. But, he was just a small Riolu in the farming section of this town. What could he do besides try to get a morsel of rice each day?

The young, dog-like creature hoisted the rodent over his shoulder, a task which was quite easy for his strength. "Now to get some of that delicious rice," he said to himself, trudging through the murky waters of the paddy. He always thought of rice as a luxury, even though the locals more in town could afford bags upon bags of rice. He smacked his lips, knowing how the locals paid him in fresh, steaming hot rice from the kettle. Before long, he reached the door of the residents he was working for that day.

He raised his paw, brushing aside the reed-door. The creature's nostrils caught the all-too-familiar scent of the cooking rice. He inhaled deeply, and sighed in an incredibly relaxed manner. He had always loved that smell, the one that kept him going each and every day. "I took care of your problem," he said to the residents, putting the Rattata down onto the dirt floor of the humble abode.

"So this is what has been eating the crops," a young woman, around the age of twenty-seven, said to herself, crouching down by the unconscious Ratatta. Her chocolate-brown eyes examined every portion of the rodent, her tanned hands prodding it in various spots. The RIolu simply made a grin, then a nod. He took off the reed hat and gently placed it on a worn bench. "Yeah. He was persistent, but by Arceus I got him!", the Riolu exclaimed, puffing out his small chest in confidence. The woman made a laugh, her brown, makeshift outfit bouncing up and down. "That's great to hear! Now I know who to contact if more come around," the woman said to the young creature, giving him a small pat on the head.

The Riolu couldn't help but make a childish laugh. He was known to the local farmers as a caretaker, someone to go to whenever they had a pest problem. Even for his youthful age of ten he was already considered an expert in this. Not only that, all he requested for payment was food and a place for the night! It was the perfect deal to them! "Yeah," he said in a shy tone, letting off a small grin.

Just then, the rodent twitched some, shaking his head. The woman looked down, raising a brow. "Or maybe, I misjudged you?", she said to the Riolu, looking back up at him. "Ummm…I don't really like to kill the pests. I release them out in the nearby forest most of the time," he explained, standing there as a nervous blush overtook him, pressing his paws together in a timid fashion. The woman nodded, and simply pushed the Rattata towards the Riolu. "Then go. The rice will be waiting," she said to the fighting-type, giving him a small wink. The Riolu made no hesitation in hoisting the rodent over his shoulder once again, and giving her a small nod of the head, "Thank you, Taki-san." With the utmost satisfaction in his system, the RIolu quickly ran out of the hut, running along the designated dirt path.

"Don't worry Rattata. We'll be there shortly," he said to the rodent, who made a small growl as he started to come to again. The bobbing motion of the Riolu's sprint only made it all the more obvious that the Rattata was becoming conscious once more. The Riolu knew that, from past experience, when his pests wake up, they tended to bite and maul him with their claws. He could see the forest-line come closer into his view, the tall trees shading the brush underneath. The Rattata was almost there, almost on the brink of consciousness…

As he reached the edge of the woods, the Riolu more or less tossed him in, hearing a cry as the limp Rattata hit the ground. Then, a rustle as the Normal-type swiftly ran off into the dark woods, hopefully never to be seen again. "So glad that's over with…", the Riolu said to himself, adjusting the hat on his head ever so slightly. With a sigh, and a kick of the dirt, the young fighting-type slowly walked back to the humble abode of Taki-san. He looked over at the sun, which was just above the horizon, ready to rest from the typical day in the farming section of the town. The sky was colored in a hue of fantastic colors, ranging from the deepest purple to the ecstatic crimson. Soon, night would fall. Soon, he would get his payment for the job…

The day was bright, the sun beaming down onto the farming section of the town. It glistened off of the rice paddies like a mirror, a smooth surface that seemed to be made of pure light. There was some laughter, along with a soft footsteps. The Riolu made an innocent laugh as his paws reached out towards the butterfly in front of him, his steps towards it light. He had a wide grin spread across his face, clearly entertained by such a simple task.

Watching the Riolu from the shade were two canines in the shade of the hut, one having his arms wrapped around the other, holding her close. "Look at that Toshiro, our little boy is adorable," the one in front said, rubbing her black muzzle into her mate's soft, yellow chest fur. The other, Toshiro, caressed her stomach with his black paws, before giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. Instead of the typical ruby red eye color of other Lucarios, Toshiro had a bright, sky-blue. He was a brave Lucario, putting his family's well-being in front of his own. A noble and loving fighting-type one might say.

