Chapter One: A Distant Hero
Disclaimer: Pokemon is © Nintendo/Satoshi Tajiri.
It wasn't more than twelve years ago when Lucario saved the lives of Pokemon Square.
To be truthful, he went on to save many more - not only from outside forces, but from their despair. He gave them hope, lifted them to their feet in times of sorrow and tought them to fight on.
We knew he was the hero, but he insisted that heroes are nothing without support. Which, by picking ourselves up, was what we became.
Lucario didn't look like a hero. Heroes are said to be tall, brave, impressive to look at. But Lucario looked like any Lucario would. Predominantly blue, with obsidian markings masking his face and legs. Red eyes that gleamed with a bit more humor than they should. As the years went by he gained a scar or two, a ripped ear and a rather weary look about him. But never once did he seem unhappy. Tired, yes, but never unhappy.
But he saved us. All of us. He brought us to our feet and kept us fighting on, he kept us living. Pokemon Square, his birthplace, became the home for the Pokemon Rescue Team Academy.
"Who cares," a sneering, childlike voice barked.
A little Riolu stared defiantly up at his mother, a rather small Lucario. She frowned at him.
"Don't talk to me that way, pup," she growled, voice full of a motherly warning.
The Riolu frowned upon being reduced to such a lowly term, but this was how it was.
"Sorry," he grunted, rather begrudgingly as he averted his gaze. "I've heard it all before." He folded his arms over his chest.
"But did you know," came her rather heavy reply, like she was hiding something big, "That he was a lot like you?"
The Riolu sniffed, turning once again to look at his mother.
"In fact," she pointed out, licking her lips, "He was the reason half the town couldn't stand him."
The pup's eyes widened.
For a moment, the female Lucario turned away, eyes lowering to study the earthen floor of their single-roomed home. The building itself was constructed from wood and clay and was rather rounded. Someone had once suggested that she make it in the shape of her species' head, but Mrs. L was adamant about having a home that was no different from anyone else's. It was a painted, brown hut that was nestled in between the trees, furnished with beds, an eating area, and a food preparation area. There was also a tub for when the pup had his baths.
"Mom!" the pup sounded adamant.
Mrs. L smiled at him. "I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning."
"When you met him?"
"Oh no, Luc. Before that. Nearly ten years before you were born. When our world was thrown into chaos."
During those harsh times, the world had seemed to sink into lawlessness. Pokemon had no problems with stealing from their neighbors. There was always news of death each day. Each of these days melted into one another in a sense of one constant struggle.
Lucario, at the time, had been a nameless Riolu. He had been born into this life, and from birth he was constantly fighting, struggling to survive when his parents abandoned him. He lived mostly on his own, with his two best friends. The three of them wreaked havoc on the town, and were thus able to survive.
Years passed and he evolved. However, something very strange happened. Gradually the chaos of Pokemon Square dwindled. A mysterious group of Pokemon had wandered into our territory, and they were far from hospitable.
While Pokemon Square was full of the violent, they were seemingly no match for this strange group of Psychic types. Many were said to hail from a land to the north of here, and no one had ever seen Pokemon like them. No one knew how to fight them.
However, it was Lucario's quick thinking that saved us all. He realized that, as these strange Pokemon drew closer to Pokemon Square they were not about to stop. He did his best to round up the citizens but they were too afraid. Only a few agreed to fight, myself included.
Lucario knew we had the home field advantage, so he spread us out in hiding places all along a special area in the fields north of Pokemon Square. He knew that they were psychics, but psychics were not undefeatable. He stood before them, on his own, and told them to turn back. Turn back or they would die. The strange, mushroom-headed Pokemon merely replied, "No." And kept going. Lucario continued prodding them until their leader lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the ground and out of their way. He also told him to remove the soldiers he had hidden in the rocks. Lucario called them out.
As the strange army was about to overtake them, the ground suddenly gave way beneath them and they were pulled into the earth, brutally attacked by the ground-types that were hiding there. Lucario's plan had worked. While many of them had not fallen in. It was the strange tingling feeling that the air produced. Difficult to breathe, but the plan had worked and had prevented these Pokemon from sensing the ground types underneath them.
Overwhelmed, the group fled, and left Lucario and the citizens of Pokemon square to themselves. Ever since, the field was rebuilt and became known as Sacred Field.
"Isn't that where legendary Pokemon live?" Luc interrupted, frowning.
"Yes," Mrs. L told him. "They disappeared for awhile, and returned. It's said that if you see one it brings good luck."
