(Thank you, RedWarrior for all you have helped me with!)
Life's Restrictions
Chapter I:
Dianna and Lucario
A Lucario watched as the small village before him woke with the morning sun. He was standing on a hill to the west side of the small collection of houses. There was a forest behind him. The trees were a mix of tall oaks, elms, and maples. Their leaves green and shining in the morning sun. There was plenty of room between each tree and the ground was littered with fallen leaves and branches.
Being careful to stay hidden, as Lucario were highly sought after Pokemon in this area, he quietly turned and stepped into the woods and then paused and glanced back at the village behind him. With a small smile, he turned and continued silently through the trees.
A girl who had strayed from her home watched as it disappeared. The girl was 14 years old. She was wearing a purple short sleeved shirt with pants that were torn and rugged, so much that the color of them had faded away. Her eyes were a stunning blue/silver color. Her short hair resembled the silver taint in her eyes. She had a single Pokeball hanging from a chain on her neck. Quickly, she followed the Lucario into the woods, keeping the rare Pokemon in her sights.
Suddenly, the Lucario jumped and landed on the branch of a tree in front of him. There, he crouched and waited, the branch shaking beneath him. Soon, the teen came into view. The Pokemon watched her in curiosity. The girl stopped and looked around, as if wondering where the Lucario could have gone. A slight rustle of the leaves in the tree above her head alerted her to his presence. She turned her head upward and locked eyes with the Pokemon. She smiled a warm smile that would have melted even the coldest ice.
"You know you don't have to hide," the girl said quietly in a voice barely loud enough to hear.
~I know, I just didn't know for sure if it was you or one of them.~ the Lucario spat the word 'them' as if it was venom. ~You can never be too careful, right?~ The Lucario was speaking by use of telepathy.
"I guess. So, what are we doing today?" the girl asked, excitement creeping into her voice.
The Lucario said nothing but jumped off of the tree and into a small, warm patch of sunlight and smiled. So, show me what you can do, as a review of sorts.~ he said calmly, getting into a fighting stance. His smile turned into a smirk.
"You got it!" the girl said. The girl reached for the Pokeball on her neck and un-clipped it with a gentle tug. She said nothing as she tossed it high into the air. The ball fell down and opened right before it touched the leaves that littered the ground. A flash of white light signaled the arrival of another Pokemon. As the light faded the Pokemon let out a cry of "Dratini!" and settled to await orders from its trainer.
"Dratini, use flamethrower!" the girl commanded. The Dratini did so without question. The attack roared at frightening speeds towards the Lucario. Hastily, he summoned a Protect shield. The flames, though fast, weren't all that powerful and were easily blocked by the shimmering wall of energy in front of the Pokemon.
~Very good. But I see you still need a little help on the power.~ the Lucario said. He concentrated and formed a ball of blue energy in his paws. He then threw the Aura Sphere at the Dratini. The trainer smirked and ordered her Pokemon to create a Protect shield. The Aura Sphere seemed to struggle to break the shield, but not even the power packed ball could not penetrate the wall of energy and it soon lost all of its energy, shrinking until it dissipated.
~Well done, you have completely mastered Protect. I'm proud of you.~The Pokemon mused.
"Well, I am not the same girl I was when I first found you and you should know that by now," the girl countered. "I've grown a lot, thanks to you. Soon, Dratini will evolve and we will be the best pair in the world!"
~Yeah, sure just keep thinking that. You need to learn you'll never be the strongest.~ The Lucario growled darkly.
"I wish you would stop saying that, Lucario. We will be the strongest. No one will stop us!," the girl said confidently, giving the Pokemon a hard stare. "Now, Dratini, Dragon Breath!"
The Lucario's eyes widened in surprise and he just barely dodged but not without a few hairs being singed.
"Didn't see that one coming, did you?" The girl said with a laugh, her smile back.