"That he is, Minamori," he said to her in a fatherly-like tone, holding her even closer to him. "And it all started with a flower," Toshiro added in, remembering the times he had with Minamori. Such wonderful memories…

When they had first met, Toshiro was incredibly nervous as to what to say to her. The young Minamori complained that up in a tree was this beautiful flower, a pale pink and had this sweet scent to it. She had tried many times to scale it, but she could not. With a swift leap, Toshiro had easily caught the flower in between his paws, delivering it down with extreme caution. He remembered the way she looked at him that day, a blush on her face and a giggle letting loose out of her mouth. Her eyes seemed to have a spark of newfound interest in the young Toshiro, who was only a Riolu at that time. Ever since then, it was one brilliant day to another. They were never alone, or unhappy. With each other, nothing bad seemed to happen to them.

As Toshiro held his lover close, he heard something that came to him as typical. He glanced over at the dirt path in between the rice paddies, expecting to see a large group of warriors making their usual patrol. Instead, he was met with the sight of a single warrior, his helmet off, which was unusual for a warrior. "Minamori…..G-Get Shinsei….", he said to the female Lucario in a terrified voice, releasing his grip on her. She looked up at him with her ruby red eyes, a worried look on her face, "Why? What's going on?" Toshiro's usually gentle voice was shrill as he saw the warrior approach, drawing his katana as he had a look to kill on his face. "GO GET SHINSEI!", he shouted out to her hoarsely, nearly throwing her away from him as he leapt to his feet.

Minamori made no hesitation to abide Toshiro's command. She started to run towards the Riolu, who only stopped to look at Minamori. "Mommy?", he asked her in a confused tone, noticing her face of terror. He felt his body freeze in fear, a wave of terror flooding his essence. Minamori made a cry as she approached her son as fast as she could, her arms outstretched towards him. He wanted to embrace her, but he couldn't. For some reason, he had to stay put, although he couldn't explain it. It seemed like eternity before the mother barely touched him. But instead of an embrace like he expected, he felt himself pushed roughly to the side. He was confounded at this action, but became disoriented as he tumbled down the bit of muddy hill before making a small splash into the swamp-like rice paddy.

The Riolu felt himself sink down into the paddy, his vision obscured by the disturbed silt. He heard inside of his mind, Minamori's voice. "Whatever you do, don't surface. And….I love you….", her voice said to the young Riolu, sounding almost broken and terrified of the events unfolding above of the water's surface. He felt his heart sink, starting to think something serious was happening. It seemed like forever as he waited, hearing the faint sound of punching and slicing. It wasn't long until the Riolu started to long for a hint of fresh air. With his lungs filled with used air, the Riolu gently bobbed his head up out of the water's surface. He took in the cool, murky air gratefully, his face covered in silt and reeds.

'I wonder what's going on?', the young fighting-type thought in curiosity, raising his head just above the bank to see what was happening. His heart nearly stopped at the sight. His father laid on the ground, the noble and chivalrous Lucario, spread apart, his breathing incredibly quick. His usually well-tamed chest fur was now soaked in blood, a puddle forming underneath his body. The Lucario made a look towards the rice paddy, before noticing his own sky-blue eyes looking back at him. The Riolu froze in shock as the Lucario's eyes said it all. Before he could do anything about it, the Riolu watched his father stop moving altogether. Those eyes continued to look at him, even after the Lucario had passed away.

The Riolu watched the warrior crouch down to him, before closing the Lucario's eyes with a motion of his hand. "Daddy!", he screamed out as hard as he could, but he found that his voice failed him. Soon enough, he was sobbing uncontrollably, shouting out, "Daddy! Daddy! Please! Don't die!"

Everything quickly faded out to black…

The Riolu tossed and turned in the pile of straw Taki-san prepared for him during his work. He was breaking out in a cold sweat, his paws grasping large pieces of straw tightly. "N-No! Father! Why did they kill you?", he nearly screamed out, kicking his legs and sending pieces of straw everywhere in the small corner. Before long, the Riolu sat upright in a split-second, his face looking terrified in every way possible. His sky-blue eyes looked around the dark hut for a few moments, before he looked down at his palms, faintly visible from the dim moonlight. 'J-Just a dream….', he thought in relief, knowing that that event happened seven years ago. But there were several things off with what had happened. Why did they kill his father? And why couldn't he hear his name when they said it?

He looked around in the shack, seeing none of the people in sight. This only made the terrible feeling of loneliness overwhelm him. He curled up in the bedding, holding his knees close to his chest. With that, he let off soft sobs, hating all of those horrible memories. His mother abandoned him, his father was killed for no reason, and now he was left all alone….The only thing that kept him going was to at least talk to his mother, get some sense out of this madness.

Slowly, the young Riolu's mind slipped into unconsciousness, a single tear dropping from his beautiful sky-blue eyes.