"But mama, you told me the other day if I run into a legendary type it might attack."
"Only if it's awakened rudely. Aren't you grumpy in the mornings?" Mrs. L gently placed a paw on her son's head and rubbed him. "Now, you should get some sleep. It's your first day at the Rescue Guild tomorrow."
Luc stretched, curled up on his bed, and sighed heavily.
"I'm just sick of it," he whispered. "I hear about him all the time but I've never even met my own father. Why not?"
"Because," Mrs. L replied, barely masking the longing in her voice. "He's traveling the world, doing great work. Helping those who are still in their own chaos."
Luc sighed again, resting his head on his paws.
"It'd be nice if they shut up about him," he finally said, "It's not fair. I don't want a hero, I just want my dad."
It was true. Luc had always had the displeasure of watching other families, most of them complete. Pups - er - young Pokemon, riding on their father's backs or sparring with them. They shared jokes and laughs. They did not know what to do with Luc. They treated him with respect, considering his father, but there was always pity in their eyes. Sure, his dad was a great hero, but he was a piss-poor father and Luc couldn't help but feel some animosity towards him for it.
Still, as Luc felt himself drifting off into dreamland, he wondered vaguely if he would ever meet his father, where the Sacred Fields were exactly, and more importantly, if he would ever graduate from the guild in six years. His mother had told him the courses were incredibly difficult, where doing poorly was not an option.
It really isn't fair.
. . . . .
"Alright everyone, settle down!"
An auditorium. How appropriate. Luc entered and seated himself, ignoring the old female Noctowl that had tried to quiet them all and looked around.
"Our speaker will be here in just a few minutes," she hooted, and hopped away from the podium.
Mostly students. Pups. Kids. Around his age, probably. All of the Pokemon he saw were in their base forms, including himself. He spotted a Meowth kitten, a handful of Pidgey, a few Shellder, Growlithe, a very angry-looking Ponyta, and an Abra snoring in the corner, its head tipped back on the chair. Luc grimaced. Its mouth was open and its head practically upside down. It looked on the verge of falling out of the
Thunk.
chair. Luc smashed his palm into his face as a Hitmonlee picked up the Abra and draped it back in the chair. Abra were utterly ridiculous, he had learned.
His right ear twitched, noise filtering into it. An old Arcanine made his way up to the podium. Clearly, he was several times the size of the small podium. He probably wouldn't need it. Arcanine were quite loud. The Arcanine cleared his throat, although it sounded like a growl.
"Now then," he grunted, "Welcome to the Pokemon Rescue Guild. My name is Arnold, and I am the dean of this guild. I was appointed specifically by Lucario to run this place, and I do so with an iron fang."
While his voice sounded pleasant enough, Luc suspected it was only the tip of the iceberg. It made him think of a pond he had once crossed the winter before. It looked safe, but the ice was thin and covered by snow. He'd gotten to the middle, and there had been no warning. He'd fallen right into the lake, the shock of cold nearly paralyzing him, and it was lucky his mother had been there to pull him out again. Somehow he suspected this Arcanine was a lot less nice than he was acting.
The Arcanine grinned, a practiced grin that looked much more pleasant than an Arcanine showing his fangs.
"You will spend the next six years in this facility, learning and training to become members of an elite rescue team," he practically boasted. "That is, if you make it. The courses are difficult, but if you can master them you'll earn yourself a badge and eat enemy Pokemon for breakfast!"
Luc twitched. He was getting annoying quickly. Why was everyone else so entertained? Well, except for the Abra. It was still draped over the chair.
"We follow Lucario's Code here. For those of you who do not know it, I shall recite it now!"
And so the Arcanine began speaking words that Luc and many of the others would come to learn, memorize, and idealize.
"As a rescue team member, one must seek excellence in all endeavors, more for others than oneself. Seek the path of Righteousness, tempered with mercy and understanding. Seek unwavering commitment to the code and the ideals you stand for. Defend the defenseless and those precious to you. Make personal sacrifices for those you value. Have faith, for it gives hope against despair. Value the contributions of others. Express humility always. Be as generous as your resources allow. Emulate these values because they are right and just. Infuse every aspect of life with them. This is the Code of Lucario."
When he was finished, there was a strange silence that filtered throughout the room. Luc felt his heart flutter slightly. Those ideals had been created by his father. He wanted to feel utmost joy for this, a great sense of pride that wanted so desperately to fill him to the brim. However, he crushed it down, his disgust for his lack of a father overpowering it. He would learn the code and memorize it because it was his duty, not out of love and respect for his father.