~You got me there.~ The Lucario laughed. ~But let's see how you block this one.~
Later, the pair stopped their playful fight. Lucario gasped for breath, having come out of the fight with only a few scrapes. The girl and Dratini, however, were looking worse for wear. Dratini was missing a few scales and had plenty of bruises littering her body. Dianna had managed to get a few bruises and cuts herself from flying twigs and stones the battle had churned up. Wordlessly, she recalled her Dratini to its Pokeball and clipped it to her necklace.
~I've gotta admit, that was better than expected, Dianna.~ Lucario praised. ~But, I've got to go now. I have other things to do before the end of the day.~ Dianna nodded as she had been expecting that and Lucario left, disappearing into the woods.
Lucario stopped only when he arrived at a lake. The lake was small, barely bigger than a pond. The water in the lake was a clear, blue color. Kneeling down on one knee, Lucario muttered, ~Master, come home soon. I miss you.~
He rose and stretched. The sun began to sparkle upon the water. Lucario looked at it and smiled faintly. The way the water sparkled reminded him of the days he had spent with his trainer. Knowing remembering would do him no good, Lucario hastily left the lake's edge.
The sun shone down through the trees, casting speckled, dancing lights on the ground. As Lucario walked, tall ferns gently brushed against his legs. Once or twice, his feet got caught in a tangle of plants and unbalanced him for a few heartbeats but it wasn't hard for the Pokemon to regain his balance.
The sky above Lucario's head was a calming shade of blue. The sun was high in the sky. Any clouds floating around were a soft shade of white. Lucario narrowed his eyes when he saw a large shape circling around his head. The shape stopped right above Lucario's head and dove, heading straight towards the rare Pokemon.
With a grunt, Lucario leapt out of the way of the incoming shape. Pulling out of the dive at the last minute, the creature let out a squawk as it landed, still flapping its large wings and looked straight at Lucario, beak wide open.
Using his knowledge of Pokemon behavior, Lucario realized that this Pokemon, who was a Pidgeot, was looking for a fight. This was the last thing he wanted to do right now. However, Lucario had a reputation to uphold. Losing to this weak-looking Flying-Type would not be an option.
Lucario concentrated, directing his energy to his paws, which were stretched out in front of him. As he shot the small ball at the Eagle Pokémon, he felt a little of his energy leave him. He was still tired from the battle with Dianna's Dratini. This most likely wouldn't be an easy battle.
The ball of energy rocketed towards the Pidgeot, who simply grunted as the ball exploded on its chest. Too late, Lucario remembered the type disadvantage he was at. Fighting types and Flying types were great in a battle together, but not when fighting against one another.
"Pidgoo," it cried in anger as it beat its wings quickly not missing a beat. Lucario shifted his left leg behind him and leaned forward, bracing himself. Once again, he charged an Aura Sphere and tossed it into the wind in an attempt to shield himself from the Gust attack. Unfortunately, this did not work out as well as he had hoped and he quickly found himself flying back in response to a combination of Gust and Aura Sphere, his attack having been tossed back at Lucario as if he had never even tossed it.
Lucario screamed in pain as he was picked up into the air and tossed at least his own body length before slamming into the ground and sliding a ways further. He could feel his fur being pulled out and gashes being left on his skin by the ferns and sticks that littered the forest. He lay where he stopped for a few seconds before struggling to his feet.
Looking towards the Pidgeot, he saw it hovering just above the ground. The bird's wings began to glow an eerie white. With a fierce battle cry, the bird launched itself at Lucario. Lucario immediately readied a Shadow Ball, an attack his Master had taught him. Just as the bird came into range, he flung the ball of dark energy towards it. With a echoing boom, the ball exploded. Lucario heard the Pidgeot cry out. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, he saw the Flying type panting on the ground. It tried to raise its wings to fly, but winced before they were all the way open. Lucario raised his paw as a signal for it to stop.
~Good fight, Pidgeot. If you were anything other than a Flying type Pokemon you may not have been so lucky in this fight. Its been a long time since anyone's made me pull out my Shadow Ball attack. Keep training. ~ Lucario praised.
