Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Lucario, or any of the other Pokemon named within this story. I also owe credit to several different authors, for inspiring me and laying down foundations for this work. I would especially like to thank dairu123, for laying down the setting and main inspiration for this story. Thank you!

Me and Lucario had been travelling the Sinnoh region for a while now, and we were near the bottom of Stark Mountain, having hiked up and down the mountain on a whim of no importance whatsoever. The training was useful at least. Heh. What we didn't realize was that we would soon be training in a different sort of way.

We had run out of food, you see, having only packed the bare essentials for our little hike, and were nowhere near a town or city, so there was no way of getting food from there. So we were relieved when a large building loomed on the horizon, with people milling about- not many, right enough. Four, I could see, but they had Pokemon with them.

"Where there's people, there's usually food, right Lucario?"

"Might as well go. I'm hungry."

Running towards the building, we started racing, and I accidentaly ran headlong into an important-looking man in a suit.

"Sorry sir, didn't see you there."

Turning round, the kind-looking man reached down and helped me to my feet. Surprised by this, and momentarily caught unawares, I asked where me and Lucario had run into.

"My dear boy, this is a school."

Confused, I looked at the three trainers milling about- a boy, maybe a couple years younger than me, and a couple of girls, who were looking at me oddly, as though I was some kind of morbid fascination to them- then back to the person I presumed was in charge.

"Sorry, but this doesn't look like any school I've ever seen. I thought trainer schools only tutored until the age of ten, when the kids became full-fledged trainers."

Now the principal-at least, I took him to be the principal-looked at me oddly, then his face burst into a huge, beaming smile that threw me off-guard again.

"Mark, you sly old dog! No pun intended, by the way. How've you been? Haven't seen you and Lucario in two whole years! You'll have to tell me all about your adventures. But, where's John?"

It was my turn to look at him oddly- which I did, forcing his smile to drop a bit.

"Sorry to shatter your illusions, sir, but, my name's Wallace, and I don't know anybody called John."

A look of realization finally dawned on the principal's face.

"Oh, I see! Forgive me, I mistook you for an old student of mine, who also had a female Lucario as a partner. Well, I'm the principal of this school, and the three trainers over there are three of our students."

"Three students? Geez, not exactly the biggest school in the world then, are you?"

Laughing and smiling, the principal shook his head.

"No, we actually have four students. We are very exclusive about our entry requirements. However, we aren't a traditional school. We focus on trying to bring Pokemon and their trainers together on an emotional level. The entry requirements, should you wish to apply for the course, are quite straightforward, yet a test of your bond with your Pokemon partner. If you can beat a trainer of your choice from this school, you may sit the course."

Looking across to Lucario, I had a quick mental exchange with her about whether or not we should try and enter the course. She seemed to think it was a good idea, so the two of us agreed to challenge one of the trainers from the school.

"Wonderful news, my dear... oh, um...oh, dear, I am terrible with names. What did you say yours was again?"

"It's Wallace, sir."

"Wonderful. Oh, and there's no need for the 'sir' part. Now, choose a trainer to challenge, and have at it!"

Looking at the three, I eventually decided that I would have a better chance of winning if I challenged someone younger and less experienced than me, so I challenged the boy- whose name turned out to be Max.

Maneuvering us both over to the battle arena, the principal announced the rules of the challenge-one Pokemon each, one-on-one battle, if a Pokemon's unable to battle they lose, etcetera. Sending Lucario out onto the battlefield, I waited to see what type of Pokemon Max would send out.

"Inferno, come on out!"

A Blaziken materialised, and both Pokemon and trainer spent a while trying to psyche us out. Well, I wasn't having any of that.

"Lucario! Extremespeed, then follow up with Close Combat, now!"

"Dodge it, and then use Retaliate, Blaziken!"

Unfortunately for Max, my tried-and-tested Contest/battle formula still worked, and Lucario's hail of light,speedy attacks started to take their toll on the bigger Pokemon.

"Alright, Lucario, keep at it! Don't give them an inch!"

"Blaziken, Fire Spin, now!"

Starting to transform into a huge column of fire, Blaziken smirked slightly-or was that my imagination- and I started to wonder if they had planned this course of action from the beginning.

"Lucario, get back, quickly!"

"Blaziken, follow and continue attacking!"

I'll give Max one thing- he sure as hell knows how to counterattack any strategy. I was flinging close-quarter attacks and long-distance attacks at him, and he still managed to counter them. Infuriated, I decided to use the ace up my sleeve.

"Lucario, use our little trick now!"

Smirking coldly, Lucario started to bring her paws up as though to attack- and disappeared!

"Blaziken, be ready for an attack from any side. Keep on your toes."

Reappearing behind Max, Lucario looked at me questioningly, and I nodded. Using our original tactics of speed, Lucario used Extremespeed, followed by Close Combat on Blaziken again. This proved to be more than the large, but badly hurt, Pokemon could take, as Blaziken toppled to the ground shortly after Lucario started this second volley of attacks. Holding his hands out to signal the end of the match, the principal finished his duties as commentator on a high note.

"And the winner is... Wallace and Lucario! Congratulations, you are now able to enter the school, and undergo training to become stronger both physically and emotionally. Will you accept this offer?"

Smiling because of the victory we had achieved, we both nodded and voiced our agreement together, yet separately, each looking forward to the interesting adventures this was sure to bring each of us.