"You will begin learning this code in your class tomorrow," Arcanine said. He continued, going on and on about the rules of this place. He told them about their dormitories, how they were already reserved and their information packet and schedule were already on their beds.
Luc had said goodbye to his mother that morning, as many of them had. He trudged away with the others, pausing next to the sleeping Abra. He didn't want to be left behind, but he didn't think it was right that this one was either.
"Hey," he hissed.
No response.
"GET UP!" he growled, finally shoving the Abra off the chair. "Jeez, come on, you sleep like a log! We're gonna get left behind!"
The Abra finally stirred, after hitting the floor. It stretched lazily and yawned, attempting to curl up again.
"ABRA!" Luc snarled, dragging the Abra to its feet. "Listen, we can't be left behind, come ON!"
Finally, he gave in and just dragged it along with him, sighing heavily and trying to find the others. Luckily, he saw someone disappear around a corner and found the rest of the group taking their sweet time exiting the back door.
Ugh.
Luc dragged the larger Abra along behind him. It continued to nap without any regard of the world going on around it. As he trailed behind the others outside, he wondered vaguely it was healthy for an Abra to grow up by itself. How did they level up and evolve if they slept all the time? There must have been some science to it after all. Otherwise there would be no Kadabra or Alakazam right? He'd only ever seen one other of this line anywhere and it was Jezroun.
Jezroun scared the living daylights out of him. The Kadabra was professional and polite but he'd only seen the Kadabra in battle once. It was then that whatever nice attitude he'd had vanished, and Jezroun had turned into a tyrant. He'd had the displeasure of hearing that maniacal laugh he had given. A sinister chuckling that had risen to a frighteningly powerful roar of laughter. He'd since left the battle feeling quite disturbed. While he had never met Jezroun in person (and why should he? Jezroun was the leader of one of the highest ranking rookie teams in the area), he wasn't sure he even wanted to. His teammates, that he could tell, were somewhat stable.
Luc wondered if this Abra was his offspring or younger sibling? More likely to be a sibling, he mused. He knew Jezroun couldn't be more than ten years older than himself, and this Abra was likely to be the same age as himself. But then again, the evolutionary line wasn't common around these parts. Perhaps she'd come from one of the huge caves to the east.
"Nice backpack."
The sneering voice startled him back to reality. He looked around hurriedly, realizing that he'd stopped along with the others before a pair of buildings. And next to him stood a Ponyta. She boasted a confident, almost prideful, air and her eyes were glittering with sarcasm. He liked her immediately.
However, that comment wasn't funny and he frowned.
"Funny," he retorted. "You make that joke up all by yourself?"
He'd seemed to outwit her. He had turned away when she spoke again.
"You know the ratio of graduation is about four out of ten."
"Yeah," he replied, unconcerned. It had never occurred to him once that he might fail. At least, not yet.
"These are the dormitories," Arcanine grunted. A Spearow and a Feraligatr stood before them, having exited the building earlier. "And these two here run the dorms."
"Alright," the Spearow squawked. "We'll be separating by gender. Feraligatr will take the males and I will take the females. Alright everyone, the males will stay here while the females will come with me!"
The Spearow flapped her wings and took off towards the second building. She was slow. Females split off from the group. Luc realized he had no idea what gender this Abra was. It wasn't obvious. He bit his lower lip.
"Hey," he hissed to the snoring Abra. "Are you a boy or a girl?"
His only response was snoring.
"HEY. I don't wanna have to check, PLEASE!" He practically begged.
He looked like he wanted to cry and was resigned to check, when suddenly the Abra woke up. Blinking, it looked around, saw him, and scrambled off of him.
"Uh.. hi," he stammered.
The Abra looked around, blinked, even though its eyes had initially been closed, then grinned sheepishly and took off after the females.
Luc followed the males in, and his eyes widened.
Wait, that Abra was a girl? I've been carrying a GIRL on my back ALL DAY? OH f-
Luc groaned quietly to himself. Well, at least that Ponyta would leave him alone now.
By the end of the day they had been introduced to their dorms and brought back to the guild where they ate on the first floor. By nightfall, Luc had scrambled into his new bed, unhappy with the drafty building and cramped quarters. Across from him, a male Chimchar had curled up, fires on its bottom put out so he could sleep.
He wanted to talk to the Chimchar, but his roommate was already asleep. He couldn't help but notice how restless the sleep was. The Chimchar whimpered and twitched a lot, fingers and toes flexing. He could only hope he slept better that night.