~Here,~ Lucario said and handed it the only Oran berry he had on him. He knew where to get more and, even though his injuries were bothering him, they could wait until later.
Dianna was wandering around the small town when someone cried out, "Dianna!" she turned around. It was her friend, Amber. "Dianna, wait," Amber panted, stopping beside the girl.
Amber, like Dianna, was 14 years old. She had brown hair and blue eyes that were speckled with green and grey. She wore a yellow shirt with jean shorts that fell down to just above her knees. She also wore a Pokeball around her neck.
"Pidgeot is hurt!" Amber said, still gasping for air. "I seen her land somewhere in the forest. Dianna, we have to help!"
"Lucario!" Dianna muttered under her breath. Amber glanced at her.
"What?" Amber asked.
"Nothing. I'll go get some berries, you wait here," Dianna said quickly. No one except herself knew of the rare Pokémon that stalked the woods. Dianna had met Lucario one day when she was lost in the dark woods. A wild Pikachu was threatening to shock the poor girl, when Lucario came in and scared the Pikachu away with a well aimed Aura Sphere to its feet. The Pikachu ran off, frightened. From then on, Lucario became Dianna's second favorite Pokémon, after Dratini that is.
"Let's go!" Dianna cried and started for the woods.
"Dianna, this way!" Amber called, charging the opposite way.
"Oh.." Dianna said, changing direction and pelting after her friend. Amber raced towards another section of the woods and stopped just inside of the trees. It took Dianna just a short amount of time to reach the other girl. When she did, she found Amber kneeling on the ground and holding the injured Pidgeot. She flinched slightly, looking at the Pokemon's injuries. They weren't too serious, but they definitely weren't something to ignore.
"It's alright, buddy. I'm sure you're just fine. Lucario would never hurt you too badly. He knows your limits," Dianna murmured just quietly enough for the Pokémon's acute hearing to hear her and not Amber. She took her bag off her back and pulled out a Sitrus berry. Feeding it to Pidgeot, she smiled. Dianna had known for a long time that Lucario was often challenged to a battle by this certain bird. By the looks of it, the Pidgeot had gotten stronger since their first battle and was now beginning to fight back.
Lucario must be hurt too. Dianna thought with a hint of worry flickering in her eyes. The Pidgeot cooed slightly as if to say, 'Lucario's fine.' Dianna gave the Pidgeot a relieved look.
"Is he better yet?" Amber asked.
"As good as new," Dianna chirped, stepping back so Amber could see.
"That's wonderful! Thanks, Dianna," Amber said, obviously relieved.
The Pokemon stood up and let out a loud cry. Laughing, Amber followed it as it flew into the woods.
Lucario paused at a lake. The lake was so clear, you could see a speck of dirt all the way in the middle if you were standing on the shore. He settled down to meditate.
Master may never come back. He may be gone forever. People are going to start to notice me, lurking in the forest. Dianna already has. How long before her friend finds out? What a selfish trainer I've ended up with.. If only he were more like Dianna.. Why isn't he?
Lucario shook his head. Some questions couldn't be answered until after they have been asked. This he knew. He once asked himself if his master would ever leave. That question couldn't be answered then but it can now.
Lucario's master left about three years ago with shining eyes claiming, "There's a wide world out there, Lucario. it's waiting for me, I just know it." Master looked at Lucario, smile fading. "Lucario… I don't know what to say… But I've made up my mind. I have to go. I'll be back, I hope. Until then, wait here for me." With that the man left his Pokémon in the very woods he has stayed in. Lucario forever missing his teacher and friend.
And yet, anything is possible… Was Lucario's last meditative thought as he opened his eyes. A rustle in the bushes announced the arrival of someone or something. Lucario's heart rate sped up, startled. No one usually came near Lucario while he was at the lake. He stood and turned towards the noise.
Dianna smiled as she watched the pair disappear into the horizon. She began to think about her own Pokemon and looked down at her Pokeball.
Dratini was Dianna's first and only Pokemon for the many years even before she began to give it training. Dratini and Dianna had always been best friends.
They were happy together. Always the center of attention it seemed. But, happiness can't last forever. One year, a group of criminals had come and taken almost all that she cared about away from her.
Flash-Back
It was a warm, summer day. Life was normal in Dianna's household. Her mother was making breakfast in the kitchen while her dad was outside feeding the family's two Ponyta and Miltank. Dianna and her younger brother, Aaron, were playing with Dianna's Dratini in the back yard.
Dianna's mother called for her children to come inside for breakfast. Aaron got up and raced towards their four room, two story home while Dianna returned Dratini to her Pokeball and followed him.
The family was just sitting down to eat when Dianna heard a boom outside. The whole family froze and Dianna felt her heart skip a beat. Then, Dianna's mother got up and raced to the door, flung it open, and hurried outside. Dianna was just about to follow when she heard her mother's scream.
Dianna found her body paralyzed by fright. Then, Aaron got up and ran out of the kitchen, in the direction that the scream came from. Startled out of shock by the movement, Dianna followed.
Outside was a sight she would never forget. The first thing she noticed was the barn, a barn that had withstood many lightning storms and lightning strikes, burning down. The second thing that her eyes observed was her mother's bleeding body laying on the grass a few feet from the door. She felt tears come to her eyes as she took in the deep, deadly scratches on her mother. Dianna tried to scream, but nothing came out except for a strangled noise.
All of a sudden, a weight slammed into her and knocked her to the ground. She heard a loud growling. She silently screamed again as her eyes met those of a Zangoose. Claws dug into her stomach, ripping long scratches into her skin. The pain was so intense, her brain couldn't even remember to scream. Not that it would have mattered, nothing would have stopped the crazed Pokemon from attacking.
Then, all of a sudden the pain was gone. Dianna hardly noticed as dark spots danced across her eyes. A sharp pain in her head caused her to black out.
When she woke, she was in a hospital bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked around, unsure of where she was. Then, a gentle voice beside her said; "it's alright, you'll be fine now." Dianna moved her head slightly and gasped at the pain that the movement caused. She felt dizzy, her head throbbing.
"Easy," the voice said again. Dianna just closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep - away from all the pain and white.
She woke later that night to find the T.V. on in her room. She slowly moved her head around and took in her surroundings. She finally realized that he was in a hospital. The digital clock on the wall told her it was after 2 am. Her eyes then landed on the T.V.
A house was broken into yesterday by a gang of thieves. They started with the family's barn and killed the man inside before burning him, the barn, and the Pokemon inside. After that, they ordered a Zangoose to attack and kill a woman. The Zangoose then attacked a young girl, giving her deep gashes to the stomach and cuts on her arms.
A neighbor saw the flames and alerted officials. By the time fire crewsarrived, it was too late. The only survivor was the young girl and a Dratini. We are currently trying to get more information, but the Police have not released the names of the victims. More on this later.
Dianna just stared at the T.V. not really registering what they had said except for one word; Zangoose. Just the sound of it sent chills down Dianna's spine and the cuts on her stomach burned. Why? She thought as she drifted back to sleep.
End of Flashback.
Dianna had no family. She had lost them to a mostly unknown group of thugs. All she had left was Dratini. She lived on her own, supposedly on a journey to collect Pokemon badges. That, however, was not something Dianna wanted to do at the time being. She wanted nothing more but to have her family back. But the world is an unforgiving place. There are no second chances at life. All one can do is keep pushing forward and getting stronger so they can protect those around them.
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Updated on: 4/10/12
End of Chapter 1. Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.
This story has been re-edited. Major changes have taken place. Please, I need some REVIEWS. If you liked it, I ask you to leave at least 1 review for the story - the whole story. Just one, please? Thank